Hollywood doesn’t have the best track record when it comes to diverse representation. But it looks like there's some good news coming out of the world of television. This year, all of the nominees for the Television Critics Association acting awards are women and people of color. Yep, all of them.
The TCA is comprised of over 200 television critics from the United States and Canada who then makes their selections for award categories like "Outstanding New Program," which this year features the likes of The Crown and The Handmaid’s Tale. Both titles have been major standouts this past year, so it's super exciting to see shows fronted by women making the list.
As for the acting awards, there's not a single white man to make the cut. The category "Individual Achievement in Acting" has nearly all women: Carrie Coon for The Leftovers and Fargo, Claire Foy for The Crown, Nicole Kidman for Big Little Lies, Jessica Lange for Feud: Bette And Joan, Elisabeth Moss for The Handmaid’s Tale, and Susan Sarandon for Feud: Bette And Joan. The only man to make the list is Sterling K. Brown This Is Us, an actor of color.
"Individual Achievement in Comedy" follows suit with its nominees: Pamela Adlon for Better Things, Aziz Ansari for Master of None, Kristen Bell for The Good Place, Donald Glover for Atlanta, Julia Louis-Dreyfus Veep, Issa Rae for Insecure, and Phoebe Waller-Bridge Fleabag.
In the post announcing the nominees, TCA President Amber Dowling said, "This was truly a landmark season for diversity in television, and the TCA nominations reflect this. Our members have chosen a variety of series that celebrate and represent a wide spectrum of performances."
It's moving to see that the TCA's top picks for performances are all sorts of people that have too long been lacking with major or nuanced roles on television. And the TCA has never separated categories by gender, with the MTV Movies and TV Awards initiating the same policy this past year. Perhaps other organizations should start paying more attention to how the TCA does things.
To be clear, women and people of color are still underrepresented in media. A 2016 study titled “Inclusion or Invisibility?” found that just one-third of speaking characters in broadcast TV were women and just 28.3% were non-white.
But still, this is a big deal, and it’s a good reminder to television networks that not only does representation matter, but it’s also a recipe for success.
Related: New Study Proves the Lack of Opportunities for Female Directors in Hollywood
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