As I have said many times in this space over the last several years, I love award shows.
I love ALL award shows; from the big ones presented on a world stage, like the Oscars and the Grammys, down to the local recognitions like the awards presented by The Pride Chamber in Orlando and the Tampa Bay LGBT Chamber. Hell, I even watch the ESPY Awards and I don’t know jack about sports. Is it their competitive nature or the fact that they are filled with glitz and glamour? Who can say. I have been watching them since the 1990s when my award shows of choice were the Oscars, The MTV Video Music Awards and the Nickelodeon Kids’ Choice Awards.
Loving award shows is a difficult passion to defend. Many people groan and complain about them, taking to social media to grumble that they are just a bunch of rich elitists fawning over other rich elitists, which in some ways is true, but they are also a great way to open audiences up to smaller films they may not have otherwise heard of, music from artists they never listened to before or introduce you to artists that are new to their craft.
One of my favorite award shows for this reason is the Emmy Awards, which just recently happened. The Emmys are responsible for opening me up to so many TV shows that I would have otherwise never given a second look to. Shows like “Succession” and “Ted Lasso,” both of which won Outstanding Series Awards this year.
Over the years I also have the Emmys to thank for turning me on to shows like “Fleabag,” “Veep,” “Fargo” and “Modern Family,” to name a few. And this year’s show has made me add “Abbott Elementary,” “The White Lotus,” “Dopesick” and “The Dropout” to my watchlist. And shoutout to the Hulu series “Only Murders in the Building,” which was nominated for a bunch of Emmys and only won a few in the technical categories. The show is one of the best things on television today.
If you have read this far then allow me to give you a few more recommendations for shows that I have found myself obsessing over lately and that I am sure you will hear about this time next year during the Emmys.
I am someone who was really late to the party for “Game of Thrones,” like really late. The show wrapped up its final season more than two years ago and I just watched it last month.
Someone really should have told me how amazing this show was. I didn’t want to deal with the FOMO this time so I started watching the “Game of Thrones” prequel “House of the Dragons” immediately and have to say it is fantastic so far.
A show that was so good I binged the entire first season in one sitting was “The Sandman” on Netflix. The series is based on the Neil Gaiman comic book series and is one of the most visually stunning shows I have seen in a long time. Something else you should check out is the FX miniseries “Under the Banner of Heaven.” It is based on the true crime story involving brutal murders tied around Mormonism and it is some compelling television. It stars the fantastic Andrew Garfield and is written by “Milk” and “When We Rise” scribe Dustin Lance Black.
If you check any of them out, let me know what you thought.
Speaking of recommendations, in this issue we have a feature story that was pitched to me by Hope CommUnity Center’s Felipe Sousa-Lazaballet and Andrea Montanez and I can’t tell you how happy I am they did. They wanted to spotlight community activists who sit at the intersectionality of being queer, Latinx and who are immigrants to the U.S. They organized the names and put us in contact with them so that we could share a part of their stories. So I want to say a big thank you to both of you for helping to make this story possible.
So as we celebrate National Hispanic Heritage Month, we spotlight a few of the many activists and advocates who represent their communities with great passion and leadership with beautiful photos by Watermark photographer Dylan Todd.
Also in this issue, we feature a special travel section that explores the beauty of the South American country Columbia. In Arts & Entertainment, we chat with the voice of “The Little Mermaid” herself, Jodi Benson, about her new book “Part of My World” as well as stage actress and Orlando native Jasmine Forsberg, who returns to Florida as a part of the cast for “SIX,” the Henry VIII musical.
In news, the Central Florida Softball League kicks off its 25th season, the Orlando Strong Symposium gets underway and Tampa prepares for its second annual Pride on the River later this month.
