Teen Choice Awards 2017: Should Ian Harding, Cole Sprouse, Jesse Williams win Drama Actor?
With the Teen Choice Awards voting process officially underway, we’re back once more to offer up a little bit more analysis on the field! There are always a ton of categories for this awards-show, but every day from now until the nominations are done (for now), we’re taking a closer look at each individual category and who will / should emerge on top when the dust settles.
Today, it’s on the Choice Drama TV Actor category, an interesting one that actually does run the gamut across a wide array of different shows and performers.
How to vote – Just select your favorite in the poll below! You can vote however often you’d like, but you may need to refresh the page in the process. Also note that if you are viewing on an AMP page you may need to click to view the non-AMP version at the bottom of the page. We’ll announce some of the winners among CarterMatt readers on July 15.
Remember, voting here is not official. This is just a fun way to gauge the popularity of the nominees, and if they align with what the Teen Choice Awards voters decide.
The nominees: Choice Drama TV Actor
Cole Sprouse, Riverdale (The CW)
Ian Harding, Pretty Little Liars (Freeform)
Jesse Williams, Grey’s Anatomy (ABC)
Jussie Smollett, Empire (Fox)
Milo Ventimiglia, This Is Us (NBC)
Sterling K. Brown, This Is Us (NBC)
Sizing up the field
This is an interesting roster because a lot of it comes down to what shows you treat as the right kind for this sort of awards show. For example, This Is Us and Empire aren’t shows that we’d necessarily label as for teen audiences, and the same goes for Grey’s Anatomy. We actually think that Brown and Williams gave the best performances of this field, but they are better suited for the Emmys than the Teen Choice Awards. Still, much of this is all about the performers who appeal to you the most as a voter. If you’re a teen who loves Grey’s Anatomy, who are we to say that this is wrong on some level?
Who will win
We do think that it’s Ian Harding, and it may not be close given the love that the Pretty Little Liars fandom has for the character and the show. Also, remember that this is the final season and if there’s ever a time for fans to take a victory lap, this is it as they celebrate all of the performers that they’ve come to love over time. Maybe Sprouse has a chance, but we do think the two This Is Us guys will cancel each other out while Williams is the underdog to end all underdogs.
Who should win
Given the criteria that we’ve already laid out, it should be Sprouse given that he gave the best performance for this audience — we also thought that his take on Jughead was enough to merit an Emmy nomination, as well. He just breathed so much new life into a guy who was such an oddball source of comic relief in the comics. He’s not a character we ever felt something deep and tangible for until watching him on this show, and now the entire world has in some ways been turned upside down thanks to the writing and the performance here.
Who should win the Choice Drama TV Actor category at the Teen Choice Awards this year?