Apple TV has scored a record 26 nominations for the 31st Annual Critics Choice Awards, marking its strongest showing yet at the influential awards ceremony.
The Critics Choice Association confirmed that the tech giant’s streaming arm earned a combined tally of 19 television nominations and seven film nods, led by racing drama feature F1 and returning hit series Severance. The awards will be handed out on 4 January 2026 at Barker Hangar in Santa Monica, at a live event hosted by comedian Chelsea Handler.
Record year for Apple TV
Apple reported that its shows and films received 26 Critics Choice nominations across 10 different Apple TV titles, the highest total the service has achieved at these awards. According to the Critics Choice Association’s company breakdown, Apple’s 19 television nominations place it behind only Netflix, with 31 TV nominations, and HBO Max, with 27, underscoring Apple’s growing weight in the prestige TV race.
The 26 nods also represent a sharp jump from the 12 nominations Apple TV+ received in the television categories at the 30th Critics Choice Awards a year earlier. Apple notes that, taken together with other prizes, its original films and series have now accumulated more than 649 wins and 2,944 award nominations globally, reflecting an aggressive push into high-end scripted content since the 2019 launch of Apple TV+.
Standout shows and films
Motorsport drama F1 is Apple’s most recognised title this year, collecting seven nominations across key craft and music categories, including score, song and several technical fields such as cinematography, editing, visual effects, stunt work and sound. On the series side, workplace thriller Severance and political drama Pluribus both secured places in the Best Drama Series lineup, while The Studio is in contention for Best Comedy Series following its strong Emmy showing.
Limited series also play a prominent role in Apple’s tally: crime drama Dope Thief and historical saga Chief of War are nominated for Best Limited Series, while The Gorge appears in the Best Movie Made for Television category and bilingual comedy Acapulco returns in Best Foreign Language Series. Star-led ensembles such as The Morning Show and sci‑fi comedy Murderbot add multiple acting nominations, strengthening Apple’s presence in performance races.
Key Apple TV nominations at the 31st Critics Choice Awards
| Apple title | Key categories (high level) | Estimated nomination count* |
| F1 | Score, song, cinematography, editing, VFX, stunts, sound | 7 |
| Severance | Drama series, lead actor, lead actress, supporting actor | 4 |
| The Studio | Comedy series, lead actor, supporting actor | 3 |
| The Morning Show | Supporting actor, two supporting actress nominations | 3 |
| Dope Thief | Limited series, lead actor, supporting actor | 3 |
| Pluribus | Drama series, lead actress | 2 |
| Chief of War | Limited series | 1 |
| Murderbot | Actor in a comedy series | 1 |
| The Gorge | Movie made for television | 1 |
| Acapulco | Foreign language series | 1 |
Counts are based on publicly reported category breakdowns and total 26 nominations across 10 Apple titles.
How Apple stacks up to rivals
In the television fields, Apple’s 19 nominations put it firmly in the top tier of platforms recognized by the Critics Choice Association this cycle. The association’s tally shows Netflix leading with 31 TV nominations, followed by HBO Max with 27, then Apple TV, ahead of Peacock with 11 and CBS with 9, illustrating a crowded but clearly stratified streaming landscape.
This year’s numbers suggest Apple is closing the gap with longer‑established rivals: only a year ago, its 12 TV nominations trailed networks such as FX and Netflix more visibly. The leap to 26 combined nominations indicates that Apple’s strategy of backing a smaller slate of expensive, talent‑driven projects—such as Severance, The Morning Show and F1—is translating into awards recognition as the service matures.
What the recognition signals for Apple TV
The breadth of nominations across drama, comedy, limited series, foreign‑language and feature film categories suggests Apple is no longer perceived as a newcomer, but as a core player in awards‑season conversations. With major nods for both returning series and newer launches like Pluribus and Dope Thief, the slate reflects a mix of continuity and risk‑taking that can help sustain subscriber interest.
High‑profile nominations for F1 also underline Apple’s commitment to theatrical‑scale film projects that can live both in cinemas and on its streaming platform. Industry observers will be watching whether strong Critics Choice momentum converts into further recognition at the Golden Globes, Emmys and Oscars, where several of these titles are also expected to compete.
What comes next at Critics Choice
The 31st Annual Critics Choice Awards ceremony is scheduled for Sunday, 4 January 2026, broadcasting live from Barker Hangar in Santa Monica at 7 p.m. Eastern Time, with Chelsea Handler returning as host. Winners in film and television categories will be determined by members of the Critics Choice Association, whose choices often serve as an early barometer for the rest of awards season.
For Apple TV, any wins would add to its rapidly growing trophy count and reinforce its positioning as a prestige‑driven alternative to larger, volume‑based streaming rivals. Regardless of the final outcome, the record 26 Critics Choice nominations signal that Apple’s investment in premium storytelling is resonating strongly with critics and awards voters as the streaming competition intensifies into 2026.
