Heartstopper wins ‘Best LGBTQ Show’ Dorian TV Award

Words: Emily Maskell; pictures: Netflix

The love for Heartstopper is not going anywhere: the beloved Netflix coming-of-age drama has won an acclaimed category at the Dorian TV Awards alongside the likes of Beyoncé, Jerrod Carmichael and Jennifer Coolidge.

GALECA: The Society of LGBTQ Entertainment Critics have announced the winners of its 14th Dorian TV Awards for both mainstream and LGBTQIA+ programs on Wednesday (17 August) and Heartstopper, which had received three nominations including Kit Connor for ‘Best TV Performance’, is taking home the ‘Best LGBTQ TV Show’ award. 

Kit Connor and Joe Locke as Nick Nelson and Charlie Spring (Photo: Netflix)

GALECA praises the show for “its tender and exhilarating tale of friendship, love, and romance among a variety of Brit teens,” winning over Our Flag Means Death, Hacks, and RuPaul’s Drag Race.

Among other glittering awards, Showtime’s Yellowjackets won ‘Best TV Drama’ and the show’s star Melanie Lynskey won ‘Best TV Performance’ for her portrayal of the adult Shauna in the young cannibal drama. 

ABC’s Abbott Elementary was awarded ‘Best TV Comedy’ and HBO’s The White Lotus won ‘Best TV Movie or Miniseries’ alongside the legendary Jennifer Coolidge taking home the ‘Best Supporting TV Performance’ award for her iconic turn in the much-loved show.

Will Gao, Yasmin Finney, and Tobie Donovan as Tao Xu, Elle Argent, and Issac Henderson (Photo: Netflix)

HBO’s Euphoria ‘Most Visually Striking TV Show’ while Girls5eva was hailed as the ‘Campiest TV Show’, beating out Netflix’s questionable Diana: The Musical which was in the running.

GALECA’s inaugural ‘TV Icon honor’ was awarded to The Gilded Age‘s Christine Baranski and Elvira‘s Cassandra Peterson in a tie, voters unable to decide between the two screen icons. 

Beyoncé was awarded ‘Best TV Musical Performance’ for her ‘Be Alive’ rendition at the 94th Academy Awards, RuPaul’s Drag Race snagged ‘Best Reality Show’ an American late-night talk show Ziwe took ‘Best Current Affairs Program’.

Kizzy Edgell and Corinna Brown as Darcy Olsson and Tara Jones (Photo: Netflix)

Actor-comedian Jerrod Carmichael was named ‘LGBTQIA+ TV Trailblazer’, an award granted “for creating art that inspires empathy, truth, and equity,” following last year’s recipient Michaela Jaé Rodriguez.

“Rothaniel Jerrod Carmichael, raised in a low-income household in North Carolina, was just 26 when he helped convince NBC to put his own sitcom on the air back in 2015,” said GALECA Executive Director, John Griffiths.

Griffiths continued: “The Carmichael Show proved then he was not only an entertainment wunderkind, but one who mixed his determination with rare heart and purpose, shedding light on hot-button societal issues from racism to police brutality with the sort of frankness fictional TV rarely does.”

The 35-year-old comedian came out in his HBO comedy special Rothaniel this year, Griffiths adds: “He did so with the sort of self-effacing wit, vulnerability and observational humor that would make his heroes Richard Pryor and George Carlin proud. Carmichael has no doubt helped a lot of people turn a page.”

Attitude’s Emily Maskell is a GALECA member. 

The Attitude September/October issue is out now.