The new Outlander TV series was honored with a Critics’ Choice Most Exciting New Series Award for 2014 on June 9, 2014. The Critics’ Choice Television Awards show — which distributed the awards — was broadcast live on The CW network on June 19.
Congratulations to Diana Gabaldon (author of the OUTLANDER series and Co-Producer), Ron D. Moore (Executive Producer), and all of the talented actors, writers, crew and staff of the Outlander TV series, the Starz network, Tall Ship Productions, and Sony (the international distributor)!
Members of the Broadcast Television Journalists Association (BTJA) nominate and vote for the series that receive awards at the annual Critics’ Choice Television Awards. BTJA members are television, radio, print and web-based critics and journalists with a wide audience who cover television shows on a regular basis.
The Most Exciting New Series
The Critics’ Choice Television Awards for Most Exciting New Series considers shows scheduled to premiere after May 31. Pilots and first episodes of upcoming new shows are viewed by BTJA members to be considered for the awards.
Unlike other Critics’ Choice award categories, in which only one nominee is chosen as the winner of an award category, the Most Exciting New Series award is given to new shows from all genres or show categories and every nominee is a winner. The exciting new series for 2014 represent a wide range of TV shows, with science fiction and horror being well represented. They are:
- The Outlander TV series on the Starz network, an adaptation based on Diana Gabaldon’s first novel. Executive Producer is Ronald D. Moore. The broadcast premiere is August 9, 2014.
- Extant on CBS. A science fiction series starring Halle Berry. Steven Spielberg is the Executive Producer. In the series, Berry portrays an astronaut who returns home from a year-long solo mission in space and tries to reconnect with her husband and son in their everyday life. Her experiences in space and home “lead to events that ultimately will change the course of human history.” The broadcast premiere is scheduled for July 9, 2014.
- Gotham on the Fox network, a Batman prequel which explores the city of Gotham. No broadcast premiere date has been announced as of June 23, 2014. According to Fox, this program “will premiere in the 2014-2015 television season.”
- Halt and Catch Fire on the AMC network, a period drama set in the year after the IBM-PC was introduced in 1981, a device which changed the world. The first episode was broadcast on June 1, 2014.
- The Leftovers on the HBO network, a science fiction show which takes place after a global, Biblical-style “rapture” causes 2% of the population to disappear, and follows people who were left behind in a suburban community. The cast includes Justin Theroux, Amy Brenneman, and Liv Tyler. The broadcast premiere is scheduled for June 29, 2014.
- Penny Dreadful on Showtime, a horror program. Actors Josh Hartnett and Timothy Dalton are members of the cast. Its broadcast premiere was in May, 2014.
- The Strain on the FX network, a vampire horror series which is scheduled to premiere on July 13, 2014. It was created by Guillermo del Toro and Chuck Hogan, and is based on their novel trilogy of the same name. Among the cast members is actor Sean Astin, who played Samwise Gamgee in The Lord of the Rings movies.
Critics’ Choice Awards
The Broadcast Film Critics Association (BFCA) has been awarding the Critics’ Choice Movie Awards for twenty years to “honor the finest in cinematic achievement.” These awards are given for theatrical-release movies, and were formerly known as the “Broadcast Film Critics’ Association Awards.”
Originally also known simply as the “Critics’ Choice Awards,” in 2010 the word “Movie” was added to differentiate the theatrical movie awards from the Critics’ Choice Television Awards.
“Critics’ Choice Awards” now refers collectively to both types of honors, for movies and television.
In 2011, the Broadcast Film Critics Association established The Broadcast Television Journalists Association (BTJA) and the Critics’ Choice Television Awards so that journalists working in electronic media could celebrate outstanding work in television, including TV series, mini-series, and other types of video. The Critics’ Choice Television Awards are given to shows and performers to recognize the best in Drama, Comedy, Reality, Movie, Mini Series, Animated, Talk Show and New Show categories.
Links
- Critics’ Choice TV Awards Name Top New Series, Sets Ryan Murphy for Icon Honor, by Nellie Andreeva for Deadline Hollywood (deadline.com). Article discussing the top new series awards for 2014.Published on Monday, June 9, 2014.
- The Critics Choice Television Awards home page.
- Wikipedia page for The Critics’ Choice Movie Award.
- As TV Critics Hand Out Prizes And Emmy Ballots Are Due, The Movie Awards Season Could Face A Major Shakeup, by Pete Hammond for Deadline Hollywood (deadline.com). Published on Friday, June 20, 2014.
Image Caption, top of page. Left to right, from the Outlander TV series: Ronald D. Moore, Executive Producer and Writer; Diana Gabaldon, Author of the Outlander series and Co-Producer; Catriona Balfe (Claire Beauchamp Randall); and Sam Heughan (Jamie Fraser). Photo credit: Matt Sayles; Invision for Starz-AP.
Information on this page compiled and written by Loretta, Diana’s Webmistress. This webpage was last updated on Wednesday, June 26, 2014 at 5:56 a.m. (PDT)