In January, the Television Academy presented its 2023 Governors Award to the LGBTQ+ advocacy group GLAAD. In her acceptance speech, president and CEO Sarah Kate Ellis called for more queer stories on TV—especially about transgender people. Yet, according to GLAAD’s annual report on representation, the number of LGBTQ+ characters on TV has decreased over the past year.
“Visibility creates understanding and opens doors; it’s lifesaving,” Ellis said. In that spirit, we’ve rounded up nine stellar TV performances by queer actors that are worthy of nominations at the 76th Primetime Emmy Awards.
Bilal Baig, “Sort Of” (CBC Television and Max)
This Canadian import, which Baig stars on and co-created alongside Fab Filippo, has earned acclaim for its portrayal of nonbinary identity and Pakistani immigrant culture. Baig, who identifies as queer and transfeminine, stands in the middle of that vortex as Sabi Mehboob. Their droll, deadpan delivery lands somewhere between Daria Morgendorffer and Tina Belcher, and their comic timing never fails.
On the final season, Sabi reckons with the life-upending tumult of their father’s death and their decision to start medically transitioning. It’s heart-wrenching to watch Baig as their character’s emotions break through their shell. This is particularly evident during Sabi’s father’s memorial on the second episode—and as they’re adjusting to hormone therapy later in the season.
Jonathan Bailey and Matt Bomer, “Fellow Travelers” (Showtime)
On this limited series from Ron Nyswaner, Bomer and Bailey depict a rare scenario for TV: steamy, sweaty, air-leaving-your-lungs gay intimacy. The actors, who are both gay themselves, bring atomic chemistry to their roles as star-crossed lovers torn apart by the prejudice of the McCarthy era.
As Hawkins “Hawk” Fuller, a conservative war hero–turned–State Department official, Bomer channels the charm and swagger of Rock Hudson. It’s unbearably sad to watch his Brylcreemed armor fracture as he faces a series of tragedies. Where Bomer is cracked marble, Bailey surrenders to his own transformation from good Catholic boy to weary activist staring down the barrel of the HIV/AIDS epidemic.
Love scenes aside, Bomer and Bailey bring authenticity to every interaction, from too-long glances and surreptitious Beltway flirtation to pained, raised voices and doomed reunions.
Courtesy Showtime
Joel Kim Booster and Michaela Jaé (MJ) Rodriguez, “Loot” (Apple TV+)
In 2021, “Pose” star Rodriguez became only the second transgender woman to be nominated for an acting Emmy. Now, she’s got another shot at the gold thanks to her performance on Season 2 of Matt Hubbard and Alan Yang’s “Loot.”
Rodriguez plays Sofia Salinas, the buttoned-up, hyper-competent director of a charitable foundation funded by zany billionaire Molly Novak (Maya Rudolph). Though Sofia is a far cry from the ballroom house mother Rodriguez played on “Pose,” she brings the same indomitable willpower (and killer cheekbones) to the role. She explores new dimensions of the character this season, as an unexpected romance makes Sofia lower her shield.
If Sofia is the consummate professional, gay actor Booster’s Nicholas is anything but. Molly’s vain, materialistic personal assistant hilariously chafes against the altruism around him—and on Season 2, he comes even more unglued from reality than his boss. But “Loot” also gives Booster room to explore messier realities, such as on the third episode, which digs into Nicholas’ strained relationship with his repressed, conservative parents.
Courtesy Apple TV+
Hannah Einbinder, “Hacks” (Max)
“Hacks” is one of the gayest shows on TV; you don’t let Jean Smart wear that many sequins if you’re going for a hetero vibe. Einbinder—who, like her character, identifies as bisexual—is the breakout star of Lucia Aniello, Paul W. Downs, and Jen Statsky’s series. So far, she’s snagged two Emmy nods for her portrayal of struggling comedy writer Ava Daniels.
She further plumbs the depths of her character’s self-sabotage on Season 3, as Ava painfully fumbles her relationship with her girlfriend, Ruby (Lorenza Izzo), and continues to explore the ever-present tension she shares with veteran standup comic Deborah Vance (Smart). The two are nominally professional(ish) colleagues; but Einbinder adds rich layers of subtext to her smart-alecky, yearning performance with her portrayal of Ava’s devotion to her fabulous mentor.
Credit: Jake Giles Netter/Max
Ncuti Gatwa, “Doctor Who” (BBC One and Disney+)
The world’s longest-running sci-fi program has found a fierce LGBTQ+ fanbase thanks to its themes of found family and fluid identity. The latest season, helmed by Russell T. Davies, introduces Gatwa as the first queer, Black actor to pilot the time-traveling TARDIS. He immediately makes the 61-year-old role his own in his maiden adventure, “The Church on Ruby Road.” His Doctor is slick, stylish, and may have once snogged Harry Houdini. Gatwa has the kind of charisma you can really hang a franchise on.
Courtesy Disney+
Lily Gladstone, “Under the Bridge” (Hulu)
Though Gladstone lost out on the Oscar for “Killers of the Flower Moon,” she has another award-worthy performance in the hopper. The actor, who uses both she and they pronouns and has publicly discussed their gender nonconformity, shines on Quinn Shepard’s “Under the Bridge.”
She plays Cam Bentland, a dutiful, idealistic cop investigating a girl’s murder in a Canadian town. It’s an empathetic, boots-in-the-mud performance from an actor whose name has become synonymous with subtle craft. It’s all the more thrilling when Cam’s investigation leads to an entanglement with her old flame, Rebecca (Riley Keough). “Under the Bridge” skulks through dark places, but the pair’s fraught reunion (and subsequent bathroom makeout session) is incandescent.
Credit: Darko Sikman/Hulu
Paula Pell, “Girls5eva” (Netflix)
Pell, who identifies as a lesbian, is one of comedy’s most precious natural resources. Over the years, she’s brought jolts of Midwestern absurdity to small parts on shows like “30 Rock” and “Parks and Recreation.” On Meredith Scardino’s “Girls5eva,” executive produced by her longtime collaborator Tina Fey, Pell finally steps into the spotlight as Gloria McManus, a member of the show’s titular down-and-out girl group. On Season 3, it’s easy to see Pell’s fingerprints on the former ’90s pop star–turned–divorced dentist as she looks for hookups on tour, only to find herself stranded in a “boob desert.” With a little coarseness and a lot of sincerity, the actor zeroes in on the specificities of a lesbian midlife crisis, making her punchlines resonate even more.
Credit: Emily V. Aragones/Netflix
This story originally appeared in the June 6 issue of Backstage Magazine.