GLAAD, the world’s largest lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) media advocacy organization, announced the nominees for the 33rd Annual GLAAD Media Awards. RuPaul’s Drag Race Season 13 finalist Gottmik announced nominees in select GLAAD Media Awards categories live via GLAAD’s TikTok channel.
The GLAAD Media Awards honor media for fair, accurate, and inclusive representations of LGBTQ people and issues. Since its inception in 1990, the GLAAD Media Awards have grown to be the most visible annual LGBTQ awards show in the world, sending powerful messages of acceptance to audiences globally. The 33rd Annual GLAAD Media Awards are presented by Gilead Sciences, Inc. and Ketel One Family Made Vodka.
For a full list of nominees, see below or HERE. A tip sheet with a breakdown of nominations by media and trends among the nominees is available HERE.
The 33rd Annual GLAAD Media Awards nominees were published, released, or broadcast between January 1 and December 31, 2021. The GLAAD Media Awards ceremonies, which fund GLAAD’s work to accelerate LGBTQ acceptance, will be held in Los Angeles at the Beverly Hilton on Saturday, April 2, 2022, and in New York at the Hilton Midtown on Friday, May 6, 2022.
“Media can create positive change and this year’s nominees represent powerful projects, stories, and creators that positively shifted culture and enlightened audiences with new and impactful LGBTQ stories,” said GLAAD President & CEO Sarah Kate Ellis. “There are more nominees this year than ever before, highlighting a growing landscape of LGBTQ visibility, and serving as a reminder of the critical role that film, television, music, journalism, and other forms of media can play in growing LGBTQ acceptance in the face of ongoing attacks against our community.”
Streaming services saw a total of 63 nominees, with cable receiving 39 nominations, and broadcast networks receiving 17 nominations. HBO/HBO Max scored the most nominations of any network with a total of 19 nominees, followed by Netflix with 17 nominees. Hulu received 7 nominations, while ABC, MSNBC, and Peacock all received 4 nominations. In the Spanish-language categories, Univision and Telemundo both received two nominations.
During a year when anti-transgender violence rose and lawmakers across the U.S. introduced an unprecedented number of bills attempting to stop transgender youth from participating in sports and accessing gender-affirming healthcare, many of the nominees at the 33rd Annual GLAAD Media Awards centered on transgender people and issues in timely, nuanced, and empowering ways. Of the 30 television shows nominated across Outstanding Comedy Series, Outstanding Drama Series, and Outstanding New TV Series, 18 feature trans and/or nonbinary characters, including:
Other nominated shows and films featuring trans and/or nonbinary people or characters include:
- Ridley Jones,
- Madagascar: A Little Wild, City of Ghosts (Episode: “Whatever Floats Your Float”)
- Danger Force, (Episode: “Manlee Men”)
- Pequeñas Victorias
- Todo lo otro
A large number of nominees at the 33rd Annual GLAAD Media Awards also include powerful and impactful stories about LGBTQ people of color. In the film and television categories, those nominees include:
- Port Authority
- Cured
- No Ordinary Man
- Pier Kids
- Pride
- Saved by the Bell
- Sex Education
- Shrill
- Work in Progress
- 9-1-1: Lone Star
- The Chi
- Good Trouble
- The L Word: Generation Q
- Pose
- Star Trek: Discovery
- 4400
- The Sex Lives of College Girls
- Sort Of, With Love
- Y: The Last Man
- I Am Jazz
- Legendary
- MTV’s Following: Bretman Rock
- RuPaul’s Drag Race
- We’re Here
GLAAD announced 246 nominees in 30 categories, including two new categories: Outstanding New TV Series and Outstanding Original Graphic Novel/Anthology. As LGBTQ representation continues to expand across television and streaming, the Outstanding New TV Series recognizes scripted comedy or drama series in their first season that include impactful LGBTQ stories. The Outstanding Original Graphic Novel/Anthology category recognizes an original graphic novel or an anthology of short stories appearing in the same book released by a mainstream publisher and its subsidiary labels.
“After decades of LGBTQ characters being excluded, sidelined, or misrepresented on television, it is incredibly powerful to see how many series introduced fresh, impactful, and fully developed LGBTQ characters and storylines in their first season, many of which were some of the most beloved shows of the year,” said GLAAD President & CEO Sarah Kate Ellis. “The introduction of the Outstanding New TV Series category recognizes the shows and creators getting LGBTQ inclusion right from the beginning and encourages other showrunners to include LGBTQ characters and stories that enlighten and entertain in new projects.”
Each year, GLAAD presents non-competitive Special Recognition Awards to media projects that do not fit into one of the existing GLAAD Media Awards categories. For the 33rd Annual GLAAD Media Awards, GLAAD is presenting Special Recognition honors to eight media projects that spotlighted diverse segments of the LGBTQ community in innovative ways. The eight media projects include: All Boys Aren’t Blue by George M. Johnson [filmed reading + performance]; “Alok Vaid-Menon” 4D with Demi Lovato (Cadence13/OBB Sound/SB Projects); CODED: The Hidden Love of J.C. Leyendecker (Paramount+); Jeopardy! Champion Amy Schneider; The Laverne Cox Show (Shondaland Audio/iHeartMedia); Life Out Loud with LZ Granderson (ABC News); Outsports’ Coverage of the Tokyo 2020 Olympics and Paralympics; and “Celebrando el Mes del Orgullo” (Telemundo). A full summary of the projects receiving Special Recognition can be found in the tip sheet with an additional breakdown of facts and figures about this year’s nominees available HERE.GLAAD’s Barbara Gittings Award for Excellence in LGBTQ Media honors a pioneering individual, group, or community media outlet that has made a significant contribution to the development of LGBTQ media. The award is named after Barbara Gittings in recognition of her groundbreaking work as editor of The Ladder, and for her appearances as an out lesbian on national news media throughout the 1970s and 1980s.
GLAAD President and CEO Sarah Kate Ellis serves as Executive Producer of the GLAAD Media Awards, alongside GLAAD staff Rich Ferraro and Anthony Allen Ramos. Spencer Harvey will serve as Producer, Juana Guichardo will serve as Associate Producer, and Wendy Shanker will serve as Headwriter.
