Starved for good LGBTQ+ representation? Watch these shows in 2021
Enough of stereotypes. Allow me to save you from the sea of high school coming out stories currently plaguing the “LGBTQ+” section on Netflix.
Consuming media as a queer person can be challenging. Not only because usually just existing as a queer person is challenging, but because most shows aren’t meant for us. Hollywood has a track record of mistreating LGBTQ+ characters and audiences: queerbaiting, killing the gays, ambiguous bisexuals, the list is depressingly long.
But this article isn’t about making you angry at the cishet, white, old men who produce over 80% of mainstream entertainment (though you probably should be mad at them). This is about quenching your thirst for good representation and saving you from the sea of high school coming out stories currently plaguing the “LGBTQ+” section on Netflix.
So I present to you: my Queer media top picks — five shows with multi-dimensional proud queer characters, compelling stories, bright humor, and beautiful storytelling.
Now, shall we?
1. Queer as Folk (US)
Don’t they teach you anything at gay school? These are the Sacred Texts.
Showtime’s adaptation of Queer as Folk for American audiences is the definition of iconic. It gave us five years of unapologetic queer stories and amazing character development set to a beautiful soundtrack -that you can’t hear on Netflix because of expired licensing rights. Downloading it is best to enjoy the full experience as it was initially intended.
The series follows a group of friends composed of two lesbians and four gay men, who are joined in the pilot by a gay teenager, thus changing the gang’s dynamic forever. Of course, it being the early 2000s, they’re all white and cisgender.
But don’t let that one anachronism fool you. Most of QAF’s storylines will still feel relevant to most queer people today, sometimes painfully so. The show deals honestly and openly with topics such as conversion therapy, public policing of LGBTQ+ lives and bodies, heteronormativity, drug addiction, and even HIV.
Most times, the fashion choices and lack of smartphones are the only things reminding you this aired over 20 years ago.
Queer as Folk often gets praised as brave for depicting gay love, sex, and lives explicitly. But the show’s daring storytelling goes far beyond showing a rimming scene or crystal orgies on TV. Even today, a gay teen who doesn’t struggle with their sexuality is still a rare sight in media. Let alone a gay teen whose entire character arch isn’t reduced to their coming out story. But QAF gave us exactly that.
From the beginning, Justin Taylor knows he’s gay. And he also knows there is nothing wrong with that, despite what some homophobic parents, schools, and politicians might have to say. You have no idea how important that was for little closeted 14-year old me. Watching queer characters be so unapologetically proud of who they are is a refreshing sight even by today’s media standards.
So give QAF a chance. Do your homework, little gays. You won’t regret it.
2. Sense8
International polyamorous queers have telepathic orgys with the mandatory white straights™ that (almost) ruin everything, all while fighting an evil organization that wants to lobotomize and destroy them. Should I say more?
Directed by trans icons and geniuses Lily and Lana Wachowski, it’d be fairer to say that Sense8 is actually 9 shows magnificently wrapped into one. Each of the eight main characters’ stories is intriguing in its own right -which is why the real brilliancy of the writing is in how those stories are weaved together into a single masterpiece of a show.
The Netflix original series does a beautiful job of telling intricate, nuanced, and compelling queer stories -among others, it stars a trans lesbian hacker in an interracial relationship, a Mexican gay couple, and a polyamorous marriage. Moreover, it’s also the first and only time I’ve seen a mainstream TV show treat non-US characters with the same respect as their American counterparts.
After two seasons, though, shooting in eleven countries became too expensive, even for Netflix, and the show was canceled. When fans convinced the platform to give the story a proper ending, Lana Wachowski did what any rational person would do after being told her series was “too expensive.” She rented the Eiffel Tower for the finale. Talk about iconic.
Seriously, I can’t recommend Sense8 enough.
3. Shameless (US)
Showtime does it again with a masterful adaptation of a UK original. Not only is Shameless one of the (if not the) most realistic depictions of poverty in television, it also features badass characters who aren’t defined by their queerness. What a concept!
The show centers around a “white trash” family composed of a bipolar addict mother, an alcoholic father, and six siblings scrambling to survive in Chicago’s South Side. At their parent’s abandonment, elder sister Fiona assumes the responsibility of raising five children in a less-than-ideal environment.
While the series deals with heavy topics, such as addiction, homophobia, gentrification, and violence, it does so with grim but smart humor that seldom punches down. It’s rare when TV writers care about continuity as much as Shameless’ do. This makes for delightful surprises when a scene suddenly mirrors or refers to something hinted at five seasons prior.
Shameless 11th and final season is airing this year. But, if you take the time to go back and binge-watch it from the start, you’ll be rewarded. On the other side of that “play” button is priceless dark humor, heartbreaking drama, unparalleled character development, and one of the most iconic gay couples the internet has ever seen: Gallavich.
You’ll also get to see Emmy Rossum’s beautiful face (and brilliant acting) for 9 seasons, which is always a plus.
4. Please Like Me
If I pitched to you “Four seasons of a disaster gay being a disaster gay,” I wouldn’t be offended if you didn’t pick it up. I wouldn’t even be surprised, really. But basic pitches usually make for the most cleverly executed shows. And Josh Thomas’ Please Like Me is not the exception.
From the beginning, we are thrown into the chaotic life of Thomas’s namesake character. In the middle of what the protagonist thinks is a regular date, his girlfriend breaks up with him because “Josh, you’re probably gay.”
What ensues is a beautifully shot, sensibly written dramedy about the emotional rollercoaster that is dating in your 20s while trying to look after your clinically depressed mother.
The witty humor and palpable awkwardness of most social interactions within the show make it particularly close to my millennial heart. However, the lack of racial diversity always stood out to me; only a handful of BIPOC characters appear on the screen, but the white ones try really hard not to be racist. This, of course, adds to the aforementioned awkwardness of it all.
Still, the series has an astonishing ability to engage with delicate subjects such as mental health and abortion while also keeping a lighthearted tone.
If you’re still not convinced to watch it, I will casually mention that Hannah Gadsby is a series regular and writer. And if that doesn’t convince you, then I don’t even know.
5. Brooklyn 99
Another wholesome and hilarious Michael Schur comedy.
Set in the fictional 99th Precinct of the New York City Police Department in Brooklyn, the show follows a newly appointed captain and his team of detectives… Ok, let me specify: a newly appointed gay black captain and his team of detectives.
In general, B99 does a marvelous job of depicting POC and LGBTQ+ people’s lives and struggles as particularly permeated by our identities but not defined by them. Captain Holt’s ascension in the NYPD gets stalled for years because of his race and sexuality. Rosa Díaz’s coming out arch is written perfectly for her character. And Amy Santiago’s severe Cuban parents explain in part why she is so strict with herself.
But the show is in no way perfect. The earlier seasons are plagued with fatphobic jokes, and some people have rejected the production as a whole, dismissing it as “copaganda.” However, creators have become aware of its flaws, even addressing the police’s problematic relationship with marginalized people on the script.
Overall, Brooklyn 99 is a unique and lighthearted sitcom with some of the best media representation right now. To this day, Rosa Díaz remains the first and only openly bisexual character I’ve seen on TV. (something I, as a bisexual latina myself, consider a hate crime). Other than that, Holt and Kevin are our dads, and Chelsea Peretti’s Gina is everything. So give the Nine-Nine a chance. It’ll probably make you laugh and warm your heart.
In conclusion,
there are good LGBTQ+ shows out there. It is possible to write queer characters as regular people, with complex internal lives that extend beyond the “oh my god, I’m not straight” panic.
Or the ffffffabulous Gay Best Friend.
Or the hot girl who will make out with other girls for male viewer’s enjoyment.
Or, or, or…
We’ve seen those stories told and re-told a million times before. They’re tired. We, as queer people, are tired of seeing them.
The stories we tell matter, and, in our capitalist society, that means the MEDIA we consume matters.
In telling diverse stories, Hollywood still has a long way to go. As the audience, our power lies in prioritizing stories that come closer to who we are and what we want to see on screen. I hope you find in these recommendations some of what you wish to see.
Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’ll resume my fourth QAF rewatch…
Maybe this time Brian will move to New York *fingers crossed*
