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There are a lot of awards given out in the entertainment industry, but until very recently, none of them were chosen from a queer perspective.
Then came the Dorian Awards.
The Dorians are the brainchild of GALECA, the Society of LGBTQ Entertainment Critics, which was formed in 2009 as the Gay and Lesbian Entertainment Critics’ Association (hence the acronym now used as their moniker), a volunteer professional organization currently comprised of 360 queer professional film and TV journalists who work in print, TV, and radio/podcasting for noteworthy outlets in countries from the U.S. and Canada to the UK and Australia, and others in between. Covering both mainstream and LGBTQ content, the awards are intended as a reminder to (as their mission statement puts it) “bullies, bigots, and LGBTQIA+ communities’ at-risk youth that the world loves the Q+ eye on entertainment.” Since 2018, the Dorians have been split into two divisions, one each for film and television, which are awarded separately approximately six months apart.
GALECA doesn’t just exist to give out awards, however. The group places heavy focus on advocating for better pay, access, and respect for its members, along with all undervalued pop culture journalists who continue to struggle against the kind of “don’t ask, don’t tell” inclusion that still takes place behind the scenes in Hollywood, where – despite improvements on the sets and on our screens – homophobia still maintains a lingering hold.
Resistance is futile, however. Last week (Aug. 17), GALECA announced the winners of its 14th Annual Dorian TV Awards, quipping in its statement that “the ‘gay agenda’ is out to force its will on God-fearing freedom lovers” once more – a suitable nod to the pointed wit of Oscar Wilde, for whose literary creation Dorian Gray the awards are named in his honor.
The Dorians are decided democratically; GALECA members submit their three top picks for the year in each category, which are tallied to determine the nominees, then vote for the final winners by ballot. There are no perks, no swag bags, no paid travel to exotic locations – just a bunch of queer writers and critics making it all happen out of their love for film and television. Not very Hollywood, maybe, but the winners are always sure to reflect a wider and more diverse perspective than most of the glitzier and higher-profile awards – and this year’s honorees, chosen from cable, streaming, and broadcast television which premiered during the 2021-22 season, are no exception.
The Dorians, like other awards bodies, reward excellence in the usual categories, though it does not split its acting awards by gender, opting instead to honor only a single performance in each of the various divisions – lead and supporting, comedy and drama, etc. However, they also offer some honorary awards that stand out as significant and unique from the typical “lifetime achievement” style prizes.
One of these is the LGBTQIA+ Trailblazer of the Year Award, bestowed “for creating art that inspires empathy, truth and equity,” given this year to actor-comedian Jerrod Carmichael – who used his HBO comedy special “Rothaniel” as a platform to come out as queer earlier this year. GALECA Executive Director John Griffiths said of the comedian’s bold move in a statement: “Rothaniel Jerrod Carmichael… [came out] with the sort of self-effacing wit, vulnerability and observational humor that would make his heroes Richard Pryor and George Carlin proud. [He] has no doubt helped a lot of people turn a page.”
Another one-of-a-kind award was added to the Dorians this year: the TV Icon Award (streamlined from its originally proposed name, the “You Deserve an Award Award”). As a surprise twist for its inaugural presentation, this one ended up as a tie. Honored was Christine Baranski, the beloved theater veteran who has become a queer fan favorite for her aloof and deceptively imperious roles in television shows like “Cybill,” “The Good Wife,” “The Good Fight” and HBO’s current period drama “The Gilded Age”; she shared the prize with comedic actress Cassandra Peterson – better known as her alter ego, horror hostess “Elvira, Mistress of the Dark” – who in 2021 surprised fans (and gained legions more) by revealing she had been in a long-term relationship with a female partner for the past two decades.
There’s also a category for the Campiest TV Show (because there should be), which this year went to Peacock’s “Girls5Eva,” as well as the “Wilde Wit” Award, which is given “to a performer, writer or commentator whose observations both challenge and amuse,” and this year went to the much-adored Jennifer Coolidge – who was also awarded Best Supporting Performance for her loopy turn in “The White Lotus.”
As for the competitive categories, there were a few surprises. The Best TV Drama award went to Showtime’s “Yellowjackets,” a small-town drama that won GALECA critics’ hearts with its dark, decades-spanning mystery involving a plane crash and featuring a cast of complex female characters – several of which are queer. The Dorian voters’ love, which also resulted in a Best Lead Drama Performance win for series star Melanie Lynskey, might bode well for the show’s chances at the upcoming Emmy Awards, where it’s nominated in several of the major drama categories.
The winner for Best TV Comedy was less of a surprise, though some eyebrows might raise over the unseating of “Hacks,” an LGBTQ-favorite show that was a major champion at many of last year’s TV awards, including the Dorians. But “Abbot Elementary,” star-creator Quinta Brunson’s pointedly hilarious sitcom about a devoted teacher at an underfunded Philadelphia grade school has accumulated a lot of buzz this year from critics and fans alike, and it’s likely to pull a repeat of this “upset” at other awards ceremonies down the road.
The winner for BEST LGBTQ TV SHOW is no surprise, either. “Heartstopper,” the infectiously sweet webcomic based import from Netflix about a teen romance between two gay schoolboys in the UK, met with almost universal acclaim from audiences and reviewers when it premiered earlier this year, and its win in this category seem almost a “no-brainer.”
Thoughthe BEST TV MOVIE OR MINISERIES category included much-lauded competitors like Hulu’s “Dopesick” and “The Dropout,” HBO’s queer-spirited powerhouse “The White Lotus” still came out on top, presumably not just for that notorious rimming scene.
For BEST NON-ENGLISH LANGUAGE TV SHOW, Korea’s ingenious and violent “Squid Game,” another Netflix import, continued its juggernaut victory lap by taking yet another win.
Finally, in another unique Dorian category, BEST UNSUNG TV SHOW went to “The Other Two,” HBO Max’s hilarious but under-seen pop culture satire about two 20-something siblings trying to achieve stardom by riding on the coat tails of their YouTube-famous teenage brother.
The rest of the winners are listed below.
BEST TV MUSICAL PERFORMANCE: Beyoncé, “Be Alive,” 94th Academy Awards
BEST TV DOCUMENTARY OR DOCUMENTARY SERIES: “The Andy Warhol Diaries”
BEST CURRENT AFFAIRS PROGRAM: “Ziwe”
BEST ANIMATED SHOW: “Bob’s Burgers”
BEST REALITY SHOW: “RuPaul’s Drag Race”
MOST VISUALLY STRIKING TV SHOW: “Euphoria”
The 14th Annual Doran Film Awards nominees will be revealed in January 2023.