Awards season has begun! Officially, and for another year, the Television Critics Association (TCA) has announced the winners of the 41st Annual TCA Awards. If you’re not entirely familiar with how these awards work, it’s time to refresh your memory and announce this year’s winners.
What Are the TCA Awards and How Do They Work?
TCA’s 235 professional television journalists, critics, and editors throughout the United States and Canada cast their votes for exceptional programming offerings from the 2024-2025 television season in 14 distinct categories. Top picks for each category were revealed across TCA’s social media accounts, where TCA members commended the winners’ craft and work followed by an acceptance speech from winners.
This honors the incredible work of the actors and actresses who appear in our favorite shows. In the words of TCA President Andy Dehnart, “Each of these TCA Award winners not only entertained us, but also immersed us in the lives of characters, both fictional and real-life. We’re thrilled to honor them. TCA exists to support our members’ work and celebrate TV’s role in our culture, and with these awards and accompanying videos, we’re doing both.”
Who Are the Award Winners?
The Pitt
Well, the show that came out ahead of the 2025 TCA Awards is HBO Max’s The Pitt. The show accrued four wins in 2025, taking home the organization’s most coveted accolades, including Program of the Year, Outstanding Achievement in Drama, Outstanding New Program, plus Wyle’s Individual Achievement in Drama, his first TCA Award.
Here are the presentation and acceptance videos of the awards won by The Pitt. And take a closer look, because one of them is hosted by our co-owner Lissete Lanuza!
Outstanding New Program – Presented by Lissete Lanuza Sáenz, Fangirlish
Individual Achievement in Drama — Presented by TCA Treasurer Megan Vick and Accepted by Noah Wyle.
Program of the Year — Presented by TCA Secretary Danette Chavez, The A.V. Club editor-in-chief. Accepted by “The Pitt” cast and producers.
Outstanding Achievement in Drama — Presented by Tamara Fuentes, Cosmopolitan entertainment editor.
Somebody Somewhere
HBO’s Somebody Somewhere star Bridget Everett won the Individual Achievement in Comedy award for her role as Sam Miller. Cuando aceptó el premio, she said that she was “beyond grateful to be honored for this show, which has meant so much to me. And I’m especially grateful to have the opportunity to thank you, the critics, who saw what we were trying to do from the very beginning.” Here’s the video.
Individual Achievement in Comedy — Presented by TCA Board director Kevin Fallon, The Daily Beast’s Obsessed editor. Accepted by Bridget Everett.
The Traitors
Peacock’s The Traitors won its second consecutive Outstanding Achievement in Reality award. Host and executive producer Alan Cumming said it “really means a lot, especially coming from the critics, because when you start something new and different and you’re trying to change a genre, in a way, it’s really heartening that the critics get that and notice and receive it in the way that it was intended and support it.” Here’s the video.
Outstanding Achievement in Reality — Presented by Hanh Nguyen, Salon.com executive editor. Accepted by The Traitors Host and Executive Producer Alan Cumming.
Other Winners
Other notable winners include Apple TV+’s star-studded industry satire The Studio, whose inaugural season produced a win for Outstanding Achievement in Comedy. Netflix’s headline-grabbing portrait of online extremism Adolescence nabbed Outstanding Achievement in Movies, Miniseries or Specials; HBO’s powerful two-part Paul Reuben profile Pee-wee as Himself pedaled off with Outstanding Achievement in News and Information.
NBC’s landmark legacy celebration SNL50: The Anniversary Special proved ready for primetime, taking home Outstanding Achievement in Variety, Talk Or Sketch. While Disney+’s long-running sci-fi Doctor Who zoomed back to Gallifrey with its second-straight Outstanding Achievement in Family Programming honor. Here are the acceptance videos.
Outstanding Achievement in Comedy — Presented by TCA Board director Liz Shannon Miller, Consequence senior entertainment editor. Accepted by The Studio cast and producers.
Outstanding Achievement in Movies, Miniseries or Specials — Presented by Lacy Baugher Milas, Paste Magazine TV editor. Accepted by Co-Creator and Writer Jack Thorne.
Outstanding Achievement in News and Information — Presented by TCA President Andy Dehnart, reality blurred founder and editor. Accepted by Executive Producer and Director Matt Wolf.
Outstanding Achievement in Variety, Talk or Sketch — Presented by freelance journalist Liam Mathews.
Outstanding Achievement in Family Programming — Presented by TCA Board director Matt Mitovich, TVLine founding editor. Accepted by star Varada Sethu.
Sesame Street
The pioneering educational series Sesame Street added to its TCA trophy case with its fourth Outstanding Achievement In Children’s Programming prize. TCA is also proud to present Sesame Street the prestigious Heritage Award.
The TCA Award recognizes the groundbreaking program’s enduring cultural impact and strong commitment to helping generations of children learn their ABCs, 123s, and so much more. The show made television history as the first kid-focused series to employ educational goals and develop its programming around an actual curriculum.
Here are the presentation and acceptance videos of the awards Sesame Street won. And look closely, Elmo is the cutest thing you’ll see today!
Outstanding Achievement in Children’s Programming — Presented by TCA Board director Alex Reif, LaughingPlace.com senior writer. Accepted by Elmo.
Heritage Award – Presented by TCA Vice President Amy Amatangelo. Accepted by Elmo.
Career Achievement Award
TCA bestowed its esteemed Career Achievement honor upon Kathy Bates. Her award is in recognition of five decades of excellence at the highest levels of both stage and screen. Her experience is incredible, and now she captivates us every week on Matlock. In her acceptance speech, she said the recognition “means the world to me, and I’m grateful to all of the TCA members for this incredible honor. Your support and dedication to the television industry are invaluable, and I am truly humbled by your acknowledgment.” Here’s the video.
Career Achievement Award – Presented by past TCA President Jacqueline Cutler. Accepted by Kathy Bates.
