The GLAAD Media Awards announced nominees January 28, but before we discuss the number of straight actors nominated for playing a gay character, let’s take a quick look at the criteria for scoring a nomination, shall we?
- Fair, Accurate, and Inclusive Representations – Rather than portraying the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer community using broad stereotypes, the project deals with the characters or themes in a fair, accurate, and multi-dimensional manner. Inclusive speaks to the importance of having the diversity of the LGBTQ community represented in our nominees.
- Boldness and Originality – The project breaks new ground by exploring LGBTQ subject matter in non-traditional ways, and handles the LGBTQ content in a fresh and original manner.
- Impact – The media project dramatically increases the cultural dialogue about LGBTQ issues, or reaches an audience that is not regularly exposed to LGBTQ images and issues. The project has significant cultural impact.
- Overall Quality – A project of extremely high quality adds significance to the images and issues portrayed and draws more viewers or readers to the material. Fair, accurate, and inclusive images may be weakened when they are part of a poor-quality project
The lack of category adjustments in a year that saw most forms of entertainment radically altered feels very out of touch; why both separating films into wide release and limited release when odds are we all watched them at home anyway? And why are three Netflix movies included in wide release but four are considered limited releases?
And you could pick a fight with a lot of this year’s nominees based on any one of those four pillars —does Ratched really reach an audience that is not regularly exposed to LGBTQ images and issues or handle LGBTQ content in a fresh way?—but what does it matter? Like most awards shows, the GLAAD Awards for for friends from friends.
For a the categories you probably care about, read on. For a full list of nominees—including ones for Joe Biden’s Town Hall and an episode of Watch What Happens Live—visit glaad.org.
Outstanding Film – Wide Release
The Craft: Legacy (Sony Pictures)
Happiest Season (Hulu)
Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom (Netflix)
The Old Guard (Netflix)
The Prom (Netflix)
Outstanding Film – Limited Release
Ammonite (NEON)
And Then We Danced (Music Box Films)
The Boys in the Band (Netflix)
The Half of It (Netflix)
I Carry You With Me (Sony Pictures Classics)
Kajillionaire (Focus Features)
The Life Ahead (Netflix)
Lingua Franca (ARRAY/Netflix)
Monsoon (Strand Releasing)
The True Adventures of Wolfboy (Vertical Entertainment)
Outstanding Documentary
Circus of Books (Netflix)
Disclosure (Netflix)
Equal (HBO Max)
For They Know Not What They Do (First Run Features)
Howard (Disney+)
Mucho Mucho Amor (Netflix)
Scream, Queen: My Nightmare on Elm Street (Virgil FIlms/Shudder)
Visible: Out on Television (Apple TV+)
We Are The Radical Monarchs (PBS POV)
Welcome to Chechnya (HBO)
Outstanding Comedy Series
Big Mouth (Netflix)
Dead to Me (Netflix)
Everything’s Gonna Be Okay (Freeform)
Harley Quinn (HBO Max)
Love, Victor (Hulu)
Saved by the Bell (Peacock)
Schitt’s Creek (Pop)
Sex Education (Netflix)
Superstore (NBC)
Twenties (BET)
Outstanding Drama Series
9-1-1: Lone Star (FOX)
Killing Eve (BBC America)
P-Valley (Starz)
Ratched (Netflix)
Star Trek: Discovery (CBS All Access)
Supergirl (The CW)
The Umbrella Academy (Netflix)
Vida (Starz)
The Wilds (Amazon)
Wynonna Earp (Syfy)
Outstanding TV Movie
Alice Júnior (Netflix)
Bad Education (HBO)
The Christmas House (Hallmark Channel)
The Christmas Setup (Lifetime)
Dashing in December (Paramount Network)
La Leyenda Negra (HBO Latino/HBO Max)
The Thing About Harry (Freeform)
Uncle Frank (Amazon Studios)
Unpregnant (HBO Max)
Your Name Engraved Herein (Netflix)
Outstanding Limited or Anthology Series
Dispatches from Elsewhere (AMC)
The Haunting of Bly Manor (Netflix)
Hollywood (Netflix)
I May Destroy You (HBO)
Little Fires Everywhere (Hulu)
Outstanding Reality Program
Deaf U (Netflix)
Legendary (HBO Max)
Queer Eye (Netflix)
RuPaul’s Drag Race (VH1)
We’re Here (HBO)
Outstanding Music Artist
Adam Lambert, Velvet (More Is More/Empire)
Brandy Clark, Your Life Is a Record (Warner Records)
Halsey, Manic (Capitol)
Kehlani, It Was Good Until It Wasn’t (Atlantic)
Lady Gaga, Chromatica (Streamline/Interscope)
Miley Cyrus, Plastic Hearts (RCA)
Pabllo Vittar, 111 (BMT/Sony Music Brasil)
Peppermint, A Girl Like Me: Letters to My Lovers (PEG Records)
Ricky Martin, Pausa (Sony Latin)
Sam Smith, Love Goes (Capitol)
Outstanding Breakthrough Music Artist
Arca, KiCk i (XL)
Chika, Industry Games (Warner Records)
FLETCHER, The (S)ex Tapes (Capitol)
Keiynan Lonsdale, Rainbow Boy (Keiynan Lonsdale)
Kidd Kenn, Child’s Play (Island Records)
Orville Peck, Show Pony (Columbia/Sub Pop)
Phoebe Bridgers, Punisher (Dead Oceans)
Rina Sawayama, Sawayama (Dirty Hit/Avex Trax)
Trixie Mattel, Barbara (PEG Records)
Victoria Monét, Jaguar (Tribe Records)
Outstanding Video Game
Assassin’s Creed Valhalla (Ubisoft)
Borderlands 3: Guns, Love, and Tentacles (2K Games)
Bugsnax (Young Horses)
Hades (Supergiant Games)
If Found… (Annapurna Interactive)
Ikenfell (Humble Games)
Immortals Fenyx Rising (Ubisoft)
The Last of Us Part IIÂ (Sony Interactive Entertainment)
Tell Me Why (Xbox Game Studios)
World of Warcraft: Shadowlands (Blizzard Entertainment)
Outstanding Comic Book
Empyre, Lords of Empyre: Emperor Hulkling, Empyre: Aftermath Avengers, by Al Ewing, Dan Slott, Chip Zdarsky, Anthony Oliveira, Valerio Schiti, Manuel Garcia, Cam Smith, Marte Gracia, Triona Farrell, Joe Caramagna, Ariana Maher, Travis Lanham (Marvel Comics)
Far Sector, by N.K. Jemisin, Jamal Campbell, Deron Bennett (DC Comics)
Guardians of the Galaxy, by Al Ewing, Juann Cabal, Nina Vakueva, Chris Sprouse, Belén Ortega, Marcio Takara, Karl Story, Federico Blee, Guru-eFX, Cory Petit (Marvel Comics)
Juliet Takes a Breath, by Gabby Rivera, Celia Moscote, James Fenner, DC Hopkins (Boom! Studios)
Lois Lane, by Greg Rucka, Mike Perkins, Gabe Eltaeb, Andy Troy, Simon Bowland (DC Comics)
The Magic Fish, by Trung Le Nguyen (Random House Graphic)
Suicide Squad, by Tom Taylor, Bruno Redondo, Daniel Sampere, Juan Albarran, Adriano Lucas, Wes Abbott (DC Comics)
Wynd, by James Tynion IV, Michael Dialynas, Aditya Bidikar (Boom! Studios)
X-Factor, by Leah Williams, David Baldeon, Carlos Gomez, Israel Silva, Joe Caramagna (Marvel Comics)
You Brought Me the Ocean, by Alex Sanchez, Julie Maroh, Deron Bennett (DC Comics)
