The folks who vote on the Critics Choice Television Awards have honored eight upcoming television shows as “most exciting new series”:
* “American Crime Story” (FX), from writer-producer Ryan Murphy (“Glee,” “American Horror Story”) is a miniseries revisiting the O.J. Simpson trial;
* “Aquarius” (NBC), from “Eyes” creator John McNamera, follows a cop following Charles Manson before Manson got famous;
* “Blindspot” (NBC), from writer-producer Greg Berlanti (“Green Lantern,” “Arrow,” “The Flash,” “Mysteries of Laura”) is about an amnesic young woman covered with tattoos that represent crimes that need solving;
* “Minority Report” (FOX), from "Journeyman" mastermind Kevin Falls, is a sequel set 10 years after the Tom Cruise movie; it depicts what happened to those precogs after they were fished out of the tank;
* “The Muppets” (ABC), from writer-producer Bill Prady (“The Big Bang Theory”), looks into the personal lives of Kermit, Miss Piggy, Fozzie, et al;
* “Scream Queens” (FOX), also from writer-producer Ryan Murphy (“Glee,” “American Horror Story”), depicts a series of campus murders;
* “Supergirl” (CBS), also from writer-producer Greg Berlanti (“Green Lantern,” “Arrow,” “The Flash,” “Mysteries of Laura”), follows Superman’s supercousin, who decides at age 24 to get into the superhero game; and
* “UnREAL” (Lifetime), from Marti Noxon (“Glee," “Girlfriends’ Guide To Divorce”), follows the folks behind a reality dating TV series.
Note that not every critic saw all of these shows; selections were based on screenings of pilots, early episodes and trailers.
Press release!
THE BROADCAST TELEVISION JOURNALISTS ASSOCIATION ANNOUNCES CRITICS’ CHOICE TELEVISION AWARDSMOST EXCITING NEW SERIES HONOREES AND PRESENTERS
AMERICAN CRIME STORY, AQUARIUS, BLINDSPOT, MINORITY REPORT, THE MUPPETS, SCREAM QUEENS, SUPERGIRL AND UNREAL EARN EARLY CRITICAL PRAISE
ANNA FARIS, JOHNNY GALECKI, ALLISON JANNEY, BOB ODENKIRK, SARAH PAULSON, BILL PAXTON, TRACEE ELLIS ROSS AND CHARLIZE THERON AMONG PRESENTERS
MAY 26, 2015 (Burbank, CA) – The Broadcast Television Journalists Association (BTJA) today announced the honorees for the Critics’ Choice Television Awards’ (CCTAs) Most Exciting New Series, which include American Crime Story (FX), Aquarius (NBC), Blindspot (NBC), Minority Report (FOX), The Muppets (ABC), Scream Queens (FOX), Supergirl (CBS) and UnREAL (Lifetime). The honorees were chosen by BTJA members from pilots, early episodes and trailers from series premiering after May 1, 2015. In addition, the organization announced presenters for the CCTAs, hosted by Cat Deeley, longtime host of So You Think You Can Dance, and airing live on A&E from the Beverly Hilton Hotel on Sunday, May 31 at 8pm ET/5pm PT.
Charlize Theron will present the Critics’ Choice LOUIS XIII Genius Award to two-time Emmy Award winner Seth MacFarlane, who has demonstrated unprecedented excellence in the television arts. His major television credits include Emmy Award-winning series Family Guy (FOX), American Dad! (FOX/TBS) and the CCTA and Emmy Award-winning series Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey.
Presenters include CCTA nominees Johnny Galecki (The Big Bang Theory), Bob Odenkirk (Better Call Saul), Sarah Paulson (American Horror Story: Freak Show) and Allison Janney (Mom), who was the only actor to take home two Critics’ Choice Television Awards last year. Additional presenters include Scott Bakula (NCIS: New Orleans), Chris Colfer (Glee), Tracee Ellis Ross (black-ish), Anna Faris (Mom), Angie Harmon (Rizzoli & Isles), Josh Holloway (Colony), Gillian Jacobs (Community), Jake Johnson and Max Greenfield (New Girl), Michael Mando (Better Call Saul), Ben McKenzie (Gotham), Bill Paxton and Olivier Martinez (Texas Rising), Chelsea Peretti and Terry Crews (Brooklyn Nine-Nine), Matt Walsh and Tim Simons (Veep) and Constance Zimmer & Shiri Appleby (UnREAL).
The CCTAs will be preceded by the live red carpet preshow, “Critics’ Choice Red Carpet Live,” hosted by Kevin Frazier (Entertainment Tonight) and Samantha Harris (Entertainment Tonight, Dancing With the Stars), at 7pm ET/4pm PT.
The CCTAs, voted on by the Broadcast Television Journalists Association, will honor programs and performances that aired between June 1, 2014 and May 31, 2015.
BTJA has appointed Michael Ausiello and Debra Birnbaum as Nominations Chairs. In this role, they are responsible for overseeing all four Critics' Choice Television Awards Nominating Committees and helping to select the members and leader of each Committee, in consultation with BTJA President Joey Berlin. An award-winning journalist, Ausiello is Founder and Editor-in-Chief of TVLine.com, and Birnbaum, former President/Editor-in-Chief of TV Guide Magazine, is currently the Executive Editor, TV at Variety.
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