Nick Offerman, Storm Reid win Emmys for queer roles in The Last of Us

It was a big night for The Last of Us at the 2023 Creative Arts Emmys.

HBO's groundbreaking series, which was adapted from the beloved video game series of the same name, walked away with the most awards of the night at the delayed Create Arts Emmy Awards, including big wins for Storm Reid and Nick Offerman, who played gay characters on the show.

Offerman won for his role as Bill, a grizzled survivalist who meets and falls in love with a charming stranger in the post-apocalypse in The Last of Us episode “Long, Long Time.” It’s one of the sweetest love stories we saw on TV all year, and was widely praised for its writing and acting.

Reid also won for playing a queer character in the show. In the episode “Left Behind,” viewers were treated to a flashback, showing Ellie’s (Bella Ramsey) past friendship with a girl named Riley (Storm Reid) before she was bit and the show started. In the episode, the two teen girls break into an abandoned mall and share an intimate and fun-filled day that includes a first kiss before both of them are bitten.

Both actors won over queer actors in their categories. Offerman beat his “Long, Long Time” co-star and partner Murray Bartlett in his category, and Reid beat Succession’s Cherry Jones.

Other people nominated include James Cromwell and Arian Moayed from Succession, Lamar Johnson and Keivonn Montreal Woodard from The Last of Us in the guest actor category, and Hiam Abbass and Harriet Walter from Succession and Melanie Lynskey and Anna Torv from The Last of Us in the guest actress category.

The Last of Us dominated the night, winning eight awards in total. Aside from the acting awards, the show won awards for Editing, Main Title Design, Prosthetic Makeup, Sound Editing, Mixing, and VFX.

The Primetime Emmy Awards will take place on January 15. The Last of Us is streaming on Max.