Critics Choice Creator Awards will launch for digital creators in 2027

The Critics Choice Creator Awards are coming in 2027, giving the Critics Choice Association a new show built around digital creators, podcasts and online series.

The association said the inaugural program will launch in April 2027 and will recognize work across podcasts, scripted and unscripted series, documentary and informational programming, lifestyle content, game shows and sports series.

Submitted work must have been made publicly available online to its intended audience at some point between January 1 and December 31, 2026, according to the Critics Choice Association.

What are the Critics Choice Creator Awards?

The Critics Choice Creator Awards are a new awards program from the Critics Choice Association focused on entertainment made for digital platforms. The show expands the group’s awards activity beyond its existing film, television, documentary, reality and genre programs.

The voting body will be made up of the association’s group of more than 500 critics, according to the announcement. Planned categories range from broad creator prizes to podcast, scripted, reality, documentary, lifestyle, games and sports awards.

Among the general categories are Best Creator of the Year, Best Live Streaming Creator, Best Video Edit, Best Viral Video and Best Special Effects. Podcast prizes include Best Audio Podcast, Best Video Podcast and Best Podcast Host.

The scripted section includes short-form and long-form comedy series, short-form and long-form micro-drama series, plus acting categories for comedy and micro-drama. The association defines the short-form categories as under three minutes and long-form as three minutes or longer.

Unscripted and reality categories include Best Competition Series, Best Competition Series: Talent/Variety, Best Structured Series and Best Series Host. Documentary and informational awards include documentary, educational, business, crime and justice, animal and nature, and health and wellness series and creator prizes.

Lifestyle and interest categories will cover food and drink, travel and adventure, relationship series, home and garden, fashion and beauty, and pop culture. The games and sports sections include Best Game Show, Best Game Show Creator, Best Sports Series and Best Sports Show: Talk/Analysis.

When do submissions and nominations open?

Early submissions open Monday, October 19, 2026, and close Monday, November 16, 2026. Regular submissions open the same day early submissions close and run through Monday, February 1, 2027.

The nominating committee is scheduled to deliberate from Tuesday, February 2, through Friday, March 12, 2027. Nominees will be announced Thursday, March 18, 2027, and winners will be revealed Thursday, April 15, 2027.

Critics Choice Association CEO Joey Berlin said the group sees digital platforms as part of the changing entertainment business. “As the world of entertainment evolves and migrates onto social media and streaming platforms, it is the job of entertainment critics to move with them,” Berlin said.

Berlin added that the association wants to help viewers “find the good stuff” while also helping creators gain recognition. The new creator awards join the Critics Choice Awards, Critics Choice Documentary Awards, Critics Choice Real TV Awards and Critics Choice Super Awards.

The association also produces Celebration events for historically underrepresented communities, including the Celebration of Black Cinema and Television, Celebración of Cinema and Television, Celebration of AAPI Cinema and Television, and Celebration of LGBTQ+ Cinema and Television.

This story draws on original reporting from Deadline.