Who LGBTQ Viewers Should Root for at the Emmys
09/17/18
Who We're Rooting for at the Emmys
Last week, the Creative Arts Emmys gave awards to a host of LGBTQ folks and people of color, bringing their stories out of the margins and into the limelight. Tonight, the Television Academy has the opportunity to do so again -- and this time, it will be televised for America.
The following list features the Emmy-nominated shows, actors, writers, and directors who have moved the needle for The Resistance in the past year. Who are you rooting for? Leave your thoughts in the comments. And don't miss NBC's live broadcast Monday at 8 p.m. Eastern/5 p.m. Pacific.
Best Reality Competition Program
Though public opinion on RuPaul has shifted over the years, there is no denying the impact RuPaul's Drag Race has had in bringing aspects of queer culture into the mainstream. Though Ru, who took home an Emmy for Outstanding Host last weekend, has become rather controversial over his views on the transgender community, the show has still given a platform to many wonderful queens, and that alone deserves an Emmy for Reality Competition Program.
Best Limited Series
Created by Ryan Murphy, the miniseries The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story shocked and saddened the world this year, bringing Gianni Versace back intp the limelight. Telling the true and tragic story of the life and murder of the gay fashion designer, the series is riveting and raw. With an all-star cast and compelling storytelling, this is one to root for!
Best Actress, Comedy
This is a tough one. We're torn between the great out comedian Lily Tomlin for her role as free-spirited artist Frankie Bergstein on Grace and Frankie and the redoubtable Allison Janney for her turn as passive-aggressive recovering addict Bonnie Plunkett on Mom. Both have shelves full of awards, including Emmys, but they're both deserving of more. The rest of the nominees in this category are pretty impressive too: Pamela Adlon in Better Things, Rachel Brosnahan in The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, Issa Rae in Insecure, and Tracee Ellis Ross in Black-ish.
Best Comedy
This year's comedy category is rife with socially important shows that depict the experiences of marginalized people. While Atlanta and Black-ish provide wry, witty representation for people of color, GLOW and The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel handily tackle feminist issues. Meanwhile, gay actor Tituss Burgess would steal the show as the over-the-top Titus Andromedon on Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt if there weren't so many quirky, unhinged characters populating that gem from Tina Fey and Robert Carlock.
Best Drama
In a crowded category of heavy hitters like The Crown, The Americans, and Westworld (which stars out actress Evan Rachel Wood), The Handmaid's Tale, with its feminist themes and queer female characters (not to mention the excellent soundtrack), is a standout in the field. But all of the excellent nominated series offer LGBTQ appeal.
Best Actress, Drama
There's not a single outlier among the women nominated for Outstanding Actress in a Drama Series. The category includes Claire Foy for The Crown; Keri Russell for The Americans; Tatiana Maslany for playing no fewer than a dozen clones (including the queer Cosima) on Orphan Black; out actress Evan Rachel Wood for Westworld; Elisabeth Moss for the Herculean feat of anchoring queer-themed The Handmaid's Tale; and Sandra Oh, the first Asian-American woman ever nominated in the category, for Killing Eve, a show that includes a lead bisexual character. If only they could all win.
Supporting Actress, Comedy
If any of these women win in the category of Supporting Actress, Comedy, it would be a victory! Our queer favorites include out lesbian Kate McKinnon, nominated for her various roles on Saturday Night Live, and Megan Mullally for her bisexual role as Karen Walker on Will & Grace. While the 2018 revival of Roseanne was polarizing for its lead, the gorgeous Laurie Metcalf, who portrays Jackie Harris, is also one to watch.
Supporting Actress, Drama
Each of these actresses plays empowered, complicated, take-no-prisoners characters worthy of an Emmy. From Alexis Bledel's fierceness to Yvonne Strahovski's take on how women can be complicit in misogyny to Ann Dowd's creepy oppressive madness, this category is the tale of three Handmaids. But Millie Bobby Brown's Eleven is girl power with supernatural abilities, Lena Headey's Cersei is deliciously brutal, Thandie Newton's Maeve is hypnotic, and Vanessa Kirby's Princess Margaret is, well, no princess.
Supporting Actor, Comedy
Tituss Burgess breathes life into the role of Titus Andromedon on Netflix's original series Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt. He plays the role perfectly, and the show does not shy away from bringing up the hardships that go along with being a marginalized person. Tituss and Titus are both bubbly, fun, and frankly deserving of an Emmy for Supporting Actor, Comedy.
Best Actress, Limited Series or TV Movie
We love all the nominees in this category. Out actress Sarah Paulson had a terrfic turn on American Horror Story: Cult as Ally Mayfair-Richards, who was even more traumatized by the 2016 election than most of us. Regina King likewise tackled contemporary issues as Latrice Butler, a mother whose son died at the hands of a cop, in Seven Seconds. Jessica Biel showed her dramatic range as deeply troubled killer Cora Tannetti in The Sinner. Michelle Dockery demonstrated range too, playing Godless's tough pioneer Alice Fletcher, a character far removed from the steely but privileged Lady Mary of Downton Abbey. Edie Falco's portrayal of determined, unconventional attorney Leslie Abrahamson on Law & Order True Crime: The Menendez Murders gave us yet more reason to love her. Another actress we've loved for a long time, Laura Dern, endeared herself to us further with her performance in The Tale as Jennifer, a woman coming to realize her years-ago "relationship" with an older man was actually sexual abuse.
Best Actor, Limited Series or TV Movie
For those rooting for diversity, Darren Criss and John Legend are the clear favorites in this category. Criss killed as the queer villain Andrew Cunanan in FX's The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story, which showed the making of Gianni Versace's murderer. And Legend was heavenly as Jesus in the NBC musical, Jesus Christ Superstar Live in Concert, which was the final production of the late gay producer Craig Zadan. Legend already gained EGOT status last weekend as a producer of the musical -- why not add one more to his trophy shelf?
Supporting Actress, Limited Series or a Movie
Every woman in the Supporting Actress, Limited Series or a Movie category is worthy of an Emmy: Penelope Cruz as the grieving Donatella Versace in The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story; Sara Bareilles as a singing Mary Magdalene in NBC's Jesus Christ Superstar Live in Concert; Merritt Weaver as lesbian gunslinger Mary Agnes in Netflix's Godless; Black Panther's Letitia Wright as an avenger out for racial justice in Black Mirror's "Black Museum"; Adina Porter as cutthroat reporter Beverly Hope in FX's American Horror Story: Cult; and Judith Light as the widowed cosmetics maven Marilyn Miglin in American Crime Story.
Since the legendary Light has somehow never won a Primetime Emmy, however, place the chips on her.
Supporting Actor, Limited Series or Movie
For Supporting Actor, Limited Series or Movie, we're rooting for the men of The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story. Chief among them is Ricky Martin, who portrays Gianni Versace's partner, Antonio D'Amico. But we also have much love for Edgar Ramirez, who commanded the role of the murdered Versace, as well as Finn Wittrock, who plays another one of serial killer Andrew Cunanan's victims, Jeff Trail, a military man who is kicked out of the Navy for being gay.
Television Movie
One of the most powerful embodiments of the revelations of #MeToo, HBO's The Tale is an autobiographical film about director Jennifer Fox's revelations with her experience being repeatedly raped as a child. Chilling, experimental, and the ultimate explanation for why it takes decades for many victims to come forward with accusations of abuse, this film is mandatory viewing. Plus, having Laura Dern at her most raw doesn't hurt either.
Variety Sketch Series
The category of Variety Sketch Series features shows that star some of our favorite women in Hollywood: Kate McKinnon in Saturday Night Live, Carrie Brownstein in Portlandia, Sarah Silverman in I Love You, America, Amy Sedaris in At Home With Amy Sedaris, and Tracey Ullman in Tracey Ullman's Show. The category will likely go to SNL for its Resistance-centered comedy, but any of these female-centric series is a winner in our book.
Variety Talk Series
Samantha Bee is the only woman nominated in the category of Variety Talk Series, for Full Frontal With Samantha Bee - and the only host willing to call out the government's attacks on the dignity of minorities in America with no apologies. When a woman's perspective is so necessary for the news cycle, a woman's comedy is needed too. Plus, nothing would bother Trump more than giving the woman who called Ivanka a "feckless cunt" an Emmy.
Directing for a Comedy Series
The pilots of Netflix's GLOW and Amazon's The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel introduced viewers to shows centered on strong female characters who are toppling the patriarchy in their own ways: GLOW through an all-female wrestling league and Mrs. Maisel through the laughter of a period comedy. In this spirit, good luck to GLOW's Jesse Peretz and the Marvelous Amy Sherman-Palladino.
Directing for a Limited Series
Who could it be in this category but Ryan Murphy, the prolific gay TV creator who's become his own brand? Murphy is nominated for "The Man Who Would Be Vogue,"an episode of his series The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story. The series explored the death of the gay fashion designer (Edgar Ramirez) at the hands of serial killer Andrew Cunanan. Murphy has previously taken home Emmys for directing Glee and producing The Normal Heart and The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story.
Directing for a Variety Series
Carrie Brownstein is the only woman nominated in this category; she's honored for directing an episode of her dearly departed Portlandia. We're cheering for this multihyphenate for busting that glass ceiling and being a fierce out role model (writing, directing, music, TV -- she can do anything!).
Writing for a Comedy Series
Who knew the story of a 1950s Jewish housewife who shatters comedy's glass ceiling could feel so relevant in 2018? For The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel's excellent writing (and for creating Gilmore Girls), Amy Sherman-Palladino deserves the prize.
Writing for a Drama Series
If the Emmys get it right, actress and writer Phoebe Waller-Bridge will pick up her first Emmy on Monday for her darkly quirky cat-and-mouse suspense series Killing Eve. in which the endlessly talented Jodie Comer plays an assassin obsessed with Sandra Oh's British intelligence agent. However, The Handmaid's Tale's second season continued to offer up devastating, thoughtful, important storylines about LGBTQ people and women at an increasingly difficult juncture for marginalized people.
Outstanding Writing for a Limited Series
We're hoping Tom Rob Smith, up agains four other guys in this category, is honored for his work on The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story. This British novelist-turned-screenwriter did excellent work on Ryan Murphy's crime opus, and it'd be nice for a young gay man to take home a trophy.
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