The 17th Critics' Choice Awards were presented on January 12, 2012 at the Hollywood Palladium, honoring the finest achievements of 2011 filmmaking. The ceremony was broadcast on VH1, and hosted by Rob Huebel and Paul Scheer. The nominees were announced on December 13, 2011.

Robert Anderson Huebel is an American comedian and actor. He is best known for his sketch comedy work on the MTV series Human Giant and for his role of Dr. Owen Maestro on the Adult Swim series Childrens Hospital. He also appeared as Russell on the FX/FXX series The League and as Len Novak on the Amazon Prime Video series Transparent. In December 2022, Entertainment Weekly called Huebel "the premier d-bag character actor of his generation".