73rd Emmy Award nominations make queer history

Pose star Mj Rodriguez has become the first out transgender actor or actress nominated for an Emmy Award in a lead acting category.

Rodriguez was nominated for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series for her role as Blanca in the series, which has broken new ground for queer, especially transgender, representation and performers.

Pose received other notable nominations including Billy Porter for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series, Outstanding Directing For a Drama Series (Steven Canals) and Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series (Canals, Ryan Murphy, Brad Falchuck, Janet Mock, and Our Lady J) for the series finale. The show was also nominated in the Outstanding Drama Series category.

GLAAD President and CEO Sarah Kate Ellis said that Rodriguez’s Emmy nomination “is a breakthrough for transgender women in Hollywood, and a long-overdue recognition for her groundbreaking performance over the past three seasons of Pose.”

Porter’s nomination was his third for the role as master of ceremonies Pray Tell in Pose. He won the award in 2019, making him the first openly gay black actor to take the honour.

Other LGBTQ-inclusive series, including Bridgerton, Lovecraft Country, The Boys, The Handmaid’s Tale and This Is Us, were also nominated in the Outstanding Drama Series category, among others.

Hacks, The Flight Attendant and Pen15, which featured LGBTQ characters, were nominated for Outstanding Comedy Series. The Outstanding Limited or Anthology Series category nominees I May Destroy You, The Queen’s Gambit, and Mare of Easttown also included LGBTQ characters

Queer Eye, RuPaul’s Drag Race: Untucked and RuPaul’s Drag Race all received nominations. Queer Eye hosts Bobby Berk, Karamo Brown, Tan France, Antoni Porowski, and Jonathan Van Ness as well as RuPaul were nominated for Outstanding Host for a Reality or Competition Program.

The 73rd Annual Emmy Awards will take place on Sunday 19 September in Los Angeles.