The MTV Movie & TV Awards ceremony was a rollercoaster ride of production changes amidst the ongoing writers’ strike. Nevertheless, a diverse group of stars emerged victorious on Sunday, taking home coveted golden popcorn statuettes.
Popular film “Top Gun: Maverick” was among the leading nominees in the scripted categories, along with TV shows “Stranger Things,” “The Last of Us,” “The White Lotus,” and “Wednesday.” Meanwhile, unscripted shows such as “Jersey Shore Family Vacation,” “RuPaul’s Drag Race,” “The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills,” and “Vanderpump Rules” dominated the unscripted categories.
At first, actress Drew Barrymore was slated to host the event. However, she announced on Thursday that she would be stepping down as a sign of solidarity with the writers’ strike. Though some of her segments had already been recorded before the strike, the ceremony went on without a formal host. Barrymore promised to return as host for the 2024 show.
The event faced further hurdles when reports emerged that members of the Writers Guild of America planned to picket at the Santa Monica Barker Hangar, where the ceremony was being filmed. As a result, executive producer Bruce Gillmer announced that the MTV Movie & TV Awards would be airing a pre-taped version of the ceremony instead of a live event.
The pre-taped telecast featured flashback clips from previous MTV Movie & TV Awards shows, which comprised the majority of the program. Additionally, winners gave pre-recorded speeches, making for a unique and innovative awards show experience. Jennifer Coolidge was honored with the Comic Genius Award, while Purple Hearts won the Best Musical Moment Award for their song “Come Back Home.”
Despite the challenges, the 2023 MTV Movie & TV Awards remained a standout event in the entertainment industry, celebrating the best in film and television from the past year.
See the list of winners below.
Best Movie
Avatar: The Way of Water
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever
Elvis
Nope
Scream VI – WINNER
Smile
Top Gun: Maverick
Best Show
Stranger Things
The Last of Us – WINNER
The White Lotus
Wednesday
Wolf Pack
Yellowstone
Yellowjackets
Best Performance in a Movie
Austin Butler – Elvis
Florence Pugh – Don’t Worry Darling
Keke Palmer – Nope
Michael B. Jordan – Creed III
Tom Cruise – Top Gun: Maverick – WINNER
Best Performance in a Show
Aubrey Plaza – The White Lotus
Christina Ricci – Yellowjackets
Jenna Ortega – Wednesday – WINNER
Riley Keough – Daisy Jones & The Six
Sadie Sink – Stranger Things
Selena Gomez – Only Murders in the Building
Best Kiss
Anna Torv and Philip Prajoux – The Last of Us
Harry Styles and David Dawson – My Policeman
Madison Bailey and Rudy Pankow – Outer Banks – WINNER
Riley Keough and Sam Claflin – Daisy Jones & The Six
Selena Gomez and Cara Delevingne – Only Murders in the Building
Best Comedic Performance
Adam Sandler – Murder Mystery 2 – WINNER
Dylan O’Brien – Not Okay
Jennifer Coolidge – Shotgun Wedding
Keke Palmer – Nope
Quinta Brunson – Abbott Elementary
Breakthrough Performance
Bad Bunny – Bullet Train
Bella Ramsey – The Last of Us
Emma D’Arcy – House of the Dragon
Joseph Quinn – Stranger Things – WINNER
Rachel Sennott – Bodies Bodies Bodies
Best Fight
Brad Pitt (Ladybug) vs. Bad Bunny (The Wolf) – Bullet Train
Courteney Cox (Gale Weathers) vs. Ghostface – Scream VI – WINNER
Jamie Campbell Bower (Vecna) vs. Millie Bobby Brown (Eleven) – Stranger Things
Keanu Reeves (John Wick) vs. Everyone – John Wick: Chapter 4
Escape from Narkina 5 – Andor
Best Hero
Diego Luna – Andor
Jenna Ortega – Wednesday
Paul Rudd – Ant-Man & The Wasp: Quantumania
Pedro Pascal – The Last of Us – WINNER
Tom Cruise – Top Gun: Maverick
Best Villain
Elizabeth Olsen – Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness – WINNER
Harry Styles – Don’t Worry Darling
Jamie Campbell Bower – Stranger Things
M3GAN – M3GAN
The Bear – Cocaine Bear
Most Frightened Performance
Jennifer Coolidge – The White Lotus – WINNER
Jesse Tyler Ferguson – Cocaine Bear
Justin Long – Barbarian
Rachel Sennott – Bodies Bodies Bodies
Sosie Bacon – Smile
Best Duo
Camila Mendes and Maya Hawke – Do Revenge
Jenna Ortega and Thing – Wednesday
Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey – The Last of Us – WINNER
Simona Tabasco and Beatrice Grannò – The White Lotus
Tom Cruise and Miles Teller – Top Gun: Maverick
Best Kick-Ass Cast
Ant-Man & The Wasp: Quantumania
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever
Outer Banks
Stranger Things – WINNER
Teen Wolf: The Movie
Best Song
Demi Lovato – “Still Alive” (Scream VI)
Doja Cat – “Vegas” (Elvis)
Lady Gaga – “Hold My Hand” (Top Gun: Maverick)
OneRepublic – “I Ain’t Worried” (Top Gun: Maverick)
Rihanna – “Lift Me Up” (Black Panther: Wakanda Forever)
Taylor Swift – “Carolina” (Where the Crawdads Sing) – WINNER
Best Docu-Reality Series
Jersey Shore Family Vacation
The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills
Family Reunion: Love & Hip Hop Edition
The Kardashians – WINNER
Vanderpump Rules
Best Competition Series
All Star Shore
Big Brother
RuPaul’s Drag Race: All-Stars – WINNER
The Challenge: USA
The Traitors
Best Host
Drew Barrymore – The Drew Barrymore Show – WINNER
Joel Madden – Ink Master
Nick Cannon – The Masked Singer
RuPaul – RuPaul’s Drag Race
Kelly Clarkson – The Kelly Clarkson Show
Best Reality Onscreen Team
Mike “The Situation” Sorrentino, Vinny Guadagnino, Pauly D (MVP) – Jersey Shore Family Vacation
Tori Deal and Devin Walker – The Challenge: Ride or Dies
RuPaul Charles and Michelle Visage – RuPaul’s Drag Race
Ariana Madix, Katie Maloney, Scheana Shay, LaLa Kent – Vanderpump Rules – WINNER
Garcelle Beauvais and Sutton Stracke – The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills
Best Music Documentary
Halftime
Love, Lizzo
Selena Gomez: My Mind & Me – WINNER
Sheryl
The Day the Music Died: The Story of Don McLean’s American Pie
Best Musical Moment
Daisy Jones & The Six – “Look At Us Now (Honeycomb)”
Don’t Worry Darling – Jack’s tap dance
Elvis – “Trouble”
Ginny & Georgia – “I Will Survive” (bachelorette party)
M3GAN – “Titanium”
Matilda the Musical – “Revolting Children”
Purple Hearts – “Come Back Home” – WINNER
RRR – “Naatu Naatu”
She-Hulk: Attorney at Law – “Body”
Saturday Night Live – “Big Boys”
Stranger Things – “Running Up That Hill”
The Last of Us – “Long Long Time” (Bill and Frank play piano)
The School for Good and Evil – “You Should See Me in a Crown”
The Summer I Turned Pretty – “This Love (Taylor’s Version)”
Wednesday – “Goo Goo Muck”
Young Royals – “Simon’s Song”
