Though the GLAAD awards are a celebration and recognition of the work that creators have done to spotlight queer stories, they’re also a testament to the ways in which entertainment is changing and becoming a more inclusive space.
Most of the shows and movies nominated for this year’s GLAAD awards are ones you’d expect, like Steven Universe and She-Ra. But when you see things like Watchmen (whose “This Extraordinary Being” was nominated for “Outstanding Individual Episode in a series w/o a regular LGBTQ character”) being recognised for their queer subplots, you get the sense that things are (in small ways) significantly changing.
Of course, because these are the GLAAD awards, everything that’s nominated has some kind of queer element. But what jumps out about this year’s nominees is that many of them are genre-focused stories that delve into the fantastical, highlighting that as caustic as nerd culture can sometimes be, it’s also where a number of creatives feel comfortable telling the kinds of stories about marginalised people that we just don’t see all that often in the mainstream.
The full list of GLAAD-nominated productions is much longer, but in terms of things that one might consider nerdy, well, it speaks to the fact that genre productions are still the space where storytellers feel most comfortable giving queer characters the spotlight they’ve been denied for so long:
Outstanding Drama Series
Batwoman (The CW)
Billions (Showtime)
Euphoria (HBO)
Killing Eve (AMC)
The L Word: Generation Q (Showtime)
The Politician (Netflix)
Pose (FX)
Shadowhunters (Freeform)
Star Trek: Discovery (CBS All Access)
Supergirl (The CW)
Outstanding Kids & Family Programming
Andi Mack (Disney Channel)
The Bravest Knight (Hulu)
High School Musical: The Musical: The Series (Disney+)
The Loud House (Nickelodeon)
Arthur (PBS)
Rocko’s Modern Life: Static Cling (Netflix)
She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (Netflix)
Steven Universe: The Movie (Cartoon Network)
Nella the Princess Knight (Nick Jr.)
Twelve Forever (Netflix)
Outstanding Comic Book
The Avant-Guards (Boom Studios)
Bloom (First Second)
Crowded (Image Comics)
Harley Quinn: Breaking Glass (DC Comics)
Laura Dean Keeps Breaking Up With Me (First Second)
Liebestrasse (ComiXology Originals)
Lumberjanes (Boom Studios)
Runaways (Marvel Comics)
Star Wars: Doctor Aphra (Marvel Comics)
The Wicked + Divine (Image Comics)
Outstanding Video Game
Apex Legends (Electronic Arts)
Borderlands 3 (2K Games)
The Outer Worlds (Private Division)
Overwatch (Blizzard Entertainment)
The Walking Dead: The Final Season (Skybound Entertainment)
Read the full list of GLAAD Media Awards nominations here; ceremonies will be held in New York on March 20 and in Los Angeles on April 17.