The Critics Choice Association has announced the winners of its eighth annual Real TV Awards, honoring the best in nonfiction, unscripted, and reality programming across broadcast, cable, and streaming platforms. Peacock’s The Traitors emerged as the night’s biggest winner, taking home five awards, including Best Competition Series and Best Host for Alan Cumming. The series also won Best Ensemble Cast in an Unscripted Series, while Rob Rausch and Lisa Rinna were named Male Star of the Year and Female Star of the Year, respectively.
With five wins, Peacock led all platforms at the 2026 ceremony. Netflix finished second with four awards, including two wins for Love on the Spectrum, which continued its strong run after previous recognition in earlier years. Love on the Spectrum won both Best Unstructured Series and Best Relationship Show, reinforcing its place among the top unscripted titles of the year.
Other major winners included several long-running and widely watched reality and nonfiction programs. ABC’s Dancing with the Stars won Best Competition Series: Talent/Variety, while Shark Tank earned Best Business Show. Jeopardy!, the syndicated game show, won Best Game Show. MTV’s RuPaul’s Drag Race took Best Lifestyle Show: Fashion/Beauty, and HGTV’s Ugliest House in America won Best Lifestyle Show: Home/Garden.
In the documentary and nonfiction categories, National Geographic’s Tucci In Italy won Best Travel/Adventure Show and Secrets of the Bees captured Best Animal/Nature Show. Netflix’s Trust Me: The False Prophet was named Best Crime/Justice Show, while ESPN’s 30 for 30 won Best Sports Show and Inside the NBA took Best Sports Show: Talk/Analysis. Apple TV’s Mr. Scorsese was recognized as Best Limited Series.
The awards highlight the continued range and popularity of unscripted entertainment, spanning competition, lifestyle, sports, business, travel, relationships, and documentary storytelling. This year’s results showed strong performances from both streaming services and traditional television outlets, with Peacock and Netflix leading the field. The Traitors stood out as the most decorated series of the night, underscoring its growing influence in the reality competition space.
