TV & Movies /Reviews

Pride Streams

Even while queer identities have slowly entered the cultural mainstream over the past 20 years, gay and trans representation has still been pretty difficult for TV studios to get right (for reference, see literally any episode of Sex and the City).

By: Rayne Fisher-Quann

But while cringeworthy gay representation is far from a thing of the past, the past few years have produced some truly phenomenal LGBTQ TV. We’ve entered the Golden Age of queer media, baby!! For what is basically the first time in history, mainstream stories are being written by queer people, about queer people and for queer people; so to make sure you don’t miss any of it, here are some of our top picks for the best LGBTQ+ representation you can watch right now.

Pose

Where: FX
What: TV series (3 seasons, 45 mins)
When: Now
Genre: Drama
Why you should watch: This show set records and made headlines for featuring the highest number of trans actors in recurring roles in television history, and to phenomenal effect. Its storylines, which centre around NYC’s queer ballroom scene in the 1980s, are equal parts illuminating and captivating.

Dear White People

Where: Netflix
What: TV series (1 season, 8 episodes, 50 mins)
When: Now
Genre: Sitcom
Why you should watch: Dear White People is masterfully shot, perfectly paced and enduringly relevant, offering some of the sharpest cultural criticism on television. Among many other hot-button issues, the show dives into the intersections of queerness and Black identity with nuance and compassion.

Broad City

Where: Crave
What: TV series (5 seasons, 30 mins)
When: Now
Genre: Sitcom
Why you should watch: This absurdist Comedy Central sitcom about two New York City slackers (originally a web series by friends Abbi Jacobson and Ilana Glazer) quickly established itself as one of the most unique projects on mainstream television, thanks to its off-the-wall comedic style and unabashedly female lens.

Bojak Horseman

Where: Netflix
What: TV series (6 seasons, 40 mins)
When: Now
Genre: Adult animation
Why you should watch: Netflix’s Bojack Horseman has built a reputation as one of the most unexpectedly tragic animated shows you’ll ever watch. Despite the whimsical animation and rapid-fire jokes, it packs an emotional punch you won’t forget; it also notably features one of the first major asexual characters in TV history.

Atypical

Where: Netflix
What: TV series (3 seasons, 35 min)
When: Now
Genre: Dramedy
Why you should watch: While Atypical is a show about the complexities of growing up with autism, the later seasons also include one of the most realistic and well-handled queer coming-of-age storylines ever. Keep tissues handy.

Feel Good

Where: Netflix
What: TV series (6 episodes, 25 mins)
When: June 4
Genre: Dramedy
Why you should watch: Toronto comic Mae Martin plays themselves in this hilarious, heartfelt and at times brutally honest series about addiction—both to drugs and love itself. Season two opens as Mae attempts to escape rehab through the second-story window, fleeing back to charmingly British ex-girlfriend George. Briskly funny yet deeply vulnerable, it’s a feel-good show indeed.