Mr. J. Rodriguez. Via Shutterstock
Actress MJ Rodriguez just finished her run on Pose making history: she became the first openly transgender woman to win an Emmy nomination for Best Leading Actress in a Drama.
Rodriguez’s nomination joins that of his teammate Billy Porter, who also won the award for best lead actor in a drama. Pose also landed a nomination for Best Drama Series.
Other LGBTQ talent have also done well in nominations. Openly gay comedian Bowen Yang received a nomination for Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series for his work on SNL. Her co-star Kate McKinnon also landed her ninth Emmy nomination for her work on the show.
Related: Queer Content Performs Strongly at 2019 Emmy Nominations
In the Limited Series category, Michaela Coel, the aromantic star of I May Destroy You landed a nomination for lead actress. Hamilton’s openly gay star Jonathan Groff also landed a nomination for Best Supporting Actor in a Limited Series or Movie. Rising queer icon Kathryn Hahn also landed a nomination for her acclaimed work on WandaVision.
Joining MJ Rodriguez among the nominations for Best Leading Actress in a Drama, Emma Corrin, the recently released queer star of The Crown, scored her first Emmy nod. Fellow queer co-star Gillian Anderson also landed a nomination for Best Supporting Actress in a Drama, as did Samara Wiley, the lesbian star of The Handmaid’s Tale.
To round out the nominations for LGBTQ content, RuPaul’s Drag Race, the perennial Emmy favorite, also landed another nomination for Best Reality TV Program. The Legendary Ballroom Competition Series also won two nominations in the technical categories.
In contrast, the magnificent AIDS drama It’s A Sin did not receive any nominations. We’re still scratching our heads on that one.
The winners of the 2021 Emmy Awards will be announced at a ceremony on September 19, hosted by Cedric the Entertainer.
