Nomadland topped the 2021 Critics Choice Awards.
The Searchlight film won four awards, including best picture and best director for helmer Chloé Zhao. With the awards coming shortly after the death of the film’s production sound mixer, Michael Wolf Snyder, Zhao paid tribute to him during her best director acceptance speech.
“The best moments of our day [were the] whole crew watching Wolf and he would say, ‘Get ready to go to your zen place.’ And we did. Thank you, Wolf, we honor you and we will see you down the road,” Zhao said.
Best actress and actor awards were given to Promising Young Woman‘s Carey Mulligan and the late Chadwick Boseman, respectively, with Boseman’s widow, Simone Ledward Boseman, accepting the award on his behalf.
“He may something about this story and the importance of black voices telling black stories,” Ledward Boseman, said via video about her late husband and what he might’ve said as he collected his latest win for his role in Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom.
Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom was the second-most-awarded film of the night, with three awards, followed by double winners Minari, Trial of the Chicago 7 and Promising Young Woman.
One of the show’s more memorable moments occurred when Minari actor Alan Kim broke down into tears as he appeared remotely, wearing a tiny tuxedo, to accept the award for best young actor/actress.
In the virtual press room, Kim said he wasn’t sure why he cried, but that the prize meant a lot because it was one of his first awards. The best part of making the Arkansas-set film, he said was “everything,” adding that the whole experience was “fun” but “hot.”
Minari also won best foreign-language film.
Sacha Baron Cohen accepted the best acting ensemble award for The Trial of the Chicago 7, thanking the real-life people that he and his co-stars play in the film and noting that history has a tendency to repeat itself unless people learn from it.
“I think an integral part of democracy is the need for peaceful protest, so as long as there will be democracies there’s always gonna be the need for the populace to go out and disagree in a peaceful way,” Baron Cohen said backstage.
Daniel Kaluuya won the first award of the night for his supporting role in Judas and the Black Messiah, thanking director Shaka King and co-stars LaKeith Stanfield and Dominique Fishback. He also thanked the Critics Choice Awards for championing Black Panther party chairman Fred Hampton’s legacy and messages.
An emotional Maria Bakalova accepted best supporting actress for her role in Borat Subsequent Moviefilm saying she couldn’t believe someone who grew up in Bulgaria was accepting that award and dedicated her win to little kids, telling them that the award shows the value of following your dreams.
In the virtual press room, Bakalova continued to express her amazement at where the Borat role had taken her.
“It’s a wild road and you never know where life may take you,” she said. “I can’t believe this is happening, it’s the perfect example of dream big and things might happen. Just being in the conversation of being nominated has been amazing for me.”
She also reflected on her headline-making scene with Rudy Giuliani, recalling how her heart was racing as they filmed it and she thought it showed, “we are all human and if we treated each other better with love and respect, the world would be a better place.“
Palm Springs star Andy Samberg seemed a bit surprised to accept the film’s award for best comedy, praising the other nominees in the category, which he said was particularly strong.
Though Mank went into the night up for a leading 12 awards, the film only won one category: best production design.
On the TV side, The Crown dominated the drama categories, winning best drama series, with Gillian Anderson, Josh O’Connor and Emma Corrin all winning early awards for their performances in the Netflix series about the British royal family. In the comedy categories, Ted Lasso emerged victorious, winning three awards, including best comedy series. Star Jason Sudeikis, who also won best actor in a comedy series, appeared via video wearing another hoodie, after going viral for his hoodie ensemble during the Golden Globes last week.
Accepting the best comedy series award, Sudeikis seemed surprised, remarking, “holy smokes,” and after thanking the cast and crew behind the Apple TV+ series, he also thanked his ex, Olivia Wilde, whom he admitted first had the idea to turn the character into a TV show.
“She was right,” Sudeikis said of Wilde, first introducing her as the mother of his kids, whom he also thanked.
“It’s been a whack-ass year and this thing has been a wonderful vessel to hear people’s stories of forgiveness and redemption and healing,” Sudeikis said.
In the virtual press room, Sudeikis indicated Wilde was also connected to his latest hoodie, which he said is from the fictional Booksmart school of Crockett High School, which Sudeikis played the principal of in Wilde’s acclaimed feature directorial debut.
He also added that beyond being “a character,” “Ted Lasso is a vibe and goes through everyone in front of the camera and behind the camera, so to have the Critics Choice Awards respond to the whole jambalaya we’ve all been cooking up is really flattering.”
The Queen’s Gambit was named best limited series, with star Anya Taylor-Joy accepting the award for best actress in a limited series. Small Axe star John Boyega won for best actor in a limited series. Boyega thanked the real Leroy Logan, who he played in his Small Axe installment, Red, White and Blue, and the anthology film series’ mastermind, Steve McQueen.
In the virtual press room, Taylor-Joy, who noted it was 2 a.m. in London where she was and that she had to be up for work in the morning, praised the format of The Queen’s Gambit as a seven-episode limited series but also gave hope to fans wanting more of her chess prodigy saying, “It’s incredibly flattering that people want to spend more time with these characters, but we intended to have it as a limited series…never say never.” Beyond that, Taylor-Joy said if the project had been a movie, viewers wouldn’t have had enough time with her character.
“It’s better for audience, you understand her and it added so much weight to every moment,” she explained. “If she’s sitting down for a game and lost twice already, you know the weight of that for her.”
Late Night With Seth Meyers, meanwhile won the award for best talk show, with Meyers appearing remotely and accompanied by his newly vaccinated parents.
The award for best comedy special was a tie, with Jerry Seinfeld’s 23 Hours to Kill winning alongside Michelle Buteau’s Welcome to Buteaupia. Seinfeld thanked the critics, saying he’d always appreciated their role in helping him develop his act, but he argued that what he and his fellow comedians “really want,” is “to be onstage somewhere making people smile and laugh…we hope to be able to do that soon.”
An emotional Buteau told viewers, “If you want to do anything in your life, you do it, because you are enough, you are always enough.”
Ted Lasso‘s Hannah Waddingham was also emotional, screaming at various points as she accepted the award for best actress in a comedy series.
While Ozark went into the night with six nominations, the same as The Crown, the Jason Bateman-starrer failed to win any awards. What We Do in the Shadows (five nominations) and The Plot Against America (four nods) were also shut out.
Taye Diggs, hosting the show for the third year in a row, appeared in person on set, which was slowly revealed after he first appeared in front of a roaring fireplace, reciting a rhyming monologue about this year’s nominated projects. But many of the presenters and nominees appeared remotely.
Noting the social distancing due to the ongoing pandemic, Diggs joked at the top of the show that he was probably the only person not wearing sweatpants. He described the style for pandemic-era productions as “awards show casual: formal on top and comfortable on the bottom.”
Later Diggs introduced a video featuring Roy Wood Jr., who offered his tips for stars trying to look good from home, saying that having books behind you shows “you can afford books;” and that if one must have something in the background, “let it be the most popular form of home decor: children”; and he urged people not to be naked from the waist down before he stood up to show that he was indeed not wearing pants. Diggs also polled nominees on their picks for the funniest film of all time, and showed off, in a video segment, some of the hobbies he claimed to have “mastered” during the pandemic.
Presenters Tony Hale, Ashley Park, Justin Hartley and Chrissy Metz did appear in person on set. Hale joked that he had lost 640 hours of his life amid the pandemic to watching this year’s nominated performances, but he admitted some of the fault was his as he watched the original Perry Mason before the Matthew Rhys-starring reboot. Hartley insisted it was an honor to be nominated as he and Metz appeared after Hartley lost in his category of best supporting actor in a drama series.
Zendaya received the SeeHer Award — given to a woman who pushes boundaries, defies stereotypes and recognizes the importance of authentic portrayals of women across the entertainment landscape — from her Malcolm & Marie co-star John David Washington.
In her acceptance speech, Zendaya spoke about “gratitude.”
“This word keeps coming to my mind, especially with the year we’ve just had, to be grateful for every moment we’ve had big and small,” she said, urging people to “make sure we hold on to our loved ones a little tighter.”
“I would not be here without the women who paved the way for me,” she said. “Not to overuse the word, but I am incredibly grateful for this award.”
Presenters for the 26th annual Critics Choice Awards included Kevin Bacon, Angela Bassett, Mayim Bialik, Orlando Bloom, Morgan Freeman, Gal Gadot, Jim Gaffigan, Chelsea Handler, Chris Hemsworth, Eva Longoria, Mads Mikkelsen, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Kyra Sedgwick, Yara Shahidi and Catherine Zeta-Jones.
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A complete list of the 2021 Critics Choice Awards winners follows.
Film Categories
BEST PICTURE
Nomadland (Searchlight) (WINNER)
Da 5 Bloods (Netflix)
Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom (Netflix)
Mank (Netflix)
Minari (A24)
News of the World (Universal)
One Night in Miami (Amazon Studios)
Promising Young Woman (Focus Features)
Sound of Metal (Amazon Studios)
The Trial of the Chicago 7 (Netflix)
BEST ACTOR
Chadwick Boseman – Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom (Netflix) (WINNER)
Ben Affleck – The Way Back (Warner Bros.)
Riz Ahmed – Sound of Metal (Amazon Studios)
Tom Hanks – News of the World (Universal Pictures)
Anthony Hopkins – The Father (Sony Pictures Classics)
Delroy Lindo – Da 5 Bloods (Netflix)
Gary Oldman – Mank (Netflix)
Steven Yeun – Minari (A24)
BEST ACTRESS
Carey Mulligan – Promising Young Woman (Focus Features) (WINNER)
Viola Davis – Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom (Netflix)
Andra Day – The United States vs. Billie Holiday (Hulu)
Sidney Flanigan – Never Rarely Sometimes Always (Focus Features)
Vanessa Kirby – Pieces of a Woman (Netflix)
Frances McDormand – Nomadland (Searchlight Pictures)
Zendaya – Malcolm & Marie (Netflix)
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Daniel Kaluuya – Judas and the Black Messiah (Warner Bros.) (WINNER)
Chadwick Boseman – Da 5 Bloods (Netflix)
Sacha Baron Cohen – The Trial of the Chicago 7 (Netflix)
Bill Murray – On the Rocks (A24/Apple TV+)
Leslie Odom, Jr. – One Night in Miami (Amazon Studios)
Paul Raci – Sound of Metal (Amazon Studios)
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Maria Bakalova – Borat Subsequent Moviefilm (Amazon Studios) (WINNER)
Ellen Burstyn – Pieces of a Woman (Netflix)
Glenn Close – Hillbilly Elegy (Netflix)
Olivia Colman – The Father (Sony Pictures Classics)
Amanda Seyfried – Mank (Netflix)
Yuh-Jung Youn – Minari (A24)
BEST YOUNG ACTOR/ACTRESS
Alan Kim – Minari (A24) (WINNER)
Ryder Allen – Palmer (Apple TV+)
Ibrahima Gueye – The Life Ahead (Netflix)
Talia Ryder – Never Rarely Sometimes Always (Focus Features)
Caoilinn Springall – The Midnight Sky (Netflix)
Helena Zengel – News of the World (Universal Pictures)
BEST ACTING ENSEMBLE
The Trial of the Chicago 7 (Netflix) (WINNER)
Da 5 Bloods (Netflix)
Judas and the Black Messiah (Warner Bros.)
Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom (Netflix)
Minari (A24)
One Night in Miami (Amazon Studios)
BEST DIRECTOR
Chloé Zhao – Nomadland (Searchlight Pictures) (WINNER)
Lee Isaac Chung – Minari (A24)
Emerald Fennell – Promising Young Woman (Focus Features)
David Fincher – Mank (Netflix)
Spike Lee – Da 5 Bloods (Netflix)
Regina King – One Night in Miami (Amazon Studios)
Aaron Sorkin – The Trial of the Chicago 7 (Netflix)
BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Emerald Fennell – Promising Young Woman (Focus Features) (WINNER)
Lee Isaac Chung – Minari (A24)
Jack Fincher – Mank (Netflix)
Eliza Hittman – Never Rarely Sometimes Always (Focus Features)
Darius Marder & Abraham Marder – Sound of Metal (Amazon Studios)
Aaron Sorkin – The Trial of the Chicago 7 (Netflix)
BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
Chloé Zhao – Nomadland (Searchlight Pictures) (WINNER)
Paul Greengrass & Luke Davies – News of the World (Universal Pictures)
Christopher Hampton and Florian Zeller – The Father (Sony Pictures Classics)
Kemp Powers – One Night in Miami (Amazon Studios)
Jon Raymond & Kelly Reichardt – First Cow (A24)
Ruben Santiago-Hudson – Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom (Netflix)
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Joshua James Richards – Nomadland (Searchlight Pictures) (WINNER)
Christopher Blauvelt – First Cow (A24)
Erik Messerschmidt – Mank (Netflix)
Lachlan Milne – Minari (A24)
Newton Thomas Sigel – Da 5 Bloods (Netflix)
Hoyte Van Hoytema – Tenet (Warner Bros.)
Dariusz Wolski – News of the World (Universal Pictures)
BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN
Donald Graham Burt, Jan Pascale – Mank (Netflix) (WINNER)
Cristina Casali, Charlotte Dirickx – The Personal History of David Copperfield (Searchlight Pictures)
David Crank, Elizabeth Keenan – News of the World (Universal Pictures)
Nathan Crowley, Kathy Lucas – Tenet (Warner Bros.)
Kave Quinn, Stella Fox – Emma (Focus Features)
Mark Ricker, Karen O’Hara, Diana Stoughton – Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom (Netflix)
BEST EDITING
Alan Baumgarten – The Trial of the Chicago 7 (Netflix) (WINNER-TIE)
Mikkel E. G. Nielsen – Sound of Metal (Amazon Studios) (WINNER-TIE)
Kirk Baxter – Mank (Netflix)
Jennifer Lame – Tenet (Warner Bros.)
Yorgos Lamprinos – The Father (Sony Pictures Classics)
Chloé Zhao – Nomadland (Searchlight Pictures)
BEST COSTUME DESIGN
Ann Roth – Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom (Netflix) (WINNER)
Alexandra Byrne – Emma (Focus Features)
Bina Daigeler – Mulan (Disney)
Suzie Harman & Robert Worley – The Personal History of David Copperfield (Searchlight Pictures)
Nancy Steiner – Promising Young Woman (Focus Features)
Trish Summerville – Mank (Netflix)
BEST HAIR AND MAKEUP
Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom (Netflix)(WINNER)
Emma (Focus Features)
Hillbilly Elegy (Netflix)
Mank (Netflix)
Promising Young Woman (Focus Features)
The United States vs. Billie Holiday (Hulu)
BEST VISUAL EFFECTS
Tenet (Warner Bros.) (WINNER)
Greyhound (Apple TV+)
The Invisible Man (Universal Pictures)
Mank (Netflix)
The Midnight Sky (Netflix)
Mulan (Disney)
Wonder Woman 1984 (Warner Bros.)
BEST COMEDY
Palm Springs (Hulu and NEON) (WINNER)
Borat Subsequent Moviefilm (Amazon Studios)
The Forty-Year-Old Version (Netflix)
The King of Staten Island (Universal Pictures)
On the Rocks (A24/Apple TV+)
The Prom (Netflix)
BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
Minari (A24) (WINNER)
Another Round (Samuel Goldwyn Films)
Collective (Magnolia Pictures)
La Llorona (Shudder)
The Life Ahead (Netflix)
Two of Us (Magnolia Pictures)
BEST SONG
Speak Now – One Night in Miami (Amazon Studios) (WINNER)
Everybody Cries – The Outpost (Screen Media Films)
Fight for You – Judas and the Black Messiah (Warner Bros.)
Husavik (My Home Town) – Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga (Netflix)
Io sì (Seen) – The Life Ahead (Netflix)
Tigress & Tweed – The United States vs. Billie Holiday (Hulu)
BEST SCORE
Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross – Soul (Disney) (WINNER)
Alexandre Desplat – The Midnight Sky (Netflix)
Ludwig Göransson – Tenet (Warner Bros.)
James Newton Howard – News of the World (Universal Pictures)
Emile Mosseri – Minari (A24)
Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross – Mank (Netflix)
TV Categories
BEST DRAMA SERIES
The Crown (Netflix) (WINNER)
Better Call Saul (AMC)
The Good Fight (CBS All Access)
Lovecraft Country (HBO)
The Mandalorian (Disney+)
Ozark (Netflix)
Perry Mason (HBO)
This Is Us (NBC)
BEST ACTOR IN A DRAMA SERIES
Josh O’Connor – The Crown (Netflix) (WINNER)
Jason Bateman – Ozark (Netflix)
Sterling K. Brown – This Is Us (NBC)
Jonathan Majors – Lovecraft Country (HBO)
Bob Odenkirk – Better Call Saul (AMC)
Matthew Rhys – Perry Mason (HBO)
BEST ACTRESS IN A DRAMA SERIES
Emma Corrin – The Crown (Netflix) (WINNER)
Christine Baranski – The Good Fight (CBS All Access)
Olivia Colman – The Crown (Netflix)
Claire Danes – Homeland (Showtime)
Laura Linney – Ozark (Netflix)
Jurnee Smollett – Lovecraft Country (HBO)
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A DRAMA SERIES
Michael K. Williams – Lovecraft Country (HBO) (WINNER)
Jonathan Banks – Better Call Saul (AMC)
Justin Hartley – This Is Us (NBC)
John Lithgow – Perry Mason (HBO)
Tobias Menzies – The Crown (Netflix)
Tom Pelphrey – Ozark (Netflix)
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A DRAMA SERIES
Gillian Anderson – The Crown (Netflix) (WINNER)
Cynthia Erivo – The Outsider (HBO)
Julia Garner – Ozark (Netflix)
Janet McTeer – Ozark (Netflix)
Wunmi Mosaku – Lovecraft Country (HBO)
Rhea Seehorn – Better Call Saul (AMC)
BEST COMEDY SERIES
Ted Lasso (Apple TV+) (WINNER)
Better Things (FX)
The Flight Attendant (HBO Max)
Mom (CBS)
PEN15 (Hulu)
Ramy (Hulu)
Schitt’s Creek (Pop)
What We Do in the Shadows (FX)
BEST ACTOR IN A COMEDY SERIES
Jason Sudeikis – Ted Lasso (Apple TV+) (WINNER)
Hank Azaria – Brockmire (IFC)
Matt Berry – What We Do in the Shadows (FX)
Nicholas Hoult – The Great (Hulu)
Eugene Levy – Schitt’s Creek (Pop)
Ramy Youssef – Ramy (Hulu)
BEST ACTRESS IN A COMEDY SERIES
Catherine O’Hara – Schitt’s Creek (Pop) (WINNER)
Pamela Adlon – Better Things (FX)
Christina Applegate – Dead to Me (Netflix)
Kaley Cuoco – The Flight Attendant (HBO Max)
Natasia Demetriou – What We Do in the Shadows (FX)
Issa Rae – Insecure (HBO)
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A COMEDY SERIES
Daniel Levy – Schitt’s Creek (Pop) (WINNER)
William Fichtner – Mom (CBS)
Harvey Guillén – What We Do in the Shadows (FX)
Alex Newell – Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist (NBC)
Mark Proksch – What We Do in the Shadows (FX)
Andrew Rannells – Black Monday (Showtime)
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A COMEDY SERIES
Hannah Waddingham – Ted Lasso (Apple TV+) (WINNER)
Lecy Goranson – The Conners (ABC)
Rita Moreno – One Day at a Time (Pop)
Annie Murphy – Schitt’s Creek (Pop)
Ashley Park – Emily in Paris (Netflix)
Jaime Pressly – Mom (CBS)
BEST LIMITED SERIES
The Queen’s Gambit (Netflix) (WINNER)
I May Destroy You (HBO)
Mrs. America (FX)
Normal People (Hulu)
The Plot Against America (HBO)
Small Axe (Amazon Studios)
The Undoing (HBO)
Unorthodox (Netflix)
BEST MOVIE MADE FOR TELEVISION
Hamilton (Disney+) (WINNER)
Bad Education (HBO)
Between the World and Me (HBO)
The Clark Sisters: First Ladies of Gospel (Lifetime)
Sylvie’s Love (Amazon Studios)
What the Constitution Means to Me (Amazon Studios)
BEST ACTOR IN A LIMITED SERIES OR MOVIE MADE FOR TELEVISION
John Boyega – Small Axe (Amazon Studios) (WINNER)
Hugh Grant – The Undoing (HBO)
Paul Mescal – Normal People (Hulu)
Chris Rock – Fargo (FX)
Mark Ruffalo – I Know This Much is True (HBO)
Morgan Spector – The Plot Against America (HBO)
BEST ACTRESS IN A LIMITED SERIES OR MOVIE MADE FOR TELEVISION
Anya Taylor-Joy – The Queen’s Gambit (Netflix) (WINNER)
Cate Blanchett – Mrs. America (FX)
Michaela Coel – I May Destroy You (HBO)
Daisy Edgar-Jones – Normal People (Hulu)
Shira Haas – Unorthodox (Netflix)
Tessa Thompson – Sylvie’s Love (Amazon Studios)
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A LIMITED SERIES OR MOVIE MADE FOR TELEVISION
Donald Sutherland – The Undoing (HBO) (WINNER)
Daveed Diggs – The Good Lord Bird (Showtime)
Joshua Caleb Johnson – The Good Lord Bird (Showtime)
Dylan McDermott – Hollywood (Netflix)
Glynn Turman – Fargo (FX)
John Turturro – The Plot Against America (HBO)
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A LIMITED SERIES OR MOVIE MADE FOR TELEVISION
Uzo Aduba – Mrs. America (FX) (WINNER)
Betsy Brandt – Soulmates (AMC)
Marielle Heller – The Queen’s Gambit (Netflix)
Margo Martindale – Mrs. America (FX)
Winona Ryder – The Plot Against America (HBO)
Tracey Ullman – Mrs. America (FX)
BEST TALK SHOW
Late Night with Seth Meyers (NBC) (WINNER)
Desus & Mero (Showtime)
Full Frontal with Samantha Bee (TBS)
The Kelly Clarkson Show (NBC/Syndicated)
The Late Show with Stephen Colbert (CBS)
Red Table Talk (Facebook Watch)
BEST COMEDY SPECIAL
Jerry Seinfeld: 23 Hours to Kill (Netflix) (WINNER – TIE)
Michelle Buteau: Welcome to Buteaupia (Netflix) (WINNER – TIE)
Fortune Feimster: Sweet & Salty (Netflix)
Hannah Gadsby: Douglas (Netflix)
Marc Maron: End Times Fun (Netflix)
Patton Oswalt: I Love Everything (Netflix)
BEST SHORT FORM SERIES
Better Call Saul: Ethics Training with Kim Wexler (AMC/Youtube) (WINNER)
The Andy Cohen Diaries (Quibi)
Mapleworth Murders (Quibi)
Nikki Fre$h (Quibi)
Reno 911! (Quibi)
Tooning Out the News (CBS All Access)
Additional reporting by Kirsten Chuba
