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TCA Awards go for Friday Night Lights, Game of Thrones, Restrepo, full list

By April MacIntyre Aug 7, 2011, 4:21 GMT

TCA winner- Jon Hamm - Las Vegas, NV, USA © PRN / PR Photos

Winter is coming, and the best new program award goes to the George R.R. Martin drama, "Game of Thrones," the HBO series honored tonight at the Beverly Hilton.

The Television Critics Association (TCA) tonight recognized the top programs and actors of the 2010-2011 television season at its 27th Annual TCA Awards presentation.

Nick Offerman, star of NBC’s “Parks and Recreation,” hosted the annual invitation-only event, held at The Beverly Hilton hotel in conjunction with the TCA’s summer press tour.

Members of the TCA, a media organization of more than 200 professional TV critics and journalists from the United States and Canada, voted HBO’s “Game of Thrones” this season’s “Outstanding New Program” and honored the final season of DirecTV/NBC’s “Friday Night Lights” with its award for “Program of The Year.”

Taking the second consecutive TCA Award, ABC’s “Modern Family” nabbed the “Outstanding Achievement in Comedy” honors, and AMC’s “Mad
Men” received the award for “Outstanding Achievement in Drama,” its
third in this category, having previously won the distinction in 2008
and 2009.

“Individual Achievement in Drama” went to actor Jon Hamm
(Don Draper, of AMC’s “Mad Men”) while actor/host Nick Offerman (Ron
Swanson, of NBC’s “Parks and Recreation”) shared the honor of
“Individual Achievement in Comedy” with fellow actor Ty Burrell (Phil
Dunphy, of ABC’s “Modern Family”).

While PBS Masterpiece’s “Sherlock” took the award of “Outstanding Achievement in Movies, Miniseries and Specials,” CBS’ “Amazing Race” received the organization’s first award for “Outstanding Achievement in Reality Programming.”

The TCA also recognized PBS’s “Sesame Street” with an award for “Outstanding Achievement in Youth Programming,” and the National Geographic Channel documentary “Restrepo” received top honors for “Outstanding Achievement in News & Information.”

In addition to recognizing the year’s finest programming, the TCA
bestowed a Heritage Award on CBS’s former series “The Dick Van Dyke
Show” (1961-66) for the cultural and social impact the program has had
on society.

Carl Reiner, the show’s creator and the recipient of the 2003 TCA Career Achievement Award, was on hand to receive the honor alongside series actors Rose Marie and Larry Mathews.

The non-profit organization also presented Oprah Winfrey with a Career
Achievement Award for her influence through 25 seasons of “The Oprah
Winfrey Show.”

2011 TCA Award recipients are as follows:
•       Individual Achievement in Drama: Jon Hamm (“Mad Men,” AMC)
•       Individual Achievement in Comedy: Ty Burrell (“Modern Family,” ABC)
and Nick Offerman (“Parks and Recreation,” NBC)
•       Outstanding Achievement in News and Information:
“Restrepo” (National Geographic Channel)
•       Outstanding Achievement in Reality Programming: “Amazing Race” (CBS)
•       Outstanding Achievement in Youth Programming: “Sesame Street” (PBS)
•       Outstanding New Program: “Game of Thrones” (HBO)
•       Outstanding Achievement in Movies, Miniseries and Specials:
“Masterpiece: Sherlock” (PBS)
•       Outstanding Achievement in Drama: “Mad Men” (AMC)
•       Outstanding Achievement in Comedy: “Modern Family” (ABC)
•       Career Achievement Award: Oprah Winfrey
•       Heritage Award: “The Dick Van Dyke Show”
•       Program of the Year: “Friday Night Lights” (DirecTV/NBC)