Dorian Awards TV Nods: Lots of love for "Hacks", "Heartstopper", and "Somebody Somewhere"

by Nathaniel R

How fab was that lesbian cruise episode of "Hacks"?

Shortly on the heels of the annual TCA nominations as Emmy voters are a-voting, come the 14th annual Dorian Awards TV honors. These nominations come from the The Society of LGBTQ Entertainment Critics, also referred to as GALECA which was the acronym for an earlier name (the name changes are very confusing especially since the signature prize, "The Dorian Awards" doesn't match either of them!). The organization is made up of 385 queer professional critics and journalists covering film and television. A few of those 385 write stuff right here at The Film Experience.

HBO led the nominations with three shows, two comedies (Somebody Somewhere  and Hacks) and one drama (Euphoria)...

BEST TV DRAMA

The extremely adorable "Heartstopper"

• Better Call Saul (AMC)
• Heartstopper (Netflix)
• Yellowjackets (Showtime)
• Severance (Apple TV+)
• Succession (HBO)

No notes. Beautiful list though Euphoria should be here.

BEST TV COMEDY

• Abbott Elementary (ABC)
• Barry (HBO)
• Hacks (HBO Max)
• The Other Two (HBO Max)
• Our Flag Means Death (HBO Max)

GALECA is obsessed with HBO. No Ted Lasso (AppleTV) or I Love That For You (Showtime) is galling, truly. Personally perplexed at the nomination for Our Flag Means Death. After just one episode of the latter I quit. I hadn't laughed a single time in the entire pilot episode and didn't like a single character either; life is too short to continue watching a show when you're enjoying nothing about it. 

BEST LGBTQ SHOW

• Hacks (HBO Max)
• Heartstopper (Netflix)
• The Other Two (HBO Max)
• Our Flag Means Death (HBO Max)
• Somebody Somewhere (HBO)
• RuPaul’s Drag Race (VH1)

BEST TV MOVIE OR MINISERIES

Lori Petty in "Station Eleven"

• Dopesick (Hulu)
• The Dropout (Hulu)
• Midnight Mass (Netflix)
• Station Eleven (HBO Max)
• The White Lotus (HBO)

Solid list though it continues to be mystifying that so many people give Midnight Mass's excruciating pacing a pass just because it's such an admittedly great two and a half hour movie underneath the FIVE EXTRA HOURS of ponderous perpetually monologuing self-importance. It's a mild surprise to see The Staircase miss here but the "glut" of TV in the last month or two of Emmy eligibility was real. No one can watch everything.

BEST NON-ENGLISH LANGUAGE TV SHOW

• Elite (Netflix)
• Lupin (Netflix)
• My Brilliant Friend (HBO)
• Pachinko (Apple TV+)
• Squid Game (Netflix)

Okay, so I watch Elite but filing it under "Best" is really pushing it. You can enjoy thirsting for physically beautiful people without also naming the show that houses them "Best"

BEST UNSUNG SHOW

• Better Things (FX)
• The Other Two (HBO Max)
• Our Flag Means Death (HBO Max)
• Russian Doll (Netflix)
• Somebody Somewhere (HBO)
• We Are Lady Parts (Peacock)

The second season of Russian Doll has been a thrill in that it's so metaphysically/existentially akin to the first season but also extremely different. And yet it belongs here because the conservation has been so muted compared to the first season. Was it too different for casual fans? (Interesting that the "Unsung" are often nominated in the main categories, too. Not unsung at all when it comes to GALECA's voters.)

BEST TV PERFORMANCE

The rest of the world has finally caught up to us in loving Melanie Lynskey ("Yellowjackets")

• Quinta Brunson, Abbott Elementary (ABC)
• Kit Connor, Heartstopper (Netflix)
• Bridget Everett, Somebody Somewhere (HBO)
• Bill Hader, Barry (HBO)
• Lily James, Pam & Tommy (Hulu)
• Natasha Lyonne, Russian Doll (Netflix)
• Melanie Lynskey, Yellowjackets (Showtime)
• Amanda Seyfried, Dropout (HBO)
• Jean Smart, Hacks (HBO Max)
• Zendaya, Euphoria (HBO)

A wonderful lineup though obviously personal ballots would vary considerably. It's a pity that with non-gendered categories, we haven't split the performances into drama and comedy so now there's only two winners. That's two too few!

BEST SUPPORTING TV PERFORMANCE

Sydney Sweeney is a marvel in "Euphoria," no holds barred.

• Murray Bartlett, The White Lotus (HBO)
• Anthony Carrigan, Barry (HBO)
• Jennifer Coolidge, The White Lotus (HBO)
• Hannah Einbinder, Hacks (HBO Max)
• Jeff Hiller, Somebody Somewhere (HBO)
• Janelle James, Abbott Elementary (ABC)
• Matthew Macfadyen Succession (HBO)
• Christina Ricci, Yellowjackets (Showtime)
• Rhea Seehorn, Better Call Saul (FX)
• Sydney Sweeney, Euphoria (HBO)

Ecstatic to see Sydney Sweeney here especially since she probably won't be recognized elsewhere and that is one committed highwire performance. Love most of these performances though I admit some agnosticism about Christina Ricci in Yellowjackets. As a long time fan it's definitely exciting to have her back in something so good / high profile but the performance is, for me, too broadly underlined as "unsettling" whereas her co-stars play their roles in often surprising but equally unsettling ways. Hoping it's just sky-high expectations (love her) and that Season 2 changes my mind. 

But again, supporting, like lead, should be two categories, one for drama and one for comedy. It's just strange to not see Sheryl Lee Ralph here for Abbott Elementary, you know? 

BEST TV MUSICAL PERFORMANCE

• Beyonce’ “Be Alive,” 94th Academy Awards (ABC)
• Kristin Chenoweth and cast, “Tribulation,” Schmigadoon! (Apple TV+)
• Bridget Everett and Jeff Hiller, “Don’t Give Up,” Somebody Somewhere (HBO)
• Jean Smart, “You Make Me Feel Like a Natural Woman,” Hacks (HBO Max)
• Cecily Strong and cast, “Corn Puddin’,” Schmigadoon! (Apple TV+)
• Hannah Waddingham and cast, “Never Gonna Give You Up,” Ted Lasso (Apple TV+)

Fine choices here don'cha think?  

BEST TV DOCUMENTARY OR DOCUMENTARY SERIES

• The Andy Warhol Diaries (Netflix)
• The Beatles: Get Back (Disney+)
• How to with John Wilson (HBO)
• Spring Awakening: Those You’ve Known (HBO)
• We Need to Talk About Cosby (Showtime) 

BEST CURRENT AFFAIRS PROGRAM

• The Amber Ruffin Show (Peacock) 
• The Daily Show with Trevor Noah (Comedy Central) 
• Full Frontal with Samantha Bee (TBS)
• Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (HBO)
• The Late Show with Stephen Colbert (CBS)
• The Rachel Maddow Show (MSNBC)
• ZIWE (Showtime)

BEST ANIMATED SHOW

• Arcane (Netflix) 
• Big Mouth (Netflix)
• Bob’s Burgers (Fox)
• Q Force (Netflix)
• Tuca & Bertie (Adult Swim)
• What If…? (Disney+)

We need tiebreakers in the rules because the size of categories is weirdly inconsistent: 5, 6, 7...

BEST REALITY SHOW

• Legendary (HBO Max) 
• The Real World Homecoming: New Orleans (Paramount+)
• RuPaul’s Drag Race (VH1)
• Survivor (CBS)
• Top Chef: Houston (Bravo)
• We’re Here (HBO)

We're Here continues to the best LGBTQ show that we never hear anyone talking about. It's so moving and necessary and feels so much more authentic than most "unscripted" reality shows.

MOST VISUALLY STRIKING SHOW

Amazing how much mileage "Severance" gets from its corporate office as minimalist labyrinthine hell

• Euphoria (HBO)
• The Gilded Age (HBO)
• Loki (Disney+)
• Severance (Apple TV+)
• Squid Game (Netflix)

I do not understand The Gilded Age's presence here. Yes, it's big and a costume drama but the visuals are pretty flat (so many obvious green screens and "sets") so... "striking"? Not quite.

CAMPIEST TV SHOW

• Diana: The Musical (Netflix) 
• Euphoria (HBO)
• Girls5Eva (Peacock)
• Nine Perfect Strangers (Hulu)
• Schmigadoon! (Apple TV+)

I abstain from voting in the "Campiest" categories both here and in the movie awards as the word means too many different things to too many different people. Seeing good art paired with bad art merely because both share a love of flamboyance in one way or another is offputting.

WILDE WIT AWARD
To a performer, writer or commentator whose observations both challenge and amuse

Joel Kim Booster and Bowen Yang in "Fire Island"

• Joel Kim Booster
• Quinta Brunson
• Jerrod Carmichael
• Jennifer Coolidge
• Bowen Yang

Five total gems here. How to choose?

THE INAUGURAL “YOU DESERVE AN AWARD!” AWARD
To a uniquely talented TV icon we adore

• Gillian Anderson
• Christine Baranski 
• Lynda Carter
• Kim Cattrall
• Cassandra Peterson

A fun idea for an annual award. More camp than "campiest" prizes could hope to be!

GALECA LGBTQIA+ TV TRAILBLAZER
for creating art that inspires empathy, truth and equity

Jerrod Carmichael's confessional "Rothaniel"

• Jerrod Carmichael
• Margaret Cho
• Russell T Davies
• Kate McKinnon
• Bowen Yang

Have you all watched Rothaniel, Jerrod Carmichael's comedy special? It's really moving. And funny, too.

Comments

[Mr Ripley79]

Campiest Show would be my favourite category,I know it's subjective but you've got to loosen up for some fun stuff,I know we take award shows waaaaaaayyyyyyyyy to seriously.

[G.Shaq]

Was Queer as folk not eligible? I was shooketh

[Peggy Sue]

Tweeted "Are we still pretending that Einbinder is supporting?" and their CM liked it!

Men, women, divas, comedies, drama, series, miniseries... I honestly don't know how can anyone make up their mind with the acting categories.

The only categories that give meaning to these awards are Musical Performance and Campiest Show.

[chasm301]

Wow - Diana the Musical. Eligible as a musical for the Tonys, a film for the Razzies, a tv show for the Dorians. Nominating proshots is just weird.

[rrrich7]

Wow. So this is where all those shows I've watched went. No one I know talks about them. Scrolling back and forth: The Other Two (Molly Shannon is wonderful); Someone Somewhere (So easy to engage with); and most of all, My Brilliant Friend (Totally enthralling).

[Raul]

I love Heartstopper and Kit Connor in it, but he and Joe Locke should be nominated as a team. I wish they had a supportive category. Olivia Colman would win that hands down. Gay rights!

[Glenn Dunks]

I didn't vote in these because I barely watch any new TV to have an opinion. I hadn't even heard of some of these shows!

[Glenn Dunks]

I didn't vote in these because I barely watch any new TV to have an opinion. I hadn't even heard of some of these shows!