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5th Annual Critics' Choice Television Awards - Press Room

Source: Tommaso Boddi / Getty

The critics have spoken!

Taraji P. Henson made history at last night’s Critics Choice Television Awards, as the first Black woman to win Best Actress In A Drama Series for her role as Cookie Lyon on Empire. In a highly competitive race, Henson beat out fellow nominees Viola Davis (How To Get Away With Murder), Julianna Margulies (The Good Wife) and Keri Russell (The Americans).  Visibly surprised by her win, Taraji hugged Queen Latifah (who was nominated for HBO’s Bessie) as she made her way on stage.

“Thank you to Fox Network, you’re bold. You took a shot, you took a risk. That’s what art is about.  Love her or hate her, even when she beats her son with a broom!” Taraji jokingly said in her acceptance speech.  Empire has been ratings gold for Fox, which the Season 1 finale clocking close to 19 million viewers. Season 2 will premiere September 23rd.

Jussie Smollett, who plays middle son Jamal Lyons, tweeted his congratulations to his on-screen mom: “No one will ever understand how proud and happy I am for @TheRealTaraji on her insanely deserved well deserved win for Critics Choice.  I love you so much!”

Other big winners included actress Lorraine Touissant who took home a statuette in the Best Supporting Actress in a Drama series for her role as the villainous Vee in the Netflix hit showOrange Is The Black and David Oyelowo (Selma)  as a mentally unstable war veteran in the HBO movie Nightingale. While Latifah didn’t land a win for her role as blues singer Bessie Smith, “Bessie” won Best Movie or Limited Series.  This was a significant win for its director Dee Rees, who started out as an intern for Spike Lee while a film student at New York University, and has gone on to blaze her own trail in the industry. Rees’ next project is a TV adaptation of Isabel Wilkerson’s The Warmth of Other Suns which is based on the Great Migration of the 20th century. Shonda Rhimes will executive produce.

Below is a list of last night’s winners:

BEST DRAMA SERIES

The Americans (FX)

BEST COMEDY SERIES

Silicon Valley (HBO)

DRAMA SERIES

Taraji P. Henson

Empire (Fox)

BEST ACTOR IN A DRAMA SERIES

Bob Odenkirk

Better Call Saul (AMC)

BEST ACTOR IN A COMEDY SERIES

Jeffrey Tambor

Transparent (Amazon)

BEST ACTRESS IN A COMEDY SERIES

Amy Schumer

Inside Amy Schumer (Comedy Central)

BEST MOVIE MADE FOR TELEVISION

Bessie (HBO)

BEST ACTRESS IN A MOVIE OR LIMITED SERIES

Frances McDormand

Olive Kitteridge (HBO)

BEST ACTOR IN A MOVIE OR LIMITED SERIES

David Oyelowo

Nightingale (HBO)

BEST REALITY SERIES HOST

Cat Deeley

So You Think You Can Dance (Fox)

BEST REALITY COMPETITION SERIES

Face Off (Syfy)

BEST REALITY SERIES

Shark Tank (ABC)

GUEST PERFORMER IN A DRAMA SERIES

Sam Elliott

Justified (FX)

BEST GUEST PERFORMER IN A COMEDY SERIES

Bradley Whitford

Transparent (Amazon)

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A COMEDY SERIES

Allison Janney

Mom (CBS)

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A COMEDY SERIES

T.J. Miller

Silicon Valley (HBO)

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A DRAMA SERIES

Lorraine Toussaint

Orange Is the New Black (Netflix)

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A DRAMA SERIES

Jonathan Banks

Better Call Saul (AMC)

GENIUS AWARD

Seth MacFarlane

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A MOVIE OR LIMITED SERIES

Bill Murray

Olive Kitteridge (HBO)

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A MOVIE OR LIMITED SERIES

Sarah Paulson

American Horror Story: Freak Show (FX)

BEST ANIMATED SERIES

Archer (FX)

BEST TALK SHOW

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart (Comedy Central)

MOST BINGEWORTHY SERIES

The Walking Dead (AMC)

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SOURCE: HelloBeautiful.com

Article Courtesy of Hello Beautiful

Picture Courtesy of Getty Images and Hello Beautiful

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