Critics’ Choice Awards 2018 nominees: American Gods, Caitriona Balfe, This Is Us, and more

The Critics’ Choice Awards 2018 nominees were announced on Wednesday morning, and we would say for the most part that these were who CarterMatt expected to see on the list. While there were some snubs (which we have a separate article coming up), there were some worthy recipients of some nods and surprises. For example, who anticipated American Gods getting so much love? While we love Bryan Fuller, we didn’t think critics would give the show anywhere near as much love — especially since we found the finale to be reasonably incomplete.

If you look below, you can see all of the nominations with reaction in some of the individual categories. (Nominees list via TVLine.)

Best Drama Series
American Gods (Starz)
The Crown (Netflix)
Game of Thrones (HBO)
The Handmaid’s Tale (Hulu)
Stranger Things (Netflix)
This Is Us (NBC)

Best Actor in a Drama Series
Sterling K. Brown – This Is Us (NBC)
Paul Giamatti – Billions (Showtime)
Freddie Highmore – Bates Motel (A&E)
Ian McShane – American Gods (Starz)
Bob Odenkirk – Better Call Saul (AMC)
Liev Schreiber – Ray Donovan (Showtime)

We’re a little surprised to see Giamatti make this list given that Billions is, by and large, the sort of show that tends to be forgotten about this time of year.

Best Actress in a Drama Series
Caitriona Balfe – Outlander (Starz)
Christine Baranski – The Good Fight (CBS All Access)
Claire Foy – The Crown (Netflix)
Tatiana Maslany – Orphan Black (BBC America)
Elisabeth Moss – The Handmaid’s Tale (Hulu)
Robin Wright – House of Cards (Netflix)

The Critics’ Choice Awards did the right thing nominating Wright, as opposed to penalizing her because of the actions of her co-star Kevin Spacey.

Best Supporting Actor in a Drama Series
Bobby Cannavale – Mr. Robot (USA)
Asia Kate Dillon – Billions (Showtime)
Peter Dinklage – Game of Thrones (HBO)
David Harbour – Stranger Things (Netflix)
Delroy Lindo – The Good Fight (CBS All Access)
Michael McKean – Better Call Saul (AMC)

Maybe McKean’s nomination helps to make up for the devastating Emmy snub. Also, a great nomination here for Asia Kate Dillon.

Best Supporting Actress in a Drama Series
Gillian Anderson – American Gods (Starz)
Emilia Clarke – Game of Thrones (HBO)
Ann Dowd – The Handmaid’s Tale (Hulu)
Cush Jumbo – The Good Fight (CBS All Access)
Margo Martindale – Sneaky Pete (Amazon)
Chrissy Metz – This Is Us (NBC)

Margo Martindale! She’s seriously amazing and should be nominated for everything. It’s also nice to see Ann Dowd on here, given that she was great on three separate shows this past year. (You can also see her on The Leftovers or Good Behavior).

Best Comedy Series
The Big Bang Theory (CBS)
Black-ish (ABC)
GLOW (Netflix)
The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel (Amazon)
Modern Family (ABC)
Patriot (Amazon)

Really, Modern Family over Silicon Valley, Veep, Master of None, or The Good Place? What about Insecure? Probably the most dubious category this year.

Best Actor in a Comedy Series
Anthony Anderson – Black-ish (ABC)
Aziz Ansari – Master of None (Netflix)
Hank Azaria – Brockmire (IFC)
Ted Danson – The Good Place (NBC)
Thomas Middleditch – Silicon Valley (HBO)
Randall Park – Fresh Off the Boat (ABC)

Best Actress in a Comedy Series
Kristen Bell – The Good Place (NBC)
Alison Brie – GLOW (Netflix)
Rachel Brosnahan – The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel (Amazon)
Sutton Foster – Younger (TV Land)
Ellie Kemper – Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt (Netflix)
Constance Wu – Fresh Off the Boat (ABC)

Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series
Tituss Burgess – Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt (Netflix)
Walton Goggins – Vice Principals (HBO)
Sean Hayes – Will & Grace (NBC)
Marc Maron – GLOW (Netflix)
Kumail Nanjiani – Silicon Valley (HBO)
Ed O’Neill – Modern Family (ABC)

Nice to see our favorite comedian Nanjiani on the list, just as it is Walton Goggins for his completely psychopathic character Lee Russell.

Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series
Mayim Bialik – The Big Bang Theory (CBS)
Alex Borstein – The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel (Amazon)
Betty Gilpin – GLOW (Netflix)
Jenifer Lewis – Black-ish (ABC)
Alessandra Mastronardi – Master of None (Netflix)
Rita Moreno – One Day at a Time (Netflix)

Best Limited Series
American Vandal (Netflix)
Big Little Lies (HBO)
Fargo (FX)
Feud: Bette and Joan (FX)
Godless (Netflix)
The Long Road Home (National Geographic)

Best Movie Made for TV
Flint (Lifetime)
I Am Elizabeth Smart (Lifetime)
The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks (HBO)
Sherlock: The Lying Detective (PBS)
The Wizard of Lies (HBO)

Best Actor in a Movie Made for TV or Limited Series
Jeff Daniels – Godless (Netflix)
Robert De Niro – The Wizard of Lies (HBO)
Ewan McGregor – Fargo (FX)
Jack O’Connell – Godless (Netflix)
Evan Peters – American Horror Story: Cult (FX)
Bill Pullman – The Sinner (USA)
Jimmy Tatro – American Vandal (Netflix)

Best Actress in a Movie Made for TV or Limited Series
Jessica Biel – The Sinner (USA)
Alana Boden – I Am Elizabeth Smart (Lifetime)
Carrie Coon – Fargo (FX)
Nicole Kidman – Big Little Lies (HBO)
Jessica Lange – Feud: Bette and Joan (FX)
Reese Witherspoon – Big Little Lies (HBO)

Best Supporting Actor in a Movie Made for TV or Limited Series
Johnny Flynn – Genius (National Geographic)
Benito Martinez – American Crime (ABC)
Alfred Molina – Feud: Bette and Joan (FX)
Alexander Skarsgård – Big Little Lies (HBO)
David Thewlis – Fargo (FX)
Stanley Tucci – Feud: Bette and Joan (FX)

Best Supporting Actress in a Movie Made for TV or Limited Series
Judy Davis – Feud: Bette and Joan (FX)
Laura Dern – Big Little Lies (HBO)
Jackie Hoffman – Feud: Bette and Joan (FX)
Regina King – American Crime (ABC)
Michelle Pfeiffer – The Wizard of Lies (HBO)
Mary Elizabeth Winstead – Fargo (FX)

Best Talk Show
Ellen (NBC)
Harry (Syndicated)
Jimmy Kimmel Live! (ABC)
The Late Late Show with James Corden (CBS)
The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon (NBC)
Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen (BRAVO)

It’s a little shocking not to see The Late Show with Stephen Colbert on the list given that he’s experienced a significant surge in relevancy this year.

Best Animated Series
Archer (FX)
Bob’s Burgers (FOX)
BoJack Horseman (Netflix)
Danger & Eggs (Amazon)
Rick and Morty (Adult Swim)
The Simpsons (FOX)

Best Unstructured Reality Series
Born This Way (A&E)
Ice Road Truckers (History)
Intervention (A&E)
Live PD (A&E)
Ride with Norman Reedus (AMC)
Teen Mom (MTV)

Really, we’re giving Teen Mom a Critics’ Choice nomination? We take umbrage with this one.

Best Structured Reality Series
The Carbonaro Effect (truTV)
Fixer Upper (HGTV)
The Profit (CNBC)
Shark Tank (ABC)
Undercover Boss (CBS)
Who Do You Think You Are? (TLC)

Best Reality Competition Series
America’s Got Talent (NBC)
Chopped (Food Network)
Dancing with the Stars (ABC)
Project Runway (Lifetime)
RuPaul’s Drag Race (VH1)
The Voice (NBC)

Best Reality Show Host
Ted Allen – Chopped (Food Network)
Tyra Banks – America’s Got Talent (NBC)
Tom Bergeron – Dancing with the Stars (ABC)
Cat Deeley – So You Think You Can Dance (FOX)
Joanna and Chip Gaines – Fixer Upper (HGTV)
RuPaul – RuPaul’s Drag Race (VH1)

A little strange to not see Jeff Probst on this list given how he can make almost any Survivor tribal council into something fascinating. Also no Julie Chen? Come on!

The 2018 Critics’ Choice Awards are going to air on The CW Thursday, January 11 at 8:00 p.m. Eastern time.

What do you think about these Critics’ Choice Awards nominations?