HBO’s “Mrs. Fletcher” Wants Us All to F*ck
I was 11 years old when I learned about sex.
I’d been aware of the concept. My parents never lied about the stork and my sister rushed home from 5th grade sex ed to tell me every detail she learned. And, of course, I watched a lot of movies.
But I didn’t learn about sex until the year after my own sex ed class. By that I mean I didn’t encounter sex as more than an idea until I was in 6th grade, and, more importantly, my sister was in 10th.
I’d be up late, burning my way through the Criterion Collection, and my dad would sleepily approach my open door.
A noise outside woke him up. I’d lie and blame it on our neighbors and then he’d walk back to bed.
“You really need to be quieter,” I’d tell my sister the next day. “You’re going to get caught.”
My sister wasn’t having sex, but she was fumbling her way through first make outs with an older boy. He incited so much enthusiasm that she’d exclaim as she ran out of our house to greet his pick-up truck post-midnight.
And I’d cover for her. And then one time she came home crying.
The thing about boys is they’re horny and aggressive and if they can convince a girl to let them do things to her then they’re going to.
The thing about boys is they don’t understand the word no and they certainly don’t understand that sometimes the word yes really means the word no.
The thing about boys is that sex is for them and the thing about girls is sex isn’t for them and the thing about love is that sometimes you do things you don’t want to do. And sometimes you don’t even know you don’t want to do them until you’ve done them. And then you cry to your brother who is really your sister and tell her details she doesn’t need to hear about things she didn’t know existed. And then you sneak out again the next night filled with genuine enthusiasm to see the boy you love and your sister is left wondering what kind of boy she herself might someday become.
Mrs. Fletcher – Tom Perrotta’s new HBO series based on his book of the same name – is the only show on TV as horny as I am.
Kathryn Hahn plays Eve Fletcher, a divorced mother of one whose son, Brendan (Jackson White), is heading off to college. It’s been two years since Eve last had sex and Brendan’s departure leads to a pair of new developments: she enrolls in a personal essay course and she begins wanting to have sex with every single person she encounters.
But life isn’t quite like the porn she so greedily watches. Fantasies about supermarket sample girls don’t fulfill themselves. You can’t simply kiss your coworkers. You shouldn’t simply kiss the 19-year-old in your writing class who mere weeks ago was bullied by your son.
While Eve is attempting to open up her sexuality back home, Brendan is trying to control his own at college. The entitled jock energy isn’t working for him like it did in high school. The culture is moving on and it’s cooler to be sweet and gay than a hetero dickhead with daddy issues.
And then there is Margo (the always incredible Jen Richards) – Eve’s writing professor, a trans woman with her own class crush on the appropriately aged Curtis (Ifádansi Rashad).
Mrs. Fletcher is entirely directed by women and it’s all about sex. More specifically it’s about who’s historically been entitled to sex, how it feels to historically be denied sexual expression, and the difficulties of navigating sexual discovery. Especially if you’re as horny as every single character on this show.
I’ve always been horny. And I hated myself for it.
When I finally started going through puberty – about two years after everyone else – I was overwhelmed with shame. It felt like my body would betray me at any minute. I realize now my fear of turning into a man was a natural part of my transness. But at the time I just connected it to immorality. Mental flashes of bending over a math class crush and fucking her until I lost my concealed erection were proof that I was just like every other man. It was just a matter of time until I lost control and hurt someone.
I didn’t understand that assault is not a natural condition of malehood. I didn’t understand that women want sex too. The morality of it was simple to me. Outside of a monogamous relationship built on trust and conversation, sex was bad.
I refused to participate in games of spin the bottle and when given the opportunity I passed on casual hook ups. Instead I focused on long term crushes and I only let myself have feelings for one person at a time. I fulfilled the teen girl cliché of doodling their name in my notebooks and I told myself that because I had all-consuming feelings if we were to kiss it would be romantic, not wrong.
But just because I told myself I only had feelings for one person didn’t mean it was true. I was a teenager. And I was me as a teenager. I spent a large amount of mental space silencing fantasies about everyone I wanted to have sex with and a lot of energy trying to stick to my rules that I could only masturbate once a day and never two days in a row.
By the summer before my senior year I had only made out with one person – the most consuming of my crushes. Two years of longing culminated in two makeouts, my hands hovering in the air because I was worried I’d accidentally touch their boobs without permission. And that had happened over a year earlier.
I had a crush on my friend but she wasn’t the crush I was admitting to in the moment. She’d previously dated two of my friends and talked a lot about feeling like guys only wanted her for sex. Even though we spent every day together – and flirted a lot – I told myself it would be wrong to even have feelings.
One night, sitting on my couch, she locked her eyes with mine and told me that we would’ve made a really good couple. I didn’t kiss her. And then I drove her home. And again I didn’t kiss her. When I got back to my house I was horny and frustrated with myself for always seeming to do the right thing. For once in my life I wanted to do the wrong thing.
I’d never been drunk before and I decided that was the rule I’d break instead. I opened a bottle of my parents’ wine and took a sip. I didn’t feel anything so I took a gulp. And then another. And then another. I didn’t know that alcohol needed a chance to settle. Eventually, I was wasted.
I went into the bathroom with my computer, head spinning, searched for lesbian porn, and masturbated to my usual shame-filled completion.
Nobody is better at performing sexual frustration than Kathryn Hahn. Across her work with Joey Soloway – from Afternoon Delight to I Love Dick – Hahn has shown she’s at her sexiest and most emotional in a state of endless want.
It feels like Eve Fletcher was invented for her.
When we meet Eve the only sex in her life is the porn inappropriately played by one of the residents at the nursing home where she works. The rest of the first episode we watch as all her energy goes towards Brendan – making Brendan a goodbye dinner, helping Brendan pack for college, talking to her ex-husband Ted (Josh Hamilton) about Brendan, talking to Brendan about consent, helping Brendan move into his dorm.
And then he’s gone.
She’s been a mom for 18 years. She was a wife for many of those. Then she was an ex-wife. But now she’s just a woman – her status as mother relevant only as the first letter in the acronym MILF. She types this word into Google and pretty soon she’s watching porn appropriately played in the privacy of her own home.
It turns out to be a real Pandora’s box – and by box I mean vagina. Suddenly, sex is all she can think about. She has a full on fantasy about the supermarket employee who offers her an organic popsicle. (Sidenote: This is how hot everyone who works at the Echo Park Lassens is and it’s frankly overwhelming.) She begins heavily flirting with Julian (Owen Teague), the 19-year-old in her class. She throws herself at her coworker, Amanda (Katie Kershaw), after a night of drinks and vaping. And she watches porn. A lot of porn.
For Eve, porn acts as a tool of discovery. She consumes videos with role play and soft kink and lesbianism. After watching a video of a spanking she bends over a kitchen stool and role plays with herself – repeating lines both top and bottom – as she smacks her own ass until it’s red.
As a teenager I only watched lesbian porn. When my YouTube searches of “Girls Kissing” evolved into free porn sites, I guiltily remained in the lesbian category. I’d listen to other boys talk about their masturbation habits – teenage boys really like to talk about their masturbation habits – and wonder why I wasn’t able to do the same transference onto male porn stars as all of them.
I’d watch women have bad lesbian sex and fantasize about being a part of it. I experimented with MFF threesome videos, but that wasn’t it. I wanted to be the girl who practices kissing with her friend and then it leads to more. I wanted to feel my boobs against hers. I wanted to feel her tongue on my nipples and then slide down my body and then – I wanted a pussy.
When I got to college and started having sex – only in my monogamous relationship for the first two years – I switched my porn habits. Now that I knew what it was like to have my penis enter a vagina I tried to get off on videos where that was occurring. I could usually cum, but I didn’t enjoy it.
I started watching POV blowjob videos which filled me with more guilt. It seemed even more dehumanizing than other straight porn options. But there was something about the penis detached from the man that made it work for me. Anytime the man spoke it was ruined.
It was confusing because in real life I hated blowjobs. My first girlfriend gave me three blowjobs over the course of a year and a half. And those three were only because a friend of mine told me it was weird that I went down on her every time we had sex, but she never “returned the favor.”
The first time I enjoyed a blowjob was after I transitioned. I’d been watching a lot of trans woman porn in an attempt to love myself more. Like Eve I was trying to figure out how exactly I could use this body I currently have for my own pleasure.
My girlfriend and I had been experimenting and she asked if she could try going down on me. I said yes but was immediately anxious. I asked if I could put on porn. And I did. I watched a trans woman get sucked off and for the first time I didn’t mind the feeling on myself. Because for the first time I wasn’t a guy getting head, but a woman like the woman in the video, allowing herself to feel pleasure.
We watch Brendan get two blowjobs.
The first happens in episode one. Brendan was having sex with a girl named Becca their entire last semester before he ghosted. He comes onto her at a party and she tells him to fuck off. But the next morning she arrives at his house eager to apologize. She gives him head while he calls her a “dirty fucking slut.”
Like mother, like son, it’s clear that Brendan watches a lot of porn.
But his approach to sex is yet one more way Brendan doesn’t fit in at college. While he begins the semester having empty sex with another girl who throws herself on him, being away from home has him lonely and longing for something more. He meets Chloe (Jasmine Cephas Jones) who runs a club for students with autistic siblings and Brendan is thrilled to use his half-brother as an excuse to get to know her better.
Brendan is my nightmare. He’s the exact kind of person I was terrified of becoming and avoided whenever possible. And yet the show never judges him – only his behavior. He’s nuanced and human and Jackson White does a phenomenal job showing that everyone has layers even when it’s not that deep.
If Chloe were my friend, I’d tell her to run away, but watching them together is sort of sweet. She’s self-assured in a way none of the other girls were and Brendan seems to genuinely like her. They really do bond over their siblings. When they flirt it’s cute and when they kiss I found myself rooting for them despite myself.
But then she gives him head. And he does what he always did. He calls her a slut. And he shoves her head down. Unable to breathe she punches him in the crotch and kicks him out of her room. Brendan doesn’t know what he did wrong and Chloe feels the all-too common feeling that a sexual encounter she desired turned into one she very much did not.
Porn freed Eve from the confines of her repressed desire. But it helped shape a brutal entitlement in her son.
It’s not hard to imagine Eve at Chloe’s age. Maybe Brendan learned how to have sex from porn, but he learned how to be a man from his dad. It’s possible that Eve was a confident, sexual young woman, but probably not. She wasn’t just navigating men like Brendan – she married his prototype. No wonder it took until her mid-40s for her to really feel her desires. She was too busy living out Ted’s fantasies to experience her own.
I entered into trans singledom with an enthusiastic fervor.
As I settled into my transition, I felt an ache to explore the seemingly limitless possibilities of pussy-less lesbian sex. I liked my body for the first time – not just how it looked but how it reacted. I’d pinch my nipples until they turned red and feel more pleasure than I had through years of having sex. The first time I had a female orgasm, I not only felt the enjoyment of the moment, but also the rightness. Like I could finally let myself feel good without also feeling bad.
I ended my relationship in part to explore all this on my own. I downloaded dating apps, I met people with anxious excitement, and I even had decent, fun sex with a stranger. But as the initial thrill wore off, the realities of dating as a trans person sank in.
The worst part for me is the not knowing. Sometimes I wish people were more outward in their transphobia. Tinder profiles that say things like “No penises!” or “Not transphobic, just not interested” fill me with a sort of sick glee. It can be comforting to see explicit what you often feel implied.
But, of course, not everyone who doesn’t want to date me is transphobic. I am, after all, a person. And a fun part of being a person is sometimes the people we like don’t like us and there might be a million possible reasons why and it is what it is. Not every rejection is a political statement.
I’m not worried about finding people to love me. And if you’re trans you shouldn’t either. But my biggest frustration since becoming single is this feeling that I’m complicated. If someone really likes me then I’m worth the complication, but if they’re just looking for casual sex they’ll choose someone they know what to do with.
Or, again, this could not be the case. It could be my crazy high standards. Or, it could be something about my personality. Or, it could be my leftover shame around sex closing me off. Or or or or or or. The thing about dating as a trans person is you never really know.
Mrs. Fletcher is far from the first piece of media about a middle aged divorcée discovering her sexuality. In fact, it’s such a trope that people often describe intense feelings of horniness by comparing themselves to that very archetype.
The depth of this show lies in the people around Eve. Brendan is her clearest foil, but Margo is equally important.
While out for drinks as a class – the same drinks outing where Eve and Julian first almost have sex – Margo gets to chatting with Curtis. They’re laughing and dancing and soon Margo is giggling to Eve that she has a crush.
They go out on a date – a coffee in the middle of a mall. It’s the kind of date that’s pointedly casual, that could easily be mistaken for a student-teacher conference. And, her anxiety getting the better of her, that’s what Margo interprets it to be. Curtis reassures her he just wanted to hang out and she laughs and apologizes. And then they have a really nice time.
Margo invites Curtis to a lit magazine party that Wednesday night and he asks if it’s as her date and she says yes. He tells her Wednesdays are tough and she takes the hint.
She’s cold and angry at their next class. She makes no attempt at professionalism. Afterwards she sits in her car brooding and smoking a cigarette. Eve approaches and gets inside.
“This is always what fucking happens,” Margo tells her. “If a straight guy starts getting feelings for a trans girl it’s off to the races and then all of a sudden out of nowhere, bullshit existential crisis of masculinity.”
Eve asks if Margo is sure that’s what’s going on and Margo laughs.
“Oh God this is why I’m a writer, I cannot tell the difference between what’s in my head and what’s out here.”
Turns out that’s not what was happening. When Curtis said Wednesdays were difficult he meant Wednesdays were difficult because Wednesdays are a weeknight. And yet he still shows up to the party.
If Eve has been denied her sexual freedom as a cis woman, imagine the hurdles the rest of us face. We don’t get to see Margo and Curtis have sex, but this subplot feels so essential to the show because it presents yet another layer of a person denied what Ted and Brendan were given in excess.
And since they’re cute together and since Margo is so easy to root for it also presents the first crack in the audience’s shoulds – does anyone actually give a shit that Margo wants to fuck her adult student? Does anyone even care when she lets her feelings interrupt the class?
I sure didn’t.
Like all good stories, Mrs. Fletcher culminates in a threesome.
Eve decides to throw an impromptu party for herself after changing her last name ten years post-divorce. She isn’t Eve Fletcher. She’s Eve Mackie. It’s a declaration of self. A separation not just from her ex-husband but the person her ex-husband – and the patriarchy – forced her to be.
By this point Eve has not only had one silly drunk kiss with Amanda and a series of wavering flirts with Julian; she also went on a date with her friend’s husband’s boss and had sex with a man she met at Margo’s lit party.
She left the date before it even began. She’s horny, but she’s horny for her own sexuality, not a repeat of past mistakes. She could find another Ted – successful, boring, acceptable. She doesn’t want that.
The hookup was better – but not by much. Once again, the man wanted Eve only for his own fantasies, not hers. She’s left giddy by the recklessness of being with a stranger, but the sex itself was terrible.
Party time.
Amanda helps Eve set up in the wake of a sprained ankle. Eve makes a self-deprecating comment about throwing herself a party and Amanda shuts this insecurity down. Sitting on the couch Eve apologizes again for kissing her and promises not to kiss her again.
“Well, it’s your party so I think you can kiss whoever you want,” Amanda says deadpan with a smirk confirming actress Katie Kershaw as one of the sexiest people on our TV screens this year.
Everyone in Eve’s social circles comes to the party. It’s a small crowd. Amanda tells Julian she knows he has a crush on Eve. And then she tells Eve she’s taking Julian to get some proper liquor.
By the time they get back everyone else is gone. Amanda knew what she was doing. They take shots. Eve asks if Amanda has her vape and she hands it over with the ease I give cis women poppers. Eve sucks, eyes locked with Amanda. Amanda then hands the vape to Julian.
“You don’t have to,” Eve tells Julian.
“But you can,” Amanda overrules.
Soon they are dancing. And then they are kissing. And then they are fucking.
The scene lasts about five minutes and feels real and specific in the way only a fantasy fulfilled can. When I think about the way Amanda wraps her finger around one of Eve’s wavy curls I’m filled with the same rush of sex that I get when I remember a random detail the day after an encounter of my own.
Julian is 19. Amanda is Eve’s coworker. These things seem worth repeating in that they don’t seem at all worth repeating. Not now. Not during this scene.
By this point, everyone has made their desires and intentions clear. It’s not that there aren’t power dynamics involved. It’s not that there aren’t some concerns, but mostly? It’s really okay.
Mrs. Fletcher is a masterpiece of sex positivity, not because it suggests that sex is always harmless, but because of how smart it is about that harm.
Brendan drives home for an impromptu visit and walks in on the three of them naked in bed. His worldview is shattered. It’s not just that he saw his mom in bed. It’s that he saw her in bed with another woman and his former bully victim.
Brendan has a lot to learn about sex. Society has told him that he deserves everything and he has taken it. He needs to learn to listen to others. He needs to learn that just because he wants something – or someone – doesn’t mean it’s his.
But that isn’t the lesson all of us need to learn. I’m not suggesting that we all – regardless of identity and experience – shouldn’t care deeply about consent. Women, cis and trans, can and do cause harm by abusing sex and power. We all should regularly check in with ourselves and our partners to make sure everyone is safe and taken care of. And there are some boundaries that shouldn’t be crossed.
I’m simply suggesting – and Mrs. Fletcher is simply suggesting – that for some people the change they need isn’t closing off desire, but letting it free. Some of us grew up thinking everything about our sexuality was wrong. Others still feel that way. There are Brendans and there are Eves and there are many who are both. If we want to build a society with a healthier relationship to sex, it’s equally important to empower some as it is disempower others. And that doesn’t just mean discourage recklessness in teenage cis boys and encourage it in horny middle-aged women. It’s not that simple. It’s far more circumstantial and nuanced. But it’s an important part of the discussion. The simple morality of my adolescent shame does a disservice to us all.
I’m not saying you should have a threesome with a 19-year-old and your coworker. I’m just not saying you shouldn’t.
Fall 2019 Queer TV Preview: 36 Shows With LGBTQ Women All Up In Them
Autumn is once again upon us, and you know what that means: broadcast and cable TV are scrambling to not be gobbled up by Netflix and Amazon and Hulu by rolling out their very biggest and best shows with as much fanfare as possible. There are lots of returning favorites this fall, a few newcomers, and some shows lining up for their curtain calls. More shows will most certainly be added as the year marches on. Seems like every third show’s sneaking in a queer character these days and, as The New York Times noted, “there may never have been a fall television season as jam packed as the one we’re about to endure.”
August
Carnival Row (Amazon) // Season 1 // August 30
Dara Delevingne shares one smooch with another lady fairy in Amazon’s neo-noir fantasy series. It’s already been renewed for a second season, so maybe more lady smooches are to come. Fae folk, as you know, are notoriously gay.
September
Steven Universe: The Movie (Cartoon Network) // September 2
Steven Universe‘s 90-minute musical retells Steven’s story and introduces a new big bad who’s immune to his charms. It also shows how Ruby and Sapphire have chosen to display their fused marriage: one wedding ring on each hand! The movie sets up new seasons, and that’s such a relief!
The Deuce (HBO) // September 9th
Irene (Roberta Colindrez) returns to the final season of this critically acclaimed series as a camera person, set in 1984 as Times Square is gradually being taken over by big business and HIV/AIDS and cocaine are becoming a growing concern.
Mr. Mercedes (Audience Network) // September 10th
Lesbian Lou Linklatter (Breeda Wool) is in prison after deciding to just straight-up murder Brady in the Season Two finale, but she doesn’t feel safe behind bars, either. Plus: Kate Mulgrew joins the cast and lesbian actress Holland Taylor returns as Ida Silver.
American Horror Story: 1984 (FX) // September 18
Sarah Paulson will not be back for this season of American Horror Story, making it 100% less interesting to us, but probably Ryan Murphy’s 80s-themed slasher flick will be very gay. Ol’ Will Schuester (Matthew Morrison) will guest star and so will gay Olympian Gus Kenworthy. Also: Angelica Ross!
The Good Place (NBC) // Season 4 // September 19
The final season of The Good Place is sure to induce much laughter and many tears, but will Eleanor finally get herself a girlfriend or confess her feelings to Tahani or make a move again on returning guest star Kirby Howell-Baptiste ? Probably not. It seems like all roads in paradise lead to Chidi.
9-1-1 (FOX) // Season 3 // September 23
Hen returns for another season of 9-1-1, which, according to the trailers and commercials will, once again, involve a lot of dramatic dying and dramatic near-dying and fires and car-flips and lesbian heroics.
NCIS: New Orleans (CBS) // Season 6 // September 23
Only Scott Bakula’s personal life ever gets any attention on NCIS: New Orleans, but queer FBI Special Agent Tammy Gregorio definitely exists on this show. (If you ever need to give a lesbian character a job, according to TV, they are all very good at being FBI Special Agents.)
Good Doctor (ABC) // Season 3 // September 23
Out queer actress, Jasika Nicole, who plays Dr. Carly Lever, makes her debut as a series regular.
This is Us (NBC) // Season 4 // September 24
First of all, don’t panic: This Is Us has been renewed through season six, so there’s plenty of tears in your future. There’s no word on what’s next for our beloved queer teen Tess, though. “Next season is a very past-heavy season,” show creator Dan Fogelman told THR: We’re going to play in time in a surprising way as we move forward into next seasons of the show.” (Like waaaay past.)
Chicago Fire (NBC) // Season 8 // September 25
Emily Foster is still bisexual on Chicago Fire, even though her personal life hasn’t been explored much past a casual coming out and one kiss with another woman. Still, though, she’s faring better than Leslie Shay.
Stumptown (ABC) // Season 1 // September 25
Greg Rucka (who you know best as the comic book writer who made both Rene Montoya and Kate Kane gay) wrote this series with Dax as a bisexual PI. Good news, Cobie Smulders says her sexuality will remain intact. Dax is a mess. A gambling addict and Army vet with a temper who can’t commit to anything. But she’s got a soft gooey center too.
Grey’s Anatomy (ABC) // Season 16 // September 26
Carina DeLuca/Dr. Orgasm will be back for at least the season premiere, as she’s delivering Teddy’s baby. And so will Intern Taryn “Hellmouth” Helm, making Grey’s Anatomy the longest running show ever to not have gays characters in recurring slots.
Sunnyside (NBC) // Season 1 // September 26
Queer actress Poppy Liu plays one of seven immigrant characters who meet former NYC Councilman Garrett Shah and recruit him to help them live the American Dream in Sunnyside Queens. No word on whether or not Liu’s character is also queer, but it seems likely.
How to Get Away With Murder (ABC) // Season 6 // September 26
The final season of How to Get Away With Murder is upon us! There are so many questions left to be answered (and, I’m sure, so many new questions that will present themselves in the season opener. The main one Natalie and Heather want to know is: Will Eve and Annalise ever be able to forgive and trust and love each other again and also live happily ever after? Will they both ship Annalise and Eve until their own deaths? (Probably not and yes.) At the very least, we are owed a Tegan and Annalise situation.
Transparent (Amazon) // Musical Finale // September 27
The 100-minute musical finale will try to make the best of a really bad situation. The series was renewed through season five but the plug was pulled after new broke about Tambor’s sexual harassment on set. Vulture’s review is cautious, but it does say that the best part of the show, as it always has been, is the actual trans actors: “There are moments that also speak to the real-life subtext of this whole project, particularly ‘Let Her Be Okay,’ a heartbreaker that Davina and other LGBTQ friends of Maura’s sing during her funeral. The song is about letting go of a person who has passed, but when Billings croons, ‘We will be okay,’ it’s as though she’s talking about everyone who worked on Transparent, as well as the entire trans community. The reactions from the actors, especially a sobbing Hoffmann, speak to the transcendence of that moment.”
American Housewife (ABC) // Season 4 // September 27
Carly Hughes remains underused as Katie’s lesbian pal Angela, but the beloved Broadway actress did get to shine in last season’s musical episode. It was pretty well received by critics. Maybe they’ll do another!
The Politician (Netflix) // Season 1 // September 27
Ryan Murphy’s first original production for Netflix looks like a lot of fun — following a ridiculously wealthy Tracky Flick-esque high school student (Benn Platt) through (hopefully) five seasons of elections, beginning with student council and ending at the White House in what Murphy describes as “a class takedown with a modern, Trumpy twist.” Promos tease Peton’s bisexuality and queer black actress Rahne Jones is making her TV debut as Skye, who looks very gay! That being said, Murphy has subverted expectations in that department in the past (e.g., Sue Sylvester), but there is 0% chance that there’ll be zero queer women in this program over its entire run. Plus, Janet Mock is on deck to direct an episode.
God Friended Me (CBS) // Season 2 // September 29
Miles’ sister Ali didn’t get enough screentime, especially around her relationships, but season two promises a meatier storyline for her. We hope that, in addition Ali finding her “calling,” she gets a little time for love too.
October
Almost Family (FOX) // Season 1 // October 2
Victoria Cartegena (who you probably remember most from when she walked into the parking lot of no return during her time as Rene Montoya on the first season of Gotham) plays gay in this adaptation of the Aussie series about a fertility doctor who used his own sperm to impregnate 100 women during his career.
S.W.A.T. (CBS) // Season 3 // October 2
S.W.A.T. is moving to Wednesday nights but what will stay the same is the presence of bisexual badass Chris Alonso. In her personal life, she’s currently dating a couple that’s about to get married.
Batwoman (CW) // Season 1 // October 6
It’s finally happening! Ruby Rose as Kate Kane takes her natural place in The CW’s very queer Arrowverse line-up as the very first lesbian superhero to headline her own show! It’s going to be super and and also super gay!
Supergirl (CW) // Season 5 // October 6
With the exception of The L Word: Generation Q at the bottom of this post, Supergirl may be the queerest show on TV this fall. There’s our longstanding lesbian love, Alex Danvers; trans actress Nicole Maines who plays TV’s first trans superhero, Nia Nal; and Azie Tesfai, who has been upped to a series regular, as Kelly Olson/Alex’s lady love. Also, of note: Supergirl got bangs.
All-American (CW) // Season 2 // October 7
Thanks to a ratings boost from its time on Netflix, All American was mercifully renewed for a second season, meaning that Coop is back with one of the best lesbian stories on TV right now. When season one ended, Coop had rebuilt her relationship with Patience, reconciled with her parents and gotten justice for her fallen friend. With gang life behind her, look for Coop to spend season two looking for a new purpose.
Black Lightning (CW) // Season 3 // October 7
The story gets even bigger in Season Three, with the Pierce family more emotionally and physically distant from one another than ever before. As for Grace, Nafeesa Williams (who plays lesbian superhero Anissa Pierce) told Hypable her hope for Season Three is that “I hope we can come to some kind of resolution and give the fans what they want because I know how much fans appreciate that relationship.”
Riverdale (CW) // Season 4 // October 9
Toni and Cheryl remain criminally underused on Riverdale; here’s hoping they’ll get to do more than stand in the background holding hands, though this promo photo from the first episode of the season doesn’t seem promising.
Legacies (CW) // Season 2 // October 10
Supernatural boarding school? Exes who keep finding their way back into each other’s arms? Are you sold yet? Penelope and Josie will be back to tug on your heartstrings this season as they tug on each other in a surprisingly affecting will-they/won’t they at the The Salvatore School.
Charmed (CW) // Season 2 // October 11
Mel will be working through a broken heart this season as Ellen Tamaki (who played Niko) has been cast on Manifest. She’s not backing down from her feminist agenda, though, according to SpoilerTV, and that’s not nothing.
The Read (Fuse) // Season 1 // October 11
Based on Kid Fury and queer writer/comedian Crissle West’s wildly popular podcast, their new show on Fuse will be a variety show/talk show hybrid. It will feature “beloved segments like Hot Tops and The Read, while additionally featuring a special celebrity and/or musician guest.”
Letterkenny (Netflix) // Season 2 // October 14
There are no promises that queer character Katy will get more queer screentime in season two, but this is a very Canadian show with a very Canadian cast that splits its time on Letterkenny and a lot of other very queer shows, so the chances are pretty good it’s going to be even more gay.
Mrs. Fletcher (HBO) // Season 1 // October 27
Kathryn Hahn plays the titular character who experiences a sexual re-awakening after sending her older son off to college — including fantasizing about women at the grocery store and taking a writing class from Margo, a trans woman played by beloved trans actress Jen Richards. Every half-hour episode has a female director, including one helmed by Carrie Brownstein.
November
Dickinson (Apple TV Plus) // Season 1 // November 1
Hailee Steinfeld plays “young, horny” Emily Dickinson in this half-hour comedy that we are very much hoping will have some queer elements — the trailer is suggestive but doesn’t guarantee anything. Regardless — it looks like a lot of fun!
Shameless (Showtime) // Season 10 // November 10
Season Ten picks up six months after the Season Nine finale, with Fiona out of the house and newly queer Debbie taking charge as the new family matriarch. Constance ZImmer joins the cast as Claudia, “a wealthy, sophisticated woman whom Debbie encounters at a hotel bar.” Ian and Lip are returning to the series so we can see their relationship play out in prison! This show’s intentionally positioned back-to-back with Generation Q, so here’s hoping there’s more lesbian action in S10!
December
The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel (Amazon) // Season 3 // December 6
Will they let Susie be gay this season or what? Here’s all we know, from Alex Bornstein: “You get to see Susie dive in. You get to see her try to be a duck, you know? Ducks look like they’re calmly floating on the water, but underneath they’re frantic, they’re legs are paddling like crazy, which you can’t see… I think you kind of see her keeping her head above water.” Hm. Revelatory. Also, Sterling K Brown is joining the cast!
The L Word: Generation Q (Showtime) // Season 1 // December 8
I mean, it’s the moment we’ve all been waiting for? Shane’s returning to Los Angeles after a breakup, Bette’s running for mayor (and hooking up in her office), Alice is hosting a talkshow and dating a mother-of-two played by Stephanie Allyne. And those are just the returning characters! A whole new cast of twentysomething LGBTQ folks — including Bette’s now-queer daughter Ange, and two trans men of color played by trans men of color (Leo Sheng as Micah Lee and Brian Michael Smith as Bette’s assistant, Pierce Williams). Also rounding out the cast are Micah’s roommates Sophie Suarez (Rosanny Zayas) and Dani Nunez (Arienne Mandi) and new girl in town, Sarah Finley (Jacqueline Toboni), who works for Alice’s show with Sophie. You can see the full extent of our Generation Q updates here. If you’re re-watching the original series (or watching it for the first time) to prepare, we’ve got a great podcast for that!
Work In Progress (Showtime) // Season 1 // December 8
Comic Abby McEnany plays a “a 45-year-old self-identified, fat, queer dyke from Chicago (McEnany) whose misfortune and despair unexpectedly lead her to a vibrantly transformative relationship.” Julia Sweeney plays herself and Lilly Wachowski is co-writing and Executive Producing the series.
Marvel’s Runaways (Hulu) // Season 3 // December 16
We don’t know any details about the forthcoming season of Marvel’s Runaways, but we do know Nico and Karolina are still very much here and very much queer.