James Corden a big winner among political nominees at tonight's Critics' Choice Real TV Awards

The big awards show tonight is the Tony Awards, the T in EGOT.  Even though there are political and fantastic nominees, "The Ferryman" about The Troubles in Northern Ireland and "Hillary and Clinton" — self-explanatory  — for the former and "Hadestown" for the latter, I'm just not feeling like writing about them.  Instead, for this week's Sunday entertainment feature, I feel like blogging about the Critics' Choice Real TV Awards, which are airing on VH1 tonight at 11:00 P.M. EDT.  This isn't the first time I've made a choice like this; I made a similar decision in 2015, writing about the
Critics' Choice TV Awards winners for speculative fiction.

Even though people think of reality TV as frivolous, a lot of the categories are for documentaries and talk shows; all that matters is that they are not scripted fiction.  Therefore, they can be quite serious, even as they are being entertaining.  On that note, I begin with a category that is about government, not politics.  The winner has already been chosen, even though the show has not yet aired, and is marked with double asterisks.  I hope I'm not spoiling too much.

Crime/Justice Show

Betrayed (ID)
**Conversations with a Killer: The Ted Bundy Tapes (Netflix)
In Pursuit with John Walsh (ID)
Making a Murderer: Part 2 (Netflix)
The Innocent Man (Netflix)

"Conversations with a Killer: The Ted Bundy Tapes" has another nomination, but not in the next category, which is more political.

Ongoing Documentary Series

Chef’s Table (Netflix)
**POV (PBS)
The Circus: Inside the Wildest Political Show on Earth (Showtime)
United Shades of America with W. Kamau Bell (CNN)
Vice (HBO)

Other than "Chef's Table," all of these series cover politics and government.  I'm not surprised "POV" won, as I've written about it in 'Abacus,' 'Edith and Eddie,' 'Heroin(e),' and 'Last Men in Aleppo' — Oscar nominees at the 2018 News and Documentary Emmy Awards and 'Dark Money,' 'Hitler's Hollywood' and 'RBG' lead Best Political Documentary nominees at the 2018 Critics' Choice Documentary Awards.  The latter shows that the Broadcast Television Journalists Association knows the series.  Congratulations!

Now for the other nomination for "Conversations with a Killer: The Ted Bundy Tapes."

Limited Documentary Series

Conversations with a Killer: The Ted Bundy Tapes (Netflix)
Our Planet (Netflix)
Punk (Epix)
Shut Up and Dribble (Showtime)
**Surviving R. Kelly (Lifetime)

I picked "Surviving R. Kelly" as the likely winner of Best Documentary at the MTV Movie and TV Awards, so I'm not surprised it won here, although I would have been rooting for "Our Planet."*  It's nice to know that the critics liked the show as much as I think the fans voting at MTV.com have.  That written, I'm saving my congratulations until next week, when I expect "Surviving R. Kelly" will pick up the golden popcorn container.

Now for a category that is only incidentally political.

Short Form Series

9 Months with Courteney Cox (Facebook Watch)
Biography Presents: History, Herstory (HISTORY)
**Carpool Karaoke: The Series (Apple TV)
Comeback Kids (The Dodo)
The Daily Show with Trevor Noah: Between the Scenes (Comedy Central)

James Corden can add this trophy to his three Emmy Awards he won last fall, one of which is for "Carpool Karaoke: The Series."  Personally, I'd have been rooting for Trevor Noah.

I am saving my congratulations for now, as Corden won two more awards, the first of which I will get to after the next category.

Talk Show

Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee (Netflix)
**My Next Guest Needs No Introduction with David Letterman (Netflix)
Red Table Talk (Facebook Watch)
The Ellen DeGeneres Show (Warner Bros. Television/Syndicated)
The View (ABC)

Congratulations to David Letterman.  He did better here than he did at last year's Emmy Awards, where I wrote he should just be happy to be nominated.  This time, I'm happy to say "Congratulations!"

Now for Corden's second award.

Late-Night Talk Show (TIE)

Full Frontal with Samantha Bee (TBS)
**Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (HBO)
The Daily Show with Trevor Noah (Comedy Central)
**The Late Late Show with James Corden (CBS)
The Late Show with Stephen Colbert (CBS)

I would have been rooting for John Oliver, as his show has many Emmy Awards, so I'm glad he shared the award.  Congratulations!  However, I'm surprised it was Cordens's show that tied.  If I had been forecasting a tie, which I wouldn't have, I'd have picked one of the other three nominees, as Corden's show is the least to my taste.  However, the critics are looking at factors I'm not, such as general entertainment value and creativity, so I'm not terribly surprised.

I conclude with Corden's final award.

Show Host

RuPaul Charles – RuPaul’s Drag Race (VH1)
Stephen Colbert – The Late Show with Stephen Colbert (CBS)
**James Corden – The Late Late Show with James Corden (CBS)
Busy Philipps – Busy Tonight (E!)
Jerry Seinfeld – Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee (Netflix)

I'd have been rooting for RuPaul Charles, who won a Creative Arts Emmy Award for Best Host, but that was against hosts of other reality shows, not variety talk shows.  My second choice would have been Stephen Colbert.  Still, I think Corden is a worthy winner, so congratulations three times over!  To sum up his victories, I am sharing the relevant paragraph about his wins from IndieWire.

“The Late Late Show with James Corden” also earned multiple awards, for both Late-Night Talk Show (a tie with “Last Week Tonight with John Oliver”) and Show Host for Corden, whose “Carpool Karaoke: The Series” won the Short Form Series category, sending the Brit home with three awards total.

The only show that won more awards was “Queer Eye,” which led all winners with four awards, Ensemble Cast in an Unscripted Series, Lifestyle Show: Fashion/Beauty, Male Star of The Year for Jonathan Van Ness, and Structured Series.  Congratulations!

Since I like completing a circle by going back to the first topic I mentioned, Corden is the host of tonight's Tony Awards, so he gets to be on two awards shows on the same night.  Ah, the wonders of tape delay!

*That's O.K.  "Our Planet" won Animal/Nature Show, which is what I would have wanted.