Debbie Allen receives the Icon Award as Critics Choice names 15 honorees for 14 awards
Critics Choice named its 2026 Black Cinema & Television honorees on 20 October. Debbie Allen receives the Icon Award at a Los Angeles ceremony on 16 November.
The Critics Choice Association announced the honorees for its 2026 Celebration of Black Cinema & Television on 20 October 2026. The ceremony is scheduled for 16 November in Los Angeles. The honorees work across acting, directing, writing, producing and comedy in film and television.
The list names 15 people who receive 14 awards, with one award shared by two people. Debbie Allen, whose credits include Fame, A Different World and Grey's Anatomy, will receive the Icon Award. The sections below cover the dates, the organisation behind the event, past honorees, each award, Allen's career and the details still open.
The date, host and broadcast plan
The honorees were announced on 20 October 2026, and the celebration is set for 16 November 2026. Roy Wood Jr. will host the event. The association plans to premiere the broadcast on its YouTube channel in December, so the broadcast comes after the November ceremony.
For readers outside the United States, the key details are the city, the date and the broadcast route: a Los Angeles ceremony on 16 November, followed by a YouTube premiere in December.
The announcement does not name a venue. Wikipedia lists the Fairmont Century Plaza in Los Angeles as the venue for the 4th, 5th and 7th editions.
What the Critics Choice Association presents
The Critics Choice Association presents the Celebration of Cinema and Television, an annual awards ceremony that honours Black, Latino, Asian Pacific and LGBTQ+ achievement in film and television. Wikipedia describes the association as American-Canadian.
The association was founded in 1995 as the Broadcast Film Critics Association by Joey Berlin and Rod Lurie. It was renamed in 2019, when the BFCA and the Broadcast Television Journalists Association merged. Its headquarters are in West Hollywood, and its public directory lists 500 voting members for 2026. Joey Berlin is listed as chief executive.
Its other presentations include the Critics Choice Awards, which have combined film and television in one ceremony since 2016, along with the Documentary Awards, Real TV Awards and Super Awards.
The first Black Cinema event was held on 7 January 2014 at the House of Blues in West Hollywood, honouring the cast and crew of films including 12 Years a Slave and 42. Wikipedia says the association established the Celebration of Black Cinema as an award ceremony in 2018.
Past honorees at the celebration
Past Black Cinema honorees include Eddie Murphy, who received the Career Achievement Award on 2 December 2019; Halle Berry, who received the Career Achievement Award on 6 December 2021; Angela Bassett, who received the Career Achievement Award on 5 December 2022; and Tyler Perry, who received the Icon Award on 5 December 2024.
Spike Lee was scheduled to receive the Career Achievement Award on 9 December 2025 for the eighth edition.
The Latino celebration has recognised Rita Moreno, who received the Icon Award on 9 December 2021, and Guillermo del Toro, who received the Career Achievement Award on 13 November 2022.
The 2026 honorees and their categories
The list spans film, series, comedy, directing and writing. Debbie Allen receives the Icon Award. Quinta Brunson receives the Groundbreaker Award, Chris Rock the Director Award and Chiwetel Ejiofor the Vanguard Award. Lamorne Morris receives the Comedy Award and Katori Hall the Showrunner Award.
Film acting awards go to Jaafar Jackson (Actor Award, Film), Stephan James (Supporting Actor Award, Film) and Sophie Okonedo (Supporting Actress Award, Film). In series, Anthony Mackie receives the Actor Award, Ato Essandoh the Supporting Actor Award and Quincy Tyler Bernstine the Supporting Actress Award. Bernstine also receives a #TakeTheLead designation from Starz.
Arie Esiri and Chuko Esiri share the Breakthrough Director Award, and Jaalen Best receives the Rising Star Award.
Shawn Edwards, the event's executive producer and writer, is quoted in the announcement saying 'the celebration continues.'
“The list names 15 people who receive 14 awards, with one award shared by two people.”
Debbie Allen's career in film and television
Allen was born on 16 January 1950 in Houston, Texas. She played Sarah in the 1981 film Ragtime, and she played dance teacher Lydia Grant in Fame, which ran on television from 1982 to 1987. She was also the series choreographer on Fame.
She produced and directed 83 episodes of A Different World between 1988 and 1993. She was also a producer on the 1997 film Amistad. Since 2011 she has played Dr. Catherine Avery in Grey's Anatomy, and she later became an executive producer on the series.
Allen received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1991, at 6904 Hollywood Boulevard, across from the Dolby Theatre. In 2001 she opened the Debbie Allen Dance Academy in Los Angeles, where she teaches young dancers.
The academy she opened in 2001 is the Los Angeles school she still teaches at, according to Wikipedia.
The wider calendar and what the announcement leaves open
The association also runs an LGBTQ+ celebration. Its second edition was held on 6 June 2025 at the Fairmont Century Plaza, hosted by Sherry Cola and aired on Here TV, with Wanda Sykes receiving the Career Achievement Award. Nathan Lane received the same award at the 2024 edition on 7 June. Wikipedia lists a third edition on 29 May 2026 in Los Angeles, though it names no host or broadcast partner for that event.
For the November 2026 ceremony, the announcement confirms the date, city, host, honorees and a December premiere on the association's YouTube channel. It does not give a venue or a broadcast partner beyond that premiere. The 2025 Black Cinema celebration was scheduled for 9 December, so the 2026 date falls earlier in the calendar year.
