The 2026 Critics Choice Awards have found their date, and now will be leading off awards season’s nationally television shows.
The Critics Choice Association said Friday that its 31st annual Critics Choice Awards will take place on Sunday, January 4, 2026. Returning to E! for a second year in a row, the telecast will also air live across USA Network from 7-10 p.m. ET/PT. The show will once again be held at the Barker Hangar in Santa Monica and will continue its combined film and television awards format, honoring the year’s best in cinematic, televised, and streaming achievement.
Earlier this week, the Golden Globes said it would be moving to the second Sunday in January, on the 11th, a bit of a surprise since it has traditionally gone first on the first weekend of the new year. Sources say Critics Choice organizers had been planning for their ceremony to take place January 11 but now will be in the position of kicking off the nationally televised awards part of the season on the earlier date.
(L-R) ‘Anora’s Vache Tovmasyan, Alex Coco, Sean Baker, Mikey Madison and Samantha Quan onstage at the Critics Choice Awards
Kevin Winter/Getty Images for Critics Choice Association
“The Critics Choice Association is excited to kick off awards season as the first major televised show of 2026,” CCA CEO Joey Berlin said in a press release today. “In our expanded partnership with E! and USA Network, we’re joined again in our shared mission to uplift the creative community and their incredible work – while also deepening our relationship with live events audiences and awards devotees alike. Together, we are proud to continue making the Critics Choice Awards a can’t-miss awards season destination, delivering unforgettable speeches and momentum-building moments championing our industry’s best. CCA is excited to build upon our three-decades of experience driving the awards conversation and, this year, take the lead with our show on January 4.”
“We’re honored to collaborate with the Critics Choice Association and bring this prestigious event to our audiences across E! and USA Network,” said Val Boreland, President, Entertainment, “SpinCo.” “As this distinguished ceremony continues to be one of the most anticipated nights of awards season, we can’t wait to kick off awards season with CCA in celebrating Hollywood’s biggest moments of the year.”
This year’s show, which took place later than usual due to postponements because of the Los Angeles fires, saw the Critics Choice become the first major group to name eventual Best Picture Oscar winner Anora its Best Picture, closely followed by the PGA and DGA, all happening the weekend before Oscar voting commenced.
For the 2026 date, the CCAs will take place a full week before Oscar nomination voting begins January 12. The CCAs have often correlated with wins that later also went on to take key Oscars.
The first weekend of the new year is shaping up to be a huge one for awards season as the Palm Springs Film Festival said this week it plans to hold its annual Awards Gala on Saturday, January 3, a day before Critics Choice. Those awards traditionally draw a bevy of Oscar contenders as well.
For the Critics Choice Awards, TV nominations will be announced December 4, and film nominations December 5.
The 31st annual Critics Choice Awards show will be executive produced by Bob Bain Productions and Berlin Entertainment. The awards are represented by Dan Black at Greenberg Traurig, LLP.
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