Scenes from POSE and WandaVision (Eric Liebowitz/FX; Marvel Studios)
Take pride, Hollywood: GALECA: The Society of LGBTQ Entertainment Critics, comprised of over 300 entertainment journalists in the U.S. and abroad, has announced its 2021 Dorian TV Award nominations.
“And I’m so proud,” says the Society’s newly-elected president, Monika Estrella Negra. “Our group’s nominations are diverse and fresh, signaling the overhaul of invisibility of marginalized communities and the heralding of a new generation of entertainment journalists.”
Disclaimer: I am a proud voting member of GALECA.
The final season of Pose, FX’s dazzling and powerful found-family drama, holds sway with six nods, starting with Best TV Drama. Disney+’s amusing (and TV-spoofing) Marvel fantasy WandaVision keeps an eye out with five nominations. And following closely with four nominations each: HBO’s grim Kate Winslet-lead murder mystery Mare of Easttown and vividly frank trauma tale I May Destroy You, as well as the heartrending AIDS crisis drama It’s a Sin on spinoff network HBO Max.
Spurred by passionate pleas in trade publication editorials by non-binary activists, as well as non-binary journalists and others in GALECA’s own ranks, the group’s membership recently voted to make all Dorian performance categories gender-neutral (as they were in the group’s first three years of existence, beginning in 2009).
Aiming to alleviate concerns that the elimination of gendered acting categories would cut the number of nomination-worthy roles by half—and leave out artists that might otherwise be recognized—the Society moved to note 10 nominees, rather than the usual five, for Best TV Performance and Best Supporting TV Performance.
In the chief performance category, venerable stars like Winslett (for Easttown), Jean Smart (Hacks) and past Dorian Award winner Billy Porter (Pose) are up against rising talents like I May Destroy You’s creator Michaela Coel and Thuso Mbedu (The Underground Railroad). In the supporting race, Dorian final-ballot voters will choose from the likes of The Crown’s Gillian Anderson, John Boyega of auteur director Steve McQueen’s anthology drama Small Axe, Saturday Night Live’s latest breakout Bowen Yang and Easttown standout Julianne Nicholson.
Showing the medium is still thriving amid a pandemic, GALECA’s short-list picks include lots of first-season shows, including the electric dramas Bridgerton, Lovecraft Country and P-Valley, the over-the-top showbiz satires Girls5eva (produced by Tina Fey) and Hacks, and Best Current Affairs Show contenders Ziwe and The Amber Ruffin Show.
And holding court in the group’s trademark Campiest TV Show arena: The annual flashy and drama-filled live music performance battle Eurovision Song Contest, the nasty nurse rehash that was Ratched, the ultra-irreverent WandaVision, and more.
Dorian TV Award winners will be revealed Sunday, August 29. Last fall’s Dorians TV Toast 2020 special, a mix of comedy, original music and meaningful tributes to winners, featured appearances by Janelle Monáe, Regina King, Hugh Jackman, Dan Levy, Josh Thomas, Laverne Cox, John Oliver, Damon Lindelof, Margaret Cho, Chad Michaels and the exuberant Porter. The program, hosted by groundbreaking gay activist and broadcasting veteran Karel, can be viewed for free on demand on Revry.TV.
Viewers who missed GALECA’s more recent special, Dorians Film Toast 2021 can tune to Free Speech TV (FSTV) on June 27, 4pm EST, 1pm PST. The three-hour show, also hosted by Karel, will be repeated on the channel over July 4 weekend as well.
COMPLETE LIST OF DORIAN TV AWARD NOMINEES:
BEST TV DRAMA
Bridgerton
The Crown
Lovecraft Country
P-Valley
Pose
BEST TV COMEDY
The Flight Attendant
Girls5eva
Hacks
PEN15
Ted Lasso
BEST LGBTQ SHOW
I May Destroy You
It’s A Sin
Love, Victor
Pose
Veneno
BEST TV MOVIE OR MINISERIES
I May Destroy You
It’s a Sin
Mare of Easttown
Small Axe
The Queen’s Gambit
BEST UNSUNG SHOW
A Black Lady Sketch
Show Girls5eva
Love, Victor
Search Party
Veneno
We Are Who We Are
BEST TV PERFORMANCE Michaela Coel, I May Destroy You Kaley Cuoco, The Flight Attendant
Thuso Mbedu, The Underground Railroad Elizabeth Olsen, WandaVision Billy Porter, Pose
MJ Rodriguez, Pose Jean Smart, Hacks Jason Sudeikis, Ted Lasso
Anya Taylor-Joy, The Queen’s Gambit
Kate Winslet, Mare of Easttown
BEST SUPPORTING TV PERFORMANCE
Gillian Anderson, The Crown
John Boyega, Small Axe
Pappa Essiedu, I May Destroy You
Kathryn Hahn, WandaVision
Marielle Heller, The Queen’s Gambit
Callum Scott Howells, It’s a Sin
Dominique Jackson, Pose
Julianne Nicholson, Mare of Easttown
Jean Smart, Mare of Easttown
Bowen Yang, Saturday Night Live
BEST TV MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
Lady Gaga, “The Star-Spangled Banner,” Biden-Harris Inauguration
Jonathan Groff, “You’ll Be Back,” Hamilton
Kathryn Hahn, “Agatha All Along,” WandaVision
Elton John & Years & Years, “It’s a Sin,” BRIT Awards 2021
Punkie Johnson, Anya-Taylor Joy, Lil Nas X, Kate McKinnon, Bowen Yang, “Pride Month Song,” Saturday Night Live
Bowen Yang (as The Iceberg That Sank the Titanic), “Loverboy,” Saturday Night Live
BEST TV DOCUMENTARY OR DOCUMENTARY SERIES
Framing Britney Spears
I’ll Be Gone in the Dark
Pretend It’s a City
Pride
Tina
BEST CURRENT AFFAIRS SHOW
Full Frontal with Samantha Bee
Last Week Tonight with John Oliver
The Amber Ruffin Show
The Late Show with Stephen Colbert
Ziwe
BEST ANIMATED SHOW
Big Mouth
Bob’s Burgers
Harley Quinn
Invincible
South Park: The Pandemic Special
BEST REALITY SHOW
Legendary
Nailed It
Queer Eye
RuPaul’s Drag Race
The Great British Bake Off
MOST VISUALLY STRIKING SHOW
Bridgerton
The Crown
Lovecraft Country
Pose
Small Axe
The Mandalorian
WandaVision
CAMPIEST TV SHOW
At Home with Amy Sedaris
Dolly Parton’s Christmas on the Square
Eurovision Song Contest
Ratched
WandaVision
WILDE WIT AWARD
( To a performer, writer or commentator whose observations both challenge and amuse)
Michaela Coel
Kathryn Hahn
Fran Lebowitz
Randy Rainbow
Bowen Yang
THE INAUGURAL “YOU DESERVE AN AWARD!” AWARD
(To a uniquely talented TV icon we adore)
Winner TBA
GALECA: The Society of LGBTQ Entertainment Critics’ Dorian Awards, formed in 2009, go to all of film and TV, mainstream to LGBTQ, reminding bigots, bullies and at-risk youth that the world looks to the queer eye for leads on great and unique entertainment.
The Society currently includes approximately 300 active journalists, and 20 culturally influential Advisory Board members, based in the U.S., Canada, Australia, U.K. and beyond.
Nomadland, the spare and fact-based drama of a group of struggling Americans living off the grid; the vivid blues woman biopic Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom; the family-happy fish-out-of-water fable Minari; writer-director-actress Radha Blank and her biting showbiz satire The Forty-Year-Old Version; the death-to-misogyny revenge thriller Promising Young Woman; and the urgent human-rights documentaries Disclosure and Welcome to Chechnya all scored more than one Dorian Award from GALECA: The Society of LGBTQ Entertainment Critics via a televised special.
GALECA’s Dorian Awards honor the best in all of film and TV, from mainstream to LGBTQ fare, on separate occasions.
As revealed during the three-hour Dorians Film Toast 2021, shown on LGBTQ+ streaming platform Revry and hosted by famed entertainer and human rights hero Karel, Nomadland earned 3 Dorians: Best Film, Best Director for Chloé Zhao, and Most Visually Striking Film.
Promising Young Woman star Carey Mulligan, fascinatingly mischievous as a woman out to avenge the death of a female friend, and the mystery’s witty screenwriter, Emerald Fennell, both delighted with their humble acceptance videos for Best Film Performance—Actress and Best Screenplay, respectively.
In homage to Oscar Wilde’s novel The Picture of Dorian Gray, GALECA’s Dorian “trophies” are actually small pop-art portraits of the winner (sometimes in character) or a rendering of a memorable scene from the champion title (the pieces, fashioned from an existing photo, come with an easel).
COMPLETE LIST OF DORIAN FILM AWARD WINNERS (noted in bold)
Best Film
FIRST COW
MINARI NOMADLAND
PROMISING YOUNG WOMAN
SOUND OF METAL
Best LGBTQ Film
AMMONITE
THE BOYS IN THE BAND
I CARRY YOU WITH ME MA RAINEY’S BLACK BOTTOM
SUPERNOVA
UNCLE FRANK
Best Non-English Language Film
ANOTHER ROUND
BACURAU
I CARRY YOU WITH ME
LA LLORONA MINARI
TWO OF US
Best Director CHLOÉ ZHAO, NOMADLAND
EMERALD FENNELL, PROMISING YOUNG WOMAN
KELLY REICHARDT, FIRST COW
LEE ISAAC CHUNG, MINARI
REGINA KING, ONE NIGHT IN MIAMI
Best Screenplay (original or adapted)
CHLOÉ ZHAO, NOMADLAND
ELIZA HITTMAN, NEVER RARELY SOMETIMES ALWAYS EMERALD FENNELL, PROMISING YOUNG WOMAN
LEE ISAAC CHUNG, MINARI
RADHA BLANK, THE FORTY-YEAR-OLD VERSION
Best Unsung Film – Presented by Stoli®
DRIVEWAYS
FIRST COW THE FORTY-YEAR-OLD VERSION
MISS JUNETEENTH
NEVER RARELY SOMETIMES ALWAYS
SHIRLEY
THE ASSISTANT
Best Documentary (tie)
COLLECTIVE
CRIP CAMP
DICK JOHNSON IS DEAD DISCLOSURE
TIME WELCOME TO CHECHNYA
Best LGBTQ Documentary (tie)
A SECRET LOVE
BORN TO BE DISCLOSURE
MUCHO MUCHO AMOR: THE LEGEND OF WALTER MERCADO WELCOME TO CHECHNYA
Best Film Performance — Actress CAREY MULLIGAN, PROMISING YOUNG WOMAN
FRANCES MCDORMAND, NOMADLAND
NICOLE BEHARIE, MISS JUNETEENTH
SIDNEY FLANIGAN, NEVER RARELY SOMETIMES ALWAYS
VIOLA DAVIS, MA RAINEY’S BLACK BOTTOM
Best Film Performance — Actor
ANTHONY HOPKINS, THE FATHER CHADWICK BOSEMAN, MA RAINEY’S BLACK BOTTOM
DELROY LINDO, DA 5 BLOODS
RIZ AHMED, SOUND OF METAL
STEVEN YEUN, MINARI
Best Film Performance — SUPPORTING Actress
AMANDA SEYFRIED, MANK
CANDICE BERGEN, LET THEM ALL TALK
MARIA BAKALOVA, BORAT SUBSEQUENT MOVIEFILM
OLIVIA COLMAN, THE FATHER YUH-JUNG YOUN, MINARI
Best Film Performance — SUPPORTING Actor
CHADWICK BOSEMAN, DA 5 BLOODS DANIEL KALUUYA, JUDAS AND THE BLACK MESSIAH
LESLIE ODOM JR., ONE NIGHT IN MIAMI
PAUL RACI, SOUND OF METAL
SACHA BARON COHEN, THE TRIAL OF THE CHICAGO 7
Most Visually Striking Film
BIRDS OF PREY (AND THE FANTABULOUS EMANCIPATION OF ONE HARLEY QUINN)
MANK NOMADLAND
SOUL
WOLFWALKERS
Campiest Flick
BAD HAIR
BIRDS OF PREY (AND THE FANTABULOUS EMANCIPATION OF ONE HARLEY QUINN) EUROVISION SONG CONTEST: THE STORY OF FIRE SAGA
THE PROM
WONDER WOMAN 1984
“We’re Wilde About You!” Rising Star Award
ALAN S. KIM
KINGSLEY BEN-ADIR
MARIA BAKALOVA RADHA BLANK
SIDNEY FLANIGAN
Wilde Artist Award (to a truly groundbreaking force in entertainment)
CHADWICK BOSEMAN
CHLOÉ ZHAO DOLLY PARTON
ELLIOT PAGE
REGINA KING
GALECA Trailblazer Award (Special Board-picked accolade)
For creating art that inspires empathy, truth and equity ISABEL SANDOVAL
Timeless Star
Honoring an actor or performer whose exemplary career has been marked by character, wisdom and wit LESLIE JORDAN
The Hollywood Foreign Press Association has its Golden Globe Awards, the Screen Actors Guild has the SAG Awards, but now its time to find out what the queer entertainment critics thought represented the best in cinema this past year.
Hosted by gay entertainment and broadcasting veteran Karel, the Dorians Toast offers a queer-centric twist on the standard awards show combining tributes, interview segments, music, and comedy. Plus, members of GALECA take part in lively round-table discussions on nominees in several categories.
Those categories include Best Film, Best LGBTQ film, Best Documentary, Best LGBTQ Documentary, Best Unsung Film, Campiest Flick, ‘We’re Just Wilde About You!’ Rising Star Award, Wilde Artist Award (To a Truly Groundbreaking Force in Entertainment), as well as honors for best actor and actress in leading and featured roles.
Best Film nominees this year include First Cow, Minari, Nomadland, Promising Young Woman, and Sound of Metal.
Among those nominated for Best Director are rising Hollywood firebrand Emerald Fennell for Promising Young Woman and actress Regina King for her feature film directorial debut in One Night in Miami.
Emmy Award winner Leslie Jordan (“Will & Grace”) will receive the Society’s Timeless Star career achievement honor, and transgender writer-director-actress Isabel Sandoval accepts the inaugural GALECA Trailblazer Award.
Presenters for the virtual event include director Lee Daniels (The United States vs. Billie Holiday), Cheyenne Jackson (Call Me Kat), Rosanna Arquette (Pulp Fiction), Gabourey Sidibe (Precious, Antebellum), Jharrel Jerome (Moonlight, Concrete Cowboy), Rafael Silva (Fluidity, 9-1-1 Lone Star), Harmony Valle-Ramirez (Room To Grow), comedian Margaret Cho, the legendary Charo, and more.
Dorians Film Toast 2021 is coproduced by Brandon Riley Miller (Life in Segments, High) and John Griffiths for GALECA. In order to be eligible for the Dorians Film Toast 2021, films were required to have a theatrical or digital theatrical release from January 1, 2020, to February 28, 2021.
Don’t miss this year’s Dorians Film Toast 2021 on Sunday, April 18 at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT on the free LGBTQ+ streaming service Revry at revry.tv.
Founded in 2009, GALECA (formerly known as the Gay and Lesbian Entertainment Critics Association) boasts a membership of nearly 290 professional LGBTQ journalists covering film and television.
GALECA hosts two Dorian Awards events during the year – one honoring the best in film and another acknowledging the finest in TV – from mainstream to LGBTQ fare. Last September, the organization celebrated their Dorians TV Toast 2020 with appearances by Billy Porter, Dan Levy, Hugh Jackman, Shangela, Thomas Roberts, Bruce Vilanch and many more.
L-R Stanley Tucci, Colin Firth in Supernova (image via The Bureau)
While the Golden Globe and SAG Awards have served up their choices for ‘Best of 2020,’ what did queer entertainment writers think about the past year’s films?
Due to the pandemic’s affect on the industry, GALECA extended the consideration period for full-length theatrical releases and digital theatrical releases to January 1, 2020 through February 28, 2021.
The highly-acclaimed Minari leads the list of nominations with six nods including Best Film and Best Foreign-Language Film.
YAY! Dorian Film Awards: ‘Minari’ Tops Nominations From LGBTQ Entertainment Critics https://t.co/AwMqZspslS via @thr
— GALECA: The Society of LGBTQ Entertainment Critics (@DorianAwards) February 11, 2021
Nomadland scored five nominations including Best Film, Best Director and Best Screenplay (Chloé Zhao), Best Actress (Frances McDormand), and Most Visually Striking Film.
Rounding out the Best Film category are Promising Young Woman (4 nominations), First Cow (3 nominations),and Sound of Metal (3 nominations).
Emerald Fennell, another double-nominee, garnered nods for both writing and directing Promising Young Woman.
In the Best LGBTQ Film category, the queer critics nominated the romantic period film Ammonite, Spanish-language love story I Carry You with Me, the intimate Stanley Tucci-Colin Firth helmed Supernova, writer-director Alan Ball’s comedy Uncle Frank, the all-star screen adaptation of The Boys in the Band, and the acclaimed bio-pic Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom.
A scene from Ammonite (courtesy of See Saw Films)
The folks at GALECA also like to have fun with their awards, so other featured categories include Campiest Flick and the “We’re Wilde About You!” Rising Star Award.
Additionally, the Wilde Artist Award honors “groundbreaking” artists in the world of entertainment. This year’s nominees include the late Chadwick Boseman, Chloé Zhao, Regina King, Elliot Page, and international superstar Dolly Parton.
Last September, queer streaming platform Revry presented the star-studded Dorians TV Toast of 2020 which featured appearances by Hollywood heavy-hitters including Hugh Jackman, Regina King, Janelle Monáe, Billy Porter, Dan Levy, Laverne Cox, Shangela, Thomas Roberts, Bruce Vilanch, Stephanie Miller, Dave Koz, Rafael Casal and more.
The winners will be announced on April 18 in a special event, the Dorians Film Toast 2021, set to air on queer streaming platform Revry.
Launched in 2009, the nonprofit GALECA celebrates both mainstream and LGBTQ-centered content.
View the complete list of nominations below. (Disclaimer: I am a voting member of GALECA: The Society of LGBTQ Entertainment Critics)
BEST FILM First Cow Minari Nomadland Promising Young Woman Sound of Metal
BEST LGBTQ FILM Ammonite The Boys in the Band I Carry You With Me Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom Supernova Uncle Frank
BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM Another Round Bacurau I Carry You With Me La Llorona Minari Two of Us
BEST DIRECTOR
Chloé Zhao, Nomadland Emerald Fennell, Promising Young Woman Kelly Reichardt, First Cow Lee Isaac Chung, Minari Regina King, One Night in Miami
BEST SCREENPLAY (original or adapted)
Chloé Zhao, Nomadland Eliza Hittman, Never Rarely Sometimes Always Emerald Fennell, Promising Young Woman Lee Isaac Chung, Minari Radha Blank, The Forty-Year Version
BEST UNSUNG FILM Driveways First Cow
The Forty-Year-Old Version Miss Juneteenth Never Rarely Sometimes Always Shirley The Assistant
BEST DOCUMENTARY Collective Crip Camp Dick Johnson Is Dead
Disclosure Time Welcome To Chechnya
BEST LGBTQ DOCUMENTARY A Secret Love Born To Be Disclosure: Trans Lives On Screen Mucho Mucho Amor: The Legend of Walter Mercado Welcome To Chechnya
BEST FILM PERFORMANCE — ACTRESS
Carey Mulligan, Promising Young Woman Frances McDormand, Nomadland Nicole Beharie, Miss Juneteenth Sidney Flanigan, Never Rarely Sometimes Always Viola Davis, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom
BEST FILM PERFORMANCE — ACTOR
Anthony Hopkins, The Father Chadwick Boseman, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom Delroy Lindo, Da 5 Bloods Riz Ahmed, Sound of Metal Steven Yeun, Minari
BEST FILM PERFORMANCE — SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Amanda Seyfried, Mank Candice Bergen, Let Them All Talk Maria Bakalova, Borat Subsequent Movie Film Olivia Colman, The Father Yuh-Jung Youn, Minari
BEST FILM PERFORMANCE — SUPPORTING ACTOR
Chadwick Boseman, Da 5 Bloods Daniel Kaluuya, Judas and the Black Messiah Leslie Odom Jr., One Night In Miami Paul Raci, Sound of Metal Sacha Baron Cohen, The Trial of the Chicago 7
MOST VISUALLY STRIKING FILM Birds of Prey: And the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn Mank Nomadland Soul Wolfwalkers
CAMPIEST FLICK Bad Hair Birds of Prey: And the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga The Prom Wonder Woman 1984
“We’re Wilde About You!” Rising Star Award
Alan S. Kim
Kingsley Ben-Adir
Maria Bakalova
Radha Blank
Sidney Flanigan
Wilde Artist Award (to a truly groundbreaking force in entertainment) Chadwick Boseman
Chloé Zhao
Dolly Parton
Elliot Page
Regina King
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