Adolescence Picks Up More Trophies as It Wins Big at the 2026 Critics Choice Awards

Adolescence dominated the 2026 Critics Choice Awards’ limited series categories.

At the ceremony held at the Barker Hangar in Santa Monica, Calif., on Sunday, Jan. 4, writer-producer and star Stephen Graham accepted the award for Best Limited Series on behalf of the show, with a handful of his costars, including Owen Cooper and Erin Doherty, by his side.

“I’d like to thank all the cast and crew, because without any one of them, none of this is possible. We’re all exactly the same,” Graham, 52, said. “When I was a kid, my mom told me, ‘You’re never above anyone and you’re never below anyone.’ So we’re all equal. And I think the ethos that we carried into this piece, that paid off in this production.”

He added, “It was a unique experience. And I’d just like to say, if you’ve got any kids at home, give them a massive cuddle and tell them you love them.”

Also among this year’s nominees were All Her Fault, Chief of War, Death by Lightning, Devil in Disguise: John Wayne Gacy, Dope Thief, Dying for Sex and The Girlfriend.

The series also took home a string of individual actor awards ahead of the big limited-series win on Sunday. Graham won in the Best Actor in a Limited Series or Movie Made for Television category for his performance as Eddie Miller, Cooper scored the award for Best Supporting Actor in a Limited Series or Movie Made for Television, and Doherty won for Best Supporting Actor in a Limited Series or Movie Made for Television.

“I’m the only person I don’t recognize in this room,” Graham joked in his earlier speech.

During his acceptance speech, Cooper, 16, reflected on how the past year has been a “whirlwind” for him and his family.

Adolescence led this year’s television nominees with six total nominations. In September, Adolescence took home the Outstanding Limited or Anthology Series trophy at the 2025 Emmy Awards.

The Netflix drama follows a British family as their 13-year-old son Jamie Miller (Cooper) is accused and arrested for murdering a teenage girl in his class.

Peacock’s All Her Fault was also nominated in the category and is based on Andrea Mara’s 2021 novel and tells the story of a mother, Marissa Irvine (Sarah Snook), who goes to pick up her son Milo from a playdate, only to find that the person who opens the door is a stranger who has never heard of her child. As the search for Milo begins, more lies start unraveling amongst the characters, who are portrayed by a star-studded cast including Dakota Fanning, Jake Lacy, Jay Ellis and Abby Elliot.

Chief of War, meanwhile, stars Jason Momoa as Kaʻiana, a legendary figure in Hawaiian history. He was the first chief to travel beyond the islands and lived during the turbulent time when Kamehameha the Great fought to unify the Hawaiian islands under his rule.

Netflix’s Death by Lightning is based on Candice Millard’s 2011 book Destiny of the Republic: A Tale of Madness, Medicine and the Murder of a President. The limited series follows the life of President James Garfield (Michael Shannon), including his unplanned bid for presidency, his brief time as the 20th president of the United States and his assassination at the hands of Charles Guiteau (Matthew Macfadyen).

Devil in Disguise: John Wayne Gacy tells the real-life story of the brutal crimes of serial killer John Wayne Gacy. In the Peacock series, Michael Chernus portrays the murderer who killed at least 33 boys and men in the 1970s. Gacy, who was given the moniker the “Killer Clown” because he often dressed as one when volunteering, targeted young men and sexually assaulted many of them before murdering them.

Apple TV’s Dope Thief follows friends Ray (Brian Tyree Henry) and Manny (Wagner Moura) running a scam in which they dress as DEA agents and scare small-time Philadelphia dope dealers out of money and drugs.

In FX’s Dying for Sex, Michelle Williams stars as Molly Kochan, a young woman who, facing a terminal breast cancer diagnosis, decides to leave her husband of 13 years and spend her remaining years exploring her sexual desires.

Prime Video’s The Girlfriend was adapted from Michelle Frances’ novel. It follows Laura Sanderson (Robin Wright), a gallery owner whose life begins to unravel when her son Daniel (Laurie Davidson), brings home a new girlfriend, Cherry Laine (Olivia Cooke).