Ryan Murphy, the king of gay TV, received nominations for six projects this year, including Ratched, The Prom and 9-1-1: Lone Star. (Dia Dipasupil/Getty)
GLAAD have unveiled its 2021 nominations for the 32nd annual GLAAD Media Awards ahead of a visual ceremony in April 2021.
Ryan Murphy led the pack with six of his projects nominated, five of which were Netflix releases. These included The Prom, The Boys in the Band, Circus of Books and Ratched. Last year, he had two projects nominated and won the covered Vito Russo Award.
Murphy responded to the GLAAD nomination nods on Instagram: “In the past year alone, my company has not only created content that has shined a spotlight on hundreds of LGBTQ characters, but we have employed hundreds of out LGBTQ actors; who as little as five years ago would probably have been advised that being authentically who they were meant no more jobs.”
Other films featured in the GLAAD nominations 2021 included Happiest Season, The Old Guard, The Half of It and The Craft: Legacy.
There are a total of 198 nominees across 28 categories, including two new categories for Outstanding Children’s Programming and Outstanding Breakthrough Music Artist.
Phoebe Bridgers, Rina Sawayama and Trixie Mattel received nominations in the Breakthrough Music Artist category. For the Outstanding Music Artist category, nominees included Lady Gaga, Miley Cyrus, Sam Smith, Halsey, Adam Lambert and Ricky Martin.
Netflix swept up more awards than any other streaming service, dominating the film and TV categories.
The TV categories were particularly competitive this year. For Outstanding Comedy Series, Big Mouth, Dead to Me, Saved by the Bell and Love, Victor were nominated.
For the Drama Series category, Ratched, The Umbrella Academy, Supergirl and The Wilds received nominations.
Several of the TV nominees received nominations or wins last year, including Schitt’s Creek, Sex Education, Star Trek: Discovery and Killing Eve.
Fan favourites The Haunting of Bly Manor, Hollywood and I May Destroy You all received nominations for Outstanding Limited or Anthology Series.
Reality shows RuPaul’s Drag Race, Queer Eye, Legendary and We’re Here were nominated in the reality program category. Outstanding Documentary nominees included Disclosure, Circus of Books, Welcome to Chechnya and Equal.
The kids and family category nominated She-Ra & The Princess of Power, Steven Universe and Adventure Time: Distant Lands.
GLAAD monitors the media year-round, and chooses nominees based on four criteria: accurate and inclusive representation, boldness and originality, impact and overall quality. The winners are chosen by a combination of GLAAD staff, GLAAD members and volunteers, and media industry experts.
Nominees were announced on GLAAD’s TikTok page by Josie Totah, Jonathan Bennett and Shangela.
GLAAD president and CEO Sarah Kate Ellis said in a statement: “During an unprecedented year of crises and isolation, the nominees for the 32nd Annual GLAAD Media Awards reached LGBTQ people with powerful stories and inspired countless others around the world with bold looks at LGBTQ people and issues.”
She added: “This year’s nominees remind us that even in times of political and cultural division, diverse LGBTQ representation and visibility can enlighten, entertain, and create lasting change.
See the full list of nominations here.