ALOTO fans were left disappointed that the series was snubbed during this year’s Emmys nominations
BY ELLA PORTEOUS, IMAGE BY PRIME VIDEO
On Wednesday (12 July), the Emmys released their 2023 nominations which saw many popular LGBTQIA shows such as Yellowjackets, The White Lotus, and The Last Of Us receive nominations for various categories. LGBTQIA actors such as Bella Ramsey, Aubrey Plaza, Murray Barlett and Cherry Jones were all nominated for awards, and we couldn’t be more excited for them all. Despite seeing lots of LGBTQIA representation across so many categories, we were devastated to see that A League Of Their Own had been completely snubbed.
We weren’t alone in this feeling, as many fans took to Twitter to voice their frustration.
The Emmy’s ignoring A League of Their Own is homophobic!!!! I’ll say it!!!
— hannah🪿 (@dogfanhan) July 12, 2023
I need the entire cast and crew behind A League of Their Own to know they made the most impactful TV show of 2022. It was a true work of art. The representation was a revolutionary act. We thank you.
— Clara (@thatclarafied) July 12, 2023
Sadly, this is the second disappointment fans of the show have received this year. Despite being certified fresh on Rotten Tomatoes with a critic score of 94%, Prime Video took months to announce a renewal. In March, they finally declared that the show would return for a second season, yet only as a four-episode miniseries. Following this, the co-creator Will Graham took to Twitter to voice his upset, calling for the media to stop pushing the narrative that queer shows are “inherently niche”.
The one thing I'll say at this moment: #ALeagueOfTheirOwn is not a small or niche show. The audience is domestic, but our understanding is that it's very big. It has outperformed many other shows that have been renewed. Journalists, please stop reinforcing the narrative …
— Will Graham (@WillWGraham) March 14, 2023
Fans of the show began to rally on Twitter for more episodes, starting the hashtag #MoreThanFour. The hashtag contains thousands of Tweets, from fan edits to letters addressed to Prime Video, showing just how much of a treasure A League Of Their Own is to the LGBTQIA community.
If you aren’t familiar with A League Of Their Own (if so, what are you doing?), it’s a historical sports comedy-drama that follows the rise of a women’s professional baseball team during the Second World War. The show is based on the 1992 film of the same name; however the TV version is much gayer.
With a largely LGBTQIA cast, season one alone provided a wealth of representation that is rarely seen on TV. Roberta Colindrez as Lupe García, Kelly McCormack as Jess McCready, and Melanie Field as Jo DeLuca provided superb butch lesbian representation, and Lea Robinson’s portrayal of Black trans joy as Bert Hart was beautiful to watch. Every scene that contained Chanté Adams as Max Chapman was a delight, and watching her journey through her sexuality and identity was magical.
Despite containing difficult storylines that reminded us of the hardships faced by the LGBTQIA community in the 1930s and 40s, particularly for those who were QTIPOC, there were so many moments of queer joy. The fact that so many of the characters were unapologetically queer made A League Of Their Own so wonderful to watch. Too many historical TV and film pieces about LGBTQIA love focus on the “forbidden” aspect, and although that did feature in the show, it was only a minor part.
So many of the actors should have received nominations, most notably Chanté Adams, Gbemisola Ikumelo, and D’Arcy Carden. The co-creators Abbi Jacobson and Will Graham deserve the minimum of a nomination for writing and/or Outstanding Comedy, and it’s just so frustrating that this hasn’t happened.
Far too many TV shows that feature LGBTQIA stories have been cancelled within the past year. In GLAAD’s Where We Are on TV 2022-2023 report published in March, it was found that out of 596 LGBTQ characters portrayed in TV shows, 140 characters won’t return due specifically to series cancellations. It is more important than ever for TV shows such as A League Of Their Own to get the recognition they deserve.
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