I Saw The TV Glow fans aren’t happy about GLAAD Media Awards nominations ‘snub’

Trans psychological horror film I Saw The TV Glow has missed out on nominations for the GLAAD Media Awards, which has upset some fans.

The advocacy organisation announced the nominee list for the 36th award ceremony, on Wednesday (22 January). The awards honour “outstanding fair, accurate and inclusive representations of LGBTQ people and issues in film, television, gaming, publishing, stage productions, music, podcasting, journalism and more.”

The list highlights 303 nominees, across 33 categories, including blockbuster musical Wicked, trans Netflix documentary Will & Harper, up-and-coming band The Last Dinner Party and video game Dragon Age: The Veilguard.

Despite triumphing at the Golden Globes, being nominated for BAFTAs and being tipped for Oscars success, trans musical drama Emilia Pérez was not nominated.

However, it was fans of I Saw The TV Glow who were left particularly disappointed by what they saw as a snub, with many taking to social media to label the film’s absence an “erasure.”

The film, directed by Jane Schoenbrun, stars Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom‘s Justice Smith and Atypical‘s Jack Haven as friends who bond over their love of a late-night TV show. When one of them disappears and the show is cancelled, the other becomes increasingly disillusioned with life, as reality and fiction begin to blur.

The film was praised by critics and audiences for the script’s powerful trans allegory.

In an interview with Variety, Schoenbrun described the film as the “egg-crack” moment for trans people, the moment when “you stop pretending you’re not trans, trying to desperately find every reason why you’re not, and admit for the first time that you are.”

That moment, the director added, “can reframe everything in your life.”

Reacting to the awards announcement, one person wrote on Bluesky: “Extremely disappointed that you didn’t include I Saw the TV Glow.”

Another said: “OK, at first I thought this was snarky but likely a reasonable omission… then I read the list and there is no reason I Saw the TV Glow shouldn’t be on over like… 80 per cent of what’s on there.”

Someone else was more forthright, saying: “I Saw the TV Glow snub is astonishing.”

GLAAD president and chief executive Sarah Kate Ellis responded to the criticism by saying: “This year’s nominees represent the best of our vibrant community, spanning across all media, genres and mediums, and send a loud and global message to industry leaders that our stories are not only popular and entertaining, but [also] necessary and culture-changing.

“The awards were created nearly four decades ago, to champion LGBTQ stories amid a deeply hostile and unsafe time for our community. Today, this mission holds true and ever-more important as attacks against LGBTQ people are not only growing, but finding new avenues.

“Whether it’s rampant misinformation or defamation of transgender people, LGBTQ youth, or the shocking corporate rollback of policies and programmes that keep LGBTQ people seen and safe in a workforce, what will always prevail is our truth and talent.”

Share your thoughts! Let us know in the comments below, and remember to keep the conversation respectful.