2022 Primetime Emmy Nominations: All The Queer Humans and Characters Who Did Good Today

The 2022 Primetime Emmy nominations were announced on this fine July morning and in addition to revealing that the Emmys are still, against all odds, hot for The Marvelous Mrs Maisel, there were quite a few LGBTQ+ people and characters nominated for awards, including for local favorites Yellowjackets and Hacks.

Best Comedy: the extremely queer HBO Max series “Hacks” was nominated alongside queer director/producer Jamie Babbit‘s “Only Murders in the Building.” Our highly beloved “Abbott Elementary” (eternal Friend of Autostraddle and noted queer human B Nichols is on the writing team) has a gay male character and also is objectively the best new comedy of the year! All the vamps in “What We Do in the Shadows” are pansexual. Other nominees are “Barry” (HBO), “Curb Your Enthusiasm” (HBO), “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel (Amazon) and “Ted Lasso” (Apple TV+).

Best Drama includes a nomination for our deep, unending passion “Yellowjackets” (Showtime), which features several queer women characters, the highly gay and highly controversial “Euphoria” (HBO Max) and perennial awards darling “Stranger Things” (Netflix), which has a lesbian character. Also nominated was my personal favorite drama of the year, “Severance” (Apple TV+), which has two gay male characters. The nomination of “Squid Game” (Netflix) is a pretty big deal as the first non-English language series to be nominated for an Emmy! Also up for grabs is “Succession” (HBO), which features in my personal opinion a subtextual romance between Greg and Tom. Other nominees are “Ozark” (Netflix) and “Better Call Saul” (AMC), two shows that land on the “best of” list every year but I remain uninterested in viewing.

Best Limited Series includes “Dopesick,” which featured Kaitlyn Dever as lesbian coal miner Betsy Mallum, alongside “The Dropout” (Hulu), “Inventing Anna” (Netflix), “Pam & Tommy” (Hulu) and “The White Lotus” (HBO), which has a few gay men at its luxurious resort.

Of the six nominees for Best Actress in a Drama, four are nominated for playing queer roles: Reese Witherspoon in “The Morning Show,” Zendaya in “Euphoria,” and both Jodie Comer and Sandra Oh for “Killing Eve.” The other nominees are Laura Linney for “Ozark” and Melanie Lynskey for “Yellowjackets.”

Supporting Actress in a Comedy honored queer writer/actor Hannah Einbinder for her role as bisexual writer Ava in “Hacks,” Alex Borstein for a character we all know is gay in “The Marvelous Mrs Maisel” and queer actress/comic/writer Kate McKinnon for her final season of “Saturday Night Live.” Also nominated are Janelle James and Sheryl Lee Ralph for “Abbott Elementary” and Sarah Niles and Juno Temple for “Ted Lasso.”

Supporting Actress in a Limited Series or Movie was completely overtaken by “The White Lotus,” which earned noms for Connie Britton, Jennifer Coolidge, Alexandra Daddario, Natasha Rothwell and Sydney Sweeney. Kaitlyn Dever was nominated for her lesbian part in Dopesick, as was Mare Winningham, who played her Mom.

Reality Competition Program honored my personal fave which is not gay enough for me, The Amazing Race, but more relevant here is nods for the very queer Lizzo’s Watch Out For the Big Girls, RuPaul’s Drag Race and Top Chef, as well as “Nailed It,” hosted by beloved queer comic / actor Nicole Byer. Also nominated is “The Voice.”

Directing for a Comedy Series includes two queers, both for “Only Murders in the Building”: Jamie Babbit and Cherien Dabis.

Directing for a Limited Series includes queer director Francesca Gregorini for “The Dropout.”

Outstanding Television Movie includes the queer-inclusive productions Ray Donovan: The Movie and Zoey’s Extraordinary Christmas as well as Reno 911! The Hunt for Q-Anon starring bisexual actor Niecy Nash.

Outstanding Variety Sketch Series will see “A Black Lady Sketch Show,” which has a very queer team, duke it out against “Saturday Night Live” once again.

Notable snubs include Reservation Dogs, which did not earn a single nomination for some reason, and Station Eleven, which is one of the best television shows to ever exist in our lifetimes and was not nominated for enough awards! When Judgement Day arrives, I think that the nominating bodies are going to have a tough time explaining why Pam & Tommy was nominated and Station Eleven was not. It’s also upsetting that Carl Clemons-Hopkins was not nominated again for Hacks, as he was last year.

Here are all the nominees! I have put all queer humans nominated in italics, and indicated queer characters in parentheses.

Best Comedy
“Abbott Elementary” (ABC)
“Barry” (HBO)
“Curb Your Enthusiasm” (HBO)
“Hacks” (HBO Max)
“The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel (Amazon)
“Only Murders in the Building” (Hulu)
“Ted Lasso” (Apple TV+)
“What We Do in the Shadows” (FX)

Best Drama
“Better Call Saul” (AMC)
“Euphoria” (HBO Max)
“Ozark” (Netflix)
“Severance” (Apple TV+)
“Squid Game” (Netflix)
“Stranger Things” (Netflix)
“Succession” (HBO)
“Yellowjackets” (Showtime)

Best Limited Series
“Dopesick” (Hulu)
“The Dropout” (Hulu)
“Inventing Anna” (Netflix)
“Pam & Tommy” (Hulu)
“The White Lotus” (HBO)

Outstanding Television Movie
Chip ‘n’Dale: Rescue Rangers
Ray Donovan: The Movie
Reno 911!: The Hunt For QAnon
The Survivor
Zoey’s Extraordinary Christmas

Best Actress, Comedy
Rachel Brosnahan, “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel”
Quinta Brunson, “Abbott Elementary”
Kaley Cuoco, “The Flight Attendant”
Elle Fanning, “The Great”
Issa Rae, “Insecure”
Jean Smart, “Hacks”

Best Actor, Comedy
Donald Glover, “Atlanta”
Bill Hader, “Barry”
Nicholas Hoult, “The Great”
Steve Martin, “Only Murders in the Building”
Martin Short, “Only Murders in the Building”
Jason Sudeikis, “Ted Lasso”

Best Actress, Drama
Jodie Comer, “Killing Eve” (queer character)
Laura Linney, “Ozark”
Melanie Lynskey, “Yellowjackets”
Sandra Oh, “Killing Eve” (queer character)
Reese Witherspoon, “The Morning Show” (queer character)
Zendaya, “Euphoria” (queer character)

Best Actor, Drama
Jason Bateman, “Ozark”
Brian Cox, “Succession”
Lee Jung-jae, “Squid Game”
Bob Odenkirk, “Better Call Saul”
Adam Scott, “Severance”
Jeremy Strong, “Succession”

Best Actress, Limited Series or TV Movie
Toni Collette, “The Staircase”
Julia Garner, “Inventing Anna”
Lily James, “Pam & Tommy”
Sarah Paulson, “Impeachment”
Margaret Qualley, “Maid”
Amanda Seyfried, “The Dropout”

Best Actor, Limited Series or TV Movie
Colin Firth, “The Staircase” (queer character)
Andrew Garfield, “Under the Banner of Heaven”
Oscar Isaac, “Scenes from a Marriage”
Michael Keaton, “Dopesick”
Himesh Patel, “Station Eleven”
Sebastian Stan, “Pam & Tommy”

Supporting Actress, Comedy
Alex Borstein, “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” (queer character)
Hannah Einbinder, “Hacks” (queer character)
Janelle James, “Abbott Elementary”
Sheryl Lee Ralph, “Abbott Elementary”
Kate McKinnon, “Saturday Night Live”
Sarah Niles, “Ted Lasso”
Juno Temple, “Ted Lasso”
Hannah Waddingham, “Ted Lasso”

Supporting Actor, Comedy
Anthony Carrigan, “Barry”
Brett Goldstein, “Ted Lasso”
Tyler James Williams, “Abbott Elementary”
Toheeb Jimoh, “Ted Lasso”
Nick Mohammed, “Ted Lasso”
Tony Shalhoub, “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel”
Henry Winkler, “Barry”
Bowen Yang, “Saturday Night Live” 

Supporting Actress, Drama
Patricia Arquette, “Severance”
Julia Garner, “Ozark”
Jung Ho-yeon, “Squid Game”
Christina Ricci, “Yellowjackets”
Rhea Seehorn, “Better Call Saul”
J. Smith-Cameron, “Succession”
Sarah Snook, “Succession”
Sydney Sweeney, “Euphoria”

Supporting Actor, Drama
Nicholas Braun, “Succession”
Billy Crudup, “The Morning Show”
Kieran Culkin, “Succession”
Park Hae-soo, “Squid Game”
Matthew Macfadyen, “Succession”
John Turturro, “Severance” (queer character)
Christopher Walken, “Severance” (queer character)
Oh Yeong-su, “Squid Game”

Supporting Actress, Limited Series or a Movie
Connie Britton, “The White Lotus”
Jennifer Coolidge, “The White Lotus”
Alexandra Daddario, “The White Lotus”
Kaitlyn Dever, “Dopesick” (queer character)
Natasha Rothwell, “The White Lotus”
Sydney Sweeney, “The White Lotus”
Mare Winningham, “Dopesick”

Supporting Actor, Limited Series or Movie
Murray Bartlett, “The White Lotus” (queer character)
Jake Lacy, “The White Lotus”
Will Poulter, “Dopesick”
Seth Rogen, “Pam & Tommy”
Peter Sarsgaard, “Dopesick”
Michael Stuhlbarg, “Dopesick”
Steve Zahn, “The White Lotus”

Outstanding Guest Actress In A Comedy Series
Jane Adams, “Hacks”
Harriet Sansom Harris, “Hacks”
Jane Lynch, “Only Murders In The Building”
Laurie Metcalf, “Hacks”
Kaitlin Olson, “Hacks”
Harriet Walter, “Ted Lasso”

Outstanding Guest Actor In A Comedy Series
Jerrod Carmichael, “Saturday Night Live”
Bill Hader, “Curb Your Enthusiasm”
James Lance, “Ted Lasso”
Nathan Lane, Only Murders In The Building
Christopher McDonald, “Hacks”
Sam Richardson, “Ted Lasso”

Outstanding Guest Actress In A Drama Series
Hope Davis, “Succession”
Marcia Gay Harden, “The Morning Show”
Martha Kelly, “Euphoria”
Sanaa Lathan, “Succession”
Harriet Walter, “Succession”
Lee You-mi, “Squid Game”

Outstanding Guest Actor In A Drama Series
Adrien Brody, “Succession”
James Cromwell, “Succession”
Colman Domingo, “Euphoria”
Arian Moayed, “Succession”
Tom Pelphrey, “Ozark”
Alexander Skarsgård, “Succession”

Variety Talk Series
“Daily Show With Trevor Noah”
“Jimmy Kimmel Live”
“Last Week Tonight With John Oliver”
“Late Night With Seth Meyers”
“Late Show With Stephen Colbert”

Reality Competition Program
“The Amazing Race”
“Lizzo’s Watch Out for the Big Grrrls”
“Nailed It”
“RuPaul’s Drag Race”
“Top Chef”
“The Voice”

Writing for a Comedy Series
Lucia Aniello, Paul W. Downs and Jen Statsky, “Hacks” (“The One, the Only”)
Quinta Brunson, “Abbott Elementary” (“Pilot”)
Bill Hader and Alec Berg, “Barry” (“starting now”)
Alec Berg and Duffy Boudreau, “Barry” (“710N”)
Steve Martin and John Hoffman, “Only Murders in the Building” (“True Crime”)
Jane Becker, “Ted Lasso” (“No Weddings And A Funeral”)
Sarah Naftalis, “What We Do In The Shadows” (“The Casino”)
Stefani Robinson, “What We Do In The Shadows” (“The Wellness Center”)

Writing for a Drama Series
Jesse Armstrong, “Succession” (“All the Bells Say”)
Dan Erickson, “Severance” (“The We We Are”)
Hwang Dong-hyuk, “Squid Game” (“One Lucky Day”)
Ashley Lyle and Bart Nickerson, “Yellowjackets” (“Pilot”)
Jonathan Lisco, Ashley Lyle and Bart Nickerson, “Yellowjackets” (“F Sharp”)
Chris Mundy, “Ozark” (“A Hard Way to Go”)
Thomas Schnauz, “Better Call Saul” (“Plan and Execution”)

Writing for a Limited Series, Movie or Drama Special
Elizabeth Meriwether, “The Dropout” (“I’m In A Hurry”)
Sarah Burgess, “Impeachment: American Crime Story” (“Man Handled”)
Molly Smith Metzler, “Maid” (“Snaps”
Patrick Somerville, “Station Eleven” (“Unbroken Circle”)
Danny Strong, “Dopesick” (“The People vs. Purdue Pharma”)
Mike White, “The White Lotus”

Directing for a Comedy Series
Lucia Aniello, “Hacks” (“There Will Be Blood”)
Jamie Babbit, “Only Murders in the Building” (“True Crime”) 
Cherien Dabis, “Only Murders in the Building” (“The Boy From 6B”) 
Mary Lou Belli, “The Ms. Pat Show” (“Baby Daddy Groundhog Day”)
MJ Delaney, “Ted Lasso” (“No Weddings and a Funeral”)
Bill Hader, “Barry” (“710N”)
Hiro Murai, “Atlanta” (“New Jazz”)

Directing for a Drama Series
Jason Bateman, “Ozark” (“A Hard Way to Go”)
Hwang Dong-hyuk, “Squid Game” (“Red Light, Green Light”)
Karyn Kusama, “Yellowjackets” (“Pilot”)
Mark Mylod, “Succession” (“All the Bells Say”)
Cathy Yan, “Succession” (“The Disruption”)
Lorene Scafaria, “Succession” (“Too Much Birthday”)
Ben Stiller, “Severance” (“The We We Are”)

Directing for a Limited Series
Hiro Murai, “Station Eleven”
Michael Showalter, “The Dropout”
Francesca Gregorini, “The Dropout”
Danny Strong, “Dopesick”
John Wells, “Maid”
Mike White, “The White Lotus”

Outstanding Variety Sketch Series
A Black Lady Sketch Show
Saturday Night Live

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Riese

Riese is the 41-year-old Co-Founder of Autostraddle.com as well as an award-winning writer, video-maker, LGBTQ+ Marketing consultant and aspiring cyber-performance artist who grew up in Michigan, lost her mind in New York and now lives in Los Angeles. Her work has appeared in nine books, magazines including Marie Claire and Curve, and all over the web including Nylon, Queerty, Nerve, Bitch, Emily Books and Jezebel. She had a very popular personal blog once upon a time, and then she recapped The L Word, and then she had the idea to make this place, and now here we all are! In 2016, she was nominated for a GLAAD Award for Outstanding Digital Journalism. She's Jewish and has a cute dog named Carol. Follow her on twitter and instagram.

Riese has written 3164 articles for us.

13 Comments

    • haha yes i just added this after seeing her nominated for best reality show host on the bigger pdf of emmy nominations! I know nicole byer isn’t straight (you can catch her in my recent hit post 100 lgbtq ppl in suits) but i somehow had managed to live my entire life without having any idea what Nailed It! is, but great news NOW I KNOW one thing about it which’s that it’s hosted by Nicole Byer.

      • I’d never even heard of Nailed It! but now that I’ve watched the trailers for all 6 seasons on Netflix, I am happy to share my new knowledge.

        Nicole Beyers is like a combination Sue Perkins and Ted Allen on an American baking show where they have ordinary people / terrible bakers try to reproduce fancy Cake Boss / Ace of Cakes type cakes. And then Nicole Beyers and 2 judges laugh and spit out salty cake and somehow the contestants also laugh instead of curling up in shame. And it seems both really cringey and kind of wholesome.

  1. Kinda disappointed that Isabel Sandoval didn’t get a nomination for directing episode 6 of under the banner of heaven (whole reason I watched the show.) Although FX did submit her show to the Emmys. Still really excited about many of these other nominees!

  2. There is absolutely nothing queer about it… but Better Call Saul is great and Rhea Seahorn is amazing in it. If anything, the show is worth watching just for her. She deserves an Emmy and I really hope I get to see her in more things.

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