‘Heated Rivalry’ & ‘Hacks’ Lead 17th Dorian TV Award Nominations from GALECA: The Society of LGBTQ Entertainment Critics

It’s a good day for gay hockey players, and, well, Deborah Vance!

Los Angeles, Calif. — June 17, 2026 — GALECA: The Society of LGBTQ Entertainment Critics announced its 17th Dorian TV Award nominations today. The 565-member-strong organization, one of the largest entertainment journalists groups in the world, recognizes the best in television and streaming from mainstream content to queer-themed programs.

Heated Rivalry, the hockey-hunks-in-love drama that became a cultural phenomenon this year, and showbiz satire Hacks—a longtime favorite with GALECA members—lead the competition with nominations across nearly every major category, including Best LGBTQ TV Show and Best Written TV Show. Both series also scored multiple acting nods.

Vying for Best TV Drama alongside Heated Rivalry is the gritty medical drama The Pitt (last year’s Dorian winner here), the post-apocalyptic sci-fi series Pluribus, frothy financial soap Industry, and HBO’s timely period spectacle The Gilded Age. The comedy field is similarly stacked, with Hacks going up against The Comeback—the final round of star and co-creator Lisa Kudrow’s endlessly quotable TV industry send-up—Abbott Elementary (another past Dorian winner), Shrinking, and Widow’s Bay, the new comedy horror series from Apple TV.

On the limited series front, the harrowing Half Man leads the field, with creator and writer Richard Gadd earning a supporting drama nod alongside Jamie Bell’s lead performance nomination. Beef, DTF St. Louis, Love Story: John F. Kennedy Jr. & Carolyn Bessette, and All Her Fault round out the nominations for limited series.

“Ultimately the Dorian TV Awards are about queer critics deciding, collectively, what television did right. The shows leading our nominations this year—Heated Rivalry, Hacks, Pluribus and Half Man—aren’t just excellent television, they’re queer at their core,” said GALECA Vice President Gerrick Kennedy. “GALECA is proud to recognize these outstanding programs and performances.”

As ever, the Dorian Awards’ more specialized categories put a light on lesser-known gems. The Best Unsung TV Show category, reserved for programs GALECA members feel deserve a louder megaphone, champions Boots (also up for Best LGBTQ Show), the robot romp Murderbot, Netflix’s starry comedy ensemble The Four Seasons, and rising cult thriller From.

As for the Campiest TV Show award, Netflix’s wildly over-the top—and deliciously queer—Texas ladies drama The Hunting Wives vies with The Traitors, Ryan Murphy’s legal drama All’s Fair (refresher: Kim Kardashian plays a high-priced attorney named Allura Grant), The Comeback, and last year’s Dorian winner Palm Royale.

The Dorians also recognize productions from all over the world, with non-English language nominees this year including the likes of Blossoms of Shanghai and Squid Game, as well as anime titles such as Dan Da Dan, The Summer Hikaru Died, Go For It, Nakamura-kun! and Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End.

Winners will be announced Saturday, August 15.

2026 DORIAN TV AWARD NOMINATIONS — FULL LIST

BEST TV DRAMA

Heated Rivalry (HBO Max)

Industry (HBO Max)

The Gilded Age (HBO Max)

Pluribus (Apple TV)

The Pitt (HBO Max)

BEST TV COMEDY

Abbott Elementary (ABC)

The Comeback (HBO Max)

Hacks (HBO Max)

Shrinking (Apple TV)

Widow’s Bay (Apple TV)

BEST LGBTQ TV SHOW

The Comeback (HBO Max)

Hacks (HBO Max)

Half Man (HBO Max)

Heated Rivalry (HBO Max)

Pluribus (Apple TV)

BEST TV MOVIE OR LIMITED SERIES

All Her Fault (Peacock)

Beef (Netflix)

DTF St. Louis (HBO Max)

Half Man (HBO Max)

Love Story (FX/Hulu)

BEST NON-ENGLISH LANGUAGE TV SHOW

Blossoms of Shanghai (Criterion Channel)

Dan Da Dan (Netflix)

Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End (Crunchyroll)

Mussolini: Son of the Century (Mubi)

Squid Game (Netflix)

The Summer Hikaru Died (Netflix)

BEST LGBTQ NON-ENGLISH LANGUAGE TV SHOW

The Boyfriend (Netflix)

Chosen Home (Netflix)

Go For It, Nakamura-kun! (Crunchyroll)

The Summer Hikaru Died (Netflix)

Tremembé (Amazon MGM)

BEST WRITTEN TV SHOW

The Comeback (HBO Max)

Hacks (HBO Max)

Heated Rivalry (HBO Max)

Pluribus (Apple TV)

The Pitt (HBO Max)

BEST TV PERFORMANCE — DRAMA

Marisa Abela, Industry (HBO Max)

Jamie Bell, Half Man (HBO Max)

Carrie Coon, The Gilded Age (HBO Max)

Myha’la Herrold, Industry (HBO Max)

Mark Ruffalo, Task (HBO Max)

Rhea Seehorn, Pluribus (Apple TV)

Connor Storrie, Heated Rivalry (HBO Max)

Hudson Williams, Heated Rivalry (HBO Max)

Noah Wyle, The Pitt (HBO Max)

Zendaya, Euphoria (HBO Max)

BEST SUPPORTING TV PERFORMANCE — DRAMA

François Arnaud, Heated Rivalry (HBO Max)

Patrick Ball, The Pitt (HBO Max)

Isa Briones, The Pitt (HBO Max)

Richard Gadd, Half Man (HBO Max)

Katherine LaNasa, The Pitt (HBO Max)

Ken Leung, Industry (HBO Max)

Charles Melton, Beef (Netflix)

Sepideh Moafi, The Pitt (HBO Max)

Colman Domingo, Euphoria (HBO Max)

Karolina Wydra, Pluribus (Apple TV)

BEST TV PERFORMANCE — COMEDY

Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Wonder Man (Disney+)

Quinta Brunson, Abbott Elementary (ABC)

Ayo Edebiri, The Bear (FX/Hulu)

Elle Fanning, Margo’s Got Money Troubles (Apple TV)

Ethan Hawke, The Lowdown (FX/Hulu)

Lisa Kudrow, The Comeback (HBO Max)

Dan Levy, Big Mistakes (Netflix)

Matthew Rhys, Widow’s Bay (Apple TV)

Tim Robinson, The Chair Company (HBO Max)

Jean Smart, Hacks (HBO Max)

BEST SUPPORTING TV PERFORMANCE — COMEDY

Leslie Bibb, Hacks (HBO Max)

Colman Domingo, The Four Seasons (Netflix)

Paul W. Downs, Hacks (HBO Max)

Hannah Einbinder, Hacks (HBO Max)

Harrison Ford, Shrinking (Apple TV)

Janelle James, Abbott Elementary (ABC)

Kate O’Flynn, Widow’s Bay (Apple TV)

Ashley Padilla, Saturday Night Live (NBC)

Michelle Pfeiffer, Margo’s Got Money Troubles (Apple TV)

Meg Stalter, Hacks (HBO Max)

BEST TV MUSICAL PERFORMANCE

Audra McDonald, “Rose’s Turn,” The 78th Tony Awards

Bad Bunny, The Apple Music Super Bowl LX Halftime Show

Miles Caton, Raphael Saadiq, Misty Copeland, Eric Gales, Buddy Guy, Brittany Howard, Christone “Kingfish” Ingram, Jayme Lawson, Li Jun Li, Bobby Rush, Shaboozey and Alice Smith, “I Lied to You,” The 98th Academy Awards

Sabrina Carpenter and The Muppets, “Manchild,” The Muppet Show

Sabrina Carpenter, Kermit the Frog and Miss Piggy, “Islands in the Stream,” The Muppet Show

BEST UNSUNG TV SHOW

Boots (Netflix)

English Teacher (FX/Hulu)

The Four Seasons (Netflix)

From (MGM+)

Murderbot (Apple TV)

BEST CURRENT AFFAIRS SHOW

The Daily Show (Comedy Central)

Hot Ones (YouTube)

Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (HBO Max)

Late Night with Seth Meyers (NBC)

The Late Show with Stephen Colbert (CBS)

BEST TV DOCUMENTARY OR DOCUMENTARY SERIES

Kylie (Netflix)

Mr. Scorsese (Apple TV)

Seen & Heard: The History of Black Television (HBO Max)

Selena y Los Dinos (Netflix)

The Yogurt Shop Murders (HBO Max)

BEST LGBTQ TV DOCUMENTARY OR DOCUMENTARY SERIES

Club Cumming (WOW Presents Plus)

Enigma (HBO Max)

It’s Dorothy! (Peacock)

Lilith Fair: Building a Mystery (Hulu)

Murder in Glitterball City (HBO Max)

BEST GENRE TV SHOW

Alien: Earth (FX/Hulu)

The Boys (Amazon Prime Video)

IT: Welcome to Derry (Max)

Pluribus (Apple TV)

Widow’s Bay (Apple TV)

BEST REALITY SHOW

The Boyfriend (Netflix)

Love on the Spectrum (Netflix)

RuPaul’s Drag Race (MTV/Paramount+)

Top Chef (Bravo)

The Traitors (Peacock)

BEST ANIMATED SHOW

Bob’s Burgers (Fox)

Invincible (Amazon Prime Video)

Hazbin Hotel (Amazon Prime Video)

Long Story Short (Netflix)

South Park (Paramount+)

MOST VISUALLY STRIKING TV SHOW

Alien: Earth (FX/Hulu)

Euphoria (HBO Max)

The Gilded Age (HBO Max)

Heated Rivalry (HBO Max)

Pluribus (Apple TV)

CAMPIEST TV SHOW

All’s Fair (Hulu)

The Comeback (HBO Max)

The Hunting Wives (Netflix)

Palm Royale (Apple TV)

The Traitors (Peacock)

GALECA: The Society of LGBTQ Entertainment Critics and its Dorian Awards honor the best in film, television, and Broadway/Off-Broadway at separate times of the year. More than 560 members strong, GALECA reminds society that the world values the informed LGBTQ perspective on all things entertainment. A nonprofit organization, GALECA also advocates for better pay, access and respect for entertainment journalists (especially the underrepresented) and provides scholarships for LGBTQ journalism students. Follow us @DorianAwards on social media, and find more information about who we are and what we do at GALECA.org.

For More Information on the Dorian TV Awards or GALECA, Please Contact:

Diane Anderson-Minshall
GALECA Executive Director
diane@galeca.org

Gerrick Kennedy
GALECA Vice President / TV Awards Leader 
vp@galeca.org