Emmy Awards 2024:
The Governors Award honors creators who have made a profound and transformational contribution to television.
Berlanti was cited for his work increasing LGBTQ+ visibility. He received a standing ovation Sunday evening from his colleagues.
Berlanti, 52, was born at Good Samaritan Hospital in Suffern, and lived in the village and the Ramapo hamlet of Monsey. His family later moved to Rye and he graduated from Rye High School.
Berlanti: LGBTQ+ representation matters
During his Emmy acceptance speech, Berlanti explained the loneliness of a Gen X kid growing up gay in the New York suburbs.
“There wasn’t a lot of gay characters on television back then and I was a closeted gay kid at the time,” Berlanti said as he clutched his award. “It’s hard to describe how lonely that was at the time.”
Berlanti said it was the news reports about AIDS that opened his world. “For the first time in my life I saw openly gay men on television. Too many were dying but they were also in the streets, men holding hands with other men, marching and fighting for their lives.”
“They gave me hope that I might one day have their courage to come out and share my truth with the world,” he said.
Groundbreaking work
Berlanti has broken ground in LGBTQ representation on the screen, going back to 1999 as a writer for “Dawson’s Creek.” The wildly popular teen drama showed the first on-screen same-sex kiss.
He’s worked on plenty more groundbreaking shows, including “Brothers & Sisters,” which showed the first legal gay marriage, and “Supergirl,” which included a trans superhero and first lesbian superhero.
My New Book:
Berlanti has worked as a writer, director and producer. His work in the DC Universe has gained him kudos from leaders in the genre.
“He gave us the best shared universe in DC history and it’s great to see him get the flowers he deserves,” Bam Smack Pow, a news outlet devoted to covering comics and superheroes, wrote on X.
Berlanti has been nominated for Emmys before, but this was his first win.
This year, the Berlanti-produced “Red, White & Royal Blue,” on Prime Video, was nominated for Outstanding Television Move.
“The Flight Attendant” on HBO Max was nominated in 2021 for Outstanding Comedy Series; Berlanti was executive producer.
In 2013, Berlanti’s “Political Animals” on USA Network was nominated for Outstanding Miniseries or Move.
“Greg Berlanti has helped pave the way for queer representation in television, allowing audiences across the country – across the world – to watch and fall in love with LGBTQ+ characters,” Human Right Campaign, the nation’s largest LGBTQ+ civil rights organization, said on X.
