Welcome to the start of the 2020 round of POTM. We have changed some of the rules coming into 2020, so before you jump to the bottom please take a moment to read through the new rules carefully.
When Performers of the Month launched on February 1, 2016 I could have never predicted how big of a feature it would become. Over the past four years it has grown and evolved and will likely continue to do so as long as the feature exists. Going into this fifth year we have decided to yet again do a bit of a refresh on the feature. Many things will remain the same from prior years, but please read closely so you’ll know what has changed.
The first round to fall under these new rules will be the January 2020 round that launches on February 1st.
Reader’s Choice Performer of the Month
Nominations:
The nomination round will now only be 4 days. Nominating will start on the 1st of every month at 6 pm ET and end on the 4th day of each month at 6 pm ET.
The nominees that make it to the site poll will be entirely fan chosen. Performers can now only be nominated for a single episode. That episode number will also factor into which performers make it into the Top 5. If a performer has 100 nominations, but only 25 of those are for the same episode and another performer has 50 nominations but they are all for the same episode then that performer will make it over the other. We’re here to award outstanding performances, so if 50 people think a performance needs to be recognized they are going to get their performer to the poll over the other. Everyone can now make up to 5 nominations for any actor or actress who delivered an outstanding performance in the award month. The form has changed, so you will have to fill it out separately for each nominee up to five nominees. Fill the form out entirely for each submission or your nominations will not count.
Voting:
The polls will only be open for 2 days. They will launch at 6 pm ET on the 5th of every month and close at 6 pm ET on the 7th. That has been designed as such to allow for more time to research and write the articles.
Rules:
-A person can only nominate 5 performers per month. Those 5 performers must all be different. Anyone trying to submit the same performer for all 5 of their allowed nominations will have all of their nominations disqualified. The submission form has been completely changed, so please be sure to fill it out correctly. If any spots are not filled in your submission will not count.
-Only 1 episode can be nominated per performer. That episode will help determine which performers make it to the poll. Simply just put the episode number in the form. The contest will be working off the understanding that the episode number is for the current season.
-A performer can only win 1 time per year. Variety has been the one thing POTM has been lacking and we hope this will allow us to recognize more performers than ever before.
-A show can only be represented by 2 winners per year. For example, if a performer from a show wins in January then another performer from that same show wins in February then no other performer on the show will be eligible again for the rest of the year.
-In the event the same performer wins both the staff and reader voting that particular month will only have 1 winner article.
-During voting the results will remain hidden and will be revealed only after voting has concluded.
-Performers on streaming shows that release the full season all at one time are eligible for 2 months, so the month the season releases and the following month. That gives people more opportunities to watch and nominate performers from those shows.
-Performers on streaming shows can’t be nominated for a full season. Nominations must include just a single episode number.
-Voice performers from live-action shows are eligible as long as they had a significant part in the episode they appeared in.
-Voice performers from animated shows are eligible.
-Guest stars are eligible.
-Performers from movies that aired originally and exclusively on a streaming service are eligible for 2 months.
Staff Choice Performer of the Month
Nominations:
This will continue to be handled just like the fan side of the contest. All staff members will have a chance to nominate the performers they think delivered the best performances each month. The big difference is that all staff nominations will make it to our poll, but each performer will still only be eligible to win for a single episode.
Voting:
All the nominees will be entered into a spreadsheet where we will then rank them and the winner will be the one with the largest number of votes. The results will be shared in the results post at the end of the voting round.
Winner Articles:
The format of the winner articles will now consist of a roundtable type layout looking at the highlights from the performance the winner delivered in the episode they won for.
Performer of the Year:
This will still be conducted as usual. At the end of the year all of the winners from each side will be entered into individual polls to produce a Readers’ Choice Performer of the Year and a Staff Performer of the Year.
2019 Staff Choice Performer of the Year: Jodie Comer
2019 Readers' Choice Performer of the Year (TIE): Hailee Steinfeld and Oliver Stark
December 2019 Winners:
Readers' Choice: Katherine McNamara (Mia Smoak Queen) - Arrow
Staff Choice: Molly Parker (Maureen Robinson) - Lost In Space
Please note that a performer can now only win once per year and a show can only be represented by two winners per year. No exceptions will be made for any performer or show, so please use thoughtful consideration when making your nominations. You will have to fill out the submission form for each nominee you submit. You can submit the document up to 5 times, but each entry must be for a different performer or all of your other nominations will be disqualified. The Top 5 most nominated actresses and Top 5 actors will be placed in the poll next week to determine the Readers' Choice Performer of the Month.
After you place your nominations take a moment to use the comments section to discuss your nominees with others. Episode number for the nominees is critically important, so discuss with others why you think a performer deserves to be recognized for a specific performance within a single episode.
The rules above indicate that the nomination and voting periods have changed in 2020. Unfortunately, due to travel obligations we have to keep this first round on the old schedule. This will be the last round to follow the old nomination and voting schedule.
Nominations will run until February 7th at 6 pm ET. The poll will post on February 8th at 6 pm ET.
Eenter the episode number as 101 or 1.01. Either will work on the form and both will be accepted.
