# Saturn Awards

The Saturn Awards are American awards presented annually by the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Films. The awards were created to honor science fiction, fantasy, and horror in film, but have since grown to reward other films belonging to genre fiction, as well as television and home media releases. The Saturn Awards were created in 1973 and were originally referred to as Golden Scrolls.

## History

The Saturn Awards were devised by Donald A. Reed in 1973, who felt that work in films in the genre of science fiction at that time lacked recognition within the established Hollywood film industry's award system. Initially, the award given was a Golden Scroll certificate. In the late 1970s, the award was changed to be a representation of the planet Saturn, with its ring(s) composed of film.
The Saturn Awards are voted upon by members of the presenting Academy. The Academy is a non-profit organization with membership open to the public. Its president and executive producer is Robert Holguin, and producer/writers Bradley Marcus and Kevin Marcus. Its members include filmmakers J. J. Abrams, Bryan Singer, Steven Spielberg, Bryan Fuller, Mark A. Altman, Vince Gilligan and James Cameron, among others.
Although the Awards still primarily focus on films and television in the science fiction, fantasy and horror categories, the Saturns have also recognized productions in other dramatic genres. There are also special awards for lifetime achievement in film production.
Following the 46th Saturn Awards held in 2021, the decision to rebrand what would have been the "47th Saturn Awards" as the "50th Saturn Awards", was made in order to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Saturn Awards, which were founded in 1972. Subsequent ceremonies have continued with the new numbering. The television categories were majorly overhauled at the 50th ceremony, with several categories being split to recognise both network/cable and streaming series. These changes were reverted at the following ceremony, however. In 2023, the nominations announcement and awards process for the 51st Saturn Awards was postponed by several months in solidarity with the 2023 Hollywood labor disputes.

## Award categories
### Film

* Best Science Fiction Film (since 1972)
* Best Horror Film (since 1972)
* Best Fantasy Film (since 1973)
* Best Animated Film (1978, 1982, since 2002)
* Best International Film (1979–1982, since 2006)
* Best Action or Adventure Film (since 1994)
* Best Independent Film (since 2012)
* Best Thriller Film (since 2013)
* Best Film Director (since 1974)
* Best Film Writing (since 1973)
* Best Actor in a Film (since 1974)
* Best Actress in a Film (since 1974)
* Best Supporting Actor in a Film (since 1974)
* Best Supporting Actress in a Film (since 1974)
* Best Performance by a Younger Actor in a Film (since 1984)
* Best Music (since 1973)
* Best Film Editing (1977–1978, since 2011)
* Best Film Production Design (since 2009)
* Best Film Costume (since 1976)
* Best Film Make-Up (since 1973)
* Best Film Special Effects (since 1973)

### Television

* Best Television Presentation (since 1994)
* Best Science Fiction Television Series (since 2015)
* Best Fantasy Television Series (since 2015)
* Best Horror Television Series (since 2015)
* Best Action-Thriller Television Series (since 2015)
* Best Superhero Television Series (since 2015)
* Best Animated Series on Television (since 2017)
* Best Actor on Television (since 1996)
* Best Actress on Television (since 1996)
* Best Supporting Actor on Television (since 1999)
* Best Supporting Actress on Television (since 1999)
* Best Guest Starring Role on Television (since 2008)
* Best Performance by a Younger Actor in a Television Series (since 2013)

### Home video

* Best DVD or Blu-ray Release (since 2001)
* Best DVD or Blu-ray Special Edition Release (since 2001)
* Best Classic Film DVD Release (since 2001)
* Best Television DVD Release (since 2002)
* Best DVD or Blu-ray Collection (since 2003)
* Best Retro Television Series on DVD (since 2014)

### Special awards

* The George Pal Memorial Award
* The Life Career Award
* The President's Memorial Award
* Special Recognition Award
* Breakthrough Performance Award
* Lance Reddick Legacy Award

### Discontinued awards

* Best Low-Budget Film (1980–1982)
* Best Comic-to-Movie Film (2013–2024)
* Best Network Television Series (1988–2014)
* Best Streaming Science Fiction, Action & Fantasy Series (2019)
* Best Streaming Superhero Series (2017–2018)
* Best Syndicated/Cable Television Series (1996–2014)
* Best International Series (2007)
* Best Youth-Oriented Television Series (2011–2014)
* Best New Media Television Series (2015–2017)
* Best Streaming Limited Event Television Series (2022)
* Best Streaming Action/Adventure Television Series (2022)
* Best Streaming Fantasy Television Series (2022)
* Best Streaming Horror & Thriller Series (2018, 2022)
* Best Streaming Science Fiction Television Series (2022)
* Best Actor in a Streaming Television Series (2018, 2022)
* Best Actress in a Streaming Television Series (2018, 2022)
* Best Supporting Actor in a Streaming Television Series (2022)
* Best Supporting Actress in a Streaming Television Series (2022)
* Best Performance by a Younger Actor in a Streaming Television Series (2022)
* Best Guest-Starring Performance in a Streaming Television Series (2022)

## Records

| Superlative | Record-holder | Record set | Year | Notes |
| Most awards for a person | James Cameron | 10 awards | 2022/23 | Awards resulted from 15 nominations |
| Most awards for a person | John Williams | 10 awards | 2022/23 | Awards resulted from 23 nominations |
| Most nominations for a person | John Williams | 23 nominations | 2022/23 | Nominations resulted in 10 wins |
| Most awards for a film | Avatar | 10 awards | 2009 | Awards resulted from 10 nominations |
| Most nominations for a film | Star Wars: The Force Awakens | 15 nominations | 2015 | Nominations resulted in 8 wins |
| Most awards for a TV series | The Walking Dead | 24 awards | 2021/22 | Awards resulted from 62 nominations |
| Most nominations for a TV series | The Walking Dead | 62 nominations | 2021/22 | Nominations resulted in 24 wins |
| Most awards for acting | Anna Torv | 4 awards | 2012 | Awards resulted from 5 nominations |
| Most awards for acting | Robert Downey Jr. | 4 awards | 2018/19 | Awards resulted from 8 nominations |
| Most awards for acting | Caitríona Balfe | 4 awards | 2022/23 | Awards resulted from 8 nominations |
| Most awards for acting | Patrick Stewart | 4 awards | 2022/23 | Awards resulted from 7 nominations |
| Most awards for acting | Mark Hamill | 4 awards | 2023/24 | Awards resulted from 6 nominations |
| Most nominations for acting | Tom Cruise | 12 nominations | 2021/22 | Nominations resulted in 2 wins |
| Most awards for directing | James Cameron | 6 awards | 2022/23 | Awards resulted from 7 nominations |
| Most nominations for directing | Steven Spielberg | 14 nominations | 2021/22 | Nominations resulted in 4 wins |
| Most awards for writing | Christopher Nolan | 4 awards | 2014 | Awards resulted from 6 nominations |
| Most awards for writing | James Cameron | 4 awards | 2022/23 | Awards resulted from 7 nominations |
| Most nominations for writing | Peter Jackson | 7 nominations | 2014 | Nominations resulted in 1 win |
| Most nominations for writing | Fran Walsh | 7 nominations | 2014 | Nominations resulted in 1 win |
| Most nominations for writing | Quentin Tarantino | 7 nominations | 2019/20 | Nominations resulted in 2 wins |
| Most nominations for writing | Guillermo del Toro | 7 nominations | 2021/22 | Nominations resulted in 1 win |
| Most nominations for writing | James Cameron | 7 nominations | 2022/23 | Nominations resulted in 4 wins |
| Most awards for a film series | Star Wars | 48 awards | 2019/20 | Awards resulted from 114 nominations |
| Most nominations for a film series | Marvel Cinematic Universe | 180 nominations | 2023/24 | Nominations resulted in 43 wins |
| Most nominations for a television franchise at a single ceremony | Star Trek | 14 nominations | 2022/23 | Nominations resulted in 5 wins |

## Criticism

The Saturn Awards has been criticized for having broadened its scope, nominating and awarding prestige movies genre awards (sci-fi, fantasy, or horror) and thereby stretching the meanings of the genres too far.