It’s time for the most important television awards in all the land — the Autostraddle TV Awards, created in 2017 with the intent to honor television programs that delivered unto us fantastic lesbian, queer female and trans characters. Although our favorites often overlap with the Emmys, there are so many queer-inclusive shows ungraciously overlooked by the Television Academy. But here we are: still looking, eyes wide open and full of hope for a better and brighter queer TV future, even though the field has gotten smaller every year since 2018! This was also the first year where we didn’t have enough lead queer characters in sci-fi/fantasy (RIP the Arrowverse!) to fill the category entirely, and a plethora of nominees for Groundbreaking Representation didn’t immediately come to mind when building ballots. But there’s still plenty to celebrate, and every category is stuffed with excellent performances and works of narrative art.
The nominees included below are the result of an internal voting process undertaken by the Autostraddle TV team, but the winners of each category are also determined by you. You’ll vote on all the same categories we do, and nominate your own special picks for the fan favorite categories. We map our calendar to the Emmys, meaning all these shows aired between June 1, 2025 and May 31, 2026.
Vote now (you do not have to vote in every category — you can skip categories you’re unfamiliar with) and/or check out the nominees first:
Outstanding Drama Series
The Hunting Wives (Netflix)
The Pitt (HBO Max)
The Testaments (Hulu)
Ponies (Peacock)
Wayward (Netflix)
Ginny & Georgia (Netflix)
Outstanding Comedy Series
Hacks (HBO Max)
Deadloch (Prime Video)
I Love L.A. (HBO Max)
Company Retreat (Prime Video)
Abbott Elementary (ABC)
Such Brave Girls (Hulu)
Outstanding Sci-Fi/Fantasy Series
Pluribus (Apple TV)
Gen V (Prime Video)
School Spirits (Paramount+)
Murderbot (Apple TV)
Ironheart (Disney+)
From (MGM+)
Outstanding Animated Series
Hazbin Hotel (Prime Video)
The Mighty Nein (Prime Video)
Long Story Short (Netflix)
Mating Season (Netflix)
Jurassic World: Chaos Theory (Netflix)
Women Wearing Shoulder Pads (HBO Max)
Outstanding Reality TV Series
The Traitors (Peacock)
Couples Therapy (Showtime)
Top Chef (Bravo)
The Ultimatum: Queer Love (Netflix)
Real Housewives of Atlanta (Bravo)
Southern Hospitality (Bravo)
Outstanding Daytime Series
Beyond the Gates (CBS)
Coronation Street (ITV1 / ITVX)
Emmerdale (ITV1 / ITVX)
Shortland Street (TVNZ 2)
Outstanding Lead Actor Playing an LGBTQ+ Character in a Drama Series
Brittany Snow as Sophie O’Neil, The Hunting Wives
Malin Ã…kerman as Margo Banks, The Hunting Wives
Claire Danes as Aggie, The Beast In Me
Mae Martin as Alex Dempsey, Wayward
Zendaya as Rue Bennett, Euphoria
Haley Lu Richardson as Twila Hasbeck, Ponies
Outstanding Supporting or Guest Actor Playing an LGBTQ+ Character in a Drama Series
Hunter Schafer as Jules Vaughn, Euphoria
Alexandra Metz as Yolanda Garcia, The Pitt
Isa Briones as Trinity Santos, The Pitt
Mattea Conforti as Becka, The Testaments
Ariana DeBose as Lucy Farinelli-Watson, Scarpetta
Gemma Chua-Tran as Sasha, Heartbreak High
Aisha Hinds as Hen Wilson, 9-1-1
Caterina Scorsone as Amelia Shepherd, Grey’s Anatomy
Outstanding Lead Actor Playing an LGBTQ+ Character in a Comedy Series
Hannah Einbinder as Ava, Hacks
Kat Sadler as Josie, Such Brave Girls
Kate Box as Dulcie Collins, Deadloch
Madeleine Sami as Eddie Redcliffe, Deadloch
Lili Reinhart as Harper, Hal & Harper
Outstanding Supporting or Guest Actor Playing an LGBTQ+ Character in a Comedy Series
Rachel Kaly as Claire Coleman, Company Retreat
Stephanie Beatriz as Didi, Man on the Inside
Cherry Jones as Kelly Killpatrick, Hacks
Leslie Bibb as Monica, Hacks
Gia Kim as Yuri, XO, Kitty
Paula Pell as Dana Richards, The Burbs
Outstanding Lead Actor Playing an LGBTQ+ Character in a Sci-Fi/Fantasy Series
Rhea Seehorn as Carol Sturka, Pluribus
Jaz Sinclair as Marie Moreau, Gen V
Anna Sawai as Cate Randa, Monarch: Legacy of Monsters
Outstanding Supporting Actor Playing an LGBTQ+ Character in a Sci-Fi/Fantasy Series
London Thor as Jordan Li, Gen V
Maya Hawke as Robin, Stranger Things
Ci Hang Ma as Quinn, School Spirits
Sara Yarkin as Rhonda Rosen, School Spirits
Tig Notaro as Jett Reno, Star Trek: Starfleet Academy
Shea Couleé as Slug, Ironheart
Santana Lopez Legacy Award For Outstanding Queer Teen Character
Rhonda, School Spirits
Yuri, XO Kitty
Leila, Wayward
Quinni, Heartbreak High
Sasha, Heartbreak High
Max, Ginny & Georgia
Most Groundbreaking Representation
Deadloch (Prime Video)
Hacks (HBO Max)
Heartbreak High (Netflix)
Wayward (Netflix)
Outstanding Performance by an Out LGBTQ+ Actor in a Comedy
Poppy Liu in Hacks
Hannah Einbinder in Hacks
Megan Stalter in Hacks
Robby Hoffman in Hacks
Cherry Jones in Hacks
Regan Aliyah in XO Kitty
Sherry Cola in Shrinking
Outstanding Performance by an Out LGBTQ+ Actor in a Drama
Rowan Blanchard in The Testaments
Tessa Thompson in His & Hers
Ayo Edebiri in The Bear
Supriya Ganesh in The Pitt
Ayesha Harris in The Pitt
Ayesha Madon in Heartbreak High
Outstanding LGBTQ+ Actor in a Sci-Fi/Fantasy Show
Kiersey Clemons in Monarch: Legacy of Monsters
Krys Marshall in Paradise
Sabrina Wu in Murderbot
Chyler Leigh in The Way Home
Ci Hang Ma in School Spirits
Sara Yarkin in School Spirits
Outstanding LGBTQ+ Director / Writer / Showrunner
Brittani Nichols, Abbott Elementary (writer / producer)
Mae Martin, Wayward (Showrunner/Writer/Director)
Lena Waithe, The Chi (Showrunner)
Kat Sadler, Such Brave Girls (Creator/Writer/Producer)
Clea DuVall, Poker Face (Director)
Outstanding Performance by a Straight Actress in a Straight Role
Jean Smart as Deborah, Hacks
Danielle Deadwyler as Dylan Shepard, Rooster
Kate O’Flynn as Patricia, Widow’s Bay
Katherine LaNasa as Nurse Dana Evans, The Pitt
Sheryl Lee Ralph as Barbara Howard, Abbott Elementary
Janelle James as Ava Coleman, Abbott Elementary
Sarah Shahi as Dr. Gabriela Torabi, Paradise
Jessica Williams as Gabby, Shrinking
Outstanding Cis Male Character
Connor Storrie as Ilya Rozanov, Heated Rivalry
Hudson Williams as Shane Hollander, Heated Rivalry
Nick Offerman as Jinx Millet, Margot’s Got Money Trouble
Jeff Hiller as Dale, Widow’s Bay
Sterling K. Brown as Xavier Collins, Paradise
Paul W. Downs as Jimmy Lusaque, Jr. in Hacks
Outstanding Hairstyling for an LGBTQ+ Character
Lucy (Ariana DeBose) in Scarpetta
Tallulah (Odessa A’zion) in I Love L.A.
Regan Aliyah as Juliana, XO, Kitty
Rhonda (Sara Yarkin) in School Spirits
Marie Moreau (Jaz Sinclair) in Gen V
Praveena (Sasha Bhasin), XO Kitty
Outstanding Costume Design for a Show With LGBTQ+ Characters
Kathleen Felix-Hager, Hacks
Anastasia Magoutas, Ponies
Leslie Kavanagh, The Testaments
Arjun Bhasin, The Beast In Me
Heidi Higginbotham, The Hunting Wives
Molly Rogers and Danny Santiago, …And Just Like That
Reader-determined categories:
- Fan Favorite LGBTQ+ Couple
- Fan Favorite LGBTQ+ Character
- Fan Favorite Out LGBTQ+ Actor
