On July 13, the Emmy-winning father-daughter duo Ron Cephas Jones (This Is Us) and Jasmine Cephas Jones (#FreeRayshawn) unveiled the nominations for the 73rd Emmy Awards—and the FX show Pose made history.
Not only is Pose one of the nominees for Outstanding Drama Series, but Billy Porter and Mj Rodriguez received nods for Outstanding Lead Actor and Actress in a Drama Series, respectively.
In a statement, GLAAD President & CEO Sarah Kate Ellis said, "Michaela Jae (Mj) Rodriguez's Emmy nomination for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series is a breakthrough for transgender women in Hollywood, and a long-overdue recognition for her groundbreaking performance over the past three seasons of POSE
"Additionally, the show's nomination for Outstanding Drama Series, as well as Billy Porter's third nomination for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series, mark a historic show that undoubtedly raised the bar for trans representation on television and changed the way viewers around the world understand the trans community.
"As over 40 leading LGBTQ organizations pointed out in our open letter about POSE to Emmy Award voters, representation matters. Congratulations, Michaela Jaé, Billy Porter, and the entire POSE team—the world is standing with you and applauding your talents."
As EW.com noted, the Television Academy's Board of Governors recently announced a small but notable rule change for this year's Emmys to be more inclusive of gender-noncomforming individuals: A nominee or winner of any acting category can request to be recognized with the more gender-neutral title "Performer" on their nomination certificate and Emmy statuette, although the categories themselves relating to Actor and Actress won't change.
Pose (which just ran its final season) will compete against The Boys, Bridgerton, The Crown, The Mandalorian, Lovecraft Country, The Handmaid's Tale and This Is Us. Others in Porter's category include Rene-Jean Page (Bridgerton), Sterling K. Brown (This Is Us), Jonathan Majors (Lovecraft Country), Matthew Rhys (Perry Mason) and Josh O'Connor (The Crown).
Rodriguez is up against Emma Corrin (of The Crown, and who made news recently by updating her pronouns to she/they), Oscar winner Olivia Colman (The Crown), Uzo Aduba (In Treatment), Elisabeth Moss (The Handmaid's Tale) and Jurnee Smollett (Lovecraft Country).
Some of the other LGBTQ performers who received nods are Gillian Anderson (The Crown), Samira Wiley (The Handmaid's Tale), Bowen Yang (Saturday Night Live) and Kate McKinnon (Saturday Night Live). Uncle Frank, a movie about a gay character portrayed by Paul Bettany, received a nod for Outstanding Television Movie.
The Crown and The Mandalorian led shows with 24 nominations each, with WandaVision, Ted Lasso and The Handmaid's Tale also coming in strong. And—just a week after not being renewed for a second season by HBO—Lovecraft Country scored 18 total nods.
The Emmys will air Sunday, Sep. 19 at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT on CBS. It will also be available to stream live and on demand on Paramount+. Cedric the Entertainer will host.
