Streaming Queer: January 2024
New year, new fantastic offering of queer streaming gold! From cinematic must-sees like "Saltburn" and "Barbie," which are now accessible at any time through streaming platforms, to suspenseful novel adaptations "Expats" and "Fool Me Once," and documentaries about queer icons and heroes of our time.
This month, we say farewell to queer gems "Sort Of" and "Good Trouble," but say hello to Jodie Foster leading a new season of "True Detective," and a whole new reality-TV rich cast of "The Traitors." We follow a heartbroken Dan Levy to Paris in his directorial debut, "Good Grief," and meet Satan's daughter in R-rated animation "Hazbin's Hotel." Happy Streaming!
"Saltburn"
Now you can finally visit Saltburn with Jacob Elordi. Emerald Fennell's buzzy film coming to streaming means that you can watch Barry Keoghan's infamous bathwater-guzzling scene, and feast your eyes upon his grief-stricken grave-humping moment in the comfort of your own home.
"Saltburn" is now streaming on Prime Video.
"Barbie"
Join Stereotypical Barbie (Margot Robbie) as she wakes up in the hot pink delight that is Greta Gerwig's Barbieland, where everything is suddenly not quite perfect. Ken (Ryan Gosling) tags along as Barbie ventures out into the Real World, discovering truths about womanhood that she could never have imagined. Queer actors Hari Nef, Kate McKinnon, and Ncuti Gatwa are among the magical ensemble cast.
"Barbie" is now streaming on Max.
"Raffa" Season 1
"Raffa" is a three-part documentary about Italian LGBTQ+ icon Raffaella Carrà, who was a symbol of freedom and gender equality, and queen of public TV. Transcending cultural and generational barriers, Raffa was "an artist loved by international audiences for more than 50 years," while remaining private about her personal life. The docuseries retraces her public and private life, including "her many triumphs and the odd failure, her crises and rebirths," as told through archival images and the voices of those who knew her.
"Raffa" Season 1 is now streaming on Hulu.
"Fool Me Once" Season 1
Netflix's latest Harlan Coben adaptation is a tense and dramatic eight-episode thriller starring out actor Richard Armitage, alongside Michelle Keegan, Joanna Lumley, and Adeel Akhtar. In "Fool Me Once," Maya Stern (Keegan) is trying to come to terms with the brutal murder of her husband, Joe (Armitage). When Maya installs a nanny-cam to keep an eye on her young daughter, she's shocked to see her husband in her house, leading her to uncover a deadly conspiracy that stretches years into the past.
"Fool Me Once" premieres Jan 1 on Netflix.
"Good Trouble" Season 5B
This month we say goodbye to everyone at the Coterie. The final season of the wonderfully diverse and inclusive show, "Good Trouble" sees its queer characters going through it! Bisexual artist Gael (Tommy Martinez) and his trans sister Jazmin (Hailie Sahar) are being sued for custody of baby Lyric, Alice (Sherry Cola) worries that her girlfriend, Sumi (Kara Wang) is experiencing wedding fever, and Malika (Zuri Adele) looks like she's having big, heartbreaking relationship issues. A gorgeous second of Zane Phillips featured in the trailer is an added bonus that'll definitely have us tuning in.
"Good Trouble" Season 5B premieres Jan 3 on Hulu.
"Good Grief"
"Good Grief" is Dan Levy's feature directorial debut, which he also wrote and stars in as Marc, a man grieving his husband, Oliver's (Luke Evans), unexpected death. A year after Oliver dies, Marc decides to go on a trip to Paris with his two best friends (played by Ruth Negga and Himesh Patel). The weekend trip does not go smoothly, and leads to all of them unpacking emotional truths and sharing difficult secrets.
"Good Grief" premieres January 5 on Netflix.
"The Traitors" Season 2
The wildly popular competition show (hosted by queer icon Alan Cumming) is back for its reality-star-studded season of backstabbing, brutal lies, and beautiful chaotic mess. This season's outrageously-random collection of contestants feels like a historic moment in reality TV, even before the extensive lies and secretive games begin. "Ru Paul's Drag Race" performer Peppermint is one of the contestants, alongside a thrilling collection of "Real Housewives," "Love Island," and "Survivor" alums, and a UK politician!
"The Traitors" Season 2 premieres Jan 12 on Peacock.
"True Detective: Night Country " Season 4
Out actors Jodie Foster and Kali Reis lead the upcoming season of this popular anthology crime series. This season, the men that operate a research station in Alaska (specifically, in an isolated town that experiences total 24-hour darkness for weeks at a time) mysteriously disappear, while others are found frozen solid. To solve the case, Detectives Danvers (Foster) and Navarro (Reis) will have to confront the darkness themselves as they try to piece together what happened.
"True Detective: Night Country" premieres Jan 14 on Max.
"Sort Of" Season 3
This will be the final season of "Sort Of," but unlike the many queer faves that were canceled before their time, the "Sort Of" team planned for this to be the final season, so we can expect things to be wrapped up according to their vision. The death of Sabi (Bilal Baig)'s father continues to be the catalyst for change in Sabi's world. Things are about to get shaken up as Sabi embraces the freedom that comes with taking big steps towards feeling more themself, even when it's likely to be inconvenient for their family.
"Sort Of" Season 3 premieres Jan 18 on Max.
"Hazbin Hotel" Season 1
Out actor Stephanie Beatriz ("Brooklyn Nine-Nine") stars in this R-rated animated musical series created by Vivienne "VivziePop" Medrano, who is also openly bi, and featuring "the most devilish voices of Broadway." Set in Hell, "Hazbin Hotel" follows Charlie Morningstar (Erika Henningsen), the princess of Hell (as in, Satan is her dad) who dreams of opening a hotel where she can rehabilitate sinners, allowing them one last chance to qualify for Heaven and thereby reducing the population in Hell. The show has many characters across the queer spectrum, and has already been renewed for a second season.
"Hazbin Hotel" Season 1 premieres Jan 19 on Prime Video.
"Expats" Season 1
Written and directed by Lulu Wang ("The Farewell") and adapted from the 2016 novel "The Expatriates," "Expats" follows the lives of various Hong Kong transplants and the people who work for them, seemingly following their lives following a young child going missing. It's giving "Lost in Translation," it's giving "Big Little Lies" set in Hong Kong, and we'll absolutely be seated to see Nicole Kidman in a new wig. Per the official synopsis: "Set against the complex tapestry of Hong Kong residents, "Expats" depicts a multifaceted group of women after a single encounter sets off a chain of life-altering events that leaves everyone navigating the intricate balance between blame and accountability."
"Expats" Season 1 premieres January 26 on Prime Video.
"Feud" Season 2: Capote vs. The Swans
Executive Produced by Ryan Murphy, this season of "Feud" is about acclaimed writer Truman Capote (Tom Hollander), once a confidante to society's most elite women, who he called "the swans." Capote's acts of betrayal (writing thinly-veiled accounts of their personal lives) destroyed those relationships, banishing him from high society and sending him into a spiral of self-destruction from which he would never recover. The star-studded cast for this show includes Naomi Watts, Diane Lane, Chloë Sevigny, Calista Flockhart, Demi Moore, Molly Ringwald, and the late Treat Williams.
"Feud: Capote vs. the Swans" premieres on January 31 on FX, next day on Hulu.