GALECA: The Society of LGBTQ Critics Announces Inaugural Dorian TV Award Winners
Hugh Jackman, Killing Eve and Watchmen All Score Big, Dan Levy and Schitt’s Creek Take Six Trophies
Monday, September 14, 2020–Hollywood, CA–Hugh Jackman, Janelle Monáe, Billy Porter, John Oliver and Schitt’s Creek creator-star Dan Levy, plus stars and producers of Killing Eve and Watchmen, offered heartfelt thanks as they virtually accepted awards—and were treated to a symbolic raise of the glass—from GALECA: The Society of LGBTQ Entertainment Critics during the group’s first TV special last night (click here to watch or rewatch)
The Dorians TV Toast 2020, a recorded two-hour program hosted by opinionated talk radio icon Karel and airing on the LGBTQ+ streaming platform Revry, followed the lead of the group’s trademark live Toast honors, a mix of awards and chat/variety shows. The latest Dorians Toast intermingled music, comedy and special segments with lively banter about the nominees and winners from the organization’s members—and from presenters like sitcom multihyphenate Josh Thomas (Freeform’s Everything’s Gonna Be Okay), Alex Newell (of NBC’s hit Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist), groundbreaking comic actresses Margaret Cho and Lea DeLaria, Hollywood wit Bruce Vilanch and RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars champ Chad Michaels.
Season three of BBC America’s psychological thriller Killing Eve, starring best actress nominee Jodie Comer and 2018’s category winner Sandra Oh, earned Best TV Drama. Accepting were show costar Fiona Shaw (secret agent Eve/Oh’s boss, Carolyn Martens), writer Suzanne Heathcote and executive producer Sally Woodward Gentle, who after thanking GALECA for Eve’s award, praised Creek for “filling my heart with joy” amid today’s challenging times.
The alternate-universe adventure Watchmen took two awards: Best TV Movie or Limited Series and Most Visually Striking Show. Star Regina King, a nominee for the miniseries and a previous Dorian film award winner for If Beale Street Could Talk, was upbeat in thanking the Society for “not one but two Dorian Awards. Love it, Love it!”
King told the Society’s members she felt that one of the reasons series creator Damon Lindelof’s imagining of the comic book, navigating themes of power, racial conflict and identity, proved so popular is “you. You've written so favorably about the show.” She also spoke warmly of Watchmen’s writers and cast mates, including TV icon Lou Gossett Jr. (Roots), who in the show played the elder version of—spoiler alert—gay superhero Will Reeves.
Lindelof, though, was more somber in accepting Watchmen’s chief award. “I know the Dorians celebrate all kinds of film and TV shows that don't necessarily need to be LGBTQ-themed, but we take particular pride in the fact that there is a queer character at the very center of Watchmen: Will Reeves,” said Lindelof. “We started this story by asking a simple question: Why would a superhero need to hide their face? If they were truly fighting for justice, the answer seemed obvious: Because the world wasn't ready to see who they really were. And so Watchman became this story about unmasking, about understanding the pain and trauma caused by ignorance and hate.”
Monáe, accepting her joint-win with singer-actor Billy Porter for Best TV Musical Performance for their dazzling duet at the start of last February’s Academy Awards, said the experience of performing that night “was a dream” and that, when it came to asking Porter to join her, “There was no other person I could think about sharing that stage with.” She added: “I'm just so grateful that we got an opportunity to be ourselves. Our performance was rooted in community and making sure to amplify all of the marginalized voices, specifically our black and queer community. It wasn't just about us. It was about all of us. I'm so honored to be honored by GALECA.”
Porter returned the affection. After admiring his Dorian award—“Look at how lovely this is!”—he thanked his stage mate Monáe for “putting her neck out for me and making sure that gramps–I—was there with her.”
America’s current, seemingly endless string of troubling headlines proved fodder for the Toast’s winners, presenters and Society members throughout the show. Referring to the new era of social distancing, “There are people in the Trump administration that’ve gone to jail and gotten out sooner than we have from our lock-up!” half-joked host Karel from his Las Vegas home, which served as home base for what the boisterous performer called the special’s “virtual pub.”
Before talk radio favorite Stephanie Miller announced Eve as best drama, she quipped as she ran through the category’s nominees. Sample: “Better Call Saul—the story of a fixer that for a change doesn’t have Donald Trump as a client.” And Vilanch, in presenting Campiest TV Show: “We all know what camp is, or we think that we know what camp is for me. It's failed seriousness. In other words, the Trump administration.”
Jackman took Best TV Performance—Actor for his unsettlingly seamless portrayal of a true-life public school embezzler in HBO’s Bad Education. In presenting the award, Rafael Casal, who played the star’s illicit lover, noted the movie “really tells the story of today's America, a story about a con man using the system to benefit himself and rob the people he's supposed to serve, all while the ceiling is caving in—and he’s eventually stopped by teenagers. Thank you, TikTok.” Regarding his acting partner, Casal quipped: “He even let me two-step better than him on camera, which I think tells you the kind of class act he is.”
Piping in himself, Jackman, in thanking GALECA, his director and costars including Casal, said his Dorian award “really, really means a lot . . . (making Education) was just one of those incredible experiences. This is just icing on the cake.”
HBO’s Last Week Tonight, starring crusader for truth and culpability John Oliver, triumphed as Best Current Affairs Show, not an easy feat considering the category’s “tight competition,” said presenter Thomas Roberts. The former groundbreaking MSNBC news anchor, now hosting the syndicated newsmagazine series DailyMailTV, noted that most of the category’s nominated programs have tried to inform America about everything “from pandemics to politics, TikTok to over-the-top, fashion news to actually using a pocket square as a face mask.”
Oliver, bringing it home—literally—in a video shot at his COVID 19-era TV desk, said, “Thank you so much, GALECA, for this Dorian Award.” He added he hoped members “were safe at home and not at a mask-less Jacksonville pool party.”
Yet it was the uplifting sixth and final season of Schitt’s Creek that scored five Dorians. The scrappy farce, about a once-rich and la-de-da family whose suddenly meager finances make them face reality, won Best TV Comedy and Best LGBTQ TV Show (just as the show did for season four). Creek matriarch Catherine O’Hara grabbed the award for Best TV Performance—Actress, with cast mates Annie Murphy and Levy honored in the supporting categories (Levy’s father Eugene Levy was nominated here for best actor). Levy was also bestowed the group’s special Wilde Wit accolade, named in honor of Oscar Wilde (the Dorian Award itself counts as an homage to Wilde’s only novel, The Picture of Dorian Gray).
Levy, echoing King, told GALECA members he appreciated the Society “for supporting our show from day one . . . It is a great honor to be recognized by all of you, because, let's be honest, you got good taste.”
There were other winky moments:
- GALECA’s signature Campiest TV Show honor went to Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem and Madness, with director/producer Rebecca Chaiklin accepting with humor (she said the controversial docuseries’ now imprisoned star, Joe Exotic—who recently sent a letter to Donald Trump asking to be pardoned for charges of murder for hire and animal abuse—sent his gratitude).
- Vilanch, presenting that Campiest show category, opined of nominee Dolly Parton’s Heartstrings, “The title alone! Can Dolly find her heartstrings under all that boob?”
- Presenter Dave Koz whipped out his shiny sax to play a few notes and herald Best Unsung TV Show winner What We Do in the Shadows.
- In accepting on behalf of that vampire comedy, Harvey Guillén, who plays secret and reluctant bloodsucker slayer Guillermo de la Cruz, warbled a spoofy impromptu song to express his excitement over GALECA’s pick.
- And RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars winner Chad Michaels, also known for impersonating Cher to perfection, was a novel choice to announce the Most Visually Striking Show category. Quipped Michaels: “I know how much hard work it takes to look visually striking!” Accepting the Visually Striking award were production designer Kristian Milsted and director of photography Gregory Middleton.
“The presenters and winners really outdid themselves with their virtual appearances,” said GALECA Executive Director John Griffiths. “I’m still laughing over Josh Thomas’ hilarious, must-be-heard insight about life during the pandemic. And our host Karel did an amazing job, especially considering he was flying virtually. He’s such genuine, enthusiastic fan, and that makes an awards show much more fun. He also gets how much power TV has in transforming and uplifting lives. That makes the viewing experience more meaningful.”
Griffiths added he was “truly giddy” over GALECA’s revamped trophy, individual art pieces of the winners inspired by Oscar Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray. “Everyone gets a colorful portrait of themselves on a little easel with a velvet drape over it!”
Moreover, the Dorians TV Toast 2020 introduced not one but two theme songs, the Cheers-evocative “Raise a Glass!” and the more rocking “Toast,” rockingly performed by Irish-meets-Vegas band The Black Donnellys.
The first recipient of the Society’s special career-achievement honor, The “You Deserve an Award!” Award—going to what the group deems “a uniquely talented TV icon we adore”—will be announced at a later date.
Starting under the original banner Gay and Lesbian Entertainment Critics Association, GALECA’s Dorian Awards have gone to the best of all of film and TV — not only LGBTQ-themed — since 2010. While this year marks the inaugural Dorian TV Awards, this is actually the 12h go-around for members voting on their best-loved TV programs and stars. Come first-quarter 2021, the Society will add to its choices for the finest in theatrical releases for its first separate Dorian Film Awards.
2019-20 DORIAN TV AWARDS—WINNERS IN BOLD
BEST TV DRAMA
Better Call Saul (AMC) Killing Eve (BBC America/AMC) Ozark (Netflix) The Crown (Netflix) The Good Fight (CBS All Access)
BEST TV COMEDY
Better Things (FX) Dead to Me (Netflix) Insecure (HBO) Schitt’s Creek (Pop) The Good Place (NBC) What We Do in the Shadows (FX)
BEST TV MOVIE OR LIMITED SERIES Bad Education (HBO) Little Fires Everywhere (Hulu) Mrs. America (FX/Hulu) Normal People (Hulu) Watchmen (HBO)
BEST LGBTQ TV SHOW
Bad Education (HBO) Hollywood (Netflix) RuPaul’s Drag Race (VH1) Schitt’s Creek (Pop) Vida (Starz) We’re Here (HBO) Work in Progress (Showtime)
BEST TV PERFORMANCE – ACTRESS
Christina Applegate, Dead to Me (Netflix) Cate Blanchett, Mrs. America (FX/Hulu) Linda Cardellini, Dead to Me (Netflix) Jodie Comer, Killing Eve (BBC America/AMC) Regina King, Watchmen (HBO) Laura Linney, Ozark (Netflix) Catherine O'Hara, Schitt's Creek (Pop)
BEST TV PERFORMANCE – ACTOR
Hugh Jackman, Bad Education (HBO) Eugene Levy, Schitt's Creek (Pop) Paul Mescal, Normal People (Hulu) Jeremy Pope, Hollywood (Netflix) Ramy Youssef, Ramy (Hulu)
BEST SUPPORTING TV PERFORMANCE – ACTRESS
Uzo Aduba, Mrs. America (FX/Hulu) Julia Garner, Ozark (Netflix) Allison Janney, Bad Education (HBO) Patti LuPone, Hollywood (Netflix) Annie Murphy, Schitt's Creek (Pop) Jean Smart, Watchmen (HBO)
BEST SUPPORTING TV PERFORMANCE – ACTOR
Billy Crudup, The Morning Show (Apple TV+) Harvey Guillén, What We Do in the Shadows (FX) Dan Levy, Schitt's Creek (Pop) Joe Mantello, Hollywood (Netflix) Josh O'Connor, The Crown (Netflix) Jim Parsons, Hollywood (Netflix)
BEST TV MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
Cynthia Erivo, “Stand Up,” 92nd Academy Awards (ABC) Jake Gyllenhaal, “Music, Music Everywhere!,” John Mulaney & the Sack Lunch Bunch (Netflix) Jennifer Lopez & Shakira, Halftime Show, Super Bowl LIV (Fox) Janelle Monáe & Billy Porter, Opening Number, 92nd Academy Awards (ABC) Noah Reid, “Always Be My Baby,” Schitt’s Creek (Pop)
BEST CURRENT AFFAIRS PROGRAM
Cheer (Netflix) The Daily Show With Trevor Noah (Comedy Central) Full Frontal with Samantha Bee (TBS) Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (HBO) The Rachel Maddow Show (MSNBC) Visible: Out on Television (Apple TV+)
BEST UNSUNG TV SHOW
Everything’s Gonna Be Okay (Freeform) Gentefied (Netflix) The Good Fight (CBS All Access) Mrs. Fletcher (HBO) One Day at a Time (Pop) Vida (Starz) What We Do in the Shadows (FX) Work in Progress (Showtime)
MOST VISUALLY STRIKING SHOW
Hollywood (Netflix) The Crown (Netflix) The Mandalorian (Disney+) Watchmen (HBO) Westworld (HBO)
CAMPIEST TV SHOW
AJ and the Queen (Netflix) Dolly Parton’s Heartstrings (Netflix) The Great (Hulu) RuPaul’s Drag Race (VH1) Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem and Madness (Netflix)
WILDE WIT AWARD
(Honoring a performer, writer or commentator whose observations both challenge and amuse) Cate Blanchett Hannah Gadsby Dan Levy Trevor Noah Randy Rainbow
• • • •
'Dorians TV Toast' Special Announced
Hugh Jackman, Regina King,
Laverne Cox, Janelle Monáe,
John Oliver, Dan Levy Aligned for
Society of LGBTQ Entertainment Critics TV Awards Special
‘The Dorians TV Toast 2020 on Revry,’ Hosted by Talk Radio Icon Karel from his Virtual Pub, Streams Globally September 13th
September 8, 2020 (Hollywood, CA) – Hugh Jackman, Janelle Monáe, Regina King, Pose sensation and fashion trailblazer Billy Porter, groundbreaking trans actress Laverne Cox, Schitt’s Creek star Dan Levy and vaunted political satirist John Oliver are among the slew of actors, comics and performers lending cheer to GALECA: The Society of LGBTQ Entertainment Critics’ inaugural Dorians TV Toast 2020 on Revry, airing Sunday, September 13th on the first LGBTQ+ global streaming network Revry.
In the two-hour star-studded virtual event, hosted by famously opinionated entertainer and talk show host Karel, fans will find out which stars and TV shows the LGBTQ+ organization’s 270 members deemed the best, most visually stunning and even campiest of the past TV season. In addition to raising a glass to the honorees—many of whom delight in virtual acceptance videos—GALECA members discuss the nominees' merits and even controversies (Randy Rainbow and Tiger King don’t get off lightly).
Going into Revry's September 13th special, star and co-creator Dan Levy's riches-to-rags comedy Schitt’s Creek leads the pack with seven nominations, while Hollywood whiz Ryan Murphy’s ambitious, star-studded reimagining of Tinseltown’s early days sashays down the red carpet with six nods. The fact-based TV movie Bad Education and daring miniseries Watchmen each have four Dorian nominations, with the HBO titles' respective stars, Jackman and King, earning best performance nominations. Singer and actress Monáe, now seen in the centuries-spanning horror film Antebellum, and Porter share a nomination for TV Musical Performance of the Year for their vibrant opening number in this year’s Academy Awards telecast. The full list of contenders, across 14 categories, can be found further down and, along with behind-the-show scoop, at DoriansToast.com.
Helping present the TV Dorians: Drag icon Shangela (star of HBO’s We’re Here), What We Do in the Shadows’ vampire-slayer Harvey Guillén; DailyMailTV and Gay Good News host and groundbreaking cable news anchor Thomas Roberts; actor and music artist Alex Newell (Glee and NBC’s Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist); RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars champion Chad Michaels; multi-hyphenate Josh Thomas of the hit Freeform sitcom, Everything’s Gonna Be Okay; actress-comedian Margaret Cho; veteran talk radio host and Sexy Liberal podcast network founder Stephanie Miller; legendary saxophonist Dave Koz; acclaimed actress and jazz singer Lea DeLaria (Orange is the New Black); rising stars Rafael Casal and Kate Rose Wilburn; and iconic comic Bruce Vilanch. Revry personalities Shira Lazar and Andy Lalwani, of the news and pop culture series What’s Trending, will also be on deck offering insightful commentary.
“It’s really incredible how the industry has so positively responded to our show,” said outspoken host and producer, Karel (otherwise known as Charles Karel Bouley). “While COVID has definitely created challenges, it’s also strangely brought us together in a global way: We’ve got Alex Newell in Canada, Laverne Cox in New York, Lea DeLaria in LA, Margaret Cho in her back yard and even a surprise from Ireland! A pub is a place that brings people together, and we think Oscar Wilde would approve of our virtual Plan B.”
“Revry is honored to host the exclusive premiere of the star-studded Dorians TV Toast 2020 on Revry and to stream the show worldwide on our queer network,” said Christopher J. Rodriguez, Esq., Revry co-founder and CBO. “We believe that representation saves lives and while our network focuses on uplifting LGBTQ+ entertainment within queer culture, GALECA has been essential in pushing the broader entertainment industry towards increased representation of LGBTQ+ people in mainstream media. This partnership creates the perfect bridge between these two worlds and allows GALECA and Revry to honor our allies in the industry on a network made by and for our community.”
The Society’s Dorian Awards, which in the past have gone to both film and television titles combined, announced the nominees for its first separate Dorian TV Awards on June 30. The Dorians are awarded to both general and LGBTQ content, reminding bigots, bullies and at-risk youth that the world looks to the Q eye for leads on great entertainment.
“With September being Suicide Prevention Month and next month being LGBTQ History Month, this is a lovely and loving time to celebrate not just great television, but also how ‘rainbow’ journalists have boosted Hollywood from day one,” said John Griffiths, GALECA.org’s Executive Director and Founder. “Be they black, Latinx, indigenous, white, bi, trans, nonbinary or several of the above, queer entertainment critics and reporters have a distinct perspective born of their culture and oppression that has shaped all of the arts for the better. People should know that—and they will thanks to Revry.”
GALECA members offering their opinions in what host Karel calls his “virtual pub” include Tre’vell Anderson (Cohost, Maximum Fun's FANTI podcast), Kevin Fallon (Senior Writer, The Daily Beast), Eric Andersson (Senior Writer, TV Guide Magazine), Tracy E. Gilchrist (Co-Editor in Chief, The Advocate), Liz Shannon Miller (Senior TV Editor, Collider), Dino-Ray Ramos (Associate Editor, Deadline), Erik Anderson (Editor in Chief of Awards Watch), Jose Bastidas (Assistant Entertainment Editor, The San Francisco Chronicle), Tariq Raouf (Entertainment Queerly podcast), as well as freelance journalists Ren Jender, Manuel Betancourt, Topher Gauk-Roger and Griffiths (former longtime TV critic for Us Weekly).
Chiming in as well with lively comments are former CNN Headline News show host Jane Velez-Mitchell, legendary showbiz columnist Michael Musto and Revry co-founder Wadooah Wali, all GALECA Advisory Board members. The Emmy-winning Velez-Mitchell, now a crusader for animal rights, veganism and the environment via her #JaneUnchained initiative, is one of five media experts to recently join the Society’s list of advisors. The others are Shane Michael Singh, former executive editor of Playboy turned brand partnerships and development manager at the LGBTQ youth charity The Trevor Project; groundbreaking black film critic and former VH1 talk show host Bobby Rivers; Nick McCarthy, director of programming for the NewFest LGBTQ film festival; and Gil Robertson, co-founder and president of the African American Film Critics Association.
The show is produced and created by Karel.Media, whose creative team includes Brandon Riley Miiller (High the Series, Life In Segments) and talent liaison Makiko Ushiyama, with awards design by Karel and Jason Young of Pearl Image. The special includes an original theme tune: The cozy and festive “Toast,” with music by Morgan Mallory and lyrics by Karel. Viewers can also hear what Karel calls a “power-pub” version of the song, “Toast 2,” performed by Las Vegas-based Irish band The Black Donnellys, featuring a new melody and an added stanza by Donnelly’s frontperson Dave Rooney.
And the Dorians special will include a special message from siblings Rosanna and David Arquette in support of the Alexis Arquette Family Foundation and its missions to offer care and support of the LGBTQ+ community and reflect its namesake’s belief that the arts can transform lives.
The show will air Sunday, Sept. 13 at 8pm EST, 5pm PST for free on Revry, the LGBTQ+ streaming network, available globally at watch.revry.tv.
Celebrities set to appear:
Hugh Jackman Regina King Rafael Casal Margaret Cho Laverne Cox Lea DeLaria Harvey Guillén Dave Koz Dan Levy Damon Lindelof Chad Michaels Stephanie Miller Annie Murphy Michael Musto Alex Newell John Oliver Janell Monáe Billy Porter Shangela Thomas Roberts Fiona Shaw Josh Thomas Jane Velez-Mitchell Bruce Vilanch Kate Rose Wilburn
About GALECA GALECA: The Society of LGBTQ Entertainment Critics’ Dorian Awards, a nonprofit professional organization, was founded in 2009. Today, GALECA consists of 270 active critics and journalists who write on entertainment for major and distinctly unique media outlets in the U.S., Canada, Australia and the U.K. Support us by following @DorianAwards on Twitter and Facebook and @Dorian_Awards on Instagram.
GALECA: The Society of LGBTQ Entertainment Critics is a member of CGEM: Critics Groups for Equality in Media, an alliance of five underrepresented entertainment journalism organization and Time’s Up’s CRITICAL database. For more information, visit CGEMCritics.org.
About Revry Watch Queer TV 24/7 with the first LGBTQ+ virtual cable TV network. Revry offers free live TV channels and on-demand viewing of its global library featuring LGBTQ+ movies, shows, music, podcasts, news, and exclusive originals all in one place! Revry is currently available globally in over 250+ million households and devices and on seven OTT, mobile, and Desktop platforms. Revry can also be viewed on nine live and on-demand channels and Connected TVs including: The Roku Channel, Samsung TV Plus, Comcast Xfinity X1, Dell, XUMO TV, Zapping TV, STIRR, TiVo+, and as the first LGBTQ+ virtual reality channel on Littlstar (available on PlayStation devices). The company–an inaugural member of the Goldman Sachs Black and LatinX Cohort–is headquartered in Los Angeles and led by a diverse founding team who bring decades of experience in the fields of tech, digital media, and LGBTQ+ advocacy. Follow Revry on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram @revrytv.
With Pride, Society of LGBTQ Critics
Announces Inaugural Dorian TV Award Nominations
The Good Fight, Schitt’s Creek, Mrs. America, Watchmen, Normal People Stand Out in ‘Best TV’ Categories
Cate Blanchett, Regina King, Trevor Noah, Ramy Youssef Also Earn Nods
Tuesday, June 30, 2020 – Hollywood, CA – Capping Pride Month with a nod to the power of the “small” screen, GALECA: The Society of LGBTQ Entertainment Critics today announced the nominees for its first separate Dorian TV Awards. The Pop network comedy Schitt’s Creek leads the pack with 7 nominations, while Hollywood — Netflix’s ambitious, star-studded reimagining of Tinseltown’s early days — says hooray to six nods. HBO’s fact-based TV movie Bad Education and daring miniseries Watchmen have four Dorian nominations each.
“With a global pandemic, severe economic strife, the gut-punches of racism and police brutality proverbially hitting us all—this might not seem like the right time for fluffy showbiz awards,” said GALECA President Diane Anderson-Minshall, CEO and Editorial Director of Pride Media (The Advocate, Out, Pride, Plus). “But it may be more important than ever now to embrace and champion quality stories and push the real Hollywood’s entitled writers, producers, executives and PR reps out of their bubble and into truly reflecting America’s diversity for a change. They have so much power, and entertainment journalism groups like GALECA can make them accountable.”
Added GALECA Executive Director John Griffiths, “Stereotypical, or worse, depictions of LGBTQs and People of Color have greatly contributed to the pain America is in right now. GALECA and its partner organization CGEM: Critics Groups for Equality in Media are determined to press media companies to take more responsibility and hire more underrepresented voices, voices that might say, ‘Hey, why, in 2020, is every single character on this show white, rich and straight except for the token Black, Indigenous, Latinx, Asian and/or Queer baddie or comic foil?'”
One series that definitely breaks the mold is CBS All Access’ The Good Fight, the tense, socially relevant and increasingly inventive drama set at a Black-run law firm in Chicago. Fight is up for Best TV Drama (as well as Best Unsung TV Show) alongside Netflix’s ever-polished Brit royals opus The Crown and tricky-couple crime drama Ozark, and two other twisty morality tales, AMC networks’ Killing Eve and Better Call Saul.
In addition to Creek — a previous Dorian Award winner when GALECA combined its film and TV kudos in one package — the Best TV Comedy contenders include three past Dorian Award nominees: Insecure (HBO), Better Things (FX) and The Good Place (NBC). Competing against them are Netflix’s gallows-humored, female-powered mystery-comedy Dead to Me (stars Christina Applegate and Linda Cardellini vie for Best TV Performance — Actress) and FX’s bloody-fun vampire comedy, What We Do in the Shadows (which counts two additional nods).
The Best TV Movie or Limited Series race is lively, with each nominee offering a bold, controversial approach to an ever-burning topic. HBO’s comic book fantasy Watchmen aggressively tackles themes of white supremacy and police brutality, the same network’s fact-based TV film Bad Education exposes greed and corruption (in public schools, no less), and FX’s ‘70s-set historical drama Mrs. America, produced by and starring double-nominee Cate Blanchett, shows how far we have not come, baby, in regards to advancing women’s rights. Also in the mix: Hulu shows Little Fires Everywhere (dealing with inherent racism) and Normal People (sex—lots of it).
Although the miniseries Hollywood, from bad boy producer Ryan Murphy, didn’t make that short list, it did nab four acting nominations as well as ones for LGBTQ Show of the Year and Visually Striking Show. Other cinematic eye-fillers in the latter race include the likes of Disney+’s The Mandalorian and HBO’s Westworld.
And no Dorian Awards list would be complete without GALECA’s trademark category, Campiest TV Show. Vying for that cheeky honor are Hulu’s royal romp The Great, perennial members favorite RuPaul’s Drag Race (VH1), and Netflix hmmm-inducers AJ and the Queen, Dolly Parton’s Heartstrings and a certain expose of some exotic Oklahomans and Floridians, Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem and Madness.
“We’re again proud of our members’ eclectic choices,” said Executive Director Griffiths. But he noted that GALECA, with 20 percent of its membership female and about 16 percent Indigenous or People of Color, itself needs to bolster its diversity. “America is more than 50-percent women, and BIPOC unite to make up about 40 percent of the country, so we have some work to do,” said Griffiths, adding that the Society does include a “strong” 5 percent of transgender members. “Our Board has been discussing actionable-now steps to bolster representation of People of Color, women, trans, non-binary and genderqueer professional journalists in our ranks — for the vital big picture and to make our Dorian Awards as rich and reflective of the LGBTQ eye as possible.”
Added Griffiths, “GALECA is an all-volunteer group in a very rocky media landscape, exacerbated not just by the COVID fallout but by anti-freelancers legislation like California’s AB-5 bill. So we urge engaged entertainment writers to get in touch with us. Numbers are what raise a voice.”
Via its original banner Gay and Lesbian Entertainment Critics Association, GALECA’s Dorian Awards have gone to the best of all of film and TV — not only LGBTQ-themed — since 2010. While this year marks the inaugural Dorian TV Awards, this is actually the 11th go-around for members voting on their best-loved TV programs and stars. Come first-quarter 2021, the Society will add to its choices for the finest in theatrical releases for the first separate Dorian Film Awards.
TV winners will be announced August 21, when the Society will also name the recipient of its first “You Deserve an Award!” Award, going to what the group deems “a uniquely talented TV icon (they) adore.”
GALECA: The Society of LGBTQ Entertainment Critics’ Dorian Awards, started in 2009, go to both mainstream and LGBTQ-centric content, helping remind bullies, bigots and at-risk youth that the world has a history of looking to “the Q eye” for tips on what’s great across all of entertainment. After all, how would the world fare without knowing what's campy? A nonprofit professional organization, GALECA consists of over 270 active critics and journalists who write for legitimate media outlets in the United States, Canada, Australia and the U.K. Support our efforts with a follow @DorianAwards on Twitter and Facebook and @Dorian_Awards on Instagram.
2019-20 DORIAN TV AWARDS NOMINEES — FULL LIST*
BEST TV DRAMA
Better Call Saul (AMC)
Killing Eve (BBC America/AMC)
Ozark (Netflix)
The Crown (Netflix)
The Good Fight (CBS All Access)
BEST TV COMEDY
Better Things (FX)
Dead to Me (Netflix)
Insecure (HBO)
Schitt’s Creek (Pop)
The Good Place (NBC)
What We Do in the Shadows (FX)
BEST TV MOVIE OR LIMITED SERIES
Bad Education (HBO)
Little Fires Everywhere (Hulu)
Mrs. America (FX/Hulu)
Normal People (Hulu)
Watchmen (HBO)
BEST TV PERFORMANCE - ACTRESS
Christina Applegate, Dead to Me (Netflix)
Cate Blanchett, Mrs. America (FX/Hulu)
Linda Cardellini, Dead to Me (Netflix)
Jodie Comer, Killing Eve (BBC America/AMC)
Regina King, Watchmen (HBO)
Laura Linney, Ozark (Netflix)
Catherine O'Hara, Schitt's Creek (Pop)
BEST TV PERFORMANCE - ACTOR
Hugh Jackman, Bad Education (HBO)
Eugene Levy, Schitt's Creek (Pop)
Paul Mescal, Normal People (Hulu)
Jeremy Pope, Hollywood (Netflix)
Ramy Youssef, Ramy (Hulu)
BEST SUPPORTING TV PERFORMANCE - ACTRESS
Uzo Aduba, Mrs. America (FX/Hulu)
Julia Garner, Ozark (Netflix)
Allison Janney, Bad Education (HBO)
Patti LuPone, Hollywood (Netflix)
Annie Murphy, Schitt's Creek (Pop)
Jean Smart, Watchmen (HBO)
BEST SUPPORTING TV PERFORMANCE - ACTOR
Billy Crudup, The Morning Show (Apple TV+)
Harvey Guillén, What We Do in the Shadows (FX)
Dan Levy, Schitt's Creek (Pop)
Joe Mantello, Hollywood (Netflix)
Josh O'Connor, The Crown (Netflix)
Jim Parsons, Hollywood (Netflix)
BEST TV MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
Cynthia Erivo, “Stand Up”, 92nd Academy Awards (ABC)
Jake Gyllenhaal, “Music, Music Everywhere!”, John Mulaney & the Sack Lunch Bunch (Netflix)
Jennifer Lopez & Shakira, Halftime Show, Super Bowl LIV (Fox)
Janelle Monáe & Billy Porter, Opening Number, 92nd Academy Awards (ABC)
Noah Reid, “Always Be My Baby”, Schitt’s Creek (Pop)
BEST LGBTQ TV SHOW
Bad Education (HBO)
Hollywood (Netflix)
RuPaul’s Drag Race (VH1)
Schitt’s Creek (Pop)
Vida (Starz)
We’re Here (HBO)
Work in Progress (Showtime)
BEST CURRENT AFFAIRS SHOW
Cheer (Netflix)
The Daily Show with Trevor Noah (Comedy Central)
Full Frontal with Samantha Bee (TBS)
Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (HBO)
The Rachel Maddow Show (MSNBC)
Visible: Out on Television (Apple TV+)
BEST UNSUNG TV SHOW
Everything’s Gonna Be Okay (Freeform)
Gentified (Netflix)
The Good Fight (CBS All Access)
Mrs. Fletcher (HBO)
One Day at a Time (Pop)
Vida (Starz)
What We Do in the Shadows (FX)
Work in Progress (Showtime)
MOST VISUALLY STRIKING SHOW
Hollywood (Netflix)
The Crown (Netflix)
The Mandalorian (Disney+)
Watchmen (HBO)
Westworld (HBO)
CAMPIEST TV SHOW
AJ and the Queen (Netflix)
Dolly Parton’s Heartstrings (Netflix)
The Great (Hulu)
RuPaul’s Drag Race (VH1)
Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem and Madness (Netflix)
WILDE WIT AWARD
(Honoring a performer, writer or commentator whose observations both challenge and amuse)
Dan Levy
Randy Rainbow
Hannah Gadsby
Cate Blanchett
Trevor Noah
SERIES AND NETWORK COUNTS
Programs with multiple nominations:
Schitt’s Creek – 7
Hollywood – 6
Bad Education – 4
Watchmen – 4
The Crown – 3
Dead to Me - 3
Mrs. America – 3
What We Do in the Shadows – 3
The Good Fight – 2
Killing Eve – 2
Normal People – 2
Ozark – 3
Ramy – 2
RuPaul’s Drag Race – 2
Vida – 2
Work in Progress — 2
Network with multiple nominations:
Netflix - 21
HBO - 13
Hulu, Pop - 8
FX - 7
AMC - 3
ABC, Apple TV+, BBC America, CBS All Access, Showtime, Starz, VH1 - 2
* GALECA members are asked to list their three favorite choices per category in order of preference, with three points going to their first choice, two to the second and one to the third. Programs and performances with the highest tallies earn nominations. More than five nominations in a category is the result of an actual or virtual tie (the latter being a difference of one point).
• • • •
11th Dorian Awards Winners Toast Los Angeles, February 2, 2020
LGBTQ CRITICS SOCIETY NAME ‘PARASITE’ BEST PICTURE
ZELLWEGER AND BANDERAS EARN DORIAN AWARDS FOR ‘JUDY,’ ‘PAIN AND GLORY’
‘POSE,’ ‘FLEABAG’ AND LADY GAGA ALSO REIGN SUPREME
Thursday, Jan. 8, 2020—Hollywood, CA – And the proverbial envelope, please! GALECA: The Society of LGBTQ Entertainment Critics, comprised of 260 mainly U.S. journalists covering film and television, has named its final-round choices for 2019’s finest movies, performances and more across a host of mainstream and LGBTQ-focused categories.
South Korean director Bong Joon-ho’s Parasite gobbled up five wins, including Film of the Year, Director and Screenplay. Renée Zellweger took Performance of the Year—Actress for Judy), with Antonio Banderas the top choice in the Actor race. The Society’s Rising Star of the year: Florence Pugh (Little Women).
"GALECA members strive to determine the best cinematic experiences through the distinct LGBTQ lens, and this year was particularly rich in options,” said GALECA President Diane Anderson-Minshall, Editorial Director of The Advocate. “Yet when director Bong Joon-ho’s Parasite practically swept our awards roster with five wins, I was not surprised. The dynamic, darkly comic drama about a poor family conniving to live the good lifespeaks to the times we live in, with vivid commentary on class, inequity and even climate change. Parasite is a perfect film for the Trump era.”
Among the professional LGBTQ journalists group’s trademark categories, Booksmart scored as Unsung Film of the Year, while Cats took the group’s semi-dubious, if affectionate, Campy Flick of the Year category.
With the Society’s recent move to spin off its television categories with a separate ceremony starting this August, the Dorians’ TV categories came with a somewhat truncated eligibility window of January 1 through November 1.
FX's Pose again won TV Drama of the Year and LGBTQ TV Drama for the second year—and its star Billy Porter took another Dorian win as well—while Comedy Central’s The Other Two was named best Unsung TV Show. Amazon’s Fleabag was anointed TV Comedy of the Year, with star-creator Phoebe Waller-Bridge reigning as TV Performance of the Year—Actress and Wilde Wit of the Year.
Lady Gaga wowed GALECA’s members in a special vote as Wilde Artist of the Decade. Gaga’s duet with Bradley Cooper on “Shallow” at last year’s Oscars also counted with the groupas the TV Musical Performance of the Year.
As previously announced, Olivia Wilde, the first-time director of Booksmart, will be receiving a special honor at the group’s Dorian Awards Winners Toast, which will be held brunchtime Sunday, February 2, in Los Angeles, before football fever kicks in. The invitation-only event will include a raise of the glass to Wilde, named GALECA’s Wilde Artist of the Year.
GALECA, formed in 2009, aims to generate camaraderie and solidarity in an unsettling media environment, champion constructive film and television criticism and elevate the craft of entertainment journalism. Via panels, screenings and our annual Dorian Awards, GALECA also strives to remind at-risk youth, bullies and bigots that the world looks to the Q eye for leads on great, unique movies and TV. And how would the world fare without knowing what's campy?
GALECA is a proud core member of CGEM: Critics Groups for Equality in Media.
FULL LIST OF 11TH DORIAN AWARDS WINNERS (noted in bold)
Film of the Year
Hustlers
Little Women
Once Upon a Time in … Hollywood
Pain and Glory
*Parasite (NEON) Portrait of a Lady on Fire
Director of the Year
Pedro Almodovar, Pain and Glory Greta Gerwig, Little Women *Bong Joon-ho, Parasite (NEON) Sam Mendes, 1917 Celine Sciamma, Portrait of a Lady on Fire
Film Performance of the Year — Actress
Awkwafina, The Farewell Scarlett Johansson, Marriage Story Lupita Nyong’o, Us Alfre Woodard, Clemency
*Renée Zellweger, Judy (Roadside Attractions)
Film Performance of the Year — Actor
*Antonio Banderas, Pain and Glory (Sony Pictures Classics) Adam Driver, Marriage Story
Adam Sandler, Uncut Gems
Joaquin Phoenix, Joker
Taron Egerton, Rocketman
Film Performance of the Year — Supporting Actress Laura Dern, Marriage Story
Florence Pugh, Little Women
*Jennifer Lopez, Hustlers (STX) Margot Robbie, Bombshell
Zhao Shuzhen, The Farewell
Film Performance of the Year — Supporting Actor
Tom Hanks, A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood Al Pacino, The Irishman Joe Pesci, The Irishman Brad Pitt, Once Upon a Time in … Hollywood *Song Kang-ho, Parasite (NEON)
LGBTQ Film of the Year
Booksmart
End of the Century
Pain and Glory
*Portrait of a Lady on Fire (NEON) Rocketman
Foreign Language Film of the Year
The Atlantics
Pain and Glory
*Parasite (NEON) Portrait of a Lady on Fire
The Farewell
Screenplay of the Year Noah Baumbach, Marriage Story *Bong Joon-ho, Han Jin-won, Parasite (NEON) Greta Gerwig, Little Women
Céline Sciamma, Portrait of a Lady on Fire
Rian Johnson, Knives Out
Documentary of the Year American Factory
Apollo 11
For Sama
*Honeyland (NEON) One Child Nation
LGBTQ Documentary of the Year
Circus of Books
Gay Chorus Deep South
The Gospel of Eureka
5B
*Scream, Queen! My Nightmare on Elm Street (Roman Chimienti, Matthew Chojnacki, Mark Patton producers)
Visually Striking Film of the Year ** TIE Midsommar
*1917 (Universal) The Lighthouse
Parasite
*Portrait of a Lady on Fire (NEON)
Unsung Film of the Year
*Booksmart (United Artists) Her Smell
Gloria Bell
The Last Black Man in San Francisco
Waves
*Fleabag (Amazon) The Other Two
PEN15
Russian Doll
Schitt’s Creek
TV Performance of the Year — Actor
Bill Hader, Barry
Dan Levy, Schitt’s Creek
Jharrel Jerome, When They See Us
*Billy Porter, Pose (FX) Jeremy Strong, Succession
TV Performance of the Year — Actress Natasha Lyonne, Russian Doll
Catherine O’Hara, Schitt’s Creek
Mj Rodriguez, Pose
*Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Fleabag (Amazon) Michelle Williams, Fosse/Verdon
LGBTQ TV Show of the Year
Euphoria
The Other Two
*Pose (FX) Schitt’s Creek
Tales of the City
Unsung TV Show of the Year
Gentleman Jack
On Becoming a God in Central Florida
*The Other Two (Comedy Central) PEN15
Years and Years
TV Current Affairs Show of the Year
Full Frontal with Samantha Bee
The Rachel Maddow Show
Last Week Tonight with John Oliver
The Late Show with Stephen Colbert
*Leaving Neverland (HBO)
TV Musical Performance of the Year
*Bradley Cooper, Lady Gaga, “Shallow,” The 91st Academy Awards (ABC) Lizzo, "Truth Hurts,” VMAs 2019
Megan Mullally, “The Man That Got Away,” Will & Grace
Annie Murphy, “A Little Bit Alexis,” Schitt’s Creek
Michelle Williams, “Who’s Got the Pain?,” Fosse/Verdon
Campy TV Show of the Year
American Horror Story 1984
Big Little Lies
RuPaul’s Drag Race
*The Politician (Netflix) Riverdale
The "We’re Wilde About You!" Rising Star Award
Roman Griffin Davis
Kaitlyn Dever
Beanie Feldstein
*Florence Pugh Hunter Schafer
Wilde Wit of the Year (Honoring a performer, writer or commentator whose observations both challenge and amuse)
Dan Levy Billy Porter Randy Rainbow Taika Waititi *Phoebe Waller-Bridge
Wilde Artist of the Decade (Special Accolade)
*Lady Gaga Greta Gerwig Ryan Murphy Billy Porter Phoebe Waller-Bridge
Wilde Artist of the Year (honoring a truly groundbreaking force in film, theater and/or television)
Olivia Wilde
Timeless Star (Career achievement award)
*Catherine O’Hara
2019/20 NOMINATIONS
ANNOUNCEMENT
Friday, Jan. 3, 2020—Hollywood, CA – GALECA: The Society of LGBTQ Entertainment Critics, comprised of 260 mainly U.S. journalists covering film and television, has named its nominees for 2019’s finest movies, performances and more across a host of mainstream and LGBTQ-focused categories.
“International” films lead the pack: South Korean director Bong Joon-ho’s Parasite—the left-field hit satire comparing the lives of the rich and the poor—and the French lesbian romance Portrait of a Lady on Fire each counts 6 nominations, while director Pedro Almodovar’s semi-autobiographical opus Pain and Glory has 5 nods. Those films join Hustlers, Little Women and director Quentin Tarantino’s florid alternate-reality trip Once Upon a Time in … Hollywood on the group’s eclectic, diverse Film of the Year short list.
“It’s a true testament to the rising impact of global films—and the ability of film to move us in any language—to see films from a variety of countries rank so highly with our Dorian Awards voters,” says GALECA President Diane Anderson-Minshall, Editorial Director of The Advocate. “We’re proud to help remind everyone that the world can connect through cinema."
For Director of the Year, Bong competes with the likes of Sam Mendes, helmer of the stunning World War I epic 1917, and Women director Greta Gerwig, a previous Dorian winner in the category for Lady Bird.
Renée Zellweger (Judy), Lupita Nyong’o (Us) and Alfre Woodard (Clemency) add excitement to the award season race with their nominations for Film Performance of the Year—Actress nominations, while fresh faces Florence Pugh (Little Women) and Zhao Shuzen (The Farewell) perk up the respective Supporting category. As for the Actor categories, they’re peppered with notable surnames: Banderas, Driver and Sandler; Pitt, Pesci and Pacino.
Among the professional LGBTQ journalists group’s trademark categories, Booksmart and The Last Black Man in San Francisco are among the contenders for Unsung Film of the Year, while Cats and the cheeky, crazy-popular murder mystery Knives Out duke it out for Campy Flick of the Year
With the Society’s recent move to spin off its television categories with a separate ceremony starting this August, the Dorians’ TV categories came with a somewhat truncated eligibility window of January 1 through November 1.
“We want the work and power of LGBTQ entertainment journalists to be as recognized and visible as possible, and having our Dorians gradually mirror the Emmys’ calendar and the traditional TV season is a part of that effort,” said John Griffiths, GALECA’s founder and Executive Director. TV programs that premiered in the remainder of 2019 will be eligible for autumn’s first television-centric Dorian Awards.
HBO’s acerbic rich-family soap Succession, Netflix’s searing and female-centric mystery Unbelievable and last year’s multi-winner Pose, all up for TV Drama of the Year, with Hulu’s high-school friendship spoof PEN15 and Comedy Central’s tart The Other Two making nice-surprise showings in the comedy arena. Phoebe Waller-Bridge, star-creator of the also-nominated comedy Fleabag star-creator, is up for three Dorians, including TV Performance of the Year—Actress and Wilde Wit of the Year.
The starriest contenders for GALECA’s sole music award, the TV Musical Performance of the Year, are Bradley Cooper and Lady Gaga for their rendition of “Shallow” at last year’s Academy Awards, and Lizzo for belting out "Truth Hurts” at the VMAs.
All Dorian Award Winners, including the recipient of the Society’s annual Timeless career-achievement award, will be revealed Wednesday, January 8.
As previously announced, Olivia Wilde, the first-time director of Booksmart, will be receiving a special honor at the group’s Dorian Awards Winners Toast, which will be held on Sunday, February 2, in Los Angeles, before football fever kicks in. The invitation-only event will include a raise of the glass to Wilde, named GALECA’s Wilde Artist of the Year. It bears noting that the acclaimed Booksmart’s stars, Beanie Feldstein and Kaitlyn Dever, each hold a Dorian nomination for GALECA’s “We’re Wilde About You!” Rising Star award.
GALECA, a member of CGEM: Critics Groups for Equality in Media, aims to generate camaraderie and solidarity in an unsettling media environment, champion constructive film and television criticism and elevate the craft of entertainment journalism. Via panels, screenings and our annual Dorian Awards, GALECA also strives to remind at-risk youth, bullies and bigots that the world looks to the Q eye for leads on great, unique movies and TV. And how would the world fare without knowing what's campy?
FULL LIST OF 11TH DORIAN AWARDS NOMINATIONS
(Note: Categories with six or more contenders involve a tie)
Film of the Year
Hustlers
Little Women
Once Upon a Time in … Hollywood
Pain and Glory
Parasite
Portrait of a Lady on Fire
Director of the Year
Pedro Almodovar, Pain and Glory Greta Gerwig, Little Women Bong Joon-ho, Parasite Sam Mendes, 1917 Celine Sciamma, Portrait of a Lady on Fire
Film Performance of the Year — Actress
Awkwafina, The Farewell Scarlett Johansson, Marriage Story Lupita Nyong’o, Us Alfre Woodard, Clemency Renée Zellweger, Judy
Film Performance of the Year — Actor
Antonio Banderas, Pain and Glory
Adam Driver, Marriage Story
Adam Sandler, Uncut Gems
Joaquin Phoenix, Joker
Taron Egerton, Rocketman
Film Performance of the Year — Supporting Actress Laura Dern, Marriage Story
Florence Pugh, Little Women
Jennifer Lopez, Hustlers
Margot Robbie, Bombshell
Zhao Shuzhen, The Farewell
Film Performance of the Year — Supporting Actor Tom Hanks, A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood
Al Pacino, The Irishman
Joe Pesci, The Irishman
Brad Pitt, Once Upon a Time in … Hollywood
Song Kang-ho, Parasite
LGBTQ Film of the Year
Booksmart
End of the Century
Pain and Glory
Portrait of a Lady on Fire
Rocketman
Foreign Language Film of the Year
The Atlantics
Pain and Glory
Parasite
Portrait of a Lady on Fire
The Farewell
Screenplay of the Year Noah Baumbach, Marriage Story
Bong Joon-ho, Han Jin-won, Parasite
Greta Gerwig, Little Women
Céline Sciamma, Portrait of a Lady on Fire
Rian Johnson, Knives Out
Documentary of the Year American Factory
Apollo 11
For Sama
Honeyland
One Child Nation
LGBTQ Documentary of the Year
Circus of Books
Gay Chorus Deep South
The Gospel of Eureka
5B
Scream, Queen! My Nightmare on Elm Street
Visually Striking Film of the Year Midsommar
1917
The Lighthouse
Parasite
Portrait of a Lady on Fire
Unsung Film of the Year
Booksmart
Her Smell
Gloria Bell
The Last Black Man in San Francisco
Waves
Campy Flick of the Year
Cats
Greta
Knives Out
Ma
Serenity
TV Drama of the Year
Chernobyl
Euphoria
Pose
Succession
Unbelievable
TV Comedy of the Year
Fleabag
The Other Two
PEN15
Russian Doll
Schitt’s Creek
TV Performance of the Year — Actor
Bill Hader, Barry
Dan Levy, Schitt’s Creek
Jharrel Jerome, When They See Us
Billy Porter, Pose
Jeremy Strong, Succession
TV Performance of the Year — Actress Natasha Lyonne, Russian Doll
Catherine O’Hara, Schitt’s Creek
Mj Rodriguez, Pose
Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Fleabag
Michelle Williams, Fosse/Verdon
LGBTQ TV Show of the Year
Euphoria
The Other Two
Pose
Schitt’s Creek
Tales of the City
Unsung TV Show of the Year
Gentleman Jack
On Becoming a God in Central Florida
The Other Two
PEN15
Years and Years
TV Current Affairs Show of the Year
Full Frontal with Samantha Bee
The Rachel Maddow Show
Last Week Tonight with John Oliver
The Late Show with Stephen Colbert
Leaving Neverland
TV Musical Performance of the Year
Bradley Cooper, Lady Gaga, “Shallow,” The 91st Academy Awards
Lizzo, "Truth Hurts,” VMAs 2019
Megan Mullally, “The Man That Got Away,” Will & Grace
Annie Murphy, “A Little Bit Alexis,” Schitt’s Creek
Michelle Williams, “Who’s Got the Pain?,” Fosse/Verdon
Campy TV Show of the Year
American Horror Story 1984
Big Little Lies
RuPaul’s Drag Race
The Politician
Riverdale
The "We’re Wilde About You!" Rising Star Award
Roman Griffin Davis
Kaitlyn Dever
Beanie Feldstein
Florence Pugh
Hunter Schafer
Wilde Wit of the Year (Honoring a performer, writer or commentator whose observations both challenge and amuse)
Dan Levy Billy Porter Randy Rainbow Taika Waititi Phoebe Waller-Bridge
Wilde Artist of the Decade (Special Accolade)
Lady Gaga Greta Gerwig Ryan Murphy Billy Porter Phoebe Waller-Bridge
2018/19 WINNERS ANNOUNCEMENT
GALECA: The Society of LGBTQ Entertainment Critics, comprised of over 200 gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, queer and ally entertainment journalists in the U.S., Canada, Australia and U.K., has announced its 10th Dorian Award winners across 26 TV and film categories.
The Favourite lived up to its title with GALECA’s Dorian Award voters, who named the cheeky historical romp Film of the Year and bestowed its star, Olivia Colman, with the Film Performance of the Year—Actress tiara for her biting turn as Queen Anne. The sumptuous movie treat also scored Screenplay of the Year honors for Deborah Davis and Tony McNamara.
Alfonso Cuarón, writer and helmer of Roma, the drama of a privileged family and their tragedy-stricken maid in 1970s Mexico City, was chosen Director of the Year, while the film itself was deemed the Foreign Language Film of the Year. Ethan Hawke took Film Performance of the Year—Actor for his work as a priest on the verge of madness in director Paul Schrader’s First Reformed. In supporting film performance categories, the winners were Regina King for If Beale Street Could Talk and Richard E. Grant for Can You Ever Forgive Me? The latter film, the fact-based dark comedy about a struggling New York writer who turns to forgery, was named GALECA’s Dorian Award winner for LGBTQ Film of the Year.
In documentary categories, the biographical tributes Won’t You Be My Neighbor? and McQueen proved triumphant. As for GALECA’s unique category winners: The sci-fi hit Annihilation struck as Visually Striking Film of the Year; the female heist thriller Widows rallied as Unsung Film of the Year; and A Simple Favor, an outrageous mystery starring Blake Lively and Anna Kendrick, nabbed the Society’s affectionate Campy Flick of the Year honor.
Over on the TV side, FX’s Pose and Pop’s Schitt’s Creek both scored big with GALECA members. Pose—a drama set against the lively streets of New York City circa 1979—stood as TV Drama of the Year and LGBTQ Drama of the Year, also helped its producer, Ryan Murphy, to his second Dorian Award win for Wilde Artist of the Year (Murphy is the first person to win this title twice in GALECA’s 10-year history). Pose’s star, Billy Porter, took two Dorians—one for TV Performance of the Year—Actor and a shared win with his costars MJ Rodriguez and Our Lady J for their moving rendition of “Home” on the series.
Creek meanwhile, took TV Comedy of the Year as well as Unsung TV Comedy. Full Frontal With Samantha Bee impressed as TV Current Affairs Show of the Year for the third year in a row. Campy TV Show champ: RuPaul’s Drag Race.
Awkwafina, the rapper turned breakout star of the hit comedy film Crazy Rich Asians, was crowned GALECA’s “We’re Wilde About You!” Rising Star. Fresh-faced Australian comic Hannah Gadsby, who made a mark with her own well-received Netflix special last year, was named Wilde Wit of the Year.
Harvey Fierstein was the group’s latest choice for Timeless Star, the group’s career achievement award. Previous recipients include Jane Fonda, Dame Angela Lansbury and Sir Ian McKellen.
GALECA 2018/19 DORIAN AWARDS WINNERS:
Film of the Year THE FAVOURITE (FOX SEARCHLIGHT)
Director of the Year (Film or Television) ALFONSO CUARÓN, ROMA (NETFLIX)
Film Performance of the Year — Actress OLIVIA COLMAN, THE FAVOURITE (FOX SEARCHLIGHT)
Film Performance of the Year — Actor ETHAN HAWKE, FIRST REFORMED (A24)
Film Performance of the Year — Supporting Actress REGINA KING, IF BEALE STREET COULD TALK (ANNAPURNA PICTURES)
Film Performance of the Year — Supporting Actor RICHARD E. GRANT, CAN YOU EVER FORGIVE ME? (FOX SEARCHLIGHT)
LGBTQ Film of the Year CAN YOU EVER FORGIVE ME? (FOX SEARCHLIGHT)
Foreign Language Film of the Year ROMA (NETFLIX)
Screenplay of the Year DEBORAH DAVIS AND TONY MCNAMARA, THE FAVOURITE (FOX SEARCHLIGHT)
Documentary of the Year WON’T YOU BE MY NEIGHBOR? (FOCUS FEATURES)
LGBTQ Documentary of the Year MCQUEEN (BLEECKER STREET MEDIA)
Visually Striking Film of the Year ANNIHILATION (PARAMOUNT)
Unsung Film of the Year WIDOWS (20TH CENTURY FOX)
Campy Flick of the Year A SIMPLE FAVOR (LIONSGATE)
TV Drama of the Year POSE (FX)
TV Comedy of the Year SCHITT’S CREEK (POP)
TV Performance of the Year — Actor BILLY PORTER, POSE (FX)
TV Performance of the Year — Actress SANDRA OH, KILLING EVE (BBC AMERICA)
LGBTQ TV Show of the Year POSE (FX)
Unsung TV Show of the Year SCHITT’S CREEK (POP)
TV Current Affairs Show of the Year FULL FRONTAL WITH SAMANTHA BEE (TBS)
TV Musical Performance of the Year BILLY PORTER, MJ RODRIGUEZ AND OUR LADY J, “HOME," POSE (FX)
Campy TV Show of the Year RUPAUL’S DRAG RACE (VH1, LOGO)
The “We’re Wilde About You!” Rising Star Award AWKWAFINA
Wilde Wit of the Year (Honoring a performer, writer or commentator whose observations both challenge and amuse) HANNAH GADSBY
Wilde Artist of the Year (Honoring a truly groundbreaking force in film, stage and/or television) RYAN MURPHY *
Timeless Star (Given to an actor or performer whose exemplary career is marked by character, wisdom and wit) HARVEY FIERSTEIN
2018/19 NOMINATIONS ANNOUNCEMENT
GALECA: THE SOCIETY OF LGBTQ ENTERTAINMENT CRITICS ANNOUNCES 10TH DORIAN AWARDS FILM AND TV NOMINEES
Comic Frank DeCaro Named Host of Group’s Jan. 12th Winners Toast
Thursday, Jan. 3, 2019 - Hollywood, CA - GALECA: The Society of LGBTQ Entertainment Critics has named its nominees for its milestone 10th Dorian Awards for the best in film and television of 2018. Leading in the movie categories with eight nominations is “The Favourite,” followed by “If Beale Street Could Talk,” “Can You Ever Forgive Me” and “Roma” with six nods each, and “A Star is Born” with four. The stars of the latest “Born” remake—Bradley Cooper and Lady Gaga—are both up for Film Performance honors as well as the group’s Wilde Artist of the Year award.
Many of the nominations add some excitement to this year’s film awards season. On GALECA’s short list for best actor: “First Reformed” star Ethan Hawke and “BlacKkKlansman” lead John David Washington. “Hereditary”’s Toni Collette and Yalitza Aparicio of “Roma” vie alongside Gaga for best actress. “Widows” upstart Elizabeth Debicki and “Black Panther” standout Michael B. Jordan up the ante in supporting performance races. And former YouTube star turned “Eighth Grade” writer-director Bo Burnham scored a nomination for Screenplay of the Year.
The spectacular, practically candy-coated Marvel adventure “Panther” is one of the titles up for Visually Striking Film of the Year, while the Diane Keaton comedy “Book Club” and “Aquaman” are in the running for (or from?) the Campy Flick honor.
In TV categories, FX’s transgender-empowering drama “Pose” and BBC America’s biting cat-and-mouse thriller “Killing Eve” lead among drama series. “Eve” headliners Sandra Oh and Jodie Comer, true to their hit’s storyline, vie against each other for TV Performance—Actress, while Hugh Grant and his “A Very English Scandal” paramour Ben Whishaw face each other on the gentlemen’s side. Also making a fresh impression with GALECA, comprised of over 200 members in the U.S., Canada, Australia and the U.K.: HBO’s hitman comedy “Barry,” Pop network’s rich-family satire “Schitt’s Creek,” and Julia Roberts and her cryptic new Amazon conspiracy tale “Homecoming.”
“We’re thrilled by the strong variety of films and TV performances our diverse group of members has chosen to praise,” said GALECA President Diane Anderson-Minshall, Editorial Director of The Advocate. "In a lovely compliment to the Time’s Up movement, several categories, including Wilde Artist of the Year, Wilde Wit of the Year and Rising Star, are dominated by women this year. And it’s inspiring that the majority of our Director of the Year nominees are people of color, including Spike Lee, Barry Jenkins, and Alfonso Cuarón.”
“It’s hard to believe this is our 10th go-around of giving out our Dorian Awards,” added GALECA’s Executive Director John Griffiths. “In such oddly combative times, that’s really something to covfefe.”
Speaking of cheeky, along with its latest nominations, GALECA has announced that comedian and radio personality Frank DeCaro (“The Daily Show”, Sirius XM’s “The Frank DeCaro Show”) will preside as Master of Ceremonies at its invitation-only 10th Dorian Awards Winners Toast. The event will be held Saturday, January 12, noon to 2:30 at Paley restaurant in Hollywood’s historic Columbia Square.
De Caro, fondly remembered for his turn as the campy movie critic on “The Daily Show with Jon Stewart,” embodies “the perfect mix of wit and sincerity that suits our freewheeling Toast format,” said Griffiths. “He’s not only charming and funny, he has a deep respect for what it takes to make quality entertainment, remains sweetly starstruck even in these jaded times, and keeps his eye and heart on the big picture too.” DeCaro’s latest book, “Drag: Combing Through the Big Wigs of Show Business,” comes out from Rizzoli this spring.
Since GALECA’s first film and TV favorites were named in 2010, over 200 artists and productions have received a Dorian Award, while over 1000 have received nominations. Among its Film of the Year winners are “Argo” and “12 Years a Slave,” as well as two movies directed by Luca Guadagnino, “I Am Love” and “Call Me By Your Name.” With five Dorians each across various categories, “Moonlight” and “Carol” stand as the most awarded films in GALECA history, while “Transparent,” with six wins in best-series categories alone, reigns as the most honored TV title.
FULL LIST OF 10TH DORIAN AWARDS NOMINATIONS
Film of the Year
CAN YOU EVER FORGIVE ME?
THE FAVOURITE
IF BEALE STREET COULD TALK
ROMA
A STAR IS BORN
Director of the Year (Film or Television)
ALFONSO CUARON, ROMA
MARIELLE HELLER, CAN YOU EVER FORGIVE ME?
BARRY JENKINS, IF BEALE STREET COULD TALK
YORGOS LANTHIMOS, THE FAVOURITE
SPIKE LEE, BLACKKKLANSMAN
Film Performance of the Year — Actress
YALITZA APARICIO, ROMA
TONI COLLETTE, HEREDITARY
OLIVIA COLMAN, THE FAVOURITE
LADY GAGA, A STAR IS BORN
MELISSA MCCARTHY, CAN YOU EVER FORGIVE ME?
Film Performance of the Year — Actor
CHRISTIAN BALE, VICE
BRADLEY COOPER, A STAR IS BORN
ETHAN HAWKE, FIRST REFORMED
RAMI MALEK, BOHEMIAN RHAPSODY
JOHN DAVID WASHINGTON, BLACKKKLANSMAN
Film Performance of the Year — Supporting Actress
ELIZABETH DEBICKI, WIDOWS
REGINA KING, IF BEALE STREET COULD TALK
EMMA STONE, THE FAVOURITE
RACHEL WEISZ, THE FAVOURITE
MICHELLE YEOH, CRAZY RICH ASIANS
Film Performance of the Year — Supporting Actor
MAHERSHALA ALI, GREEN BOOK
TIMOTHEE CHALAMET, BEAUTIFUL BOY
SAM ELLIOTT, A STAR IS BORN
RICHARD E. GRANT, CAN YOU EVER FORGIVE ME?
MICHAEL B. JORDAN, BLACK PANTHER
LGBTQ Film of the Year
BOY ERASED
CAN YOU EVER FORGIVE ME?
DISOBEDIENCE
THE FAVOURITE
LOVE, SIMON
Foreign Language Film of the Year
BURNING
CAPERNAUM
COLD WAR
ROMA
SHOPLIFTERS
Screenplay of the Year
BO BURNHAM, EIGHTH GRADE
ALFONSO CUARON, ROMA
DEBORAH DAVIS AND TONY MCNAMARA, THE FAVOURITE
NICOLE HOLOFCENER AND JEFF WHITTY, CAN YOU EVER FORGIVE ME?
BARRY JENKINS, IF BEALE STREET COULD TALK
Documentary of the Year
FREE SOLO
RBG
SHIRKERS
THREE IDENTICAL STRANGERS
WON'T YOU BE MY NEIGHBOR?
LGBTQ Documentary of the Year
THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO ANDRE
MCQUEEN
SCOTTY AND THE SECRET HISTORY OF HOLLYWOOD
STUDIO 54
WHITNEY
Visually Striking Film of the Year
ANNIHILATION
BLACK PANTHER
THE FAVOURITE
IF BEALE STREET COULD TALK
ROMA
Unsung Film of the Year
COLETTE
DISOBEDIENCE
THE HAPPY PRINCE
TULLY
WE THE ANIMALS
WIDOWS
Campy Flick of the Year
AQUAMAN
BOOK CLUB
MAMMA MIA! HERE WE GO AGAIN
A SIMPLE FAVOR
SUSPIRIA
TV Drama of the Year
AMERICAN CRIME STORY: THE ASSASSINATION OF GIANNI VERSACE
THE HANDMAID'S TALE
HOMECOMING
KILLING EVE
POSE
TV Comedy of the Year
BARRY
GLOW
THE GOOD PLACE
THE MARVELOUS MRS. MAISEL
SCHITT'S CREEK
TV Performance of the Year — Actor
DARREN CRISS, THE ASSASSINATION OF GIANNI VERSACE: AMERICAN CRIME STORY
HUGH GRANT, A VERY ENGLISH SCANDAL
BILLY PORTER, POSE
MATTHEW RHYS, THE AMERICANS
BEN WHISHAW, A VERY ENGLISH SCANDAL
TV Performance of the Year — Actress
AMY ADAMS, SHARP OBJECTS
RACHEL BROSNAHAN, THE MARVELOUS MRS. MAISEL
JODIE COMER, KILLING EVE
SANDRA OH, KILLING EVE
JULIA ROBERTS, HOMECOMING
LGBTQ TV Show of the Year
A VERY ENGLISH SCANDAL
AMERICAN CRIME STORY: THE ASSASSINATION OF GIANNI VERSACE
KILLING EVE
POSE
QUEER EYE
Unsung TV Show of the Year
THE BISEXUAL
DEAR WHITE PEOPLE
THE GOOD FIGHT
ONE DAY AT A TIME
SCHITT'S CREEK
TV Current Affairs Show of the Year
THE DAILY SHOW WITH TREVOR NOAH
FULL FRONTAL WITH SAMANTHA BEE
LAST WEEK TONIGHT WITH JOHN OLIVER
THE LATE SHOW WITH STEPHEN COLBERT
THE RACHEL MADDOW SHOW
TV Musical Performance of the Year
ADAM LAMBERT, “BELIEVE," 41ST KENNEDY CENTER HONORS
BILLY PORTER, MJ RODRIGUEZ AND OUR LADY J, “HOME," POSE
NOAH REID, “SIMPLY THE BEST," SCHITT’S CREEK
KEALA SETTLE, “THIS IS ME,” 90TH ACADEMY AWARDS
SUFJAN STEVENS, “MYSTERY OF LOVE,” 90TH ACADEMY AWARDS
Campy TV Show of the Year
AMERICAN HORROR STORY: APOCALYPSE
CHILLING ADVENTURES OF SABRINA
QUEER EYE
RIVERDALE
RUPAUL'S DRAG RACE
The "We’re Wilde About You!" Rising Star Award
AWKWAFINA
ELSIE FISHER
HENRY GOLDING
INDYA MOORE
MJ RODRIGUEZ
Wilde Wit of the Year
(Honoring a performer, writer or commentator whose observations both challenge and amuse)
SAMANTHA BEE
HANNAH GADSBY
KATE MCKINNON
JOHN OLIVER
MICHELLE WOLF
Wilde Artist of the Year
(Honoring a truly groundbreaking force in film, stage and/or television)
BRADLEY COOPER
HANNAH GADSBY
LADY GAGA
NICOLE KIDMAN
RYAN MURPHY
Timeless Award recipient TBA
ABOUT FRANK DECARO
Comedian, pop culture pundit and radio/TV personality Frank DeCaro has spent the last three years touring North America as the opening act for Lisa Lampanelli. He is best known for his 12 years as the host of the daily national radio program The Frank DeCaro Showon Sirius XM, and his lauded, six-year stint as the movie critic on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart on Comedy Central. He is the author of five books including The Dead Celebrity Cookbook, Unmistakably Mackie: The Fashion and Fantasy of Bob Mackie,A Boy Named Phyllis: A Suburban Memoir, and Drag: Combing Through the Big Wigs of Show Business, due from Rizzoli in spring 2019. Follow DeCaro @frankdecaroshow and visit his website, www.frankdecaro.com
⭐ Meryl Streep is Group’s Latest 'Timeless Star’ Honoree
Wednesday, January 31, 2018 - Hollywood, CA — The distinctly unique GALECA: The Society of LGBTQ Entertainment Critics, comprised of over 200 gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, queer and ally entertainment journalists in the U.S., Canada and U.K., has announced its ninth annual Dorian Award winners. This year’s 26 TV and film categories, again running from mainstream to LGBTQ-centric, include inaugural awards for Supporting Film Performance. A handful of select recipients will join the group for GALECA’s annual Winners Toast on Saturday February 24th in Beverly Hills.
Call Me By Your Name, which led with nine nominations, was named 2017’s Film of the Year. The bittersweet story of two American men — a teen and a 20something — falling for each other in Italy also earned Timothée Chalamet a Dorian for Film Performance of the Year — Actor. Chalamet, seen in Dorian nominee Lady Bird as well, was also the group’s Rising Star pick. Meanwhile, Greta Gerwig, writer and helmer of the aforementioned Lady Bird, a female-focused coming-of-age drama, was named Director of the Year.
Jordan Peele, formerly of TV’s acclaimed Key and Peele sketch comedy series, earned Screenplay of the Year for Get Out, the heart-stopping thriller and acidic satire about a black man (Daniel Kaluuya) who discovers his white girlfriend’s “liberal” parents are secretly murderous racists. Peele was also crowned Wilde Artist of the Year (nominees included Gerwig, Patty Jenkins, David Lynch and Guillermo del Toro) and Wilde Wit of the Year (in a tie with Saturday Night Live fixture Kate McKinnon). For the second year in a row, the talented McKinnon scored TV Musical Performance of the Year for her wowza impersonation of Kellyanne Conway taking her "alternative facts" act to Broadway.
Film icon and feminist activist Meryl Streep was the group’s latest choice for Timeless Star, a career achievement honor previously won by such equally beloved stars (and human-rights champions) Jane Fonda, Dame Angela Lansbury and Sir Ian McKellen.
“Who doesn’t love Meryl Streep outside of non-feminist Donald Trump?” quipped Diane Anderson-Minshall, GALECA’s president as well as editorial director of The Advocate magazine. “Streep’s latest film, The Post, speaks to her commitment to playing, and supporting, strong women who push for or at least embody the need for equality. As The Washington Post’s firebrand Katherine Graham, she inhabited the role of the first female publisher of a major American newspaper — a woman who went from housewife to overseeing the revelations of both Watergate and the Pentagon Papers at a time when most of the men around her were too afraid to take on either. And this was all long before the #MeToo movement.”
Adds John Griffiths, GALECA’s Executive Director, "From Sophie’s Choice to Postcards from the Edge, Streep’s an incredibly stirring and affecting actress who transports, delights and nails various accents like no other. I’d say she definitely qualifies as a timeless star — and amid all the headlines about sexual harassment in Hollywood, she’s also a very relevant current voice.” Fun fact: Streep won a Dorian Award for The Iron Lady back in 2012.
In additional trademark races, God’s Own Country — 2017’s other visceral love story involving two gay men — won as GALECA's Unsung Film of the Year (the competition included director Angela Robinson’s Professor Marston and the Wonder Women). Awards-season darling The Shape of Water impressed as Visually Striking Film of the Year. And mother!, Darren Aronofsky’s over-the-top psychological chiller starring Jennifer Lawrence, was deemed Campy Flick of the Year.
Among TV categories, HBO’s sleek murder mystery Big Little Lies took TV Drama of the Year, with star Nicole Kidman (as a battered wife) triumphing too. Kyle MacLachlan was Kidman’s male counterpart for Twin Peaks: The Return. Starz’s provocative gods-among-us fantasy American Gods took Unsung TV Show, fittingly as its future the freshman series’ future is reportedly up in the air. And programs each celebrating their second win in a row: TBS’ Full Frontal with Samantha Bee (Current Affairs Show of the Year) and the Lady Gaga-loved gay performance contest RuPaul’s Drag Race (LGBTQ Show).
GALECA’S MISSION Home of the Dorian Awards for the best in film and TV, GALECA aims to generate camaraderie in an unsettling media environment, and elevate professional entertainment criticism and journalism, all while bolstering art and humanity. Via panels, screenings, events and its occasional “Ten Best" lists, this 501 c-6 organization also strives to remind the everyone from at-risk youth to bullies that gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender and queer people have a rich history of putting great movies and TV on the radar. How would the world fare without knowing what's campy?
GALECA 2017/18 DORIAN AWARDS — FULL LIST
FILM OF THE YEAR BPM (Beats Per Minute) - The Orchard Call Me By Your Name - Sony Pictures Classics (WINNER) Get Out - Universal Lady Bird - A24 The Shape of Water - Fox Searchlight
DIRECTOR OF THE YEAR (FILM OR TELEVISION) Sean Baker, The Florida Project – A24 Guillermo del Toro, The Shape of Water – Fox Searchlight Greta Gerwig, Lady Bird - A24 (WINNER) Luca Guadagnino, Call Me By Your Name - Sony Pictures Classics Christopher Nolan, Dunkirk – Warner Bros. Jordan Peele, Get Out - Universal
BEST PERFORMANCE OF THE YEAR -- ACTRESS Sally Hawkins, The Shape of Water – Fox Searchlight (WINNER) Frances McDormand, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri - Fox Searchlight Margot Robbie, I, Tonya - Neon Saoirse Ronan, Lady Bird - A24 Daniela Vega, A Fantastic Woman - Sony Pictures Classics
BEST PERFORMANCE OF THE YEAR – ACTOR Nahuel Perez Biscayart, BPM (Beats Per Minute) — The Orchard Timothée Chalamet, Call Me By Your Name - Sony Pictures Classics (WINNER) James Franco, The Disaster Artist – A24 Daniel Kaluuya, Get Out - Universal Gary Oldman, Darkest Hour – Focus Features
SUPPORTING FILM PERFORMANCE OF THE YEAR -- ACTRESS Mary J. Blige, Mudbound - Netflix Tiffany Haddish, Girls Trip - Universal Allison Janney, I, Tonya - Neon Laurie Metcalf, Lady Bird - A24 (WINNER) Michelle Pfeiffer, mother! - Paramount
SUPPORTING FILM PERFORMANCE OF THE YEAR -- ACTOR Willem Dafoe, The Florida Project – A24 Armie Hammer, Call Me By Your Name- Sony Pictures Classics Richard Jenkins, The Shape of Water – Fox Searchlight Sam Rockwell, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri - Fox Searchlight Michael Stuhlbarg, Call Me By Your Name - Sony Pictures Classics (WINNER)
LGBTQ FILM OF THE YEAR BPM (Beats Per Minute) — The Orchard Battle of the Sexes - Fox Searchlight Call Me By Your Name - Sony Pictures Classics (WINNER) A Fantastic Woman - Sony Pictures Classics God's Own Country – Samuel Goldwyn Films
FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM OF THE YEAR BPM (Beats Per Minute) — The Orchard (WINNER) A Fantastic Woman - Sony Pictures Classics First They Killed My Father - Netflix The Square – Magnolia Pictures Thelma – The Orchard
SCREENPLAY OF THE YEAR (ORIGINAL OR ADAPTED) James Ivory, Call Me By Your Name - Sony Pictures Classics Jordan Peele, Get Out - Universal (WINNER) Greta Gerwig, Lady Bird - A24 Guillermo del Toro, Vanessa Taylor, The Shape of Water – Fox Searchlight Martin McDonagh, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri - Fox Searchlight
DOCUMENTARY OF THE YEAR (theatrical release, TV airing or DVD release) Bombshell: The Hedy Lamarr Story – Zeitgeist/Kino Lorber The Death and Life of Marsha P. Johnson - Netflix Faces/Places – Cohen Media Group (WINNER) Jane – National Geographic/Abramorama Kedi - Oscilloscope
VISUALLY STRIKING FILM OF THE YEAR (honoring a production of stunning beauty, from art direction to cinematography) Blade Runner 2049 – Warner Bros. Call Me By Your Name - Sony Pictures Classics Dunkirk – Warner Bros. The Shape of Water – Fox Searchlight (WINNER) Wonderstruck - Amazon
UNSUNG FILM OF THE YEAR BPM (Beats Per Minute) - The Orchard Beach Rats - Neon God's Own Country – Samuel Goldwyn Films (WINNER) Professor Marston and the Wonder Women - Annapurna Wonderstruck - Amazon
CAMPY FLICK OF THE YEAR Baywatch - Paramount The Disaster Artist – A24 The Greatest Showman – 20th Century Fox I, Tonya - Neon mother! - Paramount (WINNER)
TV DRAMA OF THE YEAR Big Little Lies - HBO (WINNER) The Crown - Netflix Feud: Bette and Joan - FX The Handmaid's Tale - Hulu Twin Peaks: The Return - Showtime
TV COMEDY OF THE YEAR Better Things - FX GLOW - Netflix The Good Place - NBC The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel - Amazon (WINNER) Will & Grace - NBC
TV PEFORMANCE OF THE YEAR – ACTRESS Clare Foy, The Crown - Netflix Nicole Kidman, Big Little Lies - HBO (WINNER) Jessica Lange, Feud: Bette and Joan - FX Elisabeth Moss, The Handmaid's Tale - Hulu Reese Witherspoon, Big Little Lies - HBO
TV PEFORMANCE OF THE YEAR -- ACTOR Aziz Ansari, Master of None – Netflix Sterling K. Brown, This Is Us - NBC Jonathan Groff, Mindhunter - Netflix Kyle MacLachlan, Twin Peaks: The Return - Showtime (WINNER) Alexander Skaarsgård, Big Little Lies - HBO
TV CURRENT AFFAIRS SHOW OF THE YEAR Full Frontal with Samantha Bee – TBS (WINNER) Last Week Tonight with John Oliver - HBO Late Night with Seth Meyers - NBC The Late Show with Stephen Colbert - CBS The Rachel Maddow Show - MSNBC
TV MUSICAL PERFORMANCE OF THE YEAR Lady Gaga, “God Bless America,” “Born This Way,” etc., Super Bowl LI - Fox Kate McKinnon, “(Kellyanne) Conway!” Saturday Night Live - NBC (WINNER) Brendan McCreary, John Mulaney, “I’m Gay,” Big Mouth – Netflix Pink, “Beautiful Trauma,” American Music Awards - ABC Sasha Velour, “So Emotional,” RuPaul's Drag Race – VH1
LGBTQ SHOW OF THE YEAR Difficult People - Hulu RuPaul's Drag Race – VH1 (WINNER) Sense8 - Netflix Transparent – Amazon Will & Grace - NBC
UNSUNG TV SHOW OF THE YEAR American Gods - Starz (WINNER) Dear White People - Netflix Difficult People - Hulu At Home with Amy Sedaris - TruTV The Leftovers - HBO
CAMPY TV SHOW OF THE YEAR Dynasty Feud: Bette and Joan (WINNER) Riverdale RuPaul's Drag Race Will & Grace
‘WE’RE WILDE ABOUT YOU!’ RISING STAR AWARD Timothée Chalamet (WINNER) Harris Dickinson Tiffany Haddish Daniel Kaluuya Daniela Vega
WILDE WIT OF THE YEAR AWARD (honoring a performer, writer or commentator whose observations both challenge and amuse) Samantha Bee Stephen Colbert Kate McKinnon (WINNER - TIE) John Oliver Jordan Peele (WINNER - TIE)
WILDE ARTIST OF THE YEAR (honoring a truly groundbreaking force in the fields of film, theater and/or television) Guillermo del Toro Greta Gerwig Patty Jenkins David Lynch Jordan Peele (WINNER)
TIMELESS STAR (to a living actor or performer whose exemplary career is marked by character, wisdom and wit) Meryl Streep (WINNER)
• • • •
2017/18 NOMINATIONS ANNOUNCEMENT
Call Me By Your Name, Get Out, Shape of Water Lead Film Categories
Feud, Will & Grace, Glow Highlight TV Races
Seth Meyers, David Lynch, Tiffany Haddish, Michelle Pfeiffer Also Vie
Wednesday, January 10, 2018 - Hollywood, CA — GALECA: The Society of LGBTQ Entertainment Critics, comprised of nearly 200 critics and journalists in the U.S., Canada and U.K., today released its ninth annual Dorian Award nominations for the year’s finest in film and TV.
Call Me By Your Name reigns with nine nominations, starting with Film of the Year. Earning both best actor and rising star nods: Timothée Chalamet, who plays the film’s teen protagonist besotted by 20something Armie Hammer — who received a nomination for supporting actor. The Shape of Water, director Guillermo del Toro’s fantastical love story coupling a woman and a creature plucked from the Amazon River, landed seven nominations. Meanwhile, the horrors-of-racism drama Get Out earned six nominations, four for writer-director Jordan Peele alone (in addition to helming and screenplay nods, he’s up for “Wilde Wit” and “Wilde Artist” kudos).
Also ranking high with GALECA members: Margot Robbie, a nominee for Film Performance of the Year — Actress for her gritty turn, twist and twirl as ice-blooded figure-skater Tonya Harding in I, Tonya. Joining Robbie on the ring is Chilean actress Daniela Vega for her work as a transgender waitress dealing with loss and indignities in A Fantastic Woman.
As for epics, Christopher Nolan’s Dunkirk did not get a best film nomination, but Nolan made GALECA’s Director of the Year short list — and the WWII epic is also up for Visually Striking Film of the Year alongside the likes of Blade Runner 2049. Meanwhile, BPM (Beats Per Minute), French director Robin Campillo’s dramatic account of friends facing the AIDS epidemic in 1990s France, scored an impressive five nominations, from Foreign Language Film of the Year to Unsung Film.
In TV categories, awards-season darlings Big Little Lies, Feud and The Crown — as well as women surnamed Kidman, Witherspoon, Foy and Lange — obviously delighted GALECA members as well. The male actor race includes a couple of nice surprises: Kyle MacLachlan for Twin Peaks: The Return and Jonathan Groff for Netflix’s droll crime thriller Mindhunter. Other shows getting some love include Hulu’s departing Difficult People, Netflix’s series version of Dear White People and Starz’s electric and provocative fantasy American Gods.
And, for TV Musical Performance of the Year, Lady Gaga, Pink, RuPaul’s Drag Race favorite Sasha Velour and comic John Mulaney all vie against Kate McKinnon’s Broadway-worthy sendup of Kellyanne Conway on Saturday Night Live.
The final Dorian verdicts, including GALECA’s latest pick for Timeless Star (a career achievement honor), will be announced Wednesday, January 31. Then, on Saturday afternoon, February 24, the group will gather to celebrate some of the winners at its annual, intimate Winners Toast in Los Angeles.
GALECA 2017/18 DORIAN AWARDS NOMINEES:
FILM OF THE YEAR BPM (Beats Per Minute) - The Orchard Call Me By Your Name - Sony Pictures Classics Get Out - Universal Lady Bird - A24 The Shape of Water - Fox Searchlight
DIRECTOR OF THE YEAR (FILM OR TELEVISION) Sean Baker, The Florida Project – A24 Guillermo del Toro, The Shape of Water – Fox Searchlight Greta Gerwig, Lady Bird - A24 Luca Guadagnino, Call Me By Your Name - Sony Pictures Classics Christopher Nolan, Dunkirk – Warner Bros. Jordan Peele, Get Out - Universal
BEST PERFORMANCE OF THE YEAR -- ACTRESS Sally Hawkins, The Shape of Water – Fox Searchlight Frances McDormand, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri - Fox Searchlight Margot Robbie, I, Tonya - Neon Saoirse Ronan, Lady Bird - A24 Daniela Vega, A Fantastic Woman - Sony Pictures Classics
BEST PERFORMANCE OF THE YEAR – ACTOR Nahuel Perez Biscayart, BPM (Beats Per Minute) — The Orchard Timothée Chalamet, Call Me By Your Name - Sony Pictures Classics James Franco, The Disaster Artist – A24 Daniel Kaluuya, Get Out - Universal Gary Oldman, Darkest Hour – Focus Features
SUPPORTING FILM PERFORMANCE OF THE YEAR -- ACTRESS Mary J. Blige, Mudbound - Netflix Tiffany Haddish, Girls Trip - Universal Allison Janney, I, Tonya - Neon Laurie Metcalf, Lady Bird - A24 Michelle Pfeiffer, mother! - Paramount
SUPPORTING FILM PERFORMANCE OF THE YEAR -- ACTOR Willem Dafoe, The Florida Project – A24 Armie Hammer, Call Me By Your Name - Sony Pictures Classics Richard Jenkins, The Shape of Water – Fox Searchlight Sam Rockwell, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri - Fox Searchlight Michael Stuhlbarg, Call Me By Your Name - Sony Pictures Classics
LGBTQ FILM OF THE YEAR BPM (Beats Per Minute) — The Orchard Battle of the Sexes - Fox Searchlight Call Me By Your Name - Sony Pictures Classics A Fantastic Woman - Sony Pictures Classics God's Own Country – Samuel Goldwyn Films
FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM OF THE YEAR BPM (Beats Per Minute) — The Orchard A Fantastic Woman - Sony Pictures Classics First They Killed My Father - Netflix The Square – Magnolia Pictures Thelma – The Orchard
SCREENPLAY OF THE YEAR (ORIGINAL OR ADAPTED) James Ivory, Call Me By Your Name - Sony Pictures Classics Jordan Peele, Get Out - Universal Greta Gerwig, Lady Bird - A24 Guillermo del Toro, Vanessa Taylor, The Shape of Water – Fox Searchlight Martin McDonagh, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri - Fox Searchlight
DOCUMENTARY OF THE YEAR (theatrical release, TV airing or DVD release) Bombshell: The Hedy Lamarr Story – Zeitgeist/Kino Lorber The Death and Life of Marsha P. Johnson - Netflix Faces Places – Cohen Media Group Jane – National Geographic/Abramorama Kedi - Oscilloscope
VISUALLY STRIKING FILM OF THE YEAR (honoring a production of stunning beauty, from art direction to cinematography) Blade Runner 2049 – Warner Bros. Call Me By Your Name - Sony Pictures Classics Dunkirk – Warner Bros. The Shape of Water – Fox Searchlight Wonderstruck - Amazon
UNSUNG FILM OF THE YEAR BPM (Beats Per Minute) - The Orchard Beach Rats - Neon God's Own Country – Samuel Goldwyn Films Professor Marston and the Wonder Women - Annapurna Wonderstruck - Amazon
CAMPY FLICK OF THE YEAR Baywatch - Paramount The Disaster Artist – A24 The Greatest Showman – 20th Century Fox I, Tonya - Neon mother! - Paramount
TV DRAMA OF THE YEAR Big Little Lies - HBO - HBO The Crown - Netflix Feud: Bette and Joan - FX The Handmaid's Tale - Hulu Twin Peaks: The Return - Showtime
TV COMEDY OF THE YEAR Better Things - FX GLOW - Netflix The Good Place - NBC The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel - Amazon Will & Grace - NBC
TV PEFORMANCE OF THE YEAR – ACTRESS Clare Foy, The Crown - Netflix Nicole Kidman, Big Little Lies - HBO Jessica Lange, Feud: Bette and Joan - FX Elisabeth Moss, The Handmaid's Tale - Hulu Reese Witherspoon, Big Little Lies - HBO
TV PEFORMANCE OF THE YEAR -- ACTOR Aziz Ansari, Master of None – Netflix Sterling K. Brown, This Is Us - NBC Jonathan Groff, Mindhunter - Netflix Kyle MacLachlan, Twin Peaks: The Return - Showtime Alexander Skaarsgård, Big Little Lies - HBO
TV CURRENT AFFAIRS SHOW OF THE YEAR Full Frontal with Samantha Bee – TBS Last Week Tonight with John Oliver - HBO Late Night with Seth Meyers - NBC The Late Show with Stephen Colbert - CBS The Rachel Maddow Show - MSNBC
TV MUSICAL PERFORMANCE OF THE YEAR Lady Gaga, “God Bless America,” “Born This Way,” etc., Super Bowl LI - Fox Kate McKinnon, “(Kellyanne) Conway!” Saturday Night Live - NBC Brendan McCreary, John Mulaney, “I’m Gay,” Big Mouth – Netflix Pink, “Beautiful Trauma,” American Music Awards - ABC Sasha Velour, “So Emotional,” RuPaul's Drag Race – VH1
LGBTQ SHOW OF THE YEAR Difficult People - Hulu RuPaul's Drag Race – VH1 Sense8 - Netflix Transparent – Amazon Will & Grace - NBC
UNSUNG TV SHOW OF THE YEAR American Gods - Starz Dear White People - Netflix Difficult People - Hulu At Home with Amy Sedaris - TruTV The Leftovers - HBO
CAMPY TV SHOW OF THE YEAR Dynasty Feud: Betty and Joan Riverdale RuPaul's Drag Race Will & Grace
‘WE’RE WILDE ABOUT YOU!’ RISING STAR AWARD Timothée Chalamet Harris Dickinson Tiffany Haddish Daniel Kaluuya Daniela Vega
WILDE WIT OF THE YEAR AWARD (honoring a performer, writer or commentator whose observations both challenge and amuse) Samantha Bee Stephen Colbert Kate McKinnon John Oliver Jordan Peele
WILDE ARTIST OF THE YEAR (honoring a truly groundbreaking force in the fields of film, theater and/or television) Guillermo del Toro Greta Gerwig Patty Jenkins David Lynch Jordan Peele
GALECA’S MISSION GALECA, a 501 C-6 nonprofit, aims to generate camaraderie in an unsettling media environment, champion constructive film and TV criticism and elevate entertainment journalism. Via panels, screenings, events and its occasional “Ten Best" lists, GALECA also strives to remind the world, and our at-risk youth that LGBTQs have a rich history of putting great movies and TV on the pop culture radar. After all, how would the world fare without knowing what's campy?
CONTACT Diane Anderson-Minshall, GALECA President diane@retrogradecommunications.com John Griffiths, GALECA Executive Director jdgriffiths@earthlink.net
• • • •
GALECA NAMES TEN BEST
ACTRESSES OF ALL TIME
Group’s members give thanks for an array of impressive women and unforgettable performances
HOLLYWOOD, CA, Wednesday, November 23, 2016 – The Gay and Lesbian Entertainment Critics Association today announced its members’ collective picks for the organization’s latest “Ten Best” list: GALECA’s Ten Best Actresses of All Time.
The 160-plus members of GALECA, a nonprofit group comprised of professional film and TV critics and entertainment journalists in the U.S., Canada and the U.K., were each asked to name their 10 choices for the finest female actors throughout the history of film and television, without ranking the stars. The actresses with the most mentions are noted below.
Note: Actresses who did not make the top 10 here but came closest among the 100 or so listed by members include Joan Crawford, Judi Dench, Sally Field, Judy Garland, Audrey Hepburn, Nicole Kidman, Jessica Lange, Helen Mirren, Elizabeth Taylor and Kate Winslet.
The Gay and Lesbian Entertainment Critics Association’s Ten Best Actresses of All Time (again, in alphabetical order) are:
Ingrid Bergman: The Swedish star is best known to your average Joe as misty-eyed Ilsa in Casablanca, but Bergman devotees know that she starred in many more, including a trio of Hitchcock films and George Cukor’s stellar thriller Gaslight. Bergman is also responsible for another gift to cinema: her daughter, actress Isabella Rossellini.
Cate Blanchett: Whether she’s playing a tortured 16th-century monarch or having clandestine glove lunches in 1952, Cate Blanchett radiates. She’s the kind of actress that demands your attention, and you gratefully give it. She’s picked up a host of Oscar and/or Golden Globe nominations (and a few wins) for her stunning performances in such modern classics as Elizabeth, Blue Jasmine and Carol (the latter two also earned her GALECA Dorian Awards).
Bette Davis: The grande dame of Hollywood’s Golden Age, Bette Davis commanded attention with her striking visage and powerful performances in films like All About Eve, The Little Foxesand What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? (Davis’ off-camera battles with costar Joan Crawford in the latter fuel the upcoming TV series Feud). But from the get-go, she was blazing trails as one of filmdom’s most distinct, eye-expressive actresses.
Viola Davis: Bette’s not the only Ms. Davis to stand out on the screen (big or small). This Juilliard-trained powerhouse has shown there’s no role she can’t conquer, winning two Tonys, two Oscar nominations (for Doubt and The Help) and, finally, like Stanwyck, an Emmy. That parade of awards will only keep growing as she lends her trademark thoughtfulness to more juicy roles like her current one as Annalise Keating in TV’s How to Get Away With Murder.
Jane Fonda: Fonda (a GALECA Timeless Star career-achievement honoree) may have come from Hollywood royalty, but she’s been paving her own way with intelligence and subversive wit since the sixties. Be it in the daring crime thriller Klute, feminist office comedy 9 to 5 to or gray-haired sitcom Grace and Frankie, Fonda is a nervy, magnetic presence. And few actresses have such a knack for shedding light on important issues with her brave performances. Witness her Oscar-winning turn in Coming Home.
Katharine Hepburn: Few actresses, or actors, have the sort of self-possessed presence that came so naturally to Kate Hepburn. Even after her early success in was deemed a flash in the pan by the 1940s, she showed that talent and a hell of a lot of moxie can’t be quashed. Hepburn picked up three of her four Oscars later in life (see On Golden Pond), working until the age of 87. Her dedication to her art and her iconoclastic personal style translate to indelible.
Isabelle Huppert: The French-born Cannes’ darling Huppert has been making waves in the film industry for over 40 years now, with no signs of slowing down. Her haunting performance in 2001’s The Piano Teacher may be her best known work in the U.S., but the BAFTA- and Cesar-winning chameleon has over 50 films under her belt, a testament to her status as one of the world’s most spectacularly natural acting talents. See her cast a spell in the current drama Elle.
Julianne Moore: Moore has the makings of a modern legend. She landed on the radar with her high of a performance in 1997’s Boogie Nightsand she’s been building a noticeably meaty list of credits ever since. Her subtle and natural style has made her a household name and a favorite during Academy Awards season (and she won a GALECA Dorian Award for Still Alice). While Moore is usually cast in dramas like the heart-wrenching The End of the Affair, her comedic timing in The Big Lebowski is proof she has the chops to do it all.
Barbara Stanwyck: The stunningly "real” Stanwyck rose from a childhood filled with poverty and strife to become one of early Hollywood’s most dynamic actresses. The former Ziegfeld Follies dancer elicited tears in Stella Dallas, mesmerized in the noir classic Double Indemnity and delighted in the screwball comedy The Lady Eve. “Missy” later turned heads in television, winning three Emmys, including one for her gutsy performance in The Thorn Birds.
Meryl Streep: Enigmatic, brilliant, timeless. Meryl Streep’s career is as varied as can be, with Oscar-winning performances in The Iron Lady (which also earned her GALECA’s Dorian Award), Sophie’s Choice and Kramer vs. Kramer to fun frolics in films like Mamma Mia and The Devil Wears Prada. Streep completely loses herself in her roles, making her not only fascinating, but (shhh) GALECA’s number-one Best Actress of All Time.
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Gay and Lesbian Entertainment Critics
Fete Carol and Screenwriter Phyllis Nagy at Annual Winners Toast
Transparent, Grace and Frankie Cast MembersDiscuss
Their Awarded Shows
MONDAY MARCH 7, 2016 - HOLLYWOOD, CA Members of the Gay and Lesbian Entertainment Critics Association, comprised of nearly 150 entertainment journalists nationwide, gathered Sunday in Los Angeles to celebrate their 2015 Dorian Award winners across film and TV.
GALECA’s top titles and performances of the year were announced January 19, but the group eschews the award show format for an afternoon party where select winners enjoy champagne and some lighthearted questions before the crowd at its annual Winners Toast.
This year, Oscar nominee Phyllis Nagy, presented her Dorian Award for Screenplay of the Year for Carol, was asked by GALECA Board Member Trish Bendix (AfterEllen) about adapting novelist Patricia Highsmith’s classic lesbian romance for the screen. “Retaining the novel’s sense of mystery” was key, said Nagy.
The writer also noted that the film, an international success, seemed to ruffle feathers in some circles. “Hollywood still isn’t used to seeing strong lesbian characters. Carol is a woman who knows what she wants,” Nagy said of the determined divorcee (Cate Blanchett) who intrigues younger Therese (Rooney Mara) in 1950s New York.
GALECA obviously responded to the film — Bendix and the organization’s president, John Griffiths (Us Weekly), had to jump in to help Nagy pose with Carol’s five awards in all. The movie, hailed by GALECA as a work “of precise beauty and huge emotional impact,” also had won Film of the Year, LGBTQ Film of the Year, Director of the Year - Todd Haynes and Film Performance of the Year - Actress for Blanchett.
Alexandra Billings, the groundbreaking transgender actress who costars on Amazon’s Transparent, accepted that show’s awards for TV Comedy of the Year, LGBTQ TV Show of the Year and TV Performance of the Year - Actor (Jeffrey Tambor). Billings, asked about her place as the first transgender performer to play a transgender character in a TV production, had fun roasting that turn in 2005’s Romy and Michelle: In the Beginning. The comedy prequel was “awful!” Billings had higher praise for her current gig, in which she plays Davina, a warm transgender woman who helps show Tambor’s character Maura transition. Transparent is “funny because it’s real and true. And [creator] Jill Soloway is a nut!”
Accepting on behalf of Jane Fonda for the Grace and Frankie’s star’s Timeless Award — GALECA’s career achievement honor previously given to the likes of Sir Ian McKellen — her sitcom costar Baron Vaughn raved about the legendary actress’s “approachable” charms and professionalism.
On the Netflix hit, about the unlikely friendship between fastidious Grace (Fonda) and aging hippy Frankie (Lily Tomlin) and their suddenly out husbands, Vaughn plays Tomlin’s adopted son Bud. “When I’m in scenes with Jane and Lily, I’m thinking I’m basically the new Dolly Parton,” quipped Vaughn, referencing a certain Fonda/Tomlin/Parton comedy classic.
Other swells attending GALECA’s Hasty Pudding-esque Toast, held at Wilde Wine Bar and Restaurant in Los Angeles, were actor Jason Stuart (Unsung Film of the Year winner Tangerine and the upcoming The Birth of a Nation), rising star Corey Craig (Pee Wee’s Big Holiday) and reality star/actor Massimo Dobrovic (Euros of Hollywood). The afternoon was capped by Natalie Denise Sperl of the L.A. rock band Kill My Coquette, who sang a tribute to the late David Bowie.
GALECA, an established 501 C-6 nonprofit, aims to generate camaraderie in an unsettling media environment, champion constructive film and TV criticism and elevate entertainment journalism as a whole.
Via panels, screenings, events and our occasional “Ten Best” lists, GALECA also strives to remind the world that the LGBTQ-munity has a significant history of helping improve pop culture at large. After all, how would the world fare without knowing what’s campy?
“There is only one thing in life worse than being talked about, and that is not being talked about.”—Oscar Wilde
We apologize if any of the below links to stories trumpeting GALECA and our Dorian Awards have — oh, dear — expired.
