PinkNews Awards 2018: Nominees revealed for Drama award
The five nominees for the inaugural Drama accolade at the PinkNews Awards 2018 have been announced, including shows from the BBC, Netflix, and ITV.
The shortlist for the brand new award— celebrating a TV series that has significantly represented issues affecting the LGBT+ community—features the BBC’s A Very English Scandal and Netflix’s Black Lightening.
It also features Channel 4’s Ackley Bridge, ITV’s Coronation Street, and Channel 5’s Neighbours.
The winner of the gong will be revealed at the PinkNews Awards on Wednesday October 17 in London.
A Very English Scandal, BBC
Earlier this year, the BBC released its critically-acclaimed drama A Very English Scandal. The three-part series is based on a true story—the alleged attempted murder of Norman Scott, the ex-lover of the then leader of the Liberal Party, Jeremy Thorpe, and the subsequent trial over the incident, an event which rocked British politics in the 1970s. Thorpe (Hugh Grant) and Scott (Ben Whishaw) had reportedly been lovers in the 1960s, before homosexuality was partially decriminalised in 1967.
Ackley Bridge, Channel 4
Channel 4’s Ackley Bridge was praised last year for its portrayal of Nas, who comes from a British Pakistani Muslim family, coming out as a lesbian. And, in July, the show introduced a lesbian romance between Nas and Sam Murgatroyd. The British drama, which recently completed its second series, portrays the lives of staff and students at a multi-cultural academy of the same name.
The show was also praised for its portrayal of best friends Cory and Naveed who find themselves in a same-sex fling despite one of the characters identifying as straight. No rift comes between the pair and they remained friends despite what happened between them.
Black Lightning, Netflix UK
Thunder’s ready. Are you? Catch up before Season 2 drops: https://t.co/8N2ot421xm pic.twitter.com/5zzVINL77R
— Black Lightning (@blacklightning) September 12, 2018
Black Lightning, which is aired in the US on The CW, hit TV screens in January. Based on the DC Comics character of the same name, superhero Black Lightning has two daughters: Lightning and the openly lesbian Thunder, who is played by Nafessa Williams. The second season is set to premiere on October 9.
Coronation Street, ITV
Long-running soap Coronation Street has been lauded for its portrayal of LGBT+ people and their relationships. However, this year the drama stood-out for drawing attention to the issue of male sexual assault, by including a storyline around the rape of hairdresser David by newcomer Josh, and highlighting the experiences of lesbian muslims through Rana Haweb (Bhavna Limbachia). The soap sees Haweb having an affair with best friend Kate Connor (Faye Brookes).
Humans
Humans had a fantastic LGBT storyline staring Astrid (Bella Dayne) and Niska (Emily Berrington) during the shows second season and this particular representation of an LGBT couple has been highly commended across the board.
Channel 4 went above and beyond what was expected in the show when Astrid and Niska crossed human-synth boundaries and struck up a beautiful same-sex relationship on our screen in 2016.
Since then, their romance has overcome countless cultural hurdles which strikes at the core of what LGBT people face on a day-to-day basis as they simply live as who they are.
You can watch Human on On Demand here: https://www.channel4.com/programmes/humans/on-demand/66108-001
Neighbours, Channel 5
Channel 5’s Neighbours The momentous event stole queer hearts this year with the wedding of Aaron and David. was the first gay wedding in the show’s 33 year history—and the show is set to get even more inclusive, with executive producer Jason Herbison hinting that the couple could soon have kids.
The PinkNews Awards is supported by Lloyds Banking Group.
