September 24, 2018
by Carla Hay
With six nominations, the Marvel superhero movie “Avengers: Infinity War” is the leading contender for the 2018 E! People’s Choice Awards, which will take place Nov. 11 at Barker Hangar in Santa Monica, California. E! will have the U.S. telecast of the show at 9 p.m. ET/PT. E!’s televised red-carpet coverage of the show begins at 7 p.m. ET/PT.
Following close behind with five nominations each are the the Marvel superhero film “Black Panther,” ABC’s drama series “Grey’s Anatomy” and Freeform’s now-canceled sci-fi/fantasy series “Shadowhunters,” whose final episodes will premiere in 2019. Four out of the five nominations for “Shadowhunters” came from write-in votes. Write-in votes also played a huge role in Korean boy bands BTS and Super Junior getting nominations.
Online voting for the winners will take place from Sept. 24 to Oct. 19. As previously reported, there are 13 new categories this year.
Complete rules can be found at: https://www.eonline.com/ peoples_choice_awards/rules
Complete list of category and nominee hashtags can be found at: https://www.eonline.com/ peoples_choice_awards/faq
The E! People’s Choice Awards are produced by Wilshire Studios and Den of Thieves with executive producers Jesse Ignjatovic and Evan Prager.
Here’s a breakdown of some of the snubs and surprises, with all the nominees listed at the end of this article.
MOVIES
“Mission: Impossible — Fallout” was a big hit with fans and critics, but the movie failed to get any nominations. “Mission: Impossible” star Tom Cruise, who famously does most of his stunts, couldn’t even get a nomination for Action Movie Star of 2018. Instead, the surprise nomination in that category is “Black Panther” co-star Danai Gurira, who is the only female nominated in that category. Who else didn’t make the cut for Action Movie Star of 2018? Preliminary nominees Alicia Vikander of “Tomb Raider,” Dwayne Johnson of “Rampage,” Michael B. Jordan of “Black Panther,” Donald Glover of “Solo: A Star Wars Story,” Evangeline Lilly of “Ant-Man and the Wasp” and Scarlett Johansson of “Avengers: Infinity War.”
Another big surprise was “Fifty Shades Freed” getting three nominations, including Movie of 2018. All the “Fifty Shades” movies in the trilogy have gotten overwhelmingly bad reviews, so the loyal “Fifty Shades” fan base is the only logical explanation for how this film got nominated for the top movie prize at this award show.
E!’s target demographic skews young (18-to-34) and female, so that might also explain why the female-led “Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again,” “Ocean’s 8” and “The Spy Who Dumped Me” picked up a decent amount of nominations (three each), even though these movies got mixed reviews from critics. It would also explain why “12 Strong” (starring Chris Hemsworth), “Red Sparrow” (starring Jennifer Lawrence) and “Midnight Sun” (starring Bella Thorne) got nominated for Drama Movie of 2018, even though all three movies flopped at the box office and got mixed or negative reviews from critics.
TV
The power of write-in fan votes can be seen with all the nominations that “Shadowhunters” ended up getting, including for the top TV category: Show of 2018. Kim Kardashian West, the most famous star on E!’s “Keeping Up With the Kardashians,” was snubbed and didn’t get nominated in the new category Reality Star of 2018, but her sister/co-star Khloe Kardashian was nominated. A surprise nomination is Antoni Porowski of Netflix’s “Queer Eye,” who is a newcomer to reality TV, compared to others nominated in the category.
Other snubs: NBC’s “Will & Grace” was shut out of the final nominations, and so was NBC’s “Saturday Night Live,” ABC’s “The Good Doctor” and ABC’s “Scandal.”
A surprise nomination is Facebook Watch’s “Red Table Talk,” hosted by Jada Pinkett Smith, which got a nomination for Daytime Talk Show of 2018. This is Facebook Watch’s first People’s Choice nomination since the streaming service was launched in 2017.
HBO’s “Game of Thrones” and Amazon’s “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel,” which both won several Primetime Emmy Awards in 2018, were not eligible for the 2018 People’s Choice Awards, since “Game of Thrones” did not have any new episodes in 2018, and “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” still has not announced the 2018 premiere date for the show’s second season. (The deadline to vote for this year’s People’s Choice nominations was September 14, 2018.)
MUSIC
As previously mentioned, BTS and Super Junior rode the wave of write-in votes to get nominations. They’re both nominated in the Group of 2018 category. BTS has four nominations (two of which came from write-in votes to put BTS’s “Idol” in the Song and Music Video categories), while Super Junior’s two nominations came from write-in votes. Super Junior biggest surprise nomination is in the new category Concert Tour of the Year.
There were many snubs in the music categories. Eligible artists who received American Music Award nominations in 2018, but no People Choice Award nominations this year included Maroon 5, Kendrick Lamar, Imagine Dragons, Travis Scott and Migos. Jason Aldean, who is fave at the major country music awards every year, also failed to get a People’s Choice nomination this year.
POP CULTURE
A big surprise nomination was Ali Wong in the new category of Comedy Act of the Year instead of more famous comedians such as Chris Rock, Fred Armisen and Leslie Jones. And all the podcasts nominated for Pop Podcast of 2018 are led by female hosts, which is noteworthy considering that the podcasting world is very male-dominated. Some big names got snubbed for the Pop Podcast nominations, including Oprah Winfrey and Alec Baldwin, who were on the list of preliminary nominees.
LeBron James was another big celebrity who was shut out of the final nominations. He was eligible for Game Changer of 2018, a new category for athletes who made a social/professional impact, but he didn’t make the final cut. The biggest surprise nomination in that category was Nina Jax. Even though Jax did win her first championship title this year, she is known mostly for her villain persona and feuds with other wrestlers.
Liza Koshy, who seems to be nominated at every award show that has a category for social media stars, was snubbed this year for a People’s Choice nomination. And the voters for the People’s Choice Awards must be tired of Kim Kardashian West and her half-sister Kylie Jenner because they were shut out of getting nominated for any People’s Choice Awards this year, including Social Celebrity of 2018.
Here’s the complete list of nominees for the E! People’s Choice Awards.
* = New category
+ = Write-in nominee
MOVIES
Movie of 2018
“A Quiet Place”
“Avengers: Infinity War”
“Black Panther”
“Fifty Shades Freed”
“Incredibles 2”
Comedy Movie of 2018
“Blockers”
“Crazy Rich Asians”
“Love, Simon”
“Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again”
“The Spy Who Dumped Me”
Action Movie of 2018
“Avengers: Infinity War”
“Black Panther”
“Deadpool 2”
“Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom”
“Ocean’s 8”
Drama Movie of 2018
“12 Strong”
“A Quiet Place”
“Fifty Shades Freed”
“Midnight Sun”
“Red Sparrow”
Family Movie of 2018
“A Wrinkle in Time”
“Christopher Robin”
“Hotel Transylvania 3”
“I Can Only Imagine”
“Incredibles 2”
Male Movie Star of 2018
Chadwick Boseman, “Black Panther”
Chris Hemsworth, “Avengers: Infinity War”
Chris Pratt, “Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom”
Nick Robinson, “Love, Simon”
Robert Downey Jr., “Avengers: Infinity War”
Female Movie Star of 2018
Anne Hathaway, “Ocean’s 8”
Bryce Dallas Howard, “Jurassic Park: Fallen Kingdom”
Lily James, “Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again”
Sandra Bullock, “Ocean’s 8”
Scarlett Johansson, “Avengers: Infinity War”
Drama Movie Star of 2018
Chris Hemsworth, “12 Strong”
Emily Blunt, “A Quiet Place”
Jamie Dornan, “Fifty Shades Freed”
Jennifer Lawrence, “Red Sparrow”
John Krasinski, “A Quiet Place”
Comedy Movie Star of 2018
Amanda Seyfried, “Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again”
John Cena, “Blockers”
Melissa McCarthy, “Life of the Party”
Mila Kunis, “The Spy Who Dumped Me”
Nick Robinson, “Love, Simon”
Action Movie Star of 2018
Chadwick Boseman, “Black Panther”
Chris Hemsworth, “Avengers: Infinity War”
Chris Pratt, “Jurassic Park: Fallen Kingdom”
Danai Gurira, “Black Panther”
Ryan Reynolds, “Deadpool 2”
TV
Show of 2018
“13 Reasons Why”
“Grey’s Anatomy”
“The Big Bang Theory”
“Shadowhunters” +
“This Is Us”
Drama Show of 2018
“13 Reasons Why”
“Grey’s Anatomy”
“Riverdale”
“The Handmaid’s Tale”
“This Is Us”
Comedy Show of 2018
“Black-ish”
“Modern Family”
“Orange Is the New Black”
“The Big Bang Theory”
“The Good Place”
Revival Show of 2018 *
“American Idol”
“Dynasty”
“Jersey Shore: Family Vacation”
“One Day at a Time”
“Queer Eye”
Reality Show of 2018 *
“Chrisley Knows Best”
“Jersey Shore: Family Vacation”
“Keeping Up With the Kardashians”
“Queer Eye”
“Vanderpump Rules”
Competition Show of 2018
“America’s Got Talent”
“Big Brother”
“Ellen’s Game of Games”
“RuPaul’s Drag Race”
“The Voice”
Male TV Star of 2018
Andrew Lincoln, “The Walking Dead”
Cole Sprouse, “Riverdale”
Freddie Highmore, “The Good Doctor”
Harry Shum Jr., “Shadowhunters” +
Justin Chambers, “Grey’s Anatomy”
Female TV Star of 2018
Camila Mendes, “Riverdale”
Ellen Pompeo, “Grey’s Anatomy”
Katherine McNamara, “Shadowhunters” +
Mandy Moore, “This Is Us”
Viola Davis, “How to Get Away With Murder”
Drama TV Star of 2018
Darren Criss, “The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story”
Ellen Pompeo, “Grey’s Anatomy”
Katherine Langford, “13 Reasons Why”
KJ Apa, “Riverdale”
Mariska Hargitay, “Law & Order: SVU”
Comedy TV Star of 2018
Donald Glover, “Atlanta”
Drew Barrymore, “Santa Clarita Diet”
Jim Parsons, “Big Bang Theory”
Kristen Bell, “The Good Place”
Sofia Vergara, “Modern Family”
Daytime Talk Show of 2018
“Live With Kelly and Ryan”
“Red Table Talk”
“Steve”
“The Ellen DeGeneres Show”
“The Real”
Nighttime Talk Show of 2018
“Jimmy Kimmel Live!”
“The Daily Show With Trevor Noah”
“The Late Late Show With James Corden”
“The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon”
“Watch What Happens Live With Andy Cohen”
Competition Contestant of 2018 *
Brynn Cartelli, “The Voice”
Cody Nickson, “The Amazing Race”
Eva Igo, “World of Dance”
Maddie Poppe, “American Idol”
Nikki Bella, “Dancing With the Stars”
Reality TV Star of 2018 *
Antoni Porowski, “Queer Eye”
Joanna Gaines, “Fixer Upper”
Khloe Kardashian, “Keeping Up With the Kardashians”
Nikki Bella, “Total Bellas”
Paul “Pauly D” DelVecchio, “Jersey Shore: Family Vacation”
Bingeworthy Show of 2018 *
“13 Reasons Why”
“Outlander” +
“Queer Eye”
“Shadowhunters” +
“Shameless”
Sci-Fi/Fantasy Show of 2018
“Shadowhunters”
“Supernatural”
“The Expanse”
“The Originals”
“Wynonna Earp” +
MUSIC
Male Artist of 2018
Bruno Mars
Drake
Ed Sheeran
Keith Urban
Shawn Mendes
Female Artist of 2018
Ariana Grande
Camila Cabello
Cardi B
Nicki Minaj
Taylor Swift
Group of 2018
5 Seconds of Summer
BTS
Panic! At the Disco
Super Junior +
Twenty One Pilots
Song of 2018
“No Tears Left to Cry,” Ariana Grande
“I Like It,” Cardi B, Bad Bunny & J Balvin
“Idol,” BTS +
“Back to You,” Selena Gomez
“In My Blood,” Shawn Mendes
Album of 2018
Sweetener, Ariana Grande
Camila, Camila Cabello
Invasion of Privacy, Cardi B
Queen, Nicki Minaj
Shawn Mendes, Shawn Mendes
Country Artist of 2018
Blake Shelton
Carrie Underwood
Keith Urban
Luke Bryan
Thomas Rhett
Latin Artist of 2018
Bad Bunny
Becky G
CNCO
J Balvin
Shakira
“Idol,” BTS +
“Never Be the Same,” Camila Cabello
“This Is America,” Childish Gambino
“Back to You,” Selena Gomez
On the Run II Tour, Beyoncé & Jay-Z
Piece of Me Tour, Britney Spears
Witness Tour, Katy Perry
Super Show 7, Super Junior +
Reputation Tour, Taylor Swift
POP CULTURE
Social Star of 2018
Amanda Cerny
Jenna Marbles
Lele Pons
Shane Dawson
The Dolan Twins
Beauty Influencer of 2018 *
Bretman Rock
Brooklyn and Bailey
Jackie Aina
James Charles
NikkieTutorials
Social Celebrity of 2018
BTS
Chrissy Teigen
Ellen DeGeneres
Selena Gomez
Taylor Swift
Animal Star of 2018 *
April the Giraffe
Cole & Marmalade
Crusoe the Celebrity Dachshund
Gone to the Snow Dogs
Lil Bub
Comedy Act of 2018 *
Ali Wong
Amy Schumer
Kevin Hart
Marlon Wayans
Tiffany Haddish
Style Star of 2018 *
Beyoncé
Blake Lively
Emma Watson
Harry Styles
Zendaya
Game Changer of 2018 * (Category for athletes who made a social/professional impact)
Aly Raisman
Colin Kaepernick
Cristiano Ronaldo
Nia Jax
Serena Williams
Pop Podcast of 2018 *
“Amy Schumer Presents: 3 Girls, 1 Keith”
“Anna Faris Is Unqualified”
“Chicks in the Office”
“The Ladygang”
“Scrubbing In With Becca Tilley & Tanya Rad”
