Ten years ago, it was the Golden Age of television, the Breaking Bad phenomenon was having its grand finale winning trophies at the 66th Emmy Awards while Netflix was staking its claim in the streaming landscape with shows like House of Cards and the groundbreaking and very queer Orange is the New Black.
LGBTQ Emmys representation was strong — in 2014. Jim Parsons would go on to win his fourth trophy for Big Bang Theory and Laverne Cox made history with her nomination for Orange is the New Black as the first trans person to receive an Emmy nomination. Ten years later, at the 76th Emmy Awards Cox would be on the red carpet emotionally interviewing Baby Reindeer star Nava Mau, who also made history as the first trans person to receive a nomination in her category.
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Donned in a gown made by RuPaul’s Drag Race alum Gigi Goode, Mau talked to GLAAD’s Anthony Allen Ramos on the Emmys red carpet saying, “I feel so present. I feel so grounded and just grateful to be here.”
Since Baby Reindeer was released, Mau has been embracing the change that has been happening since Cox was nominated. “I think that for a very long time, trans people were depicted on screen as the butt of the joke, as untrustworthy, as evil, and so I got to be a part of something where my character was integral to the plot. My character had layers, had a full life built out and that, to me, was the greatest gift that I ever could have received.”
Other memorable nominations from 2014 included Kate McKinnon, who received her first nom for Saturday Night Live. Her fellow SNL-er, Bowen Yang received his third Emmy nomination for his work on the late-night show. To have two queer people from the legendary TV institution get recognized for their work is notable progress.
“I still remember back in the day when there were no queer people… and now it feels like it is this true pluralistic thing,” Yang told GLAAD, adding that TV in 2024 includes every kind of queer person. “It feels good. I’m glad we’re here.”
“Being a gay man is like… kind of like the boring option now!” he laughed. “I feel like, I feel like chicken breast or something.”
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Kali Reis, who was nominated for her role in True Detective: North Country alongside Emmy winner Jodie Foster identifies as Two-spirit and it aligns with her character on the HBO limited series.
“I check a lot of boxes, and it was great to see, being a woman of color, being Two-spirit and just having all these stories — especially in the place it with these Indigenous people.” She added that indigenous culture is not celebrated enough. The whole story focuses on the people in the land that they’re from. Reis said it “meant everything to be a part of this story.”
“It means a different thing for everyone,” Reis said when explaining Two-spirit. “It has nothing to do with what you do in the bedroom, sexual orientation — at least for me…for me, I am comfortable walking completely in 100% of my masculine and 100% of my feminine. I know where to apply it.”
“I’m just I’m just me, I’m just me. I don’t have a label. I just want to be able to express myself. And I am blessed to be married to my beautiful partner.”
Devery Jacobs, who is also of Indigenous heritage and identifies as queer, stars in the Emmy-nominated Reservation Dogs. She told GLAAD that she hopes that her being visibly out and proud speaks to the LGTBQ youth — specifically Indigenous youth.
After reading the Trevor Project’s report of all LGBTQ+ youth of color she discovered that indigenous youth died by suicide at the highest rates.”Suicide is something that has come way too close to my family,” she admitted. “It’s something that we deal with in Reservation Dogs and so for me, there was no question but to be out and proud about who I am. and so for all the rez kids who are in remote areas, who are in red states, we see you, we feel you. I am of you.”
Although he wasn’t gay outside of his character of Captain Raymond Holt on Brooklyn Nine-Nine, the late great Andre Braugher earned an Emmy nomination 10 years ago as did Nathan Lane and Jesse Tyler Ferguson for the groundbreaking awards season juggernaut Modern Family. Fast forward to 2024, and Ferguson is aware of the changes since playing Mitchell Pritchett.
“I was a closeted gay teen in Albuquerque, New Mexico and I would watch the Oscars and the Emmys, and I didn’t recognize myself in any of the nominees,” said Ferguson. Now with a boatload of LGBTQ Emmy nominees like Kristen Kish, Andrew Scott, Matt Bomer, Sarah Paulson, and more as well as host Dan Levy, Ferguson said it felt “really special“.
“We all have to lift each other up,” he explained. “We’re always talking about, “Can gay actors play straight? Can straight actors play gay?” I’m always like, I’m an actor. I want to be able to play everything, but we still need to give opportunities to people who are not able to get those opportunities to even begin with.”
He continued, “Give them the opportunity and they will show up and they will deliver. So for me, it’s about really making the effort and looking for these people who are out there.”
Ripley star and Emmy nominee Andrew Scott was one of three people who identify as LGBTQ in the category of Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited Series or Movie. While talking to GLAAD’s Ramos on the red carpet, he added to the chorus of the shift in LGBTQ representation on TV but also urged for meaningful inclusivity rather than performative queer visibility.
“It’s terrific,” Scott said of having fellow nominees Matt Bomer and Richard Gadd alongside him. “I always say that it’s great to be invited to the party because, for so many years, certain people in the community weren’t invited… but I also always think you want to be invited to a party because you’ve got something to add… not just to make up the numbers.”
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When talking to Jane Lynch, she was as much as an admirer of Scott as the rest of the world — and they found out on the red carpet that they have something in common. “Well, he’s Irish, as you know, and I am as well,” Lynch said. “He asked me where I was from. My family’s from the same town!”
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Scott’s fellow nominee, Matt Bomer told GLAAD that he was excited to present the Governors Award to Greg Berlanti and to close his Fellow Travelers journey at the Emmys. “[Fellow Travelers] crosses the spectrum,” he said. “No matter how people identify, they can find some of their humanity in the show and I think that’s what we’re always trying to do as artists.”
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And like Scott, he is excited about having over half of the nominees in the category identify as LGBTQ. “I think only two openly gay actors have ever been nominated for Oscars… and here we are at the Emmys, with three in the same category. Let’s go Emmys!”
Meanwhile, Red, White & Royal Blue, Taylor Zakhar Perez was keeping his cards close to his chest when it came to the sequel to the royal rom-com. However, he shared what he hopes will happen in the sequel. “I’d like to see Alex grow a bit more out from under his parents and use what he’s learned in the White House and take that on the road because I think that’d be really exciting,” said Perez. “I’m also excited to see [Alex and Nicholas Galitzine’s Prince Henry] together as a unit because they kind of operated independently.”
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Harvey Guillén from What We Do in The Shadows was flowing in a Christian Siriano number as he talked to Ramos about the final season of the Emmy-nominated What We Do in the Shadows.
“It’s a little surreal because our last season is airing on October 21 so we’re here representing season five,” he said. “It’s nostalgic and our director is wearing one of the dresses made by one of our amazing customers who just passed away, actually, a couple of days ago. It’s kind of like everything’s a little bit morbid, sad, and saying goodbye — but proud of the work that we’ve done, especially with characters that are queer on television.”
With November around the corner, the presidential election will be here before we know it. As LGTBQ rights are on the line, Hacks star and Emmy nominee Hannah Einbinder stressed how registering to vote and actually voting is important more now than ever.
“Vote… and vote in local elections, which is really where you can find like the impact of leftist politics,” Einbinder pointed out. “That’s where you’re really going to be able to see an impact in your local community in a way that feels progressive.”
SNL‘s Yang said on the red carpet: “I feel like it’s still one of those things where voting is taken for granted here, and I understand how electoral politics might seem a little bit helpless at times. The people who do show up every year and vote — even in the primaries and special elections — it can feel like you can’t directly see the impact of that but it is like this investment of time.”
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Chris Olsen, who is on tour with Meghan Trainor added, “Voting is so important. In 2016, I was sitting in my theater school and everyone thought, ‘No way Trump is going to win,’ and a bunch of students around me didn’t vote. Yes, we can all be excited, and we can think, ‘Oh, other people are going to vote’. That means you should too. Because if you don’t, and it doesn’t go the way you want. You can’t say you tried.”
Even for Reservation Dogs‘ Jacobs, who is from Canada and can’t vote in the upcoming election, realizes the importance of voting. “I am all for considering other people and looking out for one another,” she said, “and so making sure that we’re keeping everyone in mind that nobody gets left behind in this vote — that everyone’s human rights are protected, — should dictate your vote. I can’t vote in the U.S. election. I’m not from this side of the border, but I think it’s really important to consider each of us in our votes.”