reEar Television Academy: I just want to talk! I will let my colleague Kevin Fallon handle the snubs and surprises of Tuesday morning’s nominations, but I have to ask: How do you rationalize, year after year, snub the living legend Rita Moreno?
Tuesday’s Emmy nominations included a single Latinx actor, Outstanding Guest in a Drama Series nominee Alexis Bledel. But not Rita Moreno, who has been killing him in One day at a time for four seasons No Laura Gómez, whose performance in Orange is the new blackThe excellent final season was haunting and inspiring, and as timely as possible. Not Melissa Barrera or Mishel Prada from Lifetime, a series that fueled stereotypical Latinx stories to discuss deeper and more nuanced themes that permeate our community before it was canceled too soon. Not any of HBO’s sublimely bizarre brilliant artists The Spookies—including Julio Torres, Ana Fabrega, Bernardo Velasco and Cassandra Ciangherotti. No Joaquín Cosío, the beating heart of Netflix’s complex and raucously fun complex. Gentefied. No Mj Rodríguez, who along with the nomination for the main actor Billy Porter has brought tenacity and unlimited spirit to FX’s Pose. And not Harvey Guillén, who plays the adorable aspiring vampire Guillermo in What we do in the shadows
These disappointments would be ridiculous if they were not so demoralizing. Last year, although four Latinos received nominations, not a single Latina actress received an endorsement from the Television Academy. Despite a critically acclaimed turn Jane the virginGina Rodríguez never received an Emmy nomination for her work, even after her surprise 2015 Golden Globe win. And this year, once again, despite a wealth of talent, no Latinx series or performer achieved a nomination. (Although at least the Academy made us lose our minds by nominating Shakira and Jennifer Lopez’s Super Bowl halftime show for Variety Special.)
One could present all kinds of arguments as to why these series and stars have been overlooked. Perhaps One day at a timeThe multi-camera format has prevented it from being taken seriously enough for recognition. maybe Orange is the new black I just forgot how long it debuted for. Could LifetimeHas the relatively low audience cost the grand prizes a chance?
To that I say: Big Bang Theory I’m sure there was no shortage of Emmy nominations, despite its multi-camera format. Big little lies, which debuted its second season weeks before Orange is the new black Season 7, he still managed to get two actresses, Laura Dern and Meryl Streep, who were supporting the head. And as for the audience factor: how many people actually watch Kominsky’s method?!
The lack of Latino nominees could be less frustrating if diversity in Hollywood hadn’t been a central topic of conversation for so many years. The entertainment industry loves to pay attention to take these issues seriously, but it seldom takes advantage of the easier and more obvious opportunities to improve the past. For example: Do you remember the time when the 2018 Oscars made a great show celebrating Latino talent without putting Latino nominees on stage?
Rita Moreno’s constant omission from the list of Emmy nominees remains the most confusing. But this year’s most discouraging slights may belong to Orange is the new blackLatin stars. For seven seasons, the series has highlighted the endemic injustices of our prison system, and while it admitted that it derailed for some seasons, its seventh and final installment was a vital return to form.
Orange is the new blackThe final season debuted last summer and included a plot that was painfully timely: at a time when deportation and family separation were a central topic of conversation, OITNB addressed ICE.
The most timely story of the season belongs to Laura Gómez, who plays Blanca Flores, and Diane Guerrero, who returns as a special guest star to play Maritza Ramos. The two characters are detained by ICE.
Maritza is initially optimistic because she believes she is a legal citizen, but later discovers that this is not the case, and halfway through the season she is deported to Colombia in a scene as disturbing as it is heartbreaking. Guerrero’s story and performance were made even more shocking by Guerrero’s personal history with the deportation: When he was 14, he returned from school in Boston to an empty house, only to discover later that his parents had been deported to Colombia.
Blanca, on the other hand, is a legal resident who was tricked with her green card. When Maritza first meets her in the same detention center, Blanca is grumpy and renounces her fate. But inspired by Maritza, and with the help of a fellow detainee, Blanca finally regains her fighting spirit and finally wins her court case. And instead of living alone in the U.S., she chooses to reunite with the love of her life, Diablo, who has been deported to Honduras.
Laverne Cox took home the only Emmy gesture from the show this year. And to be clear, Laverne Cox deserves all the award nominations she has received and more. However, it’s frustrating that some of her Latinx co-stars haven’t shared the glory alongside her, whether it’s Guerrero as a guest star or Gómez as a supporting actress. (Or Elizabeth Rodríguez, who played the fiercely complex Aleida Díaz, or Dascha Polanco, who plays her once innocent daughter Daya, or Selenis Leyva whose Gloria Mendoza is one of the show’s most compelling protagonists. The list goes on!)
Every year, one can attribute the Emmy’s list of relatively small Latinx nominees to nonexistent to various circumstances. Anti-CW bias here, a show that has lost the Academy’s attention there … But the only thing that seems to be consistent is the shortage of nominees themselves. And thanks to some recent cancellations, there are now no Latinx series left on network television. That awful.
Correction: An earlier version of this article omitted Alexis Bledel, Emmy nominee, who is of Argentine and Mexican descent.
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