Critics Choice Awards 2026 Winners List: Big Swings, Smart Bets, and a Few Eyebrow-Raising Choices

The Critics Choice Awards have never pretended to be subtle, and the 2026 Critics Choice Awards winners list continues that proud tradition. Equal parts taste-maker and chaos agent, this year’s ceremony leaned hard into ambitious filmmaking, prestige television, and a few gloriously unexpected curveballs. If awards season is a long chess match, Critics Choice just knocked over the board, declared checkmate, and dared everyone else to keep up.

With major wins for One Battle After Another, Sinners, Frankenstein, and breakout TV hits like The Pitt and Adolescence, the 2026 Critics Choice winners list reads like a roadmap for where awards season momentum is heading—whether the Oscars and Emmys like it or not.

Film: Prestige Reigns, but Not Without Personality

The night’s biggest victor was Paul Thomas Anderson’s One Battle After Another, which claimed Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Adapted Screenplay. Critics Choice clearly fell hard for Anderson’s latest, positioning it as the thinking person’s epic and a serious heavyweight for the rest of awards season. Subtle? No. Effective? Absolutely.

Timothée Chalamet’s Best Actor win for Marty Supreme confirms what Hollywood already knows: the man cannot miss.

Meanwhile, Jessie Buckley’s Best Actress victory for Hamnet is the kind of inspired choice that reminds everyone why Critics Choice still matters—bold, literary, and emotionally devastating in the best way.

The supporting categories delivered some of the night’s buzziest moments. Jacob Elordi’s win for Frankenstein continues his evolution from heartthrob to capital-A Actor, while Amy Madigan’s turn in Weapons earned her a well-deserved spotlight (and yes, her name appeared twice on the ballot, but once was plenty).

Genre films also had a very good night. Frankenstein dominated the technical categories, winning Production Design, Costume Design, and Hair and Makeup, while James Cameron’s Avatar: Fire and Ash predictably crushed Best Visual Effects. No surprises there—Pandora remains undefeated.

On the music side, Ludwig Göransson’s score for Sinners and the infectious “Golden” from KPop Demon Hunters show Critics Choice embracing both gravitas and pop-forward storytelling. Balance is possible. Who knew?

Television: The Critics Pick Their Favorites—and Stick With Them

If one show defined the television side of the 2026 Critics Choice Awards winners list, it was HBO Max’s The Pitt. Winning Best Drama Series, along with acting honors for Noah Wyle and Katherine LaNasa, the series emerged as the year’s prestige darling—smart, heavy, and exactly the kind of show critics love to champion early.

Apple TV also cleaned up nicely. The Studio snagged Best Comedy Series, with Seth Rogen and Ike Barinholtz picking up acting wins, while Rhea Seehorn’s victory for Pluribus further cemented Apple’s reputation for adult, actor-driven storytelling.

Netflix made its biggest TV statement with Adolescence, which won Best Limited Series and swept nearly every acting category it touched. It’s the kind of clean sweep that screams “future awards staple,” whether audiences are emotionally ready or not.

Elsewhere, Jean Smart’s continued reign for Hacks proves that some queens never abdicate, South Park reminded everyone it’s still standing (and swinging) with Best Animated Series, and Squid Game remains the global juggernaut no one has managed to dethrone.

What the 2026 Critics Choice Winners Tell Us

The Critics Choice Awards 2026 winners list reflects a voting body that values ambition, strong authorship, and performances that don’t play it safe. This was not a year for coasting or comfort picks. The winners skewed bold, sometimes divisive, but rarely boring—exactly what a critics’ awards show should aim for.

As awards season barrels forward, these wins will shape narratives, boost campaigns, and fuel endless debates across Film Twitter and group chats everywhere. Whether you agree with every choice or not, one thing’s certain: the Critics Choice Awards once again made themselves impossible to ignore.

See the full list below:

🎬 2026 Critics Choice Awards Winners — Motion Pictures

Category	Winner	Project	Studio / Network
Best Picture	—	One Battle After Another	Warner Bros.
Best Actor	Timothée Chalamet	Marty Supreme	A24
Best Actress	Jessie Buckley	Hamnet	Focus Features
Best Director	Paul Thomas Anderson	One Battle After Another	Warner Bros.
Best Original Screenplay	Ryan Coogler	Sinners	Warner Bros.
Best Adapted Screenplay	Paul Thomas Anderson	One Battle After Another	Warner Bros.
Best Supporting Actor	Jacob Elordi	Frankenstein	Netflix
Best Supporting Actress	Amy Madigan	Weapons	Warner Bros.
Best Casting and Ensemble	Francine Maisler	Sinners	Warner Bros.
Best Foreign Language Film	—	The Secret Agent	Neon
Best Animated Feature	—	KPop Demon Hunters	Netflix
Best Comedy	—	The Naked Gun	Paramount
Best Production Design	Tamara Deverell, Shane Vieau	Frankenstein	Netflix
Best Editing	Stephen Mirrione	F1	Apple Original Films
Best Costume Design	Kate Hawley	Frankenstein	Netflix
Best Hair and Makeup	Mike Hill, Jordan Samuel, Cliona Furey	Frankenstein	Netflix
Best Visual Effects	Joe Letteri et al.	Avatar: Fire and Ash	20th Century Studios
Best Sound	Al Nelson et al.	F1	Apple Original Films
Best Cinematography	Adolpho Veloso	Train Dreams	Netflix
Best Song	Ejae, Mark Sonnenblick, Ido, 24, Teddy	“Golden” (KPop Demon Hunters)	Netflix
Best Score	Ludwig Göransson	Sinners	Warner Bros.
Best Stunt Design	Wade Eastwood	Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning	Paramount Pictures
Best Young Actor / Actress	Miles Caton	Sinners	Warner Bros.

📺 2026 Critics Choice Awards Winners — Television

Category	Winner	Series	Network
Best Drama Series	—	The Pitt	HBO Max
Best Comedy Series	—	The Studio	Apple TV
Best Actress in a Drama Series	Rhea Seehorn	Pluribus	Apple TV
Best Actor in a Drama Series	Noah Wyle	The Pitt	HBO Max
Best Actress in a Comedy Series	Jean Smart	Hacks	HBO Max
Best Actor in a Comedy Series	Seth Rogen	The Studio	Apple TV
Best Supporting Actor in a Drama Series	Tramell Tillman	Severance	Apple TV
Best Supporting Actress in a Drama Series	Katherine LaNasa	The Pitt	HBO Max
Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series	Ike Barinholtz	The Studio	Apple TV
Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series	Janelle James	Abbott Elementary	ABC
Best Limited Series	—	Adolescence	Netflix
Best Actress in a Limited Series or Movie Made for Television	Sarah Snook	All Her Fault	Peacock
Best Actor in a Limited Series or Movie Made for Television	Stephen Graham	Adolescence	Netflix
Best Supporting Actor in a Limited Series or Movie Made for Television	Owen Cooper	Adolescence	Netflix
Best Supporting Actress in a Limited Series or Movie Made for Television	Erin Doherty	Adolescence	Netflix
Best Movie Made for Television	—	Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy	Peacock
Best Animated Series	—	South Park	Comedy Central
Best Foreign Language Series	—	Squid Game	Netflix
Best Talk Show	—	Jimmy Kimmel Live!	ABC
Best Variety Series	—	Last Week Tonight with John Oliver	HBO Max
Best Comedy Special	—	SNL50: The Anniversary Special	NBC

What did you think of the winners? Were the critics spot-on—or wildly off-base? Sound off, argue respectfully (or not), and keep it locked to The TV Cave for more awards-season chaos, clarity, and commentary.