If you were wondering if our nationwide obsession with true-crime was petering out, the 2016 Critics Choice TV nominations are here to reassure you that it is not. You might have thought that shows like Making A Murderer, The Jinx, and the dozens of takes on the JonBenét Ramsey case would have us turning our attention elsewhere. But there at the top of the list of television shows being honored with a Critics Choice nomination was The People v. O.J. Simpson, so I guess not. The FX show was the runaway hit of the summer, focusing on the brutal double murder of O.J. Simpson's ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ronald Goldman in 1994. The crime took place over 20 years ago at this point, so the fact that FX's retelling of the trial for their new American Crime Story series is garnering the network so much interest and accolades in 2016 is a testament to not only the quality of the program, but our enduring interest in these types of cases.
The People v. O.J. Simpson came away with a whopping six nominations, the most of any show: Cuba Gooding, Jr. and Courtney B. Vance for Best Actor, Sterling K. Brown and John Travolta for Best Supporting Actor, Sarah Paulson for Best Actress, and the series itself for Best Movie Made For Television or Limited Series. Even though, best-case scenario, it could only come away with four awards, since it has multiple actor nominations in the same category, The People v. O.J. Simpson beat out more established shows like Game of Thrones and The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt (which got five nominations each), as well as House of Cards and Veep (which got four).
Who knows if something else will come along to grab our attention away from true-crime. But, in the meantime, congratulations to everyone behind The People v. O.J. Simpson, and here are the rest of the nominations.
BEST COMEDY SERIES
Atlanta
black-ish
Fleabag
Modern Family
Silicon Valley
Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt
Veep
BEST ACTRESS IN A COMEDY SERIES
Ellie Kemper, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt
Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Veep
Kate McKinnon, Saturday Night Live
Tracee Ellis Ross, black-ish
Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Fleabag
Constance Wu, Fresh Off the Boat
BEST ACTOR IN A COMEDY SERIES
Anthony Anderson, black-ish
Will Forte, The Last Man on Earth
Donald Glover, Atlanta
Bill Hader, Documentary Now!
Patrick Stewart, Blunt Talk
Jeffrey Tambor, Transparent
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A COMEDY SERIES
Julie Bowen, Modern Family
Anna Chlumsky, Veep
Allison Janney, Mom
Jane Krakowski, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt
Judith Light, Transparent
Allison Williams, Girls
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A COMEDY SERIES
Louie Anderson, Baskets
Andre Braugher, Brooklyn Nine-Nine
Tituss Burgess, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt
Ty Burrell, Modern Family
Tony Hale, Veep
T.J. Miller, Silicon Valley
BEST GUEST PERFORMER IN A COMEDY SERIES
Alec Baldwin, Saturday Night Live
Christine Baranski, The Big Bang Theory
Larry David, Saturday Night Live
Lisa Kudrow, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt
Liam Neeson, Inside Amy Schumer
BEST ANIMATED SERIES
Archer
Bob’s Burgers
BoJack Horseman
Son of Zorn
South Park
The Simpsons
BEST REALITY COMPETITION SERIES
America’s Got Talent
MasterChef Junior
RuPaul’s Drag Race
Skin Wars
The Amazing Race
The Voice
BEST STRUCTURED REALITY SERIES
Chopped
Inside The Actors Studio
Penn & Teller: Fool Us
Project Runway
Shark Tank
Undercover Boss
BEST UNSTRUCTURED REALITY SERIES
Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown
Chrisley Knows Best
Deadliest Catch
Ice Road Truckers
Intervention
Naked and Afraid
BEST TALK SHOW
Full Frontal with Samantha Bee
Jimmy Kimmel Live!
Last Week Tonight with John Oliver
The Daily Show with Trevor Noah
The Late Late Show with James Corden
The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon
BEST REALITY SHOW HOST
Ted Allen, Chopped
Tom Bergeron, Dancing with the Stars
Anthony Bourdain, Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown
Nick Cannon, America’s Got Talent
Carson Daly, The Voice
RuPaul, RuPaul’s Drag Race
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A DRAMA SERIES
Peter Dinklage, Game of Thrones
Kit Harington, Game of Thrones
John Lithgow, The Crown
Mandy Patinkin, Homeland
Christian Slater, Mr. Robot
Jon Voight, Ray Donovan
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A DRAMA SERIES
Christine Baranski, The Good Wife
Emilia Clarke, Game of Thrones
Lena Headey, Game of Thrones
Thandie Newton, Westworld
Maura Tierney, The Affair
Constance Zimmer, UnREAL
BEST ACTOR IN A DRAMA SERIES
Sam Heughan, Outlander
Rami Malek, Mr. Robot
Bob Odenkirk, Better Call Saul
Matthew Rhys, The Americans
Liev Schreiber, Ray Donovan
Kevin Spacey, House of Cards
BEST ACTRESS IN A DRAMA SERIES
Caitriona Balfe, Outlander
Viola Davis, How to Get Away with Murder
Tatiana Maslany, Orphan Black
Keri Russell, The Americans
Evan Rachel Wood, Westworld
Robin Wright, House of Cards
BEST DRAMA SERIES
Better Call Saul
Game of Thrones
Mr. Robot
Stranger Things
The Crown
This Is Us
Westworld
BEST GUEST PERFORMER IN A DRAMA SERIES
Mahershala Ali, House of Cards
Lisa Bonet, Ray Donovan
Ellen Burstyn, House of Cards
Michael J. Fox, The Good Wife
Jared Harris, The Crown
Jeffrey Dean Morgan, The Walking Dead
BEST MOVIE MADE FOR TELEVISION OR LIMITED SERIES
All the Way
Confirmation
Killing Reagan
Roots
The Night Manager
The People v. O.J. Simpson
BEST ACTOR IN A MOVIE MADE FOR TELEVISION OR LIMITED SERIES
Bryan Cranston, All the Way
Benedict Cumberbatch, Sherlock: The Abominable Bride
Cuba Gooding Jr., The People v. O.J. Simpson
Tom Hiddleston, The Night Manager
Tim Matheson, Killing Reagan
Courtney B. Vance, The People v. O.J. Simpson
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A MOVIE MADE FOR TELEVISION OR LIMITED SERIES
Sterling K. Brown, The People v. O.J. Simpson
Lane Garrison, Roots
Frank Langella, All the Way
Hugh Laurie, The Night Manager
John Travolta, The People v. O.J. Simpson
Forest Whitaker, Roots
BEST ACTRESS IN A MOVIE MADE FOR TELEVISION OR LIMITED SERIES
Olivia Colman, The Night Manager
Felicity Huffman, American Crime
Cynthia Nixon, Killing Reagan
Sarah Paulson, The People v. O.J. Simpson
Lili Taylor, American Crime
Kerry Washington, Confirmation
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A MOVIE MADE FOR TELEVISION OR LIMITED SERIES
Elizabeth Debicki, The Night Manager
Regina King, American Crime
Sarah Lancashire, The Dresser
Melissa Leo, All the Way
Anna Paquin, Roots
Emily Watson, The Dresser
Images: FX; Giphy
