We created the Autostraddle TV Awards (formerly known as “the Gay Emmys”) in 2018 to honor the groundbreaking LGBTQ+ television so often overlooked and undervalued by mainstream television awards. Representation had been improving steadily for years, with massive sea change in quality and quantity of queer characters kicking off around 2017. In 2020, things were looking so good that I overzealously added a billion new categories (we reversed that decision in 2021). The past year, however, has been bleak. There’s been less television in general due to the refusal of studios to pay writers and actors what they deserved, thus leading to a strike, and we’ve also seen epic levels of cancellations and many steps backwards when it comes to shows centering queer female characters. It’s never been more important to create opportunities to celebrate and bestow accolades upon all the hot, smart gay people making really good TV and ensure that ‘making deeply queer stuff’ isn’t mutually exclusive from ‘having awards to post on your imdb profiles.” Of all the things we do at Autostraddle, The Autostraddle TV Awards routinely feels like one of the most important, and we’re always so grateful to our members for making this work possible.
Of all the shows snagging TV awards in best series and acting categories this year, only one is returning for additional seasons (Hacks). Of the 20 shows nominated for best live-action series across three genres (Drama, Comedy, Sci-Fi/Fantasy), only five have been renewed for additional seasons. On the upside, we are thriving in the realm of comedy, with so many shows and characters to choose from this year.
Conversely, this was our easiest year narrowing down nominees for our Drama and Sci-Fi/Fantasy brackets — we’re over the moon about our nominees, but didn’t have the usual 5-10 shows we were devastated to see cut in the nominations round. It wasn’t that long ago that we were choosing between shows in those two categories like Killing Eve, Euphoria, Gentleman Jack, The L Word: Generation Q, How to Get Away With Murder, A League Of Their Own, Black Lightning, Batwoman, Wynonna Earp, Marvel’s Runaways and Pose. It’s really important that more queer-centric shows get made so that I can recap something besides Emily in Paris!
But, I don’t want to keep dwelling on the past when we have such an incredible group of nominees and winners to celebrate today. The four shows that received the most wins this year were Under the Bridge, The Fall of the House of Usher and Station 19 (a tip of our hats to the 15,523 Station 19 fans who ensured Maya and Carina went out with a bang in the Fan Favorite categories). We also added a new category this year for Best Reality TV. Queer contestants have been mainstays on Reality TV since before we made it into narrative television, but we’ve been getting more things like our very own dating shows and gay housewives, and this category embodies our hope for that to keep going.
Finally, we’re so pleased to be able to bestow awards upon so many shows we’re saying goodbye to this year, like Station 19, Rap Sh!t, Sort Of, Riverdale, Minx and Everything Now.
Without any further ado… here are the winners!
Outstanding Drama Series: Under the Bridge
Nominees: Expats, Mary & George, A Murder at the End of the World, The Other Black Girl, Riverdale
Under the Bridge showed us what the true crime genre is capable of at its very best. Based on Rebecca Godfrey’s book by the same name, Under the Bridge tells the story of the murder of Canadian-Indian 14-year-old Reena Virk, who was beaten and killed by her peers in 1997 British Columbia. Queer showrunner Quinn Shephard’s adaptation is less concerned with scandal or mystery than it is with empathy and curiosity, telling a haunting story about cruelty and desire and the aching compromises and mistakes we make trying to fit in to a place that won’t make space for us. Riley Keough’s Rebecca becomes the central character in the narrative which also invents the role of Cam Bentland (Lily Gladstone), who as a kid was taken out of her Indigenous community and adopted by a family of white cops, eventually becoming a cop itself. While Rebecca and Cam’s very hot bathroom makeout scene is what really imprinted itself on the collective lesbian consciousness, their relationship is ultimately about so much more than that, as both women push each other to grapple with and reevaluate their concepts of family, exploitation, guilt, justice and forgiveness. – Riese
Outstanding Comedy Series: Hacks
Nominees: Deadloch, Minx, Reservation Dogs, Sex Education, Sort Of, Such Brave Girls, We Are Lady Parts
Season after season, Hacks continues to be effortlessly hilarious while also slapping you in the face with a handful of feelings. This season, Ava did her best to live a separate life of her former work partner but got pulled back into Deborah’s orbit slowly, surely, and inevitably. This season queer antics include (but are not limited to) Ava trying to balance having a live-in girlfriend and being married to her job, Helen Hunt as a ruthless network exec whose pickleball partner is her ex-wife, and Christina Hendricks as a gay Republican with a caddy kink.
What’s also great about this show is that it’s not just a static comedy where all the characters learn a lesson for a bit but never actually grow or change. The evolution of both Deborah and Ava is evident in each season, and they almost sort of seem to be growing toward each other. This season, we saw Deborah defending bisexuality to her peers that she was trying desperately to impress, despite knowing that it might affect her career, we saw Ava make a move that can only be described as a Deborah Vance Special. This show doesn’t lose its brilliance as time goes on, and I’m glad you all agree. -Valerie
Outstanding Sci-Fi/Fantasy Series: The Fall of the House of Usher
Nominees: Gen V, The Horror of Dolores Roach, Monarch: Legacy of Monsters, Our Flag Means Death
In eight wild episodes, Mike Flanagan smashed together the works of Edgar Allan Poe with a very crucial twist: making everyone gay. Or, at least, close to everyone. In all seriousness, the macabre madcap thrillride that is Netflix’s The Fall of the House of Usher is not only a great ensemble horror series but also a feast for literary nerds, pulling at the strings of all of Poe’s most interesting themes and questions but with a modern sensibility. The series is fun, but it’s also a sharp critique of capitalism and big pharma. It speaks to the show’s depth and details that even when you know what’s going to happen, you cannot look away. -Kayla
Outstanding Animated Series: Hazbin Hotel
Nominees: Harley Quinn, Moon Girl & Devil Dinosaur, Scott Pilgrim Takes Off, The Second Best Hospital in the Galaxy, Star Trek: Lower Decks
Hazbin Hotel came onto the scene with a bit of a built-in fanbase that followed it from the YouTube pilot, and also the series Helluva Boss by the same creator, but it also stood on its own to those of us who didn’t find out about it until the Prime Video series came to be. With an all-star cast, including Broadway stars like Erika Henningson and Daphne Rubin-Vega, and TV legends like Stephanie Beatriz and Kimiko Glenn, the songs alone are worth watching the show for. But it’s not just the music that makes the show; despite being set in literal hell, Hazbin is full of so much heart, following Princess of Hell Charlie Morningstar, her girlfriend Vaggie, and their ragtag group of friends as they try to rehabilitate sinners to get them into heaven. While trying to improve their own selves, the hotel gang also learns to work together against Heaven’s angel army. No matter how bleak their situation seems, there is always a glimmer of hope, and despite being a silly, goofy show with songs about cannibals and a love song called Loser, Baby, the show really knows how to dig deep and get you right in the feels. Charlie and Vaggie’s relationship remains at the heart of the show; they hit some road bumps along the way but ultimately their love for each other is unbreakable.
A lot of my friends and I grew up with religious trauma from being queer and raised in a religious environment, and sometimes we joke that if we’re going to hell, at least we’ll be together, and that sort of is how this show feels sometimes. Sure, they’re in hell, but they’ve made a found family while they’re there, and if they can’t find a way out, at least they have each other. -Valerie
Outstanding Reality Series: The Ultimatum: Queer Love
Nominees: The Real Housewives of New York, The Traitors, Couple to Throuple, RuPaul’s Drag Race, Tournament of Champions, Top Chef: Wisconsin
Historically, messy reality dating show drama has been reserved for the straights, which has always confused me because I can count on one hand the number of times I’ve been at a queer gathering where there aren’t at least 3 exes present. We’re messy too, and with The Ultimatum: Queer Love, that drama finally went mainstream. There are a lot of dating shows out there, so if you’re unfamiliar with this one the premise goes like this. Five couples arrive after one member of each couple has given their partner the titular ultimatum: get married or break up. To decide this, the couples “break up” and essentially speed date the other people in the experiment before choosing one person to embark on a 3-week trial marriage with. What that marriage looks like differs based on each person’s comfort level, but yes, it gets MESSY. Afterwards, they get back with their original partner for another 3-week trial marriage which inevitably involves a lot of drama around what they did during their first trial marriage. From there they decide if they want to marry their original partner, break up, or a not so secret third option of deciding to date the person from their first trial marriage.
As you can imagine, there are a lot of dynamics at play here that determine who pairs off with whom; age, personality, gender presentation, top vs. bottom, who gave the ultimatum vs. who received the ultimatum. And so much of the interpersonal drama is based on those factors as well as communication (or lack thereof) or what is and isn’t allowed during trial marriages. The show gave us big personalities (Lexi and Vanessa), heartthrobs (lookin’ at you there, Mal), and no shortage of absolute chaos. I loved checking in with my queer group chats every week to find out what everyone’s takes were on each couple. I’m so glad y’all felt the same way, and fingers crossed we get just as much insanity in season 2. -Nic
Outstanding Lead Actor Playing an LGBTQ+ Character on a Drama Series: Lily Gladstone, Under the Bridge
Nominees: Sophie Wilde as Mia, Everything Now // Ji-young Yoo as Mercy, Expats // Yasmin Finney as Elle Argent, Heartstopper // Julianne Moore as Mary, Mary & George // Emma Corrin as Darby, A Murder at the End of the World // Lili Reinhart as Betty, Riverdale,
(Photo by: Bettina Strauss/Hulu)We are alas only human and it is impossible to deny the unyielding hotness of Lily Gladstone in this role, in her white t-shirt and her ponytail, hunched over the table, drinking a beer, experiencing emotional turmoil. Gladstone told Rotten Tomatoes that she’d read a lot of character breakdowns of Indigenous cops with skepticism, but chose to take this one on, seeing it as “an opportunity to indict law enforcement and to indict that power dynamic” of what happens when “a woman who largely is denied having power [is put] in such a role.” Cam faces so much over the course of eight mere episodes, delivering a journey that is yes, hot, but also shows that in the right hands, a tired trope can become an opportunity for genuine reckoning. – Riese
Outstanding Supporting Actor Playing an LGBTQ+ Character on a Drama Series: Danielle Savre as Maya Bishop, Station 19
Nominees: Lauren Patton as Anna, Death and Other Details // Madelaine Petsch as Cheryl, Riverdale // Vanessa Morgan as Toni Topaz, Riverdale // Laysla De Oliveira as Cruz Manuelos, Special Ops: Lioness // Maia Reficco as Noa, Pretty Little Liars: Summer School // Isabella LaBlanc as Leah Danvers, True Detective: Night Country
In the penultimate episode of Station 19, Maya Bishop sits down next to her best friend — Andy Herrera, the newly appointed captain — on the bumper of the fire truck, fires raging around them, and contemplates a future where she’d carry a baby. It’s such a far cry from the Maya Bishop we first met that even Andy is stunned. Surely the overly ambitious former Olympic runner isn’t pondering a future of swollen ankles and “chocolate ice cream and pickle cravings,” Andy opines, but Maya seems ready to embrace the possibility.
“Maya Kathleen, you have come a long way since ‘monogamy is for the weak,'” Herrera notes.
“That’s who I am now,” Maya confesses.
Watching Maya Bishop’s evolution into the person sitting on that fire truck, imagining a future that they had never fathomed, over seven seasons of Station 19 has been a gift. It’s a credit to the writing, of course, but also to Danielle Savre, who dug so deep into playing this character that every step in that evolution felt earned. Savre brought Maya to life, adding dimension to someone who, in less skilled hands, could’ve been a caricature. As the writing for Maya leveled up, so too did Savre’s performance and, in the end, there wasn’t a bar that the writers could set that the actress wouldn’t meet. -Natalie
Outstanding Lead Actor Playing an LGBTQ+ Character on a Comedy Series: Bilal Baig, Sort Of
Nominees: Kate Box as Dulcie Collins, Deadloch // Paula Pell as Gloria, Girls 5 Eva // Hannah Einbinder as Ava, Hacks // Kat Sadler as Josie, Such Brave Girls // Juliette Motamed as Ayesha, We Are Lady Parts
Often, the bigger the performance, the more attention it receives. We celebrate actors who scream or cry or completely transform. But throughout the three seasons of Sort Of, Sabi holds themself together by revealing less. It’s a testament to Bilal Baig’s talent that behind these walls there has always been an obvious well of depth. Season three find Sabi grieving the loss of their dead while beginning medical transition. They’ve also allowed more of their vulnerabilities to be visible to the world — or, at least, those closest to them. Baig portrays these nuances with a rich, grounded performance. Their deadpan comic timing is matched by an ability to reveal immense emotions with just their eyes. It’s been a gift to watch Baig embody Sabi during this chapter of their journey. Their performance is a work of sharp subtlety and deserves endless reward. – Drew
Outstanding Supporting Actor Playing an LGBTQ+ Character on a Comedy Series: Jonica Blu Booth, Rap Sh!t
Nominees: Poppy Liu as Grace, The Afterparty // Nava Mau as Terri, Baby Reindeer // Helen Hunt as Winnie Landell, Hacks // Jessica Lowe as Bambi, Minx // Lennon Parham as Shelly, Minx // Dua Saleh as Cal Bowman, Sex Education
In the wave of cancellations experienced by shows with an ounce of marginalized representation, Rap Sh!t’s hit me especially hard. Jonica Booth’s portrayal of Chastity was a big reason why. At first, I didn’t have strong feelings about the duke of Miami; she was a sex work manager and friend of Shawna and Mia’s who wanted to move into managing their music careers as well. Chastity’s one of those people who can talk their way into any room, if only because the bouncer is tired of hearing her spiel. But as the series progressed, so did Chastity’s growth and depth. We got to see more of her compassionate side without watering down her hustle. She put her heart and soul into getting Shawna and Mia more exposure for their music, sometimes even at the expense of her own pride, and we saw her get thrown to the side in spite of that effort. Jonica’s performance in the season two finale beautifully captured the hurt and anger that Chastity felt after her friends betrayed her. I’m gutted that we won’t get more of Jonica in this role, but I can’t wait to see what she does next. -Nic
Outstanding Lead Actor Playing an LGBTQ+ Character In a Sci-Fi/Fantasy Series: Carla Gugino, The Fall of the House of Usher
Nominees: Lena Heady as Aster Calyx, Beacon 23 // Jaz Sinclair as Marie, Gen V // Justina Machado as Dolores Roach, The Horror of Dolores Roach // Anna Sawai as Cate Randa, Monarch: Legacy of Monsters // Rosamund Pike as Moiraine Damodred, The Wheel of Time
I already knew Carla Gugino was a legend before The Fall of the House of Usher. I had watched her do basically a one-woman show in Gerald’s Game, fell in love with her as the mother in Haunting of Hill House, and had her break my whole heart in Haunting of Bly Manor. There’s a reason Mike Flanagan keeps casting her, and who could possibly blame him. But I don’t think I understood the full range of Carla Gugino’s talent before I watched The Fall of the House of Usher. She practically played a different character in each episode, showing up to each of the Usher siblings as they needed her to in order to get through to them. She rocked every single outfit, regardless of time period or theme, and carried herself with such grace and poise no matter the situation. Her voice is so soothing, it’s like everything she says is poetry, so when she’s reciting actual poetry, it’s something even more magical. This show was a series of Poe vignettes and Carla Gugino was the seamless silver thread that ran through them, and I can’t imagine anyone else in that role. Depending on the situation, she embodies a mysterious figure, a sexual enticement, a motherly comfort, or a fearsome presence. She is a force to be reckoned with, and frankly I would have probably been enthralled into making a wild and dangerous deal with her, too, if she looked at me looking like THAT.
Outstanding Supporting Actor Playing an LGBTQ+ Character In a Sci-Fi/Fantasy Series: T’nia Miller, The Fall of the House of Usher
Nominees: Kate Siegel as Camille L’Espanaye, The Fall of the House of Usher // Derek Luh and London Thor as Jordan, Gen V // Shioli Kutsuna as Mitsuki Yamato, Invasion // Kiersey Clemons as May, Monarch: Legacy of Monsters // Vico Ortiz as Jim Jimenez, Our Flag Means Death
This isn’t the first time Miller has been a standout performer in a Mike Flanagan production — she was easily my favorite part of Bly Manor. And in Fall of the House of Usher, she plays an unraveling evil gay who captivates all the way up to her final chilling moments. The episode that centers her character, Victorine, contains some top-notch acting across the board, but Miller rises to the top. There’s a theatrical cadence to her monologuing that I mean in the literal sense — she makes you feel as if you’re watching a very good, very fucked up play. -Kayla
Outstanding Performance By an Out LGBTQ+ Actor in a Drama: Lily Gladstone, Under the Bridge
Nominees: Midori Francis Iwama in Grey’s Anatomy, Emma Corrin in A Murder at the End of the World, Lili Reinhart in Riverdale, Jodie Foster in True Detective: Night Country. Aiyana Goodfellow in Under the Bridge
(Photo by: Bettina Strauss/Hulu)
What else can I say about Lily Gladstone in Under the Bridge that I did not already say about LIly Gladstone in Under the Bridge? Maybe how important it is for writers to work closely with the actors portraying marginalized characters in their work, knowing how Gladstone deepened Cam’s character and background after signing on to the project. Her collaboration re-positioned Cam’s initial draw to Vancouver for a promotion as perhaps indicative of something more, a way to return to who she really is rather than another step away in the direction chosen for her. But conversations about representation aside; Gladstone’s just a damn good actor. Everybody keeps talking about how this is a huge year for her. I think we’re hoping, in retrospect, huge will become her new normal. -Riese
Outstanding Performance By An Out LGBTQ+ Actor in a Comedy: Ayo Edebiri, The Bear
Nominees: Jessica Gunning in Baby Reindeer, Nava Mau in Baby Reindeer, Paula Pell in Girls5Eva, Jonica Blu Booth in Rap Sh!t, Devery Jacobs in Reservation Dogs, Bilal Baig in Sort Of
Whether she’s honoring the laws of time travel or punching girls in the face, it’s impossible not to love the wit and charm of Edebiri. But some of her finest work is, of course, on the television show The Bear, a show beloved by much of the Autostraddle team, so can they please add a sapphic storyline so we can cover it regularly, already? Edebiri’s performance as Sydney in season one of the series was already strong, but in season two, she’s even better, both comedically and dramatically going toe-to-toe with Jeremy Allen White in their shared scenes together, but we also get to see a more expansive view of Sydney as a character in season two, and Edebiri lends great specificity to that. -Kayla
Outstanding Performance by an Out LGBTQ+ Actor in a Sci-Fi/Fantasy Series: Devery Jacobs, Echo
Nominees: Kate Mara in Black Mirror, Kate Siegel in The Fall of the House of Usher, Kiersey Clemons in Monarch: Legacy of Monsters, Celia Rose Gooding in Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, Stephanie Beatriz in Twisted Metal
We had it good for a while. There was a moment when the powers that be crafted worlds, protected by a new brand of superheroes. They gave us an Afro-Latina Batgirl, an androgynous Supergirl, a South Asian Marvel, and a deaf and indigenous badass. We could all be heroes, they told us.
But then came the backlash: a vociferous minority determined to always cast themselves as the hero of every story. They could not abide something like Echo existing in the world…a story which, at its root, is about the power of the matriarchy. They did what they do, creating a narrative about the show — which, in all likelihood, they’ve never even seen — in hopes of blunting its reach and, sadly, more often than not, their efforts are successful. Watching that play out, over and over again, over the last few years has been so disheartening. So I am particularly grateful to see this award not just to tout the talent of Devery Jacobs but also to celebrate this show and remind us all that we can be heroes.
What is remarkable about Jacobs’ performance in Echo — and what, frankly, is a hallmark of nearly all her performances — is the immediate depth she imbues in Bonnie and imparts upon her relationship with Maya. The cousins have been separated for years and yet, the moment that forces conspire to finally reunite them, you feel it. You feel the depth of their connection, a depth that hasn’t been eroded by time. You feel the heartbreak from their initial separation, Bonnie’s desperation to maintain their connection, and (ultimately) the contentment at being brought back together. It all happens with very few words being exchanged. It all happens because Jacobs has this innate ability to funnel that emotion into whatever character she plays. – Natalie
Outstanding LGBTQ+ Showrunner/Writer/Producer: Brittani Nichols, Abbott Elementary
Nominees: Devery Jacobs for Reservation Dogs, Erica Tremblay for Reservation Dogs, Bilal Baig for Sort Of, Kat Sadler for Such Brave Girls, Quinn Shephard for Under the Bridge
Myung J. Chun / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images
I’m thrilled that Brittani won both the team vote and the fan vote, so I can have this opportunity to sing the praises of my friend. Brittani is a great writer and producer for the same reasons she’s a great person. She’s one of the funniest people I know and her humor is somehow matched by a certainty in her values. In an industry where many feel like they have to compromise principles to get anything made, Brittani is stubborn and steadfast in doing things the right way. It’s no surprise to me that she works on a show that’s achieved major mainstream success while capturing the ways we fail public schools, teachers, and kids in the United States. Abbott Elementary is such a funny and entertaining show, it’s easy to overlook how impressive it is to get something so politically sharp on network TV and have it be a hit. Brittani brings her full self to everything she does and Abbott Elementary and Hollywood at large are lucky to have her. – Drew
Santana Lopez Legacy Award For Outstanding Queer Teen Character: Sophie Wilde, Everything Now
Nominees: Quinn, Heartbreak High // Jukebox, Power Book III: Raising Kanan // Noa, Pretty Little Liars: Summer School // Cheryl Blossom, Riverdale // Cal, Sex Education
Wilde’s Mia Polanco begins the series having just gotten out of a recovery program for an eating disorder, and from the start, Wilde makes all of Mia’s jagged edges so piercing. This isn’t a pristine queer teen character but rather a very messy one, one who lashes out at her friends and sometimes acts chaotically, self-sabotages. Wilde balances the scales well, making sure never to soften those edges but still making Mia a character worthy of empathy and understanding, even at the character’s worst. -Kayla
Outstanding Episode with LGBTQ+ Themes: Riverdale Episode 720: Chapter 137
Nominees: Expats 105: “Central” // Hacks 308: “Bulletproof” // Minx 207: “God closes a door, opens a glory hole” // Rap Sh!t 208: “Under Construction” // Riverdale 720: “Chapter 137” // Under the Bridge 103: “Blood Oath”
Yes, it’s fun to make jokes about the series finale of Riverdale, which places the core four characters — Betty, Veronica, Jughead, and Archie — in a quad relationship, but have you considered that the episode is actually quite INCREDIBLE? In the span of the finale, Riverdale captures everything that made the series so delightful, oddball, and campy over the course of its seven episodes, which is no small feat considering just how much this series did and tried through the years. Endings are hard, but Riverdale approached its own the way it approached everything: never letting you guess their next move. -Kayla
Groundbreaking Representation: Sort Of
Nominees: Everything Now, Heartbreak High, Reservation Dogs, Sex Education, Sort Of, We Are Lady Parts
In the first episode of Sort Of, Sabi Mehboob’s best friend, 7ven, invites them to join her in Berlin. She’s secured a paid internship at a gallery there and she insists that Sabi join her in the “queerest city in the universe.” They’re leaving in a few days, 7ven announces, barely affording Sabi space to make their own decision. Eventually, though, Sabi comes around…not because they’re eager to go to Berlin but because they’re longing for an escape. But then, an accident puts her boss, Bessy, into a coma and Sabi decides to stay…not for themselves but for Bessy and for Bessy’s children.
“It’s not even a choice,” they say later.
But by Sort Of‘s end, Sabi is on a plane — in business class no less — on their way to Berlin. They’re by themselves this time, embracing a future that they’ve chosen, not one that’s been prescribed for them. Sabi stops letting others and their judgements dictate their path and, instead, chooses their own adventure.
Sort Of will be remembered for being the first show to center a character like Sabi — non-binary, trans-femme, Pakistani, Muslim, and messy — and for pushing the Canadian Screen Awards toward gender-neutral performance categories. It is groundbreaking for all those reasons. But what’s truly groundbreaking is the message: the idea that we’re all transitioning in our own way, whether your doing it medically or hopping on flight to a new city…or in Sabi’s case, both at the same time. We’re all evolving into the people we’re meant to be…and delivering that message, at this particular moment, feels like the most groundbreaking thing Sort Of ever did. -Natalie
Outstanding Performance By a Straight Actress in a Straight Role: Liza Colon-Zayas as Tina, The Bear
Nominees: Janelle James as Ava Coleman, Abbott Elementary // Sheryl Lee Ralph as Barbara Howard, Abbott Elementary // Liza Colon-Zayas as Tina, The Bear // Michelle Yeoh as Mama Sun, The Brothers Sun // Sarayu Blue as Hilary Starr, Expats // Anjana Vasan as Amina, We Are Lady Parts
While it wasn’t until season three that Liza Colon-Zayas’ Tina received her own focused episode, she’s always been one of my favorite characters on The Bear. In season two, she is sent to culinary school where she begins to thrive in a way she never imagined. Colon-Zayas has always been funny, making Tina a worthy sparring partner for Carmy and Sydney, but in the second season we’re allowed to see a more vulnerable side to her. She’s found something she really wants, something she’s really good at or could be really good at, and it’s a scary realization. Colon-Zayas portrays this desire with an immense tenderness and fire. She’s not just Sydney’s sous chef, she’s also a sous chef of sorts to the show. She’s not always be the focus, but her presence is essential to the recipe of the show. – Drew
Outstanding Cis Male Character: Richie, The Bear
Nominees: Gregory in Abbot Elementary, Marcus Brooks in The Bear, Richie in The Bear, Jimmy Lusaque, Jr. in Hacks, Cory Ellison in The Morning Show, Bill in A Murder at the End of the World
From the moment we meet Richie Jerimovich, he’s kind of a jerk. At first, you want to chalk it up to the circumstances: he lost his best friend and his marriage, and had been running The Original Beef of Chicagoland until Carmy returned to claim the gift his brother — Richie’s aforementioned best friend — left to him. But then, huddled together, working to repair the restaurant’s mixer, Marcus wonders aloud, “Hey, was Richie always an asshole?”
“Always and forever,” Richie’s longtime friend, Neil Fak, admits. “Dude, he’s the fucking worst.”
For most of that first season, The Bear affirms over and over again that Richie Jermovich is the absolute worst. But early in the second season, Richie confesses that he lacks purpose and worries that he’ll be left behind. It’s the most introspective that we’ve ever seen Richie and it’s the beginning of an incredible metamorphosis. By the time The Bear debuts and Richie finds himself expediting on opening night, you’re not just cheering for him, you know that he can do it…even when he, himself, doubts it.
Ebon Moss-Bacharach is amazing in the role, revealing that there’s more to Richie than his bluster. I relished Moss-Bacharach showcasing Richie’s emotions but, above all, I love his embodiment — the steeled spine, the renewed light — of a man who found his purpose. -Natalie
Outstanding Hairstyling for an LGBTQ+ Character: Jaz Sinclair, Gen V
Nominees: Karoline in Death and Other Details // Lola Rahaii inThe Girls on the Bus // Griselda in Griselda // Darby in A Murder at the End of the World // Abbi Montgomery in Sex Education
Marie Moreau is the queer lead character of Gen V, a young supe hoping to leave her past behind and harness her blood manipulation powers at Godolkin. Canadian hairstylist Charleen Shillingford is the visionary behind Marie Moreau’s hair. Across the series, hair is doing all kinds of storytelling work, from Jordan’s slicked-back hair letting loose as they retreat from Brink’s control to the cutesy blonde bob on Emma, who’s powers transform her into “Little Cricket.” For Marie, the loose, curly ends of her locs often mirror the tendrils of blood she harnesses in her palms, and the length and weight of her hair adds velocity as she whips her body back and forth practicing her powers.
Outstanding Costume Design for a Show With LGBTQ+ Characters: Marie Schley, Minx
Nominees: Giovanni Lipari, Sheena Napier, and Kate Carrin, The Buccaneers // Terry Anderson, The Fall of the House of Usher // Annie Symons, Mary & George // Marie Schley, Minx // Daniella Pearman, Sex Education // Marie Schley, Survival of the Thickest
On paper, I should not have loved this show as much as I did. However, in practice, it was a damn delight from start to finish. And the irony is not lost on me that the winner of the costume category is a show about a nudie mag. But! When people did have clothes on, what wonderful clothes they were. It’s set in 1970s Los Angeles, and not one stitch of clothing lets you forget it. It was really interesting to see which outfits, especially the women’s fashion, have come back around to being back in style, while there are definitely some outfits that stayed squarely in the 70s. Regardless of whether we would wear them now or not, everyone looked amazing in every scene. From Joyce’s feminized menswear, to Barbie’s gogo boots and revealing dresses, to Shelly’s housewife dresses and pearls, everyone’s wardrobe was perfectly suited to their personality. And it was also always interesting when each character veered from their norm to signal a change in their current desires and goals or a character shift. Like when Joyce would dress to the nines in a sparkly dress, or when Bambi would dress in more muted colors and longer hemlines when she wanted to be taken more seriously. The costuming in this show helped really immerse us in a time and place, and I’m glad they have won this category, even though there were some really strong contenders. – Valerie
Fan Favorite Couple: Maya & Carina, Station 19
Fan Favorite Character: Carina, Station 19
Fan Favorite Out LGBTQ+ Actor: Vico Ortiz, Our Flag Means Death
Edit – fan favourite character Carina’s photo. Otherwise amazing snatch by station 19. I will miss weekly mention of marina in your ‘boob(s on your) tube’ series so much.
fixed! sorry!
i hope lily gladstone wins the emmy, too! also rooting for nava mau.