Streaming Queer: August 2023
This month's streaming offering month brings us many goodbyes, where the shows we've loved are going out with a bang. It's not all endings, though! We have an eerie new Harlan Coben mystery come to life, an ambitious rap duo going on tour, and a romantic drama following lavish Indian weddings. The "Heartstopper" crew goes to Paris on a school trip, "High School Musical" keeps getting gayer, and a Prince falls in love with the son of a President. Happy Streaming!
"Reservation Dogs" Season 3
The third and final season of "Reservation Dogs," a groundbreaking, one-of-a-kind coming-of-age story, sees the Rez Dogs returning to their reservation, and being punished for going to California. But in between, each of the beloved characters goes on heartfelt and introspective adventures, to understand who they are in a deeper way and imagine a future for themselves. We especially love seeing queer actor and writer on the show, K. Devery Jacobs, as Elora Danan, and look forward to seeing her character's growth.
"Reservation Dogs" Season 3 premieres August 2 on Hulu.
"The Lincoln Lawyer" Season 2 Part 2
This continues the story of attorney Mickey Haller ((Manuel Garcia-Rulfo) as he takes on the high-profile case to defend his love interest and shady restauranteur Lisa Trammell (Lana Parrilla), who first seduced him for advice about a gentrification protest-related restraining order, and is now on trial for murder. Part 1 ended with a shocking twist and some desperately needed answers, so we can't wait to dive back in. It also introduced us to the ex-girlfriend slash business partner of queer character Izzy (Jazz Raycole), Mickey's driver and confidant. Izzy and Mickey have supportive conversations that tap into the nuances of addiction recovery, and we love to see his support for her determination. Alongside the legal drama and high-stakes action, we're intrigued to see whether Izzy's ex will prove as loyal and reliable as she says she will.
"The Lincoln Lawyer" Season 2, Part 2 premieres August 3 on Netflix.
"Heartstopper" Season 2
Charlie (Joe Locke) and Nick (Kit Connor) are officially boyfriends and it's even more adorable and wonderful than they hoped it would be! Word is that the season opens with a ten minute montage of them kissing, but they haven't quite told everyone about their relationship yet —partially because openly dating means it would out Nick as bisexual when he may not be ready for the rest of his world to know. There's so much queerness in this show that we're delighted to dive deeper into this season: The lovely gay teacher Mr Ajayi (Fisayo Akinade); Elle (the fantastic Yasmin Finney) and Tao's crushes on each other get more screentime; and it looks like trouble in paradise between sweet sapphic couple Tara (Corinna Brown) and Darcy (Kizzy Edgell). The teens also go on a school trip to Paris! Everything's about to be cozy, emotional, super queer, and super cute.
"Heartstopper" Season 2 premieres August 3 on Netflix.
"Only Murders in the Building" Season 3
As we saw at the end of Season 2 of this much-adored murder mystery, Oliver's (Martin Short) Broadway show opening night does not go as planned... because the leading man (played by Paul Rudd) collapses and dies on stage while performing. Of course, this inspires a chaotic search to uncover the truth so that Oliver's show can go on. The trio (Selena Gomez as casually queer leading lady Mabel and Steve Martin as the out of touch but charming Charles, alongside Short's eccentric Oliver) are fired up because "Who are we without a homicide?" This season has the bonus of Oliver's show including original music from the composers of "La La Land", "Waitress", and "Hairspray" —and dare we forget to mention Meryl Streep and Ashley Park ("Joy Ride", "Emily in Paris") playing potential suspects.
"Only Murders in the Building" Season 3 premieres August 8 on Hulu.
"High School Musical: The Musical: The Series" Season 4
The fourth and final season of the tremendously meta musical series sees the students of East High preparing to stage their musical performance of "High School Musical 3: Senior Year". This endeavor is interrupted by the announcement that the cast of the original movies will be filming "High School Musical 4: The Reunion" at their school, and they will be invited to play "featured extras" in the film. This show is a joy to watch, not least for it's incredibly queer cast (Joshua Bassett, Julia Lester, and Frankie A. Rodriguez among them) and heartwarmingly inclusive representation of its queer characters. The sneak preview for this season has already given us the historical moment of "High School Musical" star Ryan Evans (Lucas Grabeel) in character proudly kissing his boyfriend before a big performance.
"High School Musical: The Musical: The Series" Season 4 premieres August 9 on Disney+.
"Rap Sh!t" Season 2
This season of the Issa Rae (you may now know her as President Barbie) produced comedy sees estranged high school friends Shawna (Aida Osman) and Mia (KaMillion), a hot up-and-coming rap duo, taking their career to new heights. Bisexual actor Jonica Booth plays Chastity, the self-proclaimed "Duke of Miami" and a stud who splits her time between managing the rap duo and managing a group of sex workers. The "Seduce & Scheme" hit makers wrestle with the sacrifices it takes to truly commit to the rap game. This includes working with Francois Boom (out actor Jaboukie Young-White) and going on tour with Reina Reign (Kat Cunning).
"Rap Sh!t" Season 2 premieres August 10 on Max.
"Made in Heaven" Season 2
This critically acclaimed Indian romantic drama returns for more of its unique spin on love, lust, tradition, and the fight for identity in modern India. The series follows wedding planner best friends, Tara and Karan, who run their small business in Delhi and cater to a wide range of clients, each episode a new complicated love story and elaborate, ambitious wedding to pull off. Tara (Sobhita Dhulipala) has a tangled marriage drama of her own, but we're especially invested in Karan (Arjun Mathur), who is gay in a society where he must hide it. He wrestles with internal homophobia, and sometimes outright homophobia, but he also experiences the sweetness of connection and a second chance at love. Season 2 presents an opportunity for the duo to start a fresh after an attack on their business premises, where the show made a note to end the series with mention of a relevant, landmark judgment for the queer community in India.
"Made in Heaven" Season 2 premieres August 10 on Prime Video.
"Red, White & Royal Blue" on Prime Video
Based on the bestselling novel by queer author Casey McQuiston, this R-rated rom-com revolves around the enemies-to-lovers relationship between Alex Claremont-Diaz (Taylor Zakhar Perez), the First Son of the United States (whose mom, played by Uma Thurman, is the first female American president and in the middle of a campaign for re-election), and his British counterpart, Prince Henry (Nicholas Galitzine). After their incessant bickering causes a disastrous incident at a royal wedding, the two gorgeous young men are tasked with creating a believable friendship through a staged PR campaign. Somehow, these forced meetings allow an unlikely friendship to blossom between them, which sparks chemistry that leads to secretly hooking up. It's all very scandalous, hilarious, and filled with hijinks. Eventually, and more profoundly, the couple finds that they have something really special, their connection becoming a romance that will make history.
"Red, White & Royal Blue" premieres August 11 on Prime Video.
"Billions" Season 7
Fast-paced, high-stakes political finance drama "Billions" is no stranger to all or nothing, balls-to the wall storylines, but they're literally going all out this season. With season 7 being its last, this is another farewell to a show that we've been following for years. We're most looking forward to seeing what the brilliant, nonbinary badass Taylor Mason (played by nonbinary actor Asia Kate Dillon) is gonna get upto this season. It's been a thrill and a wonder to see how the show has nurtured this character —the first nonbinary main character on a major American television show— with so much care and confidence, so it's gonna be awesome to see them flourish, and probably fall, but rise again alongside Bobby Axelrod (Damian Lewis).
"Billions" Season 7 premieres August 11 on Paramount+ with Showtime.
"Killing It" Season 2 on Peacock
Craig (played by comedian Craig Robinson) and his strange but enthusiastic Australian business partner Jillian (Claudia O'Doherty) are back on the rocky road that is their journey to earning cash. "Killing It" is the story of entrepreneurial adventures when corporate America is rooting against you and all of Florida's nature seems to be on their side. Robinson says season 2 is "the same wild rollercoaster as last year — an ambitious, complex exploration of life and pursuit of the American Dream mixed in with some of the stupidest jokes on television." This season promises more outstanding guests stars, but nowhere near as many snakes as we expect. (To be replaced, apparently, by deadly snails.) Queer actors Melanie Field and Dot-Marie Jones join the cast to tell the wacky story of a "swamp family" who demands a portion of Craig's business.
"Killing It" Season 2 premieres August 17 on Peacock.
"Harlan Coben's Shelter" Season 1
"Shelter" is another wild, gripping adaptation of Harlan Coben's writing, this one based on a series of young-adult mysteries. The eight-part Prime Video show is about Mickey Bolitar (Jaden Michael, star of "Colin in Black & White"), who moves to a new town with his aunt and is told by a spooky woman that his father may still be alive, despite him having witnessed his father's death. Mickey and his quirky, misfit friends embark on a quest to uncover local secrets, find a missing teenage girl, unpack the trauma of his grief, and grow as a chosen family along the way. One of these close friends is Ema, a queer character played by queer actor Abby Corrigan, who has shared that there is so much Ema is searching for, but her queerness is something she's always deeply certain of.
"Harlan Coben's Shelter" Season 1 premieres August 18 on Prime Video.
"Ragnarok" Season 3
"Everything has led to this. As an epic final battle of gods against giants draws near, Magne's fortitude will face its ultimate trial." The third and final "Ragnarok" season is the climax of ancient mythology come to life in modern Norway. This coming-of-age, climate-change-activist series doubles as a superhero origin story of young gods coming into their power. Half-brothers Magne (David Stakston) and Laurits (Jonas Strand Gravli) portray the stories of Thor and Loki. We've particularly enjoyed how the show has given Laurits an imaginative arc to explore his gender expression as a troublemaking, party-going teenager, alongside his inherent genderqueerness —which included him giving birth to a Thor-killing serpent who he nurtures to take down his brother. Our love for this show extends to the way Netflix is marketing this bond with the line "Laurits is mother now."
"Ragnarok" Season 3 premieres August 24 on Netflix.