RuPaul's Drag Race was among the television programs the Television Academy announced as having earned Emmy nominations for 2019, according to the Academy's July 16 announcement.
The VH1 competition-reality show received nine nominations. Pose's Billy Porter also became the first openly gay Black Emmy nominee as well. He plays Pray Tell on the FX drama depicting the New York City ball milieu in the '80s. Pose was also nominated for Outstanding Drama Series.
Among other openly gay nominees were Kate McKinnon for Saturday Night Live and Ben Whishaw for A Very English Scandal. Also nominated were transgender performer Laverne Cox for her guest-starring turn on Orange is the New Black, as well as lesbian actress Cherry Jones for a guest-starring role on The Handmaid's Tale. Jane Lynch was also nominated for reprising her role as a veteran comedian on The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel.
Among the nominations not widely predicted by commentators was four nominations for the cable comedy Schitt's Creek, co-created by openly gay Daniel Levy and his actor father, Eugene Levy; both father and son appear on the show. Eugene, co-star Catherine O'Hara, the costume designers and the show itself all received nominations.
Cable network HBO dwarfed other networks in the nominations they received, earning 137; its recently-ended fantasy-adventure series Game of Thrones brought in 32 of those nominations.
Fosse/Verdon, F/X's depiction of the tumultuous relationship between director-choreographer Bob Fosse and his wife and creative partner Gwen Verdon scored 17 nominations. Russian Doll, which aired on the Netflix streaming service, earned 13 nominations. That Groundhog's Day-esque comedy featured Natasha Lyonne, who played lesbian characters on Orange is the New Black and the 1999 film But I'm a Cheerleader.
The 71st Primetime Emmy Awards will air Sunday, Sept. 22, at 7 p.m.