‘Heated Rivalry,’ ‘Hacks’ sweep 18th Dorian TV Awards
‘Heated Rivalry,’ ‘Hacks’ sweep 18th Dorian TV Awards
Russell Falcon Sun, August 16, 2026 at 1:02 AM UTC
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(NEXSTAR) – On Saturday, GALECA: The Society of LGBTQ Entertainment Critics, announced the nominees for its 2026 Dorian TV Awards, with some of the year's biggest streaming hits getting major attention from the second-largest entertainment journalists organization in the world.
Canadian romantic hockey drama "Heated Rivalry" and HBO's "Hacks" earned three awards each, in addition to two honorific awards to "Hacks" actor Hannah Einbinder and "HR" creator Jacob Tierney.
Apple TV's newest hit "Widow's Bay" received two awards in its first awards-eligible year and gay military comedic drama "Boots" earned an award eight months after its cancellation by Netflix.
Here's the full roster of nominations and winners.
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"Hacks" (HBO Max)"Abbott Elementary" (ABC)"The Comeback" (HBO Max)"Shrinking" (Apple TV)"Widow’s Bay" (Apple TV)
BEST LGBTQ TV SHOW"Heated Rivalry" (HBO Max)"The Comeback" (HBO Max)"Hacks" (HBO Max)"Half Man" (HBO Max)"Pluribus" (Apple TV)
BEST TV MOVIE OR LIMITED SERIES"Half Man" (HBO Max)"All Her Fault" (Peacock)"Beef" (Netflix)"DTF St. Louis" (HBO Max)"Love Story: John F. Kennedy Jr. & Carolyn Bessette" (FX/Hulu)
TV Icon AwardAn honorific award given to a living TV icon (thanks to a long-running hit or cult classic that inspires and whose work has stood the test of time)Lisa Kudrow
Lisa Kudrow attends the 27th Television Academy Hall of Fame on Aug. 16, 2025 in Los Angeles. (Photo by Phil McCarten/Invision for the Television Academy/AP Images)
Actress Lisa Kudrow, 63, is best known for her roles as Phoebe Buffay in the classic sitcom "Friends" and Valerie Cherish in the cult favorite mockumentary sitcom "The Comeback." She has a wide television filmography, appearing in various episodes of shows like "Cheers," "Mad About You," "Scandal," and "Rick and Morty." For her work on "Friends," Kudrow earned one Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy and two Screen Actors Guild Awards. In total, Kudrow has received 17 Emmy nominations, including two current nominations for "The Comeback."
In addition to her film work, Kudrow has starred in multiple films, including, most notably, the 1997 comedy, "Romy and Michele's High School Reunion." This film, in addition to her role as "washed up" actress Valerie Cherish are particularly popular cultural touchstones for members of the LGBTQ+ community, as they're both campy and are centered around misfits trying to prove their worth.
BEST NON-ENGLISH LANGUAGE TV SHOW"Squid Game" (Netflix)"Blossoms of Shanghai" (Criterion Channel)"Dan Da Dan" (Netflix)"Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End" (Crunchyroll)"Mussolini: Son of the Century" (Mubi)
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"Hacks" (HBO Max)"The Comeback" (HBO Max)"Heated Rivalry" (HBO Max)"Pluribus" (Apple TV)"The Pitt" (HBO Max)
BEST TV PERFORMANCE — DRAMARhea Seehorn, "Pluribus" (Apple TV)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)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 — DRAMAFrançois 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 — COMEDYJean Smart, Hacks (HBO Max)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)
BEST SUPPORTING TV PERFORMANCE — COMEDYKate O’Flynn, Widow’s Bay (Apple TV)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)Ashley Padilla, "Saturday Night Live" (NBC)Michelle Pfeiffer, "Margo’s Got Money Troubles" (Apple TV)Meg Stalter, "Hacks" (HBO Max)
Wilde Wit AwardAn honorific award given to a performer, writer or commentator whose observations both challenge and amuse
Hannah Einbinder
Hannah Einbinder arrives at the Vanity Fair Oscar Party on March 15, 2026 in Los Angeles. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP)
Actress and comedian Hannah Einbinder rose to fame in recent years thanks to her starring role as comedian Ava Daniels on HBO Max's hit dramedy "Hacks." The series, co-starring film and TV legend Jean Smart, premiered in 2021 and wrapped up this May after five seasons and 47 episodes. During the show's run, Einbinder was nominated for five Primetime Emmy Awards for Supporting Actress, with a win in 2025.
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Einbinder, who identifies as bisexual, is also a previous Dorian TV Awards nominee, earning nominations for Supporting Actress in 2022, 2024 and 2025, of which she won in the latter two years. Einbinder, 31, is also expanding into film and can currently be seen in theaters starring in Jane Schoenbrun's horror drama "Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma." The film won the Queer Palm at the 2026 Cannes Film Festival.
BEST TV MUSICAL PERFORMANCEBad Bunny, The Apple Music Super Bowl LX Halftime ShowAudra McDonald, “Rose’s Turn,” The 78th Tony AwardsMiles 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 AwardsSabrina Carpenter and The Muppets, “Manchild,” The Muppet ShowSabrina 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 Late Show With Stephen Colbert" (CBS)"The Daily Show" (Comedy Central)"Hot Ones" (YouTube)"Last Week Tonight With John Oliver" (HBO Max)"Late Night With Seth Meyers" (NBC)
BEST TV DOCUMENTARY OR DOCUMENTARY SERIES"Mr. Scorsese" (Apple TV)"Kylie" (Netflix)"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"Lilith Fair: Building a Mystery" (Hulu)"Club Cumming" (WOW Presents Plus)"Enigma" (HBO Max)"It’s Dorothy!" (Peacock)"Murder in Glitterball City" (HBO Max)
BEST GENRE TV SHOW"Widow’s Bay" (Apple TV) "Alien: Earth" (FX/Hulu)"The Boys" (Amazon Prime Video)"It: Welcome to Derry" (Max)"Pluribus" (Apple TV)
BEST REALITY SHOW"The Traitors "(Peacock)"The Boyfriend" (Netflix)"Love on the Spectrum" (Netflix)"RuPaul’s Drag Race" (MTV/Paramount+)"Top Chef" (Bravo)
BEST ANIMATED SHOW"South Park" (Paramount+)"Bob’s Burgers" (Fox)"Invincible" (Amazon Prime Video)"Hazbin Hotel" (Amazon Prime Video)"Long Story Short" (Netflix)
MOST VISUALLY STRIKING TV SHOW"Alien: Earth" (FX/Hulu) (tie)"Pluribus" (Apple TV)"Euphoria" (HBO Max)"The Gilded Age" (HBO Max)"Heated Rivalry" (HBO Max)
CAMPIEST TV SHOW"The Hunting Wives" (Netflix)"All’s Fair" (Hulu)"The Comeback" (HBO Max)"Palm Royale" (Apple TV)"The Traitors" (Peacock)
GALECA LGBTQIA+ TV TrailblazerAn honorific award given to someone whose art inspires empathy, truth and equity
Jacob Tierney
Though Canadian actor, producer, director and screenwriter Jacob Tierney has a career spanning back to the late 1980s, he's risen to notoriety in recent years as creator of the sitcoms "Letterkenny" and "Shoresy." But his creation of the 2025 sports romance drama "Heated Rivalry," pushed Tierney into the forefront like never before.
Jacob Tierney at the 19th Television Academy Honors on May 20 in Los Angeles. (Photo by Jordan Strauss/Invision for the Television Academy/AP Content Services)
The series, based on Rachel Reid's book series, was a near-overnight phenomenon when it premiered in the U.S. in November 2025. It quickly became one of the highest-viewed shows on streaming, with HBO Max (who acquired the series from Canadian network Crave) reporting in December that "Heated Rivalry" was the second-highest driver of first-time viewers on the platform since its release.
"HR" quickly grew a fierce fanbase that took to social media to discuss the various ups and downs of the show's central romance between hockey players Shane Hollander (Hudson Williams) and Ilya Rozanov (Connor Storrie), in addition to multiple other characters. Tierney, who is gay, wrote and directed the entire first season, which was celebrated for its frank depiction of gay male sexuality and relationships. The show became so popular it entered IMDB's Top 250 TV shows chart in its first season and was even a pirated hit in countries where it wasn't released, like Russia (due to anti-LGBTQ laws) and China.
Of the show's success and its love from fans, Tierney told Deadline: “This show has taken all of us by surprise. The impact that it’s had on people was not something one can anticipate. It’s been genuinely moving and incredibly meaningful that this has touched people the way that it has, and I will be grateful for the rest of my life.”
To learn more about GALECA and its awards and 500+ member community, visit galeca.org.
Nexstar's Russell Falcon is an entertainment reporter and published film and music critic. He is also a voting member of GALECA. He can be found on Instagram, TikTok and Substack.
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