Trans-Themed Web Series “Her Story” Just Got Nominated For An Emmy
Jen Richards and Laura Zak / Speed of Joy Productions
The Outstanding Short Form Comedy or Drama Series category was newly added to the competition this year.
“We had hope, certainly, because we’ve seen incredible momentum and support to date,” series star Laura Zak told BuzzFeed News in a phone interview on Thursday. “Still, we all thought [a nomination] was pretty unlikely. If you see the other projects that were nominated, you can see the source of our caution.”
The other projects nominated include shows from AMC, Lifetime, Adult Swim, and ComedyCentral.com — making Her Story the only independently produced series to receive a nomination in this category.
“I’m surprised, yes, but also I’m a little bit not surprised — because, spiritually speaking, we’ve been calling this through fruition,” Angelica Ross, a series regular and prominent figure in the trans community, added in Thursday’s phone interview.
In a clip, tweeted out on Thursday, you can watch the moment the show’s head producer, Katherine Fisher, Zak, and actor Fawzia Mirza found out about the show’s nomination:
At a time when queer stories are prevalent in media, it’s still rare that they’re told by queer creators, especially queer women. “It’s a look at trans life from the inside-out instead of from the outside-in,” Ross explained.
“It’s just nice to have a women-centered and powered project where we all so solid as friends and collaborators,” Zak added.
Zak credits much of the show’s success to Fisher, who used much of her own funds, plus independent fundraising, to bring Her Story to life. The entire team has been working to get the show, which is available for free on YouTube, produced as a full series.
“Her believing in the project and putting her money where her mouth was — and throughout it all be loving and humble — we couldn’t have done it without her.”
“With this Emmy nomination, this will open up Her Story to an even wider audience,” Ross added.