The 25th annual Critics’ Choice Awards saw HBO dominate, as they won the most awards for television at the ceremony in Santa Monica, California. HBO is currently gearing up for the release of their streaming service HBO Max, which launches in May, and it is expected to be a home for future DC series’ like Green Lantern and Strange Adventures. However, their existing network TV shows seem to continue growing and gaining more and more appreciation as time goes on.

In fact, 2019 was a strong year for HBO as they continued with TV shows like Barry, starring Bill Hader, the comedy series revolving around a killer attempting to act had its second season. In addition to Barry, the comedy-drama series Succession, based around a troubled family in the media business, produced its second season as well. HBO also introduced new shows such as the critically acclaimed Chernobyl, which revolves around the Chernobyl disaster in the Soviet Union. Damon Lindelof also brought a Watchmen series to HBO, a show that not only received praise for its powerful take on racial injustice, but also became the best performer on HBO since Big Little Lies. Along with success in ratings and appreciation from critics, these shows also helped push HBO above any other network or streaming platform this past Sunday at the Critics’ Choice Awards.

At the 25th Critics’ Choice Awards, HBO swept away its competition as four of their shows collected awards in various categories. Succession won Best Drama Series, and Jeremy Strong won Best Actor in a Drama Series for his role as Kendall in Succession. Lindelof’s Watchmen also scooped up two awards with Regina King winning Best Actress in a Drama Series, while Jean Smart won Best Supporting Actress. Barry and Chernobyl each received one award, as Hader won Best Actor in a Comedy series, and Stellan Skarsgård took home Best Actor in a Limited Series or Movie Made for TV for his role in Chernobyl. Making it a total of six awards, more than any other network or platform.


The awards season has already seen new records set at the Golden Globes and certain projects garnering a lot of nominations, and HBO’s success continues to add to the records. One thing that is evident throughout HBO’s collection of shows is the incredible array of actors in each series. Actors like Henry Winkler (Barry) and Brian Cox (Succession) are only two names from four of these shows, and it highlights, along with the award winners, how impressive the acting list is for HBO.

There’s an interesting and appealing range of shows on HBO, and with HBO Max looking to introduce more original series, this list will continue to grow. However, with Warner Media Entertainment soon launching its new streaming service as well, this will prove to be an even sweeter victory over future streaming service rival Netflix, as well as a sweet victory over other networks.