Film And TV
08 Mar 21

Normal People loses out to The Crown at this year's Critics Choice Awards

Paul Mescal and Daisy-Edgar Jones as Connell and Marianne in Normal People

There was no luck for Paul Mescal and Daisy Edgar-Jones, who were both nominated for best actor and best actress in a limited series respectively.

The 26th annual Critics Choice Awards honoured the best and brightest in both film and television last night, with both The Crown and Nomadland continuing their sweep. The ceremony was held at the Barker Hangar in Santa Monica, California, and was broadcast live on The CW television network.

The in-person/virtual hybrid ceremony was hosted for the third time by film, television, and stage star Taye Diggs. Paul Mescal and Daisy Edgar-Jones both attended virtually, after receiving nominations for their roles as Connell Waldron and Marianne Sheridan in the BBC Three/Hulu adaptation of Sally Rooney's novel Normal People. Lenny Abrahamson directed the 12-part series, which broke streaming records globally. Unfortunately, Mescal and Edgar-Jones lost out to John Boyega and Anya Taylor-Jones in the acting categories, with no Irish talent honoured this year.

The Crown stars Emma Corrin, Josh O'Connor and Gillian Anderson all took home Critic's Choice Awards for their acting talents after portraying the roles as Margaret Thatcher, Princess Diana and Prince Charles respectively. O’Connor and Corrin won best actor and actress in a drama series, while Anderson took best supporting actress. The hugely popular Netflix show also nabbed the Best Drama Series award.

Nomadland won four awards in the film category. Chloe Zhao's renowned flick won best picture, director and adapted screenplay for Zhao, as well as best cinematography. US-based Zhao is the first Chinese woman to win a Critics Choice Award as either director or writer.

In terms of nominations, David Fincher and Herman Mankiewicz's film Mank - an examination of Citizen Kane - led the field with 12 nods. The honours included nominations in the categories of best picture, director, actor for Gary Oldman and supporting actress for Amanda Seyfried. The Crown and Ozark led the television field with six nominations each.

Chess drama The Queen’s Gambit took home the prize for best-limited series, with its star Anya Taylor-Joy also winning a best actress award. John Boyega was named best actor in a limited series for his role in BBC One drama series Small Axe. Apple TV+ show Ted Lasso won best comedy series, as well as actor in a comedy series for Jason Sudeikis, and supporting actress for Hannah Waddingham.

Ma Rainey's Black Bottom won three awards, including best actor for the late Chadwick Boseman, while Carey Mulligan was named best actress for Promising Young Woman. Best supporting actor went to Get Out breakout star Daniel Kaluuya for Judas And The Black Messiah. Borat Subsequent Moviefilm’s Maria Bakalova won Best Supporting Actress, and Schitt’s Creek continued to win television acting awards for Dan Levy and Catherine O’Hara.

Netflix won the most awards of any studio/network with a total of 14, after receiving 46 film nominations and 26 television nods. Nomadland's award wins follow the same path laid down by the recent Golden Globes, making a strong case in the Best Director category for Chloe Zhao at the upcoming Oscars ceremony.