The MTV Movie and TV Awards arrived with less pomp this year, as the first awards show affected by the writers’ strike. The WGA announced it would be picketing the show, host Drew Barrymore pulled out in support of the writers, and even Vanderpump Rules star Lala Kent refused to attend. Thanks to comrades Barrymore and Kent, MTV announced the show would not run live, and instead aired pretaped sketches and acceptance speeches. In one sketch, Barrymore starred as Skipper in a fake behind-the-scenes featurette for the Barbie movie. There aren’t enough categories at the Movie and TV Awards for any one project to sweep, but Harry Styles was denied Best Villain (for Don’t Worry Darling), Best Kiss (for My Policeman), and Best Musical Moment (for his tap dance in DWD). And Pedro Pascal’s win for Best Hero in The Last of Us shows that the MTV viewership agrees with critics who think the Fireflies maybe didn’t have the best grasp of science. So much for interrogating how we feel about heroes, as Craig Mazin said was a goal of the show. Below is a full list of nominees for the 2023 MTV Movie and TV Awards, with the winners bolded as they are announced.
Best Movie
Avatar: The Way of Water
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever
Elvis
Nope
Scream VI
Smile
Top Gun: Maverick
Best Show
Stranger Things
The Last of Us
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
Best Performance in a Show
Aubrey Plaza — The White Lotus
Christina Ricci — Yellowjackets
Jenna Ortega — Wednesday
Riley Keough — Daisy Jones & the Six
Sadie Sink — Stranger Things
Selena Gomez — Only Murders in the Building
Best Hero
Diego Luna — Andor
Jenna Ortega — Wednesday
Paul Rudd — Ant-Man & The Wasp: Quantumania
Pedro Pascal — The Last Of Us
Tom Cruise — Top Gun: Maverick
Best Villain
Elizabeth Olsen — Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness
Harry Styles — Don’t Worry Darling
Jamie Campbell Bower — Stranger Things
M3GAN — M3GAN
The Bear — Cocaine Bear
Best Kiss (presented by Cheetos®)
Anna Torv + Philip Prajoux – The Last Of Us
Harry Styles + David Dawson – My Policeman
Madison Bailey + Rudy Pankow – Outer Banks
Riley Keough + Sam Claflin – Daisy Jones & the Six
Selena Gomez + Cara Delevingne – Only Murders in the Building
Best Comedic Performance
Adam Sandler – Murder Mystery 2
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
Rachel Sennott – Bodies Bodies Bodies
Best Fight
Brad Pitt (Ladybug) vs. Bad Bunny (The Wolf) – Bullet Train
Courteney Cox (Gale Weathers) vs. Ghostface (Ghostface) – Scream VI
Jamie Campbell Bower (Vecna) vs. Millie Bobby Brown (Eleven) – Stranger Things
Keanu Reeves (John Wick) vs. Everyone – John Wick 4
Escape from Narkina 5 — Andor
Most Frightened Performance
Jennifer Coolidge – The White Lotus
Jesse Tyler Ferguson – Cocaine Bear
Justin Long – Barbarian
Rachel Sennott – Bodies Bodies Bodies
Sosie Bacon – Smile
Best Duo
Camila Mendes + Maya Hawke – Do Revenge
Jenna Ortega + Thing – Wednesday
Pedro Pascal + Bella Ramsey – The Last Of Us
Simona Tabasco + Beatrice Grannò – The White Lotus
Tom Cruise + Miles Teller – Top Gun: Maverick
Best Kick-Ass Cast
Ant-Man & The Wasp: Quantumania
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever
Outer Banks
Stranger Things
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)
Best Docu-Reality Series
Jersey Shore Family Vacation
The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills
Family Reunion: Love & Hip Hop Edition
The Kardashians
Vanderpump Rules
Best Competition Series
All-Star Shore
Big Brother
RuPaul’s Drag Race: All-Stars
The Challenge: USA
The Traitors
Best Host
Drew Barrymore - The Drew Barrymore Show
Joel Madden – Ink Master
Nick Cannon – The Masked Singer
RuPaul – RuPaul’s Drag Race
Kelly Clarkson – The Kelly Clarkson Show
Best Reality On-Screen Team (presented by SONIC®)
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
Garcelle Beauvais and Sutton Stracke - The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills
Best Music Documentary
Halftime
Love, Lizzo
Selena Gomez: My Mind & Me
Sheryl
The Day the Music Died: The Story of Don McLean’s American Pie
Best Musical Moment
“Big Boys” - Saturday Night Live
“Body” - She-Hulk: Attorney at Law
“Come Back Home” - Purple Hearts
“Goo Goo Muck” - Wednesday
“I Will Survive” (Bachelorette Party) - Ginny & Georgia
Jack’s Tap Dance in Don’t Worry Darling
“Look at Us Now (Honeycomb)” - Daisy Jones & the Six
“Long, Long Time” (Bill & Frank Play Piano) - The Last of Us
“Naatu Naatu” - RRR
“Revolting Children” - Matilda the Musical
“Running Up That Hill” - Stranger Things
“Simon’s Song” - Young Royals
“This Love (Taylor’s Version)” - The Summer I Turned Pretty
“Titanium” - M3GAN
“Trouble” - Elvis
“You Should See Me in a Crown” - The School for Good and Evil
