Two shows that are each going strong after multiple seasons shared the glory of winning the top honor at the Critics Choice Real TV Awards Sunday night in ceremonies at the Fairmont Century Plaza Hotel in Los Angeles.
Bravo’s Top Chef and VH1’s. RuPaul’s Drag Race tied for best competition series – and also tied by taking home a total of three statuettes.
Judging by the amount of applause, Padma Lakshmi and cast members of Drag Race were also obviously in-person favorites as they kept tracking to the podium to pick up their trophies.
Getting more laughs than applause – which was their intention –the Sklar Brothers ably hosted the two-hour show in the hotel’s ballroom.
Although it was the fourth such awards presentation put on by the Critics Choice Association and Impact, it was only the second time in the event had been held in person, as 2020 and 2021 were virtual.
The highlight of the evening came when John Stamos presented Bob Saget’s widow Kelly with the Impact Award, which recognizes an outstanding individual for career excellence and the positive impact they have made on the world of nonfiction content.
Saget, who died in January in his Orlando hotel room after a performance, was the original host of America’s Funniest Home Videos, emceeing it from 1989 through 1997.
“Known as the comedian’s comedian, he was both a family funny guy and an aristocrat of dirty jokes,” said Stamos, who was Saget’s best friend from their days co-starring on Full House.
“It’s so wonderful to see how incredibly loved still is by everybody and I know that Bob would be so honored and so thrilled and so grateful to receive this award right now,” Rizzo said in accepting it. “I mean, he would be blown away. All he wanted to do was make people happy. He just wanted to make people laugh and make people smile.”
Here is the full list of winners at the fourth annual Critics Choice Real TV Awards:
BEST COMPETITION SERIES
(tie) RuPaul’s Drag Race (VH1)
Top Chef (Bravo)
BEST COMPETITION SERIES: TALENT/VARIETY
Lizzo’s Watch Out for the Big Grrrls (Prime Video)
BEST UNSTRUCTURED SERIES
RuPaul’s Drag Race: Untucked (VH1)
BEST STRUCTURED SERIES
How To with John Wilson (HBO)
BEST CULINARY SHOW
Top Chef (Bravo)
BEST GAME SHOW
Jeopardy! (Syndicated)
BEST TRAVEL/ADVENTURE SHOW
Somebody Feed Phil (Netflix)
BEST BUSINESS SHOW
Shark Tank (ABC)
BEST ANIMAL/NATURE SHOW
Critter Fixers: Country Vets (National Geographic)
BEST CRIME/JUSTICE SHOW
Secrets of Playboy (A&E)
BEST SPORTS SHOW
Cheer (Netflix)
BEST RELATIONSHIP SHOW
Love Is Blind (Netflix)
BEST LIFESTYLE: HOME/GARDEN SHOW
Million Dollar Listing Los Angeles (Bravo)
BEST LIFESTYLE: FASHION/BEAUTY SHOW
Project Runway (Bravo)
BEST LIMITED SERIES
We Need to Talk About Cosby (Showtime)
BEST ENSEMBLE CAST IN AN UNSCRIPTED SERIES
RuPaul’s Drag Race (VH1)
BEST SHOW HOST
Padma Lakshmi – Taste the Nation with Padma Lakshmi (Hulu); Top Chef (Bravo)
MALE STAR OF THE YEAR
Robert Irvine – Restaurant: Impossible (Food Network)
FEMALE STAR OF THE YEAR
Selena Gomez – Selena + Chef (HBO Max)
OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN NONFICTION PROGRAMMING BY A NETWORK OR STREAMING PLATFORM
HBO Max
OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN NONFICTION PRODUCTION
The Intellectual Property Corporation (IPC)
