The Emmy Noms Are In – Here Are the Queer Shows That Got Love... or Snubs

The nominations for the 77th Emmy Awards gave some love to a number of shows with LGBTQ+ themes and inclusion – but there were some shocking snubs, too.

The top noms-getter was the Apple TV+ drama "Severance" with 27 nominations. Aside from starring openly gay actor Tramell Tillman (who recently made a splash as a magnetic submarine commander in the latest "Mission Impossible" movie), the show includes a gay romance between two older characters, played by John Turturro and Christopher Walken.

Following in second place with 24 Emmy noms overall was Max's "The Penguin" – a TV spinoff from the Matt Reeves movie "The Batman." Unlike "Gotham," an earlier TV series based on the same superhero comics, this limited series lacked notable queer themes or characters.

In third place with 23 noms, however, was "The White Lotus," out creator/writer/director Mike White's playful and sexy meditation on the haves and the have-nots. The raft of nominations the show's third season took in included one for outstanding drama series.

A major component of the latest season of "The White Lotus" was a controversial queer incest storyline, but it also offered up an exploration of sex and sexual identity from an utterly unexpected source: a shady friend, Frank (played by Sam Rockwell), of Walton Goggins' revenge-obsessed character, Rick. But it was four – four! – of the show's cast members who ended up taking the majority share of the seven nominations for outstanding supporting actress in a drama series: Carrie Coon, Parker Posey, Natasha Rothwell, and Aimee Lou Wood all earned their places in the competition.

"The Last of Us," which stars openly non-binary actor Bella Ramsey in the role of queer protagonist Ellie Williams, also scored an impressive number of nominations – 16 – among them outstanding drama series. Notably, this season saw dramatic developments around Ramsey's costar Pedro Pascal, an ally and icon to queer audiences.

Another fave for queer audiences, "Hacks" – which stars openly bi comedian Hannah Einbinder in the role of queer character Ava – was recognized with nominations for outstanding comedy series, with star Jean Smart being nominated for outstanding actress in a comedy series and Einbinder in the running for outstanding supporting actress in a comedy series. In all, "Hacks" scored 14 nominations. Overlooked, though, was straight co-creator and writer Paul W. Downs, who portrays manager Jimmy on the show – a character with a distinctly queer vibe. Similarly, Downs' frequent screen partner, Megan Stalter, a bisexual actor who plays Jimmy's business partner Kayla, was left in the cold.

"What We Do in the Shadows" – the FX series based on the movie of the same name – got some love for its sixth and final season, being nominated for outstanding comedy series. The show (which stars Kayvan Novak, Matt Berry, Harvey Guillén, Natasia Demetriou, and Mark Proksch) is a mockumentary about a group of pansexual vampires.

Those results were almost a given going into nominations season, but this year's crop of noms included its share of surprises. A contender for best lead actress in a comedy series that few saw coming is Uzo Aduba, who plays police consultant Cordelia Cupp in the Netflix series "The Residence." Cupp helps investigate a murder at a White House occupied by America's first openly gay president and his husband.

In the comedy genre, "Somebody Somewhere" finally got some Emmy recognition for its third and final season... though not for star Bridget Everett, a straight ally who loosely based the show on her own life and stars as main character Sam. Instead, Jeff Hiller, who play's Sam's gay bestie, was nominated for Best Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy. The show was further recognized with a writing nomination.

Individually, queer actors made their mark. Perhaps most notable was out thespian Cooper Koch, who was nominated for outstanding lead actor in a limited or anthology series for his stirring work on "Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story." (Straight actor Javier Bardem was also nominated for his supporting role in "Monsters.")

Another talented out actor, Colman Domingo, earned an Emmy nom for outstanding supporting actor in a comedy series for his portrayal of one-half of a gay couple in "The Four Seasons."

Bowen Yang, too, earned a spot in that category for his work as a cast member on "Saturday Night Live."

Other shows that received nominations limited their representation to a queer character or subplot... but we'll take it! Hulu's "Paradise," in the running for outstanding drama series, is a post-apocalyptic thriller that includes a gay relationship amongst its storylines. The Disney+ "Star Wars" prequel series "Andor," which took 14 nominations, included a lesbian romance.

Max's freshman medical drama "The Pitt" similarly offered viewers some queer vibes in a flirtatious nascent relationship between resident Dr. Trinity Santos (Isa Briones) and attending Dr. Yolanda Garcia (Alexandra Metz). A budding friendship between the brash Dr. Santos and the milder Midwestern native Dennis Whitaker (Gerran Howell) – who some fans speculate may be trans, gay, or both.

The Harrison Ford-starring Apple TV+ series "Shrinking" also took a couple of noms, with Jessica Williams in the running for outstanding supporting actress in a comedy series, Jason Segel nominated for outstanding lead actor in a comedy series, and the show itself nominated for outstanding comedy series. "Shrinking" centers on a psychologist played by Segel, as well as his patients and colleagues – one of whom, Paul (Ford), is gay.

The Netflix anthology show "Black Mirror" was nominated for outstanding limited or anthology series, with its latest season offering the episode "Hotel Reverie," a sweet lesbian love story anachronistically set in a high-tech re-creation of a vintage black-and-white movie.

Hulu's "Dying for Sex" was nominated for outstanding anthology series or movie – with both Michelle Williams, who plays the straight main character, Molly, and Jenny Slate, who portrays Molly's queer best friend, Nikki – receiving nominations (for outstanding actress in Williams' case, and outstanding supporting actress, in Slate's).

A third Netflix limited series – the British import "Adolescence" – was nominated for the same category, and also got noms in several other categories. Though it has no queer themes or characters, "Adolescence" probes the corrosive effect of the online "manosphere," in which, it's suggested in the series, influencers promoting hypermasculinity groom impressionable youths to commit acts of lethal violence against women (and, presumably, queer people as well).

ABC comedy "Abbott Elementary" raked in a number of noms, including for outstanding comedy series, a nom for Quinta Brunson for outstanding actress in a comedy series and noms for two other cast members – Janelle James and Sheryl Lee Ralph for outstanding supporting actress in a comedy. Not acknowledged, though, was queer cast member Chris Perfetti, who plays gay character Jacob Hill.

As for competition reality shows, the third season of the Alan Cummings-hosted "The Traitors" scored a nom for NBC – as did, of course, MTV's "RuPaul's Drag Race," a perennial favorite.

When it came to animated series, it was a pleasant surprise to see Adult Swim's "Common Side Effects" nominated. The show is about ordinary people battling drug company malfeasance, and some of those ordinary people, like the Shannon Woodward-voiced Amelia, are queer.

Though not a queer show, Hulu's "The Bear" is beloved by gay audiences, and straight actor Jeremy Allen White is an icon. White is in the running for outstanding actor in a comedy series, while "The Bear" is competing for outstanding comedy series.

Then there were the snubs, some of which stung. MIA from the noms was Hulu's "Mid-Century Modern," described as a contemporary gay take on "The Golden Girls" and starring Nathan Lane, Matt Bomer, and Nathan Lee Graham. The series was also the swan song for Linda Lavin, who died midway through the first season's production.

Also nowhere to be found among the nominations was Amazon Prime's sitcom "Overcompensating" – created and co-written by out star Benito Skinner – nor queer favorite Disney+ offering "Agatha All Along," starring Kathryn Hahn, as well as Broadway legend Patti LuPone, Aubrey Plaza, and "Heartstopper" star Joe Locke.

Also frozen out despite having taken a final season bow was "The Handmaid's Tale," a TV adaptation of the acclaimed Margaret Atwood novel in which women – as well as queer people – see their freedoms under all-out assault after the fall of the United States and the rise of a cruel theocracy.

Another puzzler was how Netflix's animated "Big Mouth," an irreverent and yet earnest look at middle schoolers discovering the facts and perils around human sexuality, was shut out in the outstanding animated series category. The show's queer characters include Jay, an aspiring magician who also happens to be bisexual, gay character Matthew, trans character Natalie, and Ali, who is pansexual. The show also features an asexual character, Elijah.

Similarly broad in scope is the Netflix global hit "Heartstopper," which centers around a male high school couple – Charlie, who is gay (Joe Locke), and Nick, who is bi (Kit Connor) – and includes trans, lesbian, and asexual representation. Though critically acclaimed, the show was not nominated for any Prime Time Emmys. It did, however, score several noms in the Children's and Family Awards, including outstanding young teen series, outstanding writing (for series creator Alice Oseman), and outstanding casting.

Though not queer, Natasha Lyonne has a big gay following, many of whom might have expected to see Lyonne get another Emmy nom for her work on the second season of Peacock's "Poker Face." Sadly, it was not to be.

The 77th Emmy Awards will be presented by The Television Academy on Sept. 15, with the program airing on CBS and streaming on Paramount+.