The 2021 Peoples Choice Awards winners have been announced and there's an interesting pattern.

While people voted for these winners, it wasn't a free for all. There were a limited list of nominees.

Squid Game - which may or may not be sci-fi - won most Bingeworthy TV Show from among the following nominees:

• Cobra Kai
• Loki
• Mare of Easttown
• Outer Banks
• Sex/Life
• Squid Game
• Ted Lasso
• The White Lotus

Lucifer won best sci-fi/fantasy TV show from among the following nominees:

• Loki
• Lucifer
• La Brea
• Shadow and Bone
• Superman and Lois
• The Falcon and the Winter Soldier
• The Flash
• WandaVision

Both beat Loki.

In best TV Show of 2021 where neither Squid Game nor Lucifer were an option, Loki won:

• Cobra Kai
• Grey's Anatomy
• Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
• Loki
• Saturday Night Live
• The Bachelor
• This Is Us
• WandaVision

Tom Hiddleston also took best male TV star from among the following nominees:

• Anthony Mackie, The Falcon and the Winter Soldier
• Chase Stokes, Outer Banks
• Dwayne Johnson, Young Rock
• Jason Sudeikis, Ted Lasso
• Kenan Thompson, Saturday Night Live
• Norman Reedus, The Walking Dead
• Sterling K. Brown, This Is Us
• Tom Hiddleston, Loki

We haven't seen Loki so can't comment on its worthiness for the award but the other results suggest that it may just be best out of that bunch of nominees.

How were nominees selected this year? That is unknown.

There is historical information about methods used to select nominees in previous years but it isn't clear if eg. the 2010 method they employed of video viewing data continued to be used.

On the E! Online website (who run the awards) they detail 2020 rules which seem to suggest that during a very narrow window, the public could submit up to 25 or 50 potential nominees with a curious "turbo voting" period.

This year's rules? A blank page. Also blank in wayback.

When it comes to voting there's no requirement and also no way to check that people have even seen the show.

Lots of people would have seen and enjoyed Thor: Ragnarok and if you hadn't seen or didn't like any of the other shows in that category, Loki might be a popular choice.

Because you've at least seen him in the movies and hope that your vote for him / the show isn't a vote for garbage.

Regardless, it's an official win for sci-fi.

In film, Black Widow took best movie:

• Black Widow
• Coming 2 America
• F9: The Fast Saga
• Dune
• No Time To Die
• Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings
• The Tomorrow War
• Venom: Let There Be Carnage

Free Guy won best comedy movie:

• Coming 2 America
• Free Guy
• He's All That
• Hitman's Wife's Bodyguard
• Jungle Cruise
• Space Jam: A New Legacy
• Thunder Force
• Vacation Friends

Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings - which is probably more fantasy than sci-fi, won best action movie:

• Black Widow
• F9: The Fast Saga
• Godzilla vs. Kong
• No Time To Die
• Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings
• The Suicide Squad
• The Tomorrow War
• Venom: Let There Be Carnage

Cruella beat Dune for best drama. Seriously.

Scarlett Johansson won female movie star:

• Awkwafina, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings
• Charlize Theron, F9: The Fast Saga
• Florence Pugh, Black Widow
• Jennifer Hudson, Respect
• Leslie Jones, Coming 2 America
• Margot Robbie, The Suicide Squad
• Salma Hayek, Hitman's Wife's Bodyguard
• Scarlett Johansson, Black Widow

Simu Liu won best action movie star:

• Charlize Theron, F9: The Fast Saga
• Chris Pratt, The Tomorrow War
• Daniel Craig, No Time To Die
• Florence Pugh, Black Widow
• John Cena, F9: The Fast Saga
• Scarlett Johansson, Black Widow
• Simu Liu, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings
• Vin Diesel, F9: The Fast Saga

A good night for Disney / Marvel.

And there were some non-sci-fi winners. You can check those out if you're interested.

[ Main Image: People's Choice Awards banner. Credit: NBC Universal via Twitter. ]

References

E! Online. 2020 Official Voting Rules. The E! People's Choice Awards Rules. (viewed December 10, 2021)

NBC Universal. People's Choice Awards official site. (December 10, 2021)

Wikipedia. 47th People's Choice Awards. (viewed December 10, 2021)

Wikipedia. People's Choice Awards. (viewed December 10, 2021)