Typically, the only thing the media can “vote” on at an awards show is the red carpet’s best-dressed list. But not at the Critics Choice Awards! At the annual ceremony hosted by the American-Canadian Critics Choice Association (CCA), winners are selected by print, broadcast, and digital journalists who cover entertainment.
This year’s awards took place at the Barker Hangar at the Santa Monica Airport, with Chelsea Handler returning to host for the second year in a row. She got things off to a strong start—only very subtly making a jab at her ex’s controversial hosting gig at the Golden Globes last weekend.
Like the Globes, the Critics Choice Awards are set up dinner party-style, meaning its A-list guests are free to mingle between commercial breaks. This tends to be when the real fun happens—celebs snap their selfies (they’re just like us!), and casts have mini-reunions months after wrapping. (The Morning Show’s Jennifer Aniston and Reese Witherspoon, for example, could be seen catching up; both were nominated for best actress in a drama series.)
Co-nominees Billie Eilish (in a slick Thom Browne corset) and Dua Lipa (in a Merlot-colored Prada number) posed for several photos; Oprah Winfrey, still repping The Color Purple with her red carpet looks, hugged seatmate Danielle Brooks. Elsewhere, Succession (nominated for best drama series) star Nicholas Braun chatted it up with Barbie’s Margot Robbie (in a “Barbie-esque” Balmain dress, she took a beat from her archival Barbie getups), and Bill Hader (up for best actor in a comedy series) seemed to make the rounds alongside his girlfriend, Ali Wong—who was voted best actress in a limited series or movie made for television for her turn in Beef. See all the very best moments, below.