After successfully garnering all four acting Emmy nominations for which it was eligible, Netflix’s “Baby Reindeer” is heavily favored to follow “Mare of Easttown,” “The White Lotus,” and “Beef” as the next limited series to produce multiple TV academy honorees. Included in its quartet of awards newcomers is supporting actress Nava Mau, who is officially the first trans acting Emmy nominee for a non-continuing program. If she ends up prevailing, she will make further history as the first trans performer to ever win an Emmy.
“Baby Reindeer” serves as Mau’s second small screen credit following her regular stint on Max’s “Generation.” She appears throughout the seven-part Netflix series as Teri, a confident therapist who dates main character Donny (creator Richard Gadd, playing a version of himself) at a time when his feelings of repressed trauma and sexual confusion are exacerbated by his complex relationship with a stalker.
Mau follows just three other trans performers who achieved Primetime Emmy recognition outside of the movie/limited categories. The first was Laverne Cox, who broke through in 2014 as a Best Comedy Guest Actress contender for “Orange is the New Black.” After losing that contest to her own cast mate, Uzo Aduba, she received three nominations in the corresponding drama category for the same series, ultimately coming up short against Alexis Bledel (“The Handmaid’s Tale,” 2017) and Cherry Jones (“The Handmaid’s Tale,” 2019; “Succession,” 2020).
Also nominated in 2020 was trans actress Rain Valdez, who landed a bid for starring in her self-produced short form YouTube series “Razor Tongue.” The winner in that case was Jasmine Cephas Jones of Quibi’s “#FreeRayshawn.” One year later, “Pose” star Michaela Jaé Rodriguez became the first trans nominee in any of the 12 main lead and supporting categories by competing against eventual Best Drama Actress victor Olivia Colman (“The Crown”).
Included among Mau’s direct challengers are her cast mate, Jessica Gunning, and “Feud” actress Diane Lane, who stands out as the lineup’s sole veteran nominee as well as its only member over 40. Also in the mix is Lily Gladstone (“Under the Bridge”), who, like Mau, is nominated for playing an LGBTQ+ character while belonging to the community herself. Aside from Gadd, other such current examples outside of this category involve Matt Bomer and Jonathan Bailey (“Fellow Travelers”), Andrew Scott (“Ripley”), and Hannah Einbinder (“Hacks”).
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