The nominations for the 72nd Annual Emmy Awards were announced Tuesday morning by Laverne Cox, Josh Gad, Leslie Jones, and Tatiana Maslany. Among them were several out LGBTQ nominees and LGBTQ-inclusive series.
Billy Porter was once again nominated for his portrayal of Pray Tell in FX’s Pose. It was disappointing to see that once again, Porter was the only actor nominated for Pose, when there are so many phenomenal performances by transgender actors that anchor the show. Pose was also not nominated in the Outstanding Drama Series category. The special Pose: Identity, Family, Community did receive a nomination in Outstanding Short Form Nonfiction or Reality Series and makeup artist Deja Smith was nominated for Outstanding Period And/Or Character Makeup (Non-Prosthetic).
On a happier note, transgender actresses Rain Valdez and Laverne Cox both received Emmy nominations this year. Cox was nominated once again Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama series for her role on the final season of Orange Is the New Black as Sophia Burset. Valdez was nominated in Outstanding Actress in a Short Form Comedy or Drama Series for her role as Belle Jonas in her web series Razor Tongue, which she also wrote and produced. The Short Form comedy has a history of including trans nominees, including trans filmmaker Rhys Ernst and the GLAAD Media Award-winning series Her Story. These nominations have lifted up trans talent and storytellers, and it’s time for more categories to take note of trans talent and recognize the work being done on every level.
Out actor and writer Dan Levy received a nomination in Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series for his work on Schitt’s Creek, as well as nominations in Outstanding Writing and Directing for his work on the show. Schitt’s Creek also was nominated in Outstanding Comedy Series, with acting nominations for Eugene Levy, Catherine O’Hara, and Annie Murphy, in addition to Dan Levy.
Also in Outstanding Comedy Series were LGBTQ-inclusive comedies What We Do in the Shadows, The Good Place, and Dead to Me. Linda Cardellini received a nomination in Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series for her portrayal of queer character Judy Hale. Out actress Kate McKinnon received a nomination in Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series for her work on Saturday Night Live. Andre Braugher was nominated in Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy series for his work on Brooklyn Nine-Nine as gay character Captain Raymond Hold. Out comedian Wanda Sykes received a nomination in Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series for playing Moms Mabley on The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel. Sykes was also nominated in Outstanding Character Voice-Over Performance for her role as Gladys on Crank Yankers.
LGBTQ-inclusive series The Handmaid’s Tale, Killing Eve, and Stranger Things were all nominated in the Outstanding Drama Series category. Out actress Samira Wiley was nominated in Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series for playing lesbian character Moira in The Handmaid’s Tale, as was out actress Fiona Shaw for her work on Killing Eve. Out actress Cherry Jones was nominated in Guest Actress in a Drama Series category for portraying Nan Pierce on Succession, while out actor Andrew Scott received a nomination for his work on Black Mirror as Chris Gillhaney.
Both Sandra Oh and Jodie Comer were nominated in Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series for Killing Eve, where they play queer characters Eve Polastri and Villanelle respectively. Zendaya was nominated in the same category for playing queer character Rue on Euphoria. Alexis Bledel was nominated in the Outstanding Guest Actress category for her portrayal of lesbian character Emily on The Handmaid’s Tale.
The Outstanding Limited Series Category included LGBTQ-inclusive series Little Fires Everywhere, Mrs. America, Unorthodox, and Watchmen. Out actor Jeremy Pope received a nomination in Lead Actor in a Limited Series or Movie for his role as gay character Archie Coleman in Hollywood. Out actors Jim Parsons and Holland Taylor also received nominations for Hollywood, in Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Limited Series or Movie and Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Limited Series or Movie respectively. Kerry Washington was nominated in Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited Series or Movie for playing queer character Mia Warren in Little Fires Everywhere.
In Outstanding Television Movie, LGBTQ-inclusive movies Bad Education and Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt: Kimmy Vs. The Reverend were both nominated. Out actor Tituss Burgess was nominated for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Limited Series or Movie for his work on Kimmy Schmidt as gay character Titus Andromedon. Hugh Jackman was nominated for playing gay character Frank Tassone in Bad Education.
Out comedian Hannah Gadsby’s special Douglas was nominated in Outstanding Variety Special, as well as for the writing of the special. A Black Lady Sketch Show and Saturday Night Live, who both have queer talent in their casts and writers’ rooms were both nominated for Outstanding Variety Sketch Series. The Randy Rainbow Show, from out creator Randy Rainbow, received a nomination in Short Form Variety Series.
On the reality television side, it’s exciting to see that We’re Here, hosted by drag queens Bob the Drag Queen, Eureka O’Hara, and Shangela, received a nomination in Outstanding Unstructured Reality Program. Cheer was also nominated in the category, as well as RuPaul’s Drag Race Untucked. RuPaul’s Drag Race also nominated in several categories including Outstanding Competition Program, along with Top Chef, which had a lesbian winner this season. Drag Race and Queer Eye were nominated in Host for a Reality or Competition Program for out hosts RuPaul Charles, and Bobby Berk, Karamo Brown, Tan France, Antoni Porowski, and Jonathan Van Ness, respectively. Queer Eye also received a nomination in Structured Reality Series. DocuseriesTiger King also received a nomination in Outstanding Documentary or Nonfiction series.
In terms of Animation, the final season of BoJack Horseman was nominated in Outstanding Animated Program. Steven Universe Future received a nomination in Outstanding Short Form Animated Program.
The 72nd Annual Emmy Awards will air on Sunday, September 20 on ABC. See the full list of nominees here.