Last week, GLAAD announced the nominations for the 35th annual GLAAD Media Awards. This year’s nominees spotlight many dynamic and complex bisexual+ characters and stories in entertainment and news. Check out just some of the bi-inclusive nominees below!
In the Outstanding Film – Wide Theatrical Release category, Bottoms, The Color Purple, It’s a Wonderful Knife, and Shortcomings all spotlight compelling bi+ narratives. Bottoms, the raunchy, extraordinarily queer comedy starring Ayo Edebiri and Rachel Sennot, who co-wrote the script with queer director Emma Seligman, is unapologetic in its depiction of modern teenage sexuality. The story follows BFFs PJ (Sennott) and Josie (Edebiri) who decide to start a fight club as a way to meet and date the hot cheerleaders they have crushes on. Josie pines after Isabel, played by pansexual actress and activist Havana Rose Liu, who initially dates football star Jeff before connecting with Josie.
The latest re-imagining of The Color Purple, based on Alice Walker’s 1982 novel of the same name and the subsequent Broadway musical, addresses the beloved sapphic relationship between Celie and Shug. Torn apart from her sister and children, Celie faces many hardships, including an abusive husband, played by gay actor Colman Domingo. With the support of the sultry singer Shug, Celie finds extraordinary strength in a new kind of relationship. The camp comedy film It’s a Wonderful Knife turns a Christmas classic into a queer slasher. After wishing she was never born, lead character Winnie, portrayed by non-binary actor Jane Widdop, is transported to an alternate universe where the masked killer who murdered her best friend has taken control of the town as Winnie was not there to catch him. Throughout the film, Winnie befriends outcast Bernie, played by non-binary actor Jess McLeod, whom she ultimately falls in love with. To round out the cast, Winnie’s brother and aunt are also part of the LGBTQ community!
Rom-com Shortcomings centers on Ben, a struggling California filmmaker who contemplates his romantic future when his girlfriend moves to New York for an internship. The heart of the film lies in the friendship between Ben and Alice, played by bisexual comedian and actress Sherry Cola, a queer graduate student who pretends to date Ben in front of her parents. Alice and her girlfriend’s relationship is portrayed as the ultimate couples goals in the film.
The writing and directing debut of gay Tony Award-winning playwright Matthew López, Red, White and Royal Blue, scored a nomination in the Outstanding Film – Streaming Or TV category. Based on the novel of the same name by queer and non-binary author Casey McQuiston, Red, White and Royal Blue follows the tumultuous relationship between Alex Claremont-Diaz, the bisexual son of the President of the United States, and Henry, a closeted gay British prince. The Greg Berlanti-produced film became an instant classic in the top three most-watched romantic comedies of all time on Amazon Prime when it was released, ascending the streaming charts to be the #1 movie worldwide and driving new service subscriptions.
New drama series Class and Everything Now contain stand out bi+ storylines in the Outstanding New Series category. Teen comedy-drama Everything Now follows Mia Polanco, who is released from the hospital after a lengthy battle with anorexia and is thrust back into the world of sixth form school drama. The series follows as Mia navigates dating, sex, relationships, and a messy bisexual love triangle. Class, an Indian Hindi-language crime show based on the Spanish series Elite, is set in a fictional high school in New Delhi and revolves around the relationships between three working-class students. Initially ostracized as scholarship students, the teens’ lives eventually intertwine in a clash of lifestyles, resentment, envy, and sexual attraction. This modern high school drama features a bevy of LGBTQ characters, including the extremely wealthy bisexual student Sharan Gujral, who has a longtime boyfriend.
The Outstanding Drama Series category is stacked with bi+ representation, featuring a variety of bi+ storylines in Good Trouble, Grey’s Anatomy, Station 19 and more. Good Trouble continues to follow residents of a communal LA living space as they juggle careers, love, sex, and friendships, while fighting for social justice by making noise and getting into good trouble. The Freeform spin-off of The Fosters highlights a number of queer residents of The Coterie, including bi+ characters Gael Martinez and Malika Williams. Over Grey’s Anatomy’s 19-season run, the series has introduced some of TV’s most notable queer characters, including bisexual doctor Callie Torres, portrayed by non-binary actor Sara Ramírez, one of the longest-running LGBTQ characters in US TV history. The latest season of the workplace drama features bi+ characters Dr. Amelia Shepherd, Dr. Teddy Altman, intern Mike Yasuda, and more. Station 19 continued to spotlight competitive bisexual firefighter Maya Bishop as she entered her first serious relationship with Carina DeLuca, an OB-GYN at Grey Sloan who transitioned from a recurring character on Grey’s Anatomy to a series regular in Station 19‘s fourth season.
In the Outstanding Comedy Series category, nominees And Just Like That…, Harlem, Harley Quinn, Sex Education, Ted Lasso, and What We Do In The Shadows share complex bi+ stories and characters. The Sex and the City revival And Just Like That… sees the long-beloved character Miranda, played by queer actress and activist Cynthia Nixon, explore her bisexuality, ignited by the introduction of queer and non-binary comedian Che Diaz, played by out actor and singer Sara Ramírez. Drama series Harlem follows four best friends who met while attending New York University and are now in their thirties living in Harlem. The series features bisexual character Quinn Joseph, who came out in season one and has her first romantic scene with another woman in season two.
Bi icon Harley Quinn continues to wreak havoc with girlfriend Poison Ivy in Harley Quinn. The animated series follows the escapades of the partners-in-crime as they rise to power in Gotham, and ultimately, fall in love. The final season of Sex Education added numerous LGBTQ characters to its already queer-packed ensemble. Returning bi+ and trans character Cal delves deeper into their personal journey with their sexual orientation and gender identity; they find comfort in fellow trans and non-binary students, have a romance with a classmate, and feel the unwavering support of their community. Ted Lasso fan-favorite character Keely is revealed to be bi in the latest season with the introduction of Jack, a charming venture capitalist played by queer actress Jodi Balfour. Finally, the hit-sitcom What We Do In The Shadows centers on the nightly exploits of bisexual+ vampire roommates Nandor the Relentless, Leslie “Laszlo” Cravensworth, Nadja of Antipaxos, and Colin Robinson, with the help of their gay human friend Guillermo, played by out actor Harvey Guillén!
Black Cake, The Fall of the House of Usher and Scott Pilgrim Takes Off explore bi+ characters in riveting narratives in the Outstanding Limited or Anthology Series category. In the Outstanding Kids and Family Programming or Film – Animated category, The Ghost and Molly McGee connected with audiences who loved its stellar bisexual+ representation. The supernatural comedy centers on Molly McGee, who arrives in her new hometown of Brighton, only to discover that her house is already occupied by a grumpy ghost named Scratch. Over time, Scratch and Molly open up to each other and go on wacky misadventures together. In the sophomore season, it is revealed that Molly’s rival-turned-BFF Andrea Davenport is bisexual and has a crush on a girl named Aline Webster.
The Outstanding Kids and Family Programming or Film – Live Action category features Heartstopper, High School Musical: The Musical: The Series, and XO, Kitty, all of which contain nuanced portraits of being bi as a young person. The GLAAD Media Award-winning series Heartstopper continues to focus on the relationship between bisexual character Nick, played by bisexual actor Kit Connor, and gay character Charlie, played by gay actor Joe Locke, and their ever-growing queer friend group, including transgender character Elle, played by rising star Yasmin Finney who also appears in the nominated series Doctor Who, asexual character Isaac, and lesbian couple Tara and Darcy. The second season also introduces a new bi student, Elle’s friend Sahar. In the final season of High School Musical: The Musical: The Series, couple-turned-friends Ashlyn, portrayed by pansexual actress Julia Lester, and Big Red, portrayed by bisexual actor Larry Saperstein, both explore their new-found bisexuality and platonic friendship! The new rom-com series XO, Kitty, a spin-off of the To All the Boys film series, centers on Kitty Song Covey, a high school student who goes on her own journey to find true love. After a complicated series of events, Kitty discovers her bisexual identity at the Korean Independent School of Seoul (KISS).
This year’s nominees for Outstanding Music Artist and Outstanding Breakthrough Music Artist are full of talented bi+ stars! Indie supergroup boygenius is nominated for the record; pansexual and non-binary multi-hyphenate Janelle Monáe is nominated for The Age of Pleasure; pansexual star Miley Cyrus is nominated for Endless Summer Vacation, out it-girl Reneé Rapp is nominated for Snow Angel, bi R&B artist Victoria Monét is nominated for JAGUAR II and breakthrough bi+ nominees include Chappell Roan and Ice Spice!
The Outstanding Comic Book and Outstanding Original Graphic Novel/Anthology categories also feature groundbreaking bi+ characters and stories in Adventures of Superman: Jon Kent, written by Tom Taylor (DC Comics), Betsy Braddock: Captain Britain, written by Tini Howard (Marvel Comics), Poison Ivy, written by G. Willow Wilson (DC Comics), Blackward, by Lawrence Lindell (Drawn & Quarterly), Cosmoknights (Book Two), by Hannah Templer (Top Shelf Productions), and Us, by Sara Soler (Dark Horse Books).
The Outstanding Video Game category includes exciting bi+ characters and stories in Baldur’s Gate 3, Overwatch 2, Stray Gods: The Roleplaying Musical, Thirsty Suitors, and This Bed We Made! Read more about those nominees here.
In the Spanish-Language: Outstanding Scripted Television Series category, Las pelotaris highlights a bisexual+ narrative in a 1920s period piece. Las pelotaris tells the story of a group of pioneering sportswomen, Chelo, Idoia, and Itzi, who broke barriers in a male-dominated world. Itzi, a lesbian woman married to gay man, harbors feelings for an old bi+ flame named Ane.
The 35th Annual GLAAD Media Awards nominees were published, released, or broadcast between January 1 and December 31, 2023. The GLAAD Media Awards ceremonies will take place in Los Angeles on March 14, 2024 and in New York City on May 11, 2024. You can keep up with the latest developments by following GLAAD on Twitter and Instagram.