Taking Place on Friday, June 6, 2025 at the Fairmont Century Plaza
(LOS ANGELES – April 30, 2025) – The Critics Choice Association (CCA) announced today the date and honorees for its 2nd Annual Celebration of LGBTQ+ Cinema & Television, recognizing outstanding achievements from the LGBTQ+ entertainment community. The Show will take place on Friday, June 6, at the Fairmont Century Plaza in Los Angeles and will feature over 20 talented performers, creators, producers, and writers from this year’s most acclaimed television shows and films. Following the event, the show will stream on HereTV — the first and largest LGBTQ+ television and streaming service in the U.S. — during Pride Month in June.
Actress, writer, and stand-up comedian Sherry Cola returns to host the event. Cola is best known for her breakthrough roles in the Freeform series Good Trouble and Lionsgate film Joy Ride. She most recently appeared in the Netflix hit Nobody Wants This and will join the Apple TV+ comedy Shrinking for its highly anticipated third season.
This year’s honorees include the following:
Emmy-winning actor and comedian Wanda Sykes will be honored with the Career Achievement Award for her impressive range of work including Monster-in-Law, Black-ish, The Upshaws, The Chris Rock Show and her 30 years of stand-up comedy. She was a Critics Choice Awards nominee for her 2023 Netflix special I’m an Entertainer.
Emmy-winning actor and producer Niecy Nash-Betts will receive the Groundbreaker Award for her work in the FX horror drama series Grotesquerie. Nash-Betts has consistently broken barriers in television with her unforgettable roles in titles such as Reno 911!, When They See Us and Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story.
Actor Michael Urie will be honored with the Trailblazer Award for his work in the Apple TV+ comedy series Shrinking, the role which garnered him the 2025 Critics Choice Award for Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series.
Co-presidents of Roadside Attractions Howard Cohen and Eric d’Arbeloff will be presented with the Industry Leadership Award in celebration of the company’s 25th anniversary and in recognition of their commitment to LGBTQ-inclusive storytelling with films such as I Love You Phillip Morris, Dear White People, The Skeleton Twins and the upcoming films, Twinless and Kiss of the Spider Woman.
Four-time Emmy-nominated actor and comedian Bowen Yang will receive the Comedy Award for his work on NBC’s Saturday Night Live, including making history as the first SNL featured player to be nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award. Yang currently stars in Andrew Ahn’s remake of The Wedding Banquet, hosts the acclaimed iHeartRadio podcast, LAS CULTURISTAS, alongside fellow comedian Matt Rogers, and most recently starred in the Academy Award-nominated film, Wicked, opposite Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo.
Grammy and Obie Award-winning actor Nathan Lee Graham will receive the Vanguard Award for his work in Hulu’s comedy series Mid-Century Modern as well as his numerous contributions to LGBTQ+ visibility in entertainment.
Award-winning stars Harper Steele and Will Ferrell, along with director Josh Greenbaum, will accept the Documentary Award for Netflix’s Will & Harper.
The season 17 cast of RuPaul’s Drag Race will receive the Reality TV Award for the Emmy Award-winning MTV Entertainment competition series.
Actors Bridget Everett, Jeff Hiller, Murray Hill, Mary Catherine Garrison & Tim Bagley of the HBO comedy series Somebody Somewhere will receive the Ensemble Award.
Actor Tramell Tillman will be honored with the Supporting Performance Award – Drama Series for his work in the Apple TV+ Emmy Award-winning drama series Severance.
Tony-nominated actor Gideon Glick will receive the Supporting Performance Award – Comedy Series for his work in Prime Video’s comedy-drama series Étoile.
Actor Sasheer Zamata will be honored with the Breakthrough Performance Award for her work in Marvel Television’s series for Disney+, Agatha All Along.
Comedian and actor Megan Stalter will receive the Breakthrough Performance Award for Max/Universal Television’sEmmy-winningcomedy series Hacks.
Actor Liv Hewson will accept the Rising Star Award for their work in Showtime’s drama thriller series Yellowjackets.
Comedian and writer Benito Skinner will receive the Rising Star Award for creating, writing, producing, and starring in Prime Video’s comedy series Overcompensating.
“We are extremely proud to showcase both emerging and established LGBTQ+ talent, and to shine a light on powerful work from this historically underrepresented community,” said Joey Berlin, CEO of the Critics Choice Association.
“People flew in from around the world for the inaugural Celebration of LGBTQ+ Cinema & Television in 2024, and 2025 will continue that tradition with a rainbow of representation from across the globe. This celebration sequel will honor every letter within a diverse pool of incredible queer talent,” said Jerry Nunn, Chairman and Founder of the CCA’s LGBTQ+ Committee.
Sponsors of the event include Fairmont Century Plaza, Here Media, IMDbPro, and Milagro Tequila. Partners include FIJI Water and NEP Sweetwater.
Our Media Partner, HereTV, home to one of the largest libraries of LGBTQ+ movies, series, and documentaries, is available on all major cable and satellite services, as an Amazon Prime Channel, a YouTube TV Primetime Channel, and streaming across all major platforms through the HereTV app and at here.tv.
Critics Choice Association member, Andrew Freund, will serve as the Red Carpet Host.
The Celebration of LGBTQ+ Cinema & Television show is produced by Madelyn Hammond and Javier Infante of Madelyn Hammond & Associates. CCA Board Member Shawn Edwards serves as Creative Consultant.
Event logos, headshots and digital assets can be found HERE.
About the Critics Choice Association (CCA)
The Critics Choice Association is the largest critics organization in the United States and Canada, representing more than 600 media critics and entertainment journalists. It was established in 2019 with the formal merger of the Broadcast Film Critics Association and the Broadcast Television Journalists Association, recognizing the intersection between film, television, and streaming content. For more information, visit:
www.CriticsChoice.com.
PRESS CONTACTS:
Andy Gelb / Julia Rossen
APEX Public Relations
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