What an ‘Outlander’ – People’s Choice Awards win would mean

On Wednesday, January 18 on CBS, the annual People’s Choice Awards are going to be held at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles. It’s a chance to see how television viewers from all walks of life feel about some of their favorite shows, and for our money, this may be one of the most intriguing years of the awards show in some time.

If you look over the show’s 42-year history, there is one common thread among many of the winners: Network shows. It makes sense that shows with the biggest mainstream audience would be the ones that would traditionally win, but at the same time there was not always a willingness on the part of the PCAs themselves to recognize cable in the same categories as network shows. They’ve always divided things up differently, and for the longest time they did not even necessarily have a designated category for the best overall show on TV. That’s something that has emerged mostly over the past several years, and as of late it has been dominated by “The Big Bang Theory.”

This brings us to “Outlander,” a show that does have an opportunity to make a little bit of history on Wednesday. A win for the show would mark the first time a cable series came away with the Favorite TV Show title since the show shifted from Gallup Polls to online voting more than a decade ago. For the casual TV fan, perhaps an “Outlander” win would seem like a surprise — but as someone who knows the fandom and has seen their voting power in action (this is the reigning champion of our annual CarterMatt Awards Show of the Year as chosen by our readers), many of these average viewers could be in for a surprise come Wednesday.

The last thing that we want to do is jinx the show, but we do believe that “Outlander” is going to win this award. Caitriona Balfe has a tremendous chance to repeat her win as Favorite Sci-Fi/Fantasy TV Actress, and Sam Heughan has a great shot in the Favorite Sci-Fi/Fantasy TV Actor category. (Interestingly, Heughan’s category may be one of the most competitive of the entire awards — he’s up against people like Tyler Posey and Jensen Ackles, who also have enormous internet followings.)

What an award for “Outlander” in the top category would mean is a sudden and astounding spike in publicity for a show that airs on a premium cable network (Starz) that the majority of Americans do not have, and this exposure would be coming through an awards show with a very different audience than the Golden Globes or the Emmys. We assume that with these shows, viewers are at least familiar with the Diana Gabaldon adaptation and its premise. We’re not as sure that is the case with the People’s Choice Awards, which has a different demographic and is a bit more populist in its approach. Winning these awards is an achievement in itself, but getting even just 10,000 more viewers to watch the show or get into the books as a result of a victory would transcend almost everything. You are exposing people to new art, and allowing them to experience something that they may never have otherwise. One of the biggest goals any fan should want is to allow someone else to feel and experience the same things that you do. You’re bringing a sense of joy and emotional impact to the masses.

Ultimately, we will see what happens on Wednesday — no matter what, “Outlander” and its fans should have a reason to celebrate getting so many prominent nominations in the first place.

What do you think a win for the show, and for its stars, would mean for it? Let us know in the attached comments, and of course be sure to head over here to take a look at some further “Outlander” news via our official story archive. (Photo: People’s Choice Awards.)