Debbie Allen, Quinta Brunson, Chris Rock Set for Black Cinema & TV Celebration
Debbie Allen, Quinta Brunson, Chris Rock, Chiwetel Ejiofor and Jaafar Jackson will be honoured at the ninth Celebration of Black Cinema & Television on November 16. Roy Wood Jr. will host the evening. The line-up was reported by Deadline on October 20.
Allen will receive the Icon Award. Brunson will receive the Groundbreaker Award for creating, executive producing and starring in ABC's Abbott Elementary, the network comedy she built and leads on screen. That is three jobs on one show.
Ejiofor will receive the Vanguard Award for his work in Backrooms from A24, the independent film studio and distributor. Rock will receive the Director Award for Misty Green, also from A24. Both awards recognise work in cinema releases.
On the television side, Lamorne Morris will receive the Comedy Award for playing Robbie Robertson in Spider-Noir on Prime Video, Amazon's streaming service. Katori Hall will receive the Showrunner Award for P-Valley on Starz — a showrunner, meaning the person who runs a series day to day and leads its writers' room. One award salutes a performance. The other salutes running the show.
The event is staged by the Critics Choice Association, the group behind the Critics Choice Awards. Its site lists the Fairmont Century Plaza in Los Angeles as the venue for the November 16, 2026 edition, according to the Critics Choice Association. It is the ninth edition of this celebration.
For viewers, this means one stage for very different work. A broadcast network comedy, a cable drama, a streaming superhero story and two films are all on the same honours list. The night brings film and television together, rather than treating them as separate worlds.
