‘The Traitors’ dominates Critics Choice Real TV Awards with 3 wins: Next stop, Emmys

The Critics Choice Association has announced the winners for its seventh annual Critics Choice Real TV Awards, and it's great news for The Traitors.

Peacock's murder-mystery program walked off with a leading three awards: Best Competition Series, Best Ensemble Cast in an Unscripted Series, and Best Show Host for Alan Cumming. Note that these trophies come for Season 3, which is eligible at the upcoming 2025 Emmys. Last year, Season 2 of The Traitors won a pair of Emmys for series and host, and is the frontrunner to repeat.

The Critics Choice Real TV Awards recognize excellence in nonfiction, unscripted, and reality programming across broadcast, cable, and streaming platforms. Voting is conducted by a blue-ribbon nominating committee made up of CCA members with expertise in the genre. Meanwhile, there are two fan-voted categories: Male and Female Star of the Year, which were awarded respectively to Stephen Nedoroscik (Dancing With the Stars) and Sandra Lee (Dr. Pimple Popper: Breaking Out).

Besides The Traitors, other big winners at this year's kudos include Love on the Spectrum with two (Best Unstructured Series and Best Relationship Show), and DWTS with two (Best Competition Series: Talent/Variety and Male Star of the Year). Netflix is the most awarded network of the year, claiming four trophies.

Here are the winners (denoted in gold) for the 2025 Critics Choice Real TV Awards:

BEST COMPETITION SERIES
Finding Mr. Christmas (Hallmark Media)
RuPaul’s Drag Race (MTV)
The Summit (CBS)
Survivor (CBS)
Top Chef (Bravo)
**The Traitors (Peacock)

BEST COMPETITION SERIES: TALENT/VARIETY
America’s Got Talent (NBC)
American Idol (ABC)
**Dancing with the Stars (ABC)
Roller Jam (Magnolia Network, Max)
Second Chance Stage (Magnolia Network, Max)
The Voice (NBC)

BEST UNSTRUCTURED SERIES
America’s Sweethearts: Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders (Netflix)
Below Deck Down Under (Bravo)
**Love on the Spectrum (Netflix)
Naked and Afraid (Discovery Channel)
The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City (Bravo)
The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives (Hulu)

BEST STRUCTURED SERIES
Couples Therapy (Paramount+)
Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives (Food Network)
Dr. Pimple Popper: Breaking Out (Lifetime)
Fixer Upper: The Lakehouse (Magnolia Network)
**No Taste Like Home with Antoni Porowski (National Geographic) (TIE)
**Queer Eye (Netflix) (TIE)

BEST CULINARY SHOW
Be My Guest with Ina Garten (Food Network)
The Food That Built America (History)
**The Great British Baking Show (Netflix)
Harry Potter: Wizards of Baking (Food Network)
Is It Cake? Holiday (Netflix)
Top Chef (Bravo)

BEST GAME SHOW
Celebrity Family Feud (ABC)
The Floor (Fox)
Guy’s Grocery Games (Food Network)
**Jeopardy! (Syndicated)
Press Your Luck (ABC)
Weakest Link (NBC)

BEST TRAVEL/ADVENTURE SHOW
**Conan O’Brien Must Go (HBO | Max)
Expedition Unknown (Discovery Channel)
Getting Lost with Erin French (Magnolia Network)
The Great Food Truck Race (Food Network)
Long Way Home (Apple TV+)
No Taste Like Home with Antoni Porowski (National Geographic)

BEST BUSINESS SHOW
Bar Rescue (Paramount Network)
First-Time Buyer’s Club (OWN)
King of Collectibles: The Goldin Touch (Netflix)
Kitchen Nightmares (Fox)
**Shark Tank (ABC)
Start Up (PBS)

BEST ANIMAL/NATURE SHOW
**The Americas (NBC)
Mammals (BBC America)
Nature (PBS)
OceanXplorers (National Geographic)
Planet Earth: Asia (BBC America)
The Secret Lives of Animals (Apple TV+)

BEST CRIME/JUSTICE SHOW
**The Curious Case of Natalia Grace: The Final Chapter (ID)
The First 48 (A&E)
How I Escaped My Cult (Freeform)
Ozark Law (A&E)
Philly Homicide (Oxygen True Crime)
Scam Goddess (Freeform)

BEST SPORTS SHOW
30 for 30 (ESPN)
Hard Knocks (HBO | Max)
In the Arena: Serena Williams (ESPN+)
Pardon the Interruption (ESPN)
Untold (Netflix)
**Welcome to Wrexham (FX)

BEST RELATIONSHIP SHOW
Farmer Wants a Wife (Fox)
The Golden Bachelorette (ABC)
The Later Daters (Netflix)
Love Is Blind (Netflix)
**Love on the Spectrum (Netflix)
Small Town Setup (Hallmark Media)

BEST LIFESTYLE SHOW: HOME/GARDEN
Bargain Block (HGTV)
**Don’t Hate Your House with the Property Brothers (HGTV) (TIE)
The Great Christmas Light Fight (ABC)
Maine Cabin Masters: Building Italy (Magnolia Network)
Renovation Aloha (HGTV)
**Rock the Block (HGTV) (TIE)

BEST LIFESTYLE SHOW: FASHION/BEAUTY
Dress My Tour (Hulu)
Queer Eye (Netflix)
**RuPaul’s Drag Race (MTV)
RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars (Paramount+)
Say Yes to the Dress (TLC)
Wear Whatever the F You Want (Prime Video)

BEST LIMITED SERIES
Cult Massacre: One Day in Jonestown (National Geographic)
Erased: WW2’s Heroes of Color (National Geographic)
Gone Girls: The Long Island Serial Killer (Netflix)
Simone Biles Rising (Netflix)
**Tucci in Italy (National Geographic)
The Wonderland Massacre & The Secret History of Hollywood (MGM+)

BEST ENSEMBLE CAST IN AN UNSCRIPTED SERIES
Bobby’s Triple Threat (Food Network)
Claim to Fame (ABC)
Dancing with the Stars (ABC)
The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City (Bravo)
Top Chef (Bravo)
**The Traitors (Peacock)

BEST SHOW HOST
Jonathan Bennett – Finding Mr. Christmas (Hallmark Media)
Terry Crews – America’s Got Talent (NBC)
**Alan Cumming – The Traitors (Peacock)
Colin Jost – Pop Culture Jeopardy! (Prime Video)
Kristen Kish – Top Chef (Bravo)
Jeff Probst – Survivor (CBS)

MALE STAR OF THE YEAR
Jonathan Bennett – Finding Mr. Christmas (Hallmark Media)
Alan Cumming – The Traitors (Peacock)
Dylan Efron – The Traitors (Peacock)
**Stephen Nedoroscik – Dancing with the Stars (ABC)
Antoni Porowski – No Taste Like Home with Antoni Porowski (National Geographic), Queer Eye (Netflix)
Stanley Tucci – Tucci in Italy (National Geographic)

FEMALE STAR OF THE YEAR
Joanna Gaines – Fixer Upper: The Lakehouse, Magnolia Table with Joanna Gaines, Mini Reni (Magnolia Network)
Ina Garten – Be My Guest with Ina Garten (Food Network)
Julianne Hough – Dancing with the Stars (ABC)
**Dr. Sandra Lee – Dr. Pimple Popper: Breaking Out (Lifetime)
Lisa Vanderpump – Vanderpump Villa (Hulu)
Gabby Windey – The Traitors (Peacock)

Winners by network:

Netflix - 4
ABC - 3
Peacock - 3
HGTV - 2
National Geographic - 2
FX - 1
HBO | Max - 1
ID - 1
Lifetime - 1
MTV - 1
NBC - 1
Syndicated - 1

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