Today marks the beginning of Emmy voting!
This year was a great year for queer TV, with new shows likeFellow Travelers, Baby Reindeer, and Ripley making big splashes and returning favorites like Hacks, True Detective, RuPaul's Drag Race, and We're Here having some of their best seasons yet!
While shows like The Bear, Shōgun, The Crown, Abbott Elementary and Only Murders in the Building sure to get plenty of noms, we also want to celebrate some of our favorite queer actors and shows!
Here are the Out team's Emmy picks for 2024!
'We're Here' Season 4 (HBO) — Outstanding Structured Reality Program
HBO
HBO's We're Here delivered a groundbreaking fourth season set in Tennessee and Oklahoma at the height of those states' anti-drag, anti-trans, and anti-LGBTQ+ rhetoric. As conservative politicians pushed laws with the intent of limiting or outright erasing the career paths, creativity, identities, and even existence of queer and trans people, We're Here faced those attacks head-on in the span of six episodes that beautifully showcased how strong and diverse the LGBTQ+ community can be.
With an all-new cast of cohosts that included drag superstars Jaida Essence Hall, Latrice Royale, Priyanka, and Sasha Velour, season 4 of We're Here will be remembered as documented evidence of a period in American history where the LGBTQ+ community was once again targeted by bigoted politicians and conservative pundits whose only platform to advance their careers involved hatred and violence.
That conservative agenda was and will continue to be defeated thanks to the hard work of queer and/or trans activists, entertainers, and regular folx who were willing to fight back — many of whom are excellently represented in the stories told on We're Here season 4.
'What We Do in the Shadows' (FX) - Outstanding Comedy Series
With last year's winner The Bear, as well as Hacks, Abbott Elementary, Only Murders in the Building, and the final season of Curb Your Enthusiasm up for this category, it's sure to be a packed one. But we'd love to see the over-the-top, hilarious, and brilliant vampire comedy What We Do in the Shadows return to the category for the first time since 2022.
The second and third seasons of this show were nominated for Outstanding Comedy Series, but the recent 5th season was the best yet, and the show definitely deserves plenty of Emmy attention!
Stars Matt Berry, Natasia Demetriou, Kayvan Novak, and Harvey Guillen all also would be deserving noms in their acting categories.
Jacob Anderson and Sam Reid, 'Interview With the Vampire' (AMC) - Outstanding Lead and Supporting Actor in a Drama
Interview with the Vampire is one of the best shows on television largely because of the show’s lead actors, Jacob Anderson and Sam Reid. And season 2 kicks off with a renewed focus on the former! Anderson’s accent work, instantly quotable line readings, and seamless ability to bring so much life, depth, and specificity to every individual moment of the immortal life of the vampire Louie Depointe DuLac’s is a marvel to watch on screen, and is mandatory viewing this Emmy season.
Jonathan Bailey, 'Fellow Travelers' (Showtime) — Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie
Showtime
In Fellow Travelers, Jonathan Bailey exhibits an expansive range that shakes fans of his previous works to their core. Bailey's performance of Timothy Laughlin introduces us to a gay man who is timid and idealistic, eager and curious, careful and obedient. But Timothy is also reactive, visceral, mighty, and animalistic, challenging its actor to show how he's maturing in real time, aging over the years, and growing — then shrinking — within himself.
Bringing Timothy to life couldn't have been easy, but Bailey excels at it. Even the character's most frenetic and neurotic traits come off as adorable and laudable through the many layers of specificity that Bailey brings into his acting. Timothy's ingenuity evolves into wisdom, cynicism, melancholy, and strength throughout the series, and Bailey expertly delivers each of those stages without any overlap. Showtime's Fellow Travelers is a truly impressive showcase of this young actor's talents, which absolutely deserve more recognition from critics.
—Bernardo Sim
Devery Jacobs, 'Reservation Dogs' (FX) - Oustanding Lead Actress in a Comedy
Jacobs has been nominated for two Critics Choice Awards for playing Indigenous teen Elora Danan, and the third and final season of the show took it to new heights.
Jacobs perfectly balances humor with heart in her evocative performance as a teen trying to make the best of her life and stay true to her roots and friend group. She's the most responsible member of the Rez Dogs and has led the show for three successful years. It's about time she got some recognition for it.
—Mey Rude
Matt Bomer, 'Fellow Travelers' (Showtime) — Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie
Showtime
Matt Bomer's performance as Hawkins Fuller on Fellow Travelers not only elucidates the life of a closeted queer man living through the McCarthyism paranoia of the 1950s and the AIDS crisis of the 1980s, but also probes into the uncomfortable truths of this character's mosaic life. Besides Bomer's meticulous and fluent nuances that convey how comfortable Hawkins has gotten inside his sturdy and closed-off closet, his acting also feels bare and distressingly recognizable when the character confronts his urges, his truth, and his manhood.
Through Hawkins' ambitious pursuit of duty and dominance, power and privacy, love and lust, Bomer sets the new golden standard for fully-realized depictions of closeted queer men in the 20th century. As we keep expanding the diversity of stories and performances in mainstream media, Showtime's Fellow Travelers stands out for highlighting the explosive chemistries and varied dynamics between queer men. As the lead actor, Bomer is the glue that holds together the pretensions and contradictions that exist within Hawkins and the world around him.
—Bernardo Sim
'Fellow Travlers' (Showtime) - Outstanding Limited or Anthology Series
Fellow Travelers is, simply put, one of the best limited series of all time. Stars Matt Bomer and Jonathan Bailey give commanding performances and Jelani Alladin and Noah J. Ricketts bring even more heart and gravity to the series that's filled with brilliant performances, great writing, and sumptous costumes.
This show shined a light on forgotten parts of real-life history and was able to be one of the sexiest shows of the 2023-2024 season.
The show covered gay American history from the 1950s to the 1980s, never missing a beat and always delivering some of the best TV we saw all year.
—Mey Rude
RuPaul, 'RuPaul's Drag Race' Season 16 (MTV) — Outstanding Host for a Reality or Competition Program
MTV
Through his work on RuPaul's Drag Race, RuPaul has won the Emmy Award for Outstanding Host for a Reality or Competition Program for eight consecutive years. He's also snatched some trophies as a producer of the hit MTV series, which has made RuPaul the Black person with the most Emmy wins in history — a whopping 22 nominations and 14 wins as of this writing.
RuPaul delivered an outstanding performance as the host and main judge of Drag Race season 16. He once again deserves to be nominated in this category and is the frontrunner to win another trophy.
While some award show enthusiasts are known to whine about recurring winners, RuPaul's Emmys record is both well-deserved and meaningful. The Drag Race mogul is also, objectively, still the best host of any reality competition show in 2024. All things considered, we strongly believe that Ru should snatch a ninth consecutive trophy in this category.
—Bernardo Sim
Lily Gladstone, Kali Ries, Jessica Gunning, Nava Mau, 'Under the Bridge,' 'True Detective: Night Country', 'Baby Reindeer' - Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Limited Series
This year, the Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Limited Series category could, and should, be almost all queer actors!
Jessica Gunning, who played the obsessed stalker Martha in Baby Reindeer is a clear favorite for this category, giving a truly singular breakout performance in the twisted, complicated, and touching Netflix series. Nava Mau, who plays the main character's trans girlfriend also deserves a nod for her role as possibly the only healthy person in a series full of toxic relationships and actions.
Oscar-nominee Lily Gladstone is also gunning for an Emmy with her performance as a British Columbia police officer investigating the disappearance of a local teen in Under the Bridge. She's also joined by Kali Reis, who broke out this year also playing Alaskan Detective Evangeline Navarro in the 4th season of True Detective, Night Country.
All four women deserve to be nominated.
—Mey Rude
'RuPaul's Drag Race' Season 16 (MTV) — Outstanding Makeup for a Variety, Nonfiction or Reality Program
MTV
For many years, the makeup team of RuPaul's Drag Race has delivered some next-level, mind-blowing artistry that continues to impress casual and dedicated viewers of the show, as well as industry professionals.
It's pretty confounding that the MTV series has been nominated six times in the Outstanding Makeup for a Variety, Nonfiction or Reality Program category but only won it once, in 2020, for the work showcased throughout the 12th season of Drag Race. Between the makeup work on host RuPaul, the panel of judges, and A-list celebrity guests, there have been a lot of Emmy-worthy beauty looks on Drag Race that deserve some recognition.
—Bernardo Sim
Andrew Scott, 'Ripley' (Netflix) - Oustanding Lead Actor in a Limited or Anthology Series
Andrew Scott showed off his acting chops as con man Tom Ripley in the deliciously devious new series adaptation from Netflix. He brought a perfect sensibility to the classic character, making him both perfectly insidious, slimy, and absolutely charming. Scott's performance grabs hold of you and doesn't let go, bringing this character to life in a new way that will stick with you forever.
—Mey Rude
'We're Here' Season 4 (HBO) — Outstanding Makeup for a Variety, Nonfiction or Reality Program
HBO
HBO's We're Here is an LGBTQ+ series that should absolutely be nominated in the Outstanding Makeup for a Variety, Nonfiction or Reality Program category at the 76th Primetime Emmy Awards.
Taking into account that We're Here spotlights many individuals who have never done drag before, the level of makeup artistry featured on the show is extraordinary. The hit HBO series has only been nominated once in this category — in 2022, for its second season — and was declared the winner at the time. After watching the fourth season of We're Here, it is unimaginable that the show wouldn't get nominated for Outstanding Makeup at the 2024 Emmy Awards.
—Bernardo Sim
Meg Stalter, 'Hacks' (HBO/Max) - Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series
Hanna Einbinder has already been nominated twice in this category, and definitely deserves a third nomination, but this year, we'd love to see some recognition for Megan Stalter, who plays Kayla Schaefer, the airheaded and eccentric assistant to Deborah and Ava's agent, Jimmy.
This season expanded her character, giving Stalter not only many of the show's biggest laughs (per usual), but also giving her a truly touching character arc, showing her growth, her desires, and her knowledge of how other people see and treat her.
Once a character who seemed impervious to criticism, Kayla broke down this season in a brilliant acting performance by Stalter that proves she's more than just one of the funniest comedians on earth.
We'd also love to see a second nomination for Carl Clemons-Hopkins in the Oustanding Supporting Actor category!
—Mey Rude
'Red, White & Royal Blue' (Amazon Studios) — Outstanding Television Movie
Amazon Studios
Starring Nicholas Galitzine as Prince Henry and Taylor Zakhar Perez as Alex, Amazon Studios' queer rom-com Red, White & Royal Blue is a hilarious, delightful, and irresistible film that's been embraced by a wide range of viewers. Galitzine and Perez deliver captivating, lived-in performances and explosive chemistry in the movie. Even a full year later, fans are still losing their minds over Henry and Alex's love story.
Based on the fantastic 2019 novel by Casey McQuiston (who is queer and nonbinary), the movie is also an outstanding directorial debut for Matthew López — an out gay writer best known for his play The Inheritance. The rom-com, which some argue was unfairly labeled with an R-rating due to both lead characters being queer men, subsequently included steamier scenes in the final cut than what had been originally planned. As a result, a tiny nuance in one particular sex scene sparked a fascinating discourse and was highly praised for its accurate depiction of sex between two men.
When it comes to queer projects that deserve to win the 2024 Emmy Award for Outstanding Television Movie, we're looking no further than Red, White & Royal Blue.
—Bernardo Sim
