Boobs on Your Tube: The Season Two Finale of “Rap Sh!t” Is Jonica Booth’s Best Performance to Date

Happy two days until Christmas Eve! Let’s see about some TV!

We are still updating our streaming archives, and this week Riese has Apple TV+’s Best TV Shows With Queer Characters! Stef reflected on how Fellow Travelers flattens history. Natalie watched Netflix’s docuseries Under Pressure, which re-centers what you thought you knew about the World Cup and the USWNT. Don’t miss the first look at Kristen Stewart’s new bodybuilder love story that Kayla described as the embodiment of “Be Gay, Do Crimes.” Kayla also wrote about climate activist thriller How To Blow Up a Pipeline is actually her favorite Christmas movie. And Carmen worked through her complicated emotions on queerness and the new The Color Purple.

(No spoilers here but: did you watch the Survivor finale yet?)

We’re also wrapping up our End of Year Culture Lists (there’s 1-2 more next, week, but they won’t be tv/film focused), so please don’t forget to check out:

• The Best Movies of 2023 According to Autostraddle Readers
• 9 of the Best Queer Animation Wins of 2023
• The 25 Best TV Shows of 2023 with Lesbian, Queer and Trans Characters brought to you lovingly by your TV Team!

And here’s what else!

Notes from the TV Team: 

+ In Raising Kanan this week, Jukebox is busy preparing for her big audition (a national call to join a girl group), in the process restoring her strained relationship with both her dad and her Uncle Lou. Unfortunately in the end, her dad is still there for her but Uncle Lou? A drunk incident ends with him in lock up the day of the audition. He had her music with him, so Jukebox ends up ruining her audition, another break in her growing up to be the villain we all know she will one day become. — Carmen

+ My (queer) friend Alyssa made a sweet gay Christmas short film called Paper Planes and you can watch it now. Highly recommend taking 15 minutes to feel some queer joy. — Valerie Anne

Rap Sh!t 208: “Under Construction”

Written by Natalie

After retreating to Maui following Lord AK’s self-immolation, Francois Boom returns this week and finally delivers on one of his promises: a studio session with Pardison “Pardi” Fontaine. Personally, I don’t trust Francois or anyone who’d fumble the bag with Meghan Thee Stallion, so already I’m skeptical about how this session is ’bout to go. But, by the end of their session, they’ve got the framework of their new hit single, “BBW (Bad Bitch Working),” and Shawna and Mia leave excited about the future.

Things only get better for the duo as they sit down with Alex and Chastity to hear the terms of a would-be deal with Red Bull. It sounds ideal to Shawna — full creative control and ownership of their masters, with access to all of Red Bull’s resources — but when it comes to the money, Alex is short on specifics, which leaves Mia (rightfully) skeptical. Alex promises to talk to the label and get back to the girls by next week. But later, when Francois calls Shawna with an update about the new song, he’s not thrilled to hear that the girls are negotiating with Red Bull and still working with Chastity. He throws down an ultimatum: either they follow his plan — which includes taking this new song to the head of Def Jam — or they can go with Red Bull and Chastity.

To their credit, Shawna and Mia’s first instinct is to go with Red Bull and Chastity, but if they have to sacrifice the Pardi record, they want some sort of advance from Red Bull. They call Chastity and press her for details about the Red Bull deal. She promises to find out and then overplays her hand… badly. First, she calls Alex repeatedly when she knows the A&R executive is stuck in meetings and then seeks her out in person. Chastity invites herself to a meeting between Alex and her boss, Kirk, hoping to finalize Shawn and Mia’s deal by going directly to the man in charge.

Chastity admits that there’s another deal on the table but insists that if Red Bull can step up, she’ll make it happen. Kirk is reluctant about breaking in a new group, but Chastity assures him that he’ll recoup his investment in no time. Somehow, she manages to secure the bag for Shawna and Mia, even though it means burning a bridge with Alex. When she delivers the news to the girls, Chastity doesn’t get the response she was hoping for: Shawna and Mia have decided to go with Francois.

Chastity sits across from them, stunned. She did everything they asked for, and still, they decided to turn on her. She’s exasperated by all she’s had to do, all she’s had to sacrifice, for them to just walk away now. The disbelief masks Chastity’s simmering rage and genuine hurt at the betrayal; it’s Jonica Booth’s best performance to date.

Chastity gets up, grabs her bag, and walks away. Later, as she sits and watches Shawna and Mia become exactly the type of stars they said they didn’t want to be, Chastity opts for a new path. Season 2 ends with Chastity sitting down with Shawna’s nemesis, Gat… and I’m gonna need season 3 ASAP.

Beacon 23 Episode 108: “Adamantine”

Written by Valerie Anne

Maybe someone smarter than me can tell me what the hell happened in this show.

Now, I tried to get you to not watch this show. But if you didn’t heed my warning, perhaps you, like me with my screeners, kept watching hoping for another hint at Aster’s queerness, or for things to start to make sense in general. Alas, neither really happened, and while the second part is subjective, the first is just a fact.

Since the ill-fated Coley episode, Aster has remembered that she was born on the Beacon and has always had a connection with the strange glow outside, the Artifact, and it almost seems to communicate with her. A strange cult that sort of centers around Aster and the glow infiltrates the Beacon, and the best thing to come of that is the arrival of Saldana, played by Jess Salgueiro.

Aster thinks Halan is also somehow connected to the glow, so Aster, Halan, and Aster’s AI Harmony prepare to go into the glow to investigate when one of the cult members, Keir, shoots her with some kind of pulse gun, knocking her back, and she hits her head and falls to the ground. Her head starts bleeding an alarming amount, and the life leaves her eyes. But then in her eyes there’s a glow, and she sees Halan sending her younger self toward her older self, and their hands glow when they reach out and touch each other.

The end.

Seriously, that’s how the season ends. There’s going to be a second season, but I can’t promise I’ll be seated for it, because it seems to me like they killed their only two queer characters. Though I can’t imagine they have a second season without Lena Headey? It remains to be seen. But not by me.

Boobs on Your Tube: In the Spirit of the Season, “Rap Sh!t” Gives Unto Us Some Very Hot Sex

Happy Friday! One of the last ones of the year!

It’s technically only tangentially TV/film related, but did you catch Reneé Rapp and Megan thee Stallion’s new single off the upcoming Mean Girls soundtrack, and it certainly is hella gay. Some of the biggest news in queer television this week comes from Survivor — where queer contestant Katurah Topps first won Anya’s heart and is now looking like might win the entire show! British sitcom Such Brave Girls premiered today on HULU in the US, and Kayla found it to be a super queer discomfort comedy at its finest. Drew and Riese got high together and watched Round and Round, Hallmark’s new Hanukkah, and yes the sister is a lesbian! Kayla would like bring your attention back around to The Handmaiden, it has more sex scenes than you remembered.

It’s still End of Year Culture Lists season and here’s what our team rounded up this week:

• The Best Queer TV Scenes of 2023 by the TV Team
• The Best Queer Movie Scenes of 2023 by the TV Team
• The Best Queer Movies of 2023 by Drew Burnett Gregory

Notes from the TV Team: 

+ Last week, I neglected to note that Sort Of, the groundbreaking series from Bilal Baig and Fab Filippo, wrapped up its third and final season on CBC Gem. We’ll have more on the show when it debuts stateside in the new year, but I wanted to acknowledge how sad I am to see it end. The show was a persistent reminder that we’re all transitioning, sort of. I’ll miss it so much and can’t wait to see what’s next from Baig. — Natalie

+ For our UK readers: Vigil, the hit British procedural starring Suranne Jones, returned for its second series this week. Amy Silva (Jones) and Kirsten Longacre (Rose Leslie) are called in to determine what caused an Air Force weapons test to go horribly wrong. Though their investigations keep them separated for most of the series’ opening episodes, Amy and Kirsten are still together and are having a baby! I’ll have more on the show when the new season debuts on Peacock. — Natalie

Rap Sh!t 207: “No Parking”

Written by Natalie

In Rap Sh!t‘s second season, we’ve gotten the opportunity to see our protagonists more intimately… more engaging with Mia, Shawna, and Chastity directly, less stunting for fans on Instagram. But this week, the show pivots back to its original form: with our two emcees spitting freestyles over IG Live and engaging with their fans. The format change is abrupt but it signals a change in fortune for the duo; now, they’re back on the grind.

First things first, though: a team meeting. The emcees meet with their manager at the local Checkers and lament that their career’s been stagnant since returning home from tour. Shawna admits that Francois hasn’t returned her calls while Mia confesses that Lamont isn’t being responsive to requests for studio time or new beats. Convinced that Chastity can make stuff happen, they urge her to focus less on pimping and more on managing their fledgling careers. Chastity acquiesces and promises to make a play… starting with hitting up Alex, the flirtatious rep that she met at the Billboard party.

Chastity doesn’t have to try hard: Alex (Brittany S. Hall) invites her to an exclusive Red Bull party and quickly introduces Chastity to her boss. Chastity charms him instantly and Alex… well, Alex looks like she’s ready for a one-on-one afterparty. The thirst! Before they get there, though, Alex and Chastity stop by a dive bar and get to know each other better. Alex is a grown ass woman, ready to take charge and unafraid to ask for what she wants, and it’s clear that Chastity doesn’t really know what to do with that. Alex asks the Duke directly if she’s in a relationship and the normally unflappable manager stumbles to find an answer. Chastity shifts the conversation to safer ground — music and what Alex might be able to do for Shawna and Mia — until they’re interrupted by Melody… a girl who Chastity once tried to recruit to be part of her stable. Chastity scrambles to mask the conversation with Melody — to not give away how she earns her money — but, to my dismay, Alex is undeterred.

Later, Chastity walks Alex to her door and thanks her for all her help. Alex isn’t ready for the night to be over quite yet, though; she invites Chastity inside to talk more and share a drink. Chastity pauses at the door, seemingly wondering if she should mix business with pleasure, but ultimately decides to follow Alex inside. Alex pulls out the tequila and Chastity salts her hand before taking her shot… but then Alex shoots her own shot: sensuously licking the salt off Chastity’s hand. They drop all the pretense and give into the tension that’s been building all night.

The scene that follows is, in a word, hot. Rivaling some of the best sex scenes from The L Word. Admittedly, as a critic, it feels uncouth sometimes to focus on sex scenes… but seeing two black women have sex on-screen remains exceedingly rare. And two black women in an explicit sex scene not directed/written by Lena Waithe? Even rarer. It’s a beautiful thing.

And hot. Did I mention it was hot?

Raising Kanan 302: “Flipmode”

Written by Carmen

I can already tell that recapping this season of Raising Kanan is going to come with some narrative difficulties. Detective Burke was murdered last episode, and she served as a connective tissue between the show’s two lesbian plots at any given minute. Burke had her own love life, but she was also a (manipulative) mentor to Jukebox, Raising Kanan’s central lesbian teen. In fact, Burke’s inappropriate relationship with Juke is mentioned by her captain as one of the reasons Burke found herself under IA investigation.

Jukebox hangs outside the church of Burke’s funeral, a personal goodbye to what was likely the only other gay person she knew. And I recognize that, despite their complicated relationship (after all, Burke only “befriended” Jukebox because she realized she could use their mutual gayness to her advantage, she was trying to lock up Juke’s entire family), Jukebox is a lost gay teen who has suffered far too much loss in her life. Her girlfriend died in Season One, her mother died at the end of Season Two, and now in first episodes of Season Three she’s forced to say goodbye again.

Leaving Burke’s service, Jukebox heads directly to an Army Recruitment Center. She will do literally anything to get out of Queens. I don’t know if the commentary was on purpose, but I was touched that Raising Kanan is highlighting the ways that army recruitment often takes advantage in poor communities and communities of color; a dangling last resort of “hope” for people who feel like they have nothing else to lose or live for. Luckily when she returns home that night, Juke is surprised to see Nicole’s dad of all people drinking with her own father in the kitchen.

I’ll admit that having Nicole’s dad pop up like this, and becoming drinking pals with Marvin no less — I’ve loved Marvin’s redemption arc over the last two years, but I won’t forget his own violent reaction to learning about his daughter’s queerness — is a bit of a stretch. However, I love where we land here, so I’ll briefly allow it. Nicole’s dad has been watching the taped recording of Nicole and Jukebox singing at the mall, and he has a fancy recording industry golf buddy who is looking to start a girl group. He wants Jukebox to audition. He thinks its what Nicole would have wanted.

With Marvin’s encouragement and something else to cling to, Jukebox dodges army recruitment and finds herself at her Uncle Lou’s with her mother’s albums in hand. If she’s going to try for this, she’s going to need help.

Meanwhile, Burke’s girlfriend (I’ll catch her name next week, I promise!) is feeling some guilt now that Burke has died. Last week when the IA investigation began, she wanted nothing to do with her. This week she’s picking up the crumbs of where Burke left off. She also faces some HIGH KEY homophobia from Burke’s father, who blames Burke’s lesbianism for her supposed suicide (cruel under any circumstances, but especially so since we all know… Burke didn’t actually kill herself at all. It was a set up!). I think this is setting the stage for the next chapter of cat and mouse between the Stark family and the NYPD, so stay tuned for that!

Boobs on Your Tube: Raising Kanan’s Third Season Begs Us To Reconsider What We Mean by “Bury Your Gays”

This week, Drew noticed that somehow “Total Eclipse of the Heart” played during pivotal moments in four completely different queer tv shows or films this year. Random, but true! She’s also here to argue that Anne Hathaway’s newest film Eileen doesn’t deserve to be called Carol for psychos (can you tell Drew had some fun this week?). Also, a follow up to a classic in Black queer cinema, Beyond the Aggressives has arrived just on time for black trans masc representation. In an exciting little diddy, Kayla wonders what each of the adult Yellowjackets would want for Christmas? She also watched the new queer Christmas thriller It’s a Wonderful Knife, and said it’s fun but falls short of a fully slay.

Speaking of the holigays, here are 37 Christmas movies with lesbian, bisexual, queer or trans characters — and also, if you can manage to get 18/30 on this quiz, you’re a certified Christmas Movie Expert and also probably gay!

It’s the most wonderful time of the yeeeaaaaaar and by that we mean it’s time for our annual End of Year Culture Lists! This week we have for you:

• Autostraddle’s Favorite Lesbian, Bisexual, and Trans TV Characters of 2023
• Autostraddle’s Favorite Lesbian, Bisexual, and Queer TV Couples of 2023

And now, here’s what else!

Notes from the TV Team: 

+ Not much info yet but Wynonna Earp star Melanie Scrofano and Kat Barrell aka THE Nicole Haught have written and are co-directing a movie together! No word yet on if the story itself will be queer, but here’s hoping. — Valerie Anne

Raising Kanan Episode 301: “Home Sweet Home”

Written by Carmen

Raising Kanan is back for its third season and in addition to once again proving that its by far the best acted entry of the Power Universe (if you’re interested in getting involved, I often describe it as The Wonder Years by way of 90s New York drug empire), with a cast that is constantly pushing above its weight class — it also wins by putting its lesbian characters at the core of its story.

I’ll star with Jukebox, Kanan’s cousin and the show’s heartbeat. Juke’s mother died at the end of last season in a shootout between her Aunt Raq (Patina Miller, the reason to watch) and a rival mafia family. Everyone seems preoccupied with letting Jukebox know that it’s ok to grieve her mother, but I spent most of the time yelling at the TV that her mother tortured Jukebox last year in some failed Christian conversion therapy and she’s better off without her. Alas, family is complicated and though it seemed that Jukebox’s stoicism matched my own, we eventually do see her finally break down in her father’s arms in grief. It’s gorgeously acted and Hailey Kilgore deserves so much more praise for this role than she’s getting. Even if I am personally just fine with Juke’s mother being dead. Ahem.

Speaking of being dead, however, we are unfortunately adding another lesbian to the Dead Lesbian Database because Detective Burke (Shanley Casewell) had a terrible, no good, very bad day. First, when Raq teams up with Detective Howard (Omar Epps, Raq’s ex and Kanan’s father) to cover up the aforementioned mafia shootout, Detective Burke rolls up to out Howard as a liar in front of the entire police department. She is correct, he’s a dirty ass cop in the middle of a massive cover up, but unfortunately the Captain sides with Howard and puts Burke on administrative leave due to becoming an obsessive.

Second, Internal Affairs is looking into Burke, again because of all the boundary crossing, and that spooks her girlfriend, who is also a cop. So, her girlfriend breaks up with her.

Third, Burke gets a call from Howard. He asks to meet her and promises to come clean about everything. Now personally, I don’t know why she took the bait? I guess she was overzealous to get Howard on tape confessing to his crimes? But also if the guy whose family I’m trying to put away mysteriously calls me in the middle of the night to meet him in a undisclosed location, I’m not showing up. That sounds like a death certificate.

And death certificate it was, because as soon as Howard finishes “confessing” he shoots Detective Burke clean in the head. He takes the tape, her gun, and puts his gun in her hand to fake it as if she did this to herself. Two years of pursuit, and this is how her story ends.

If I sound flippant about another lesbian character dying on tv, I apologize. That’s not my intention! But I do think at this point in our TV-watching lives, we should interrogate exactly what we mean by “bury your gays” and when or how its used. In this case, for a series like Power, the deaths are often the whole point. Characters get big showy deaths, especially fan favorites or fan favorite villains. For Burke, however, her death felt kinda mid? After multiple seasons, it’s hard not to notice that her end doesn’t come with the same gravitas that is often granted main characters in the franchise. That was also tue of Juke’s first girlfriend, Nicole, who died in Raising Kanan’s first season. Instead of bemoaning another dead queer character on TV, I am interested in exploring why these two lesbian characters had such lackluster deaths compared to their peers. That’s a much more fascinating analysis… how we use “dying on screen” and when. But alas, perhaps a story for a different day.

Rap Sh!t 206: “U-Turn”

Written by Natalie

A week ago, the girls were riding high: Chastity putting them up in a lux LA hotel, Francois inviting them to brunch and promising a writing session with Pardi, meeting Def Jam execs at a Billboard party…. and then, all of a sudden, it was over… and over in spectacular and tragic fashion, no less. It’s a jarring turn of events for Shawna, Mia, and Chastity, who are forced to go back to the lives they left behind with nothing to show for their efforts.

Chastity returns to chaos: one of her girls has been arrested — thanks to Deja’s refusal to follow the directions she left behind — and another pimp has forced her girls off Biscayne Boulevard. Chastity promises she’ll handle it and, given how she handled the girls’ money woes on the road, I’m already worried and fearing the worst. She pulls up outside a local motel, readies her gun and slips on a ski mask. She proceeds to kick down the doors of her competition’s workers, interrupting their sessions and sending everyone scurrying for their clothes and the exits.

“Y’all don’t work here no mo! Tell Bugs to stay off this block!” Chastity yells as she fires shots into the air. It ends up being more hilarious than scary… but when Chastity slides back into her ubiquitous Caddy to drive off, I worry that the disguise was all for naught. And, sure enough, Bugs knows the threat came from Chastity and immediately returns to take his vengeance. His goons beat the sh!t out of Chastity as he holds her stable at gunpoint. Next time Chastity tries him, Bugs promises, he’ll kill her.

Chastity returns home, bloodied and bruised, to nurse her wounds but, aside from the bag of frozen greens he gives her to reduce the swelling, her Uncle Calvin offers her no respite. Chastity wistfully wonders if he’s going to kill Bugs but he hands her the gun and insists that this is what has to be done to earn respect. Even as they pull in behind Bugs’ car, Chastity hopes that things can somehow end amicably.

“Yeah, you know, maybe you can just, you know, talk to him instead of… you know what I’m sayin’?” she asks, hopefully.

Calvin scoffs at her naïveté and steps out of the car, tucking his gun in his waistband. He approaches Bugs’ car and asks about the incident involving his niece. Bugs touts his restraint — he didn’t “try to do too much to her” — but admits that Chastity was acting out of pocket. Calvin seemingly accepts the explanation and daps Bugs up before appearing to walk away. Watching, Chastity breathes a sigh of relief and mocks Bugs from a safe distance. But then, her Uncle pivots back, walloping Bugs, slamming his body with the car door and, finally, firing a single shot into him.

Calvin slides back into the drivers’ seat next to Chastity, exhales and acknowledges, “I got your block back.”

Without looking at him, Chastity nods and offers her thanks. Inside, I imagine, Chastity’s reaffirming her commitment to make this rap sh!t happen and to leave this world far, far behind… but we’ll have to see how that develops next week.

Black Cake Episode 109: “Nine Night”

Written by Nic

It’s the season finale of Black Cake and while many of our season-long questions were answered, they left us with just enough mystery to wonder what a potential season two might include. Each character gets a bit of time to shine in the finale: we see Mathilda giving birth to Covey in an island forest; Byron finds out his girlfriend is pregnant and they don’t see eye-to-eye on their next steps; Mabel reveals that her husband died while she was pregnant with her son; and we finally get the answer to who poisoned Little Man during his wedding to Covey.

Most importantly, I think, is we get some insight into Bunny’s life in the 50 years since she believed her best friend died. Firstly, Bunny’s full name is Benedetta! Eleanor named Benny after her best friend without knowing just how much the two would end up having in common.

As promised, Bunny fulfilled her and Covey’s dream of becoming famous swimmers, changing her name to Etta Pringle and becoming the first Black woman to swim across the English Channel. Covey/Eleanor kept up with her best friend’s career, unbeknownst to Etta, to the point where Benny just thought Etta Pringle was a random swimmer that her mother was obsessed with.

During their Nine Night honoring of Eleanor, Benny of course wants to know how Etta felt after her best friend shut her down after revealing feelings for her. It turns out, Covey took Benny on a joyride on a motorbike and the two had a heart-to-heart where Covey vowed that no matter what happened, she would be a safe space for her queer best friend.

So it only made sense that Bunny would be the one who ended up “saving” Covey by poisoning Little Man’s champagne rather than wait for Gibbs to come up with his own plan.

I loved Black Cake as a messy family story, as a beautiful tribute to the Caribbean, as a reminder that you never really know what someone is struggling with. However, while Bunny felt like she had to hide her identity in the shadows, Benny was busy hiding in shadows of her own: Byron’s, then Joanie’s, then Steve’s. My wish for queer Black women on television and frankly, in life, is that we can be seen in our glory and our fullness without hiding or fear. But hey, if we do get a second season, maybe a light episode where Benny and Bunny take on the perils of the queer dating scene?

Boobs on Your Tube: Rap Sh!t Has Grind, Hustle, and Cute Women Flirting (Living the Dream)

Happy Friday, sending you cozy thoughts wherever you are! This week Kayla and Drew launched a very exciting new series that we think you’re going to enjoy, “Anatomy of a Sex Scene” and in their first edition they explore the horniness of Disobedience’s spit. Drew also wrote a reflection on the buzzy new movie Saltburn, comparing it to The Bling Ring and thinking about the pathetic desperation of the upper middle class. Nico watched Periodical, an inclusive documentary all about menstruation. Drew watched Todd Haynes’ newest film May December, starring Natalie Portman and Julianne More, and she has some thoughts about performance as sacrifice. And finally, Wingwomen on Netflix is like French Charlie’s Angels but GAYER.

It’s December 1st and you know what that means… time to see what’s new and gay this mont on streaming! Riese is here with this invaluable community service.

And now here’s what else! TV was a little light this week, but Natalie is ready to catch you up on what’s going on with Chasity and Rap Sh!t.

Rap Sh!t 205: “Dead End”

Written by Natalie

With the largess from her last week’s robbery, Chastity treats Shawna and Mia to a deluxe hotel stay during the tour’s Los Angeles stop. They take in the room’s expansive views and thank Francois Boom for finally coming through but Chastity quickly corrects them: she did this. Chastity lavishes her artists, urging them to do whatever they want to do, on her, while they’re in Hollywood.

Mia lets it slip that they’re just out of an “Emergency Meeting” with Francois where he asked her and Shawna to apologize to Reina for their freestyle in Oakland. Chastity scoffs at the notion but quickly realizes that the girls plan to do it. They insist that they have to: Francois has set up a meeting for the pair with a Grammy-winning songwriter and with the head of Def Jam so they have to swallow their pride and apologize. Chastity takes umbrage to Francois continuing to make moves on their behalf without consulting her and promises to confront him about it.

Chastity finally gets her chance at the Billboard party. She lets Francois know that no meetings should be happening with her artists without her. Francois might not like her, she acknowledges, but she’s here to stay and deserves respect. Francois laughs off Chastity’s concerns and points out that everything he’s done for Shawna and Mia: he arranged the tour, he produced the song that’s garnering label interest, he set up the meeting with the label head and the Grammy winning songwriter and, when it’s time to record their EP, he’ll be the producer and arranger. What, he asks, should be respect her for?

“They don’t need you and if this meeting goes good, I’ma make sure they know that,” Francois states flat out. Chastity stiffens her stance in response but Francois just mocks her for it and walks off.

Realizing that her new career might be slipping from her grasp, Chastity does what does best: hustles. She tries to put names to faces of all the big wigs at the party and ingratiate herself to them… but, of course, that doesn’t work out. Meanwhile, Francois introduces the girls to Tunji Balogun, the CEO of Def Jam, and they make a good impression… or at least that’s what Francois tells them. He passes out celebratory cigars and, once Chastity steps away, Francois tells the girls that Tunji was skeptical about Chastity. Sufficed to say, I don’t believe a word Francois has to say.

Later, Chastity is posted up outside, taking a drag on a cigarette, and is so wrapped up in all this rap shit she barely acknowledges when a woman approaches and starts flirting with her. Chastity admits that she might have fucked everything up but the stranger assures her that once the weed and coke come out, no one will remember.

And, it turns out, the stranger is probably right. No one’s going to remember what Chastity did because the party, the night and, likely, the tour ends with Lord AK setting himself ablaze.

Boobs on Your Tube: Beacon 23’s Unimpressive Latest Episode Hits Almost Every Enraging Queer Trope

Happy long weekend, if you’re having a long weekend! ❤️ The Autostraddle offices are closed today, but we still found some TV and film for you to watch.

Here’s what happened this week: Carmen got to interview WNBA stars Syd Colson and Theresa Plaisance (TP) about their new sketch comedy show, also called Syd + TP! Anya broke down how Chrishell Stause queered Selling Sunset. Natalie wrote about how Rustin, the film, flattens the complex Black gay history of Bayard Rustin, the icon. We also wrapped our Trans Awareness Week coverage in part with a history of trans actors in cis roles. We are still cleaning up our streaming guides and this week that came with the present of the 40 best LGBT shows on HBO Max. Vuk Lungulov-Klotz, the director of Mutt now streaming on Netflix), talked with us about working with a trans crew and the value of sweetness.

And now, here’s what else you missed!

Notes from the TV Team: 

+ All Rise wrapped up its third and final season this week and, much to my surprise, it closed out with a lesbian storyline. Unfortunately, it was just the case of the week, instead of the storylines I’d hoped for: Ness reuniting with Sam, or Ness hooking up with that cute bailiff who we met earlier in the season, never to be heard from again, or Judge Brenner returning to the HOJ to marry Georgia. A disappointing end to what, at times, had been a promising show. — Natalie

+ Though it won’t premiere in the States until next year, a heads up to our Canadian readers that Sort Of debuted its third and final season last week. The show was one of our favorites of 2022 and I have high hopes for how they’ll wrap the series. — Natalie

Beacon 23 Episode 103: “Why Can’t We Go On as Three?”

Written by Valerie Anne

:deep breath: WE COULD HAVE HAD IT AAAAAALL

In my review of the series overall, which went up when only two of the episodes had aired, I alluded to the fact that this season of Beacon 23 featured some bad tropes, and now I can finally explicitly talk about them.

In episode three, Aster and Halen are getting high from the gravity beams (?) when a woman in a uniform with a spikey helmet slinks onto the ship. After a tussle, Aster realizes she knows this woman, Coley. At first it seems like she might just be a coworker, but soon she’s caressing Aster, clearly closer than just peers.

Coley eventually reveals her truth when she interrogates Halen about his relationship with Aster, insisting she just wants to know, and he wouldn’t be the first of Aster’s “whims.” Halen assures her they’re just friends and returns the question, to which Coley says simply, “We’re close.” Later, Coley brings her things to Aster’s room. Aster tells her to pick a side of the bed and Coley responds, “You’re gonna let me choose?” Not their first bed-sharing rodeo.

Aster decides to help Coley relax by taking her up to get high and make out. This is where I recommend turning off the show and never returning.

At dinner with Halen, Coley goes on a rant about how Aster is always cheating on her, including once with a hot lady fighter pilot. Coley says, “She’ll always let you down.” She even calls her street trash. It is Not Great.

Aster eventually realizes that Coley orchestrated her ship’s crash, and they fight. Coley says she can’t bring herself to kill Aster, but she does intend to kill Halen. But before she can, Aster stabs Coley and saves Halen.

Aster holds Coley as she bleeds out. Coley’s last words are “I loved you, Aster,” before Aster strangles her the rest of the way dead.

I’ve said this before, but it seems like these characters were made queer after the script was written — like they decided to make Coley a woman during casting and didn’t consider the implications. But we’re not at the point yet where you can randomly pick characters to be queer regardless of their story arc. We’re not far enough past the peak of the Bury Your Gays massacre to bring in a queer woman just to kill her off. In 2023, you shouldn’t be able to skip one (1) episode of a season of TV and not know one of the main characters is queer. There are so many ways to reveal a character’s queerness without an on-screen partner, so many ways to show what queerness looks like in your fictional sci-fi world without having queer-on-queer violence. Not to mention this was all after Coley accused Aster of sleeping around, leaning into the biphobic “slutty/cheating bisexual” trope. I was unimpressed by this episode, and this show, which is too bad because we all deserve more queer Lena Headey characters.

Black Cake Episode 106: “Ma”

Written by Nic

On this week’s Black Cake, the episode begins with Eleanor reflecting on the choices she made as a mother to all three of her children. She’s especially regretful of the way she and Bert pushed Benny away, considering Eleanor’s childhood friendship with Bunny. What Eleanor (then, Covey) didn’t realize was that by asking Bunny to pretend in public, to mimic her friend’s behavior with boys, to not stand out; she was asking her to abandon herself and her truth. In a flashback, we see Covey and Bunny dancing together at a party, their joy infectious. Until Gibbs and his friend arrive, and Bunny’s posture immediately becomes stiff, fighting against her attempt to fit into a heterosexual mold that feels inauthentic to her core. We see her copy Covey’s dance moves and eventually, she loses her virginity to that very same boy. Her mouth tells him that she’s sure, while her eyes fight back tears, mourning the person she wishes she could be.

Back in the present, Benny is at the police station giving a statement about the altercation between Byron and Steve. She explains that the abuse started six years prior, and the officer gently explains that even though the abuse continued beyond the statute of limitations, it would be difficult to prove because she stayed. *rage* So Benny decides to file a temporary restraining order against Steve and blocks his number.

Shocking no one, Steve is pissed. He shows up to Benny’s parents’ house and tries to convince her to come back by… continuing to insult her? I don’t know, y’all. I’m not going to attempt to make sense of it because the important part is that Benny WALKED AWAY. Even when Steve tries to hold her responsible for the $25K advance he got for the piece she destroyed, Benny replies that that’s not her problem, and he’ll figure it out. The whoop that I whooped?!

Later that night, Byron arrives back at the house after a harrowing day of getting arrested and then speaking on a diversity panel, to find “B&B’s” long lost sister waiting in the driveway. Mabel showed up on a whim after the lawyer contacted her. The three siblings have a bit of an awkward conversation, before Benny and Mabel start to bond and connect over their love of food. Benny even cracks a joke about how Mabel’s “cancellation” isn’t real because she’s actually Caribbean and Chinese. Before they start to listen to the final recording, Mabel asks about her birth father and she can tell everyone else knows something she doesn’t. When Byron reveals that her birth father was likely the man who assaulted Eleanor in Scotland, Mabel decides this whole thing is too much and leaves.

Benny, in a beautiful turn from the previous five episodes, stands up for her sister, recognizes that she’s hurting, and decides not to give up on her because that’s what she wanted all those years ago when she walked out; for someone to beg her to stay. She tells Byron that their father had been going to cafes across the street from her apartment for years, never working up the courage to talk to his daughter. She won’t do that to Mabel.

So Benny shows up at Mabel’s hotel, with ackee and saltfish (traditional Jamaican breakfast) in hand, remembering that Mabel loves breakfast for dinner. The two have a heart-to-heart, and Mabel decides to stay and listen to the recording. What she learns is that Eleanor never wanted to give her up; both that decision and Mabel were taken from her.

I’ll admit, I’ve been a bit hard on Benny, but I loved watching her get more introspective this week. My biggest hope and dream is that Bunny is still alive, so that she and Benny can have some quality queer bonding.

Rap Sh!t 204: “Detour”

Written by Natalie

She tried to tell them.

Before agreeing to be part of Lord AK/Reina’s tour, Chastity tried to push Shawna and Mia to press for a better deal. Some stage time, some money, some thing, But Shawna was so desperate for a win that she disregarded her manager’s POV entirely, and embraced that this is just what they have to do to pay their dues. Fast forward to the tour’s stop in Oakland and the girls’ accommodations are absolute trash.

“Now I dun stayed in some fucked up places before but this, by far, takes the cake,” Chastity rants, as she documents the scene for Francois Boom. “Bruh, you got us staying in the hotel MLK got shot at. This gotta be the nastiest place in Oakland.”

The furniture is caked with a thick layer of dust. Flies linger on rotten food in the mini-fridge. A water-logged carpet. Bet Shawna wishes they’d negotiated now.

Chastity refuses to sleep at the the Best Worst Western and tries to lean on Francois to get them better accommodations. As usual, he is absolutely no help — he insists that the limited budget means some cities are going to be rougher than others — and drops the problem at Chastity’s feet. But, of course, Chastity is nothing if not a hustler and when she spots some old friends at an Oakland house party, she hopes they can take her to where the money’s at. Neither dude seems to appreciate Chastity’s urgency so she dips… but not before she swipes the chains and cash from their glove compartment.

The next morning, she welcomes Shawna and Mia back to the bus with some IHOP and promises that from now on, they’re done taking scraps.

Meanwhile, Shawna has swallowed a lot of her misgivings about being on tour with the walking minstrel show that is Reina Reigns… all in service to advancing her own career. But there are only so many indignities a person can stand and they start to mount this week: the hotel, Reina refusing to acknowledge her and Mia in an interview, and then Reina acting crazy at the party. They refuse to perform with Reina but when the Iggy Azalea clone captivates the audience with her pre-written “freestyle,” Shawna and Mia decide to take the stage and show her what it means to really rap. Their performance is so dope, the duo finally catch the eye of the tour’s headliner, Lord AK.

What’s most interesting to me about these interactions with Lord AK — more than Shawna and him vibing — is how it reveals how much of a fraud Francois Boom is. He talks a big game and condescends at every possible opportunity, but he’s only slightly deeper into this rap shit than Chastity. He doesn’t know Lord AK, he doesn’t get invited to the studio, and, as it turns out, Reina’s only on the tour because her team (read: Francois) wouldn’t stop calling. Seems like Chastity and Francois aren’t that different after all… and I’m interested to see how that plays out for the rest of the season.

“Rap Sh!t” Season Two Finds Its City Girls Desperate for a Win

This review contains mild spoilers for the first episodes of Rap Sh!t season two.

The first minute of Rap Sh!t‘s pilot episode is seen entirely through the lens of Instagram live. Tourists coasting down Ocean Drive, sorority girls turning up at a Miami bar, couples playing on a lush beach, and a soon-to-be bride checking into a boutique hotel for her bachelorette weekend. We’re introduced to the show’s lead character, Shawna (played by non-binary actor, Aida Osman), in an Instagram video: a hotel guest — caught in the background of the bachelorette’s live — recognizes her from an old video of her freestyling.

Within the span of that minute, Issa Rae’s Rap Sh!t announces what kind of show it’ll be. It’s a show baked in the Miami heat. With the sounds of Miami’s own Trick Daddy thumping in the background, that minute asserts that the city will permeate every facet of the the show, even when it ventures outside the city limits. The opening also reveals that Rap Sh!t is very much a show of the moment and, of course, any story of this moment cannot be told without technology and social media. Much of Rap Sh!t is told through the filter of IG Live, in part, because that’s how this generation engages with the world. But also if you’re an aspiring creative — especially an aspiring creative woman — looking to build your brand and being online isn’t a choice, it’s a necessity.

This week Rap Sh!t returns for its second season and our first glimpse of Shawna and Mia (Kamillion) is now through the lens of an actual video camera, as they dance along with Reina Reign (Kat Cunning), on the set of the music video for “Tongue.” In fact, there’s not a single IG Live moment in the entire first episode. While social media re-emerges as a device later in season, the message is clear: for Shawna and Mia, the game has changed. It’s no longer about stunting for the camera. It’s about putting in the work to make sure this rap shit turns into something real.

At the end of the first season, the girls seem poised to do just that: they were going on tour with Reina. But there’s a catch — there’s always a catch with music producer Francois Boom (Jaboukie Young-White). They’re not getting paid, they can’t perform their own songs, and their stage time is limited to supporting Reina during her performance of “Trouble.” They’ll camp out in bunks on a tour bus between cities and be crammed into meager accommodations during tour stops. In short, it’s about to be awful. But Francois assures them that, at the end of the tour, they’ll produce an EP and record labels will be clamoring to offer them a million dollar deal.

Shawna wants to believe Francois. Her face lights up at the prospect of being signed and she presses the group’s manager, Chastity (Jonica Booth), to unequivocally agree to his plan. It feels like a far cry from the conscious rapper version of Shawna we met early on, but, to put it plainly, the girl is down bad. She’s a person of interest in a credit card fraud investigation. She broke up with her long-time boyfriend and her burgeoning relationship with Maurice is upended by the criminal investigation. Her parents threaten to cut her out of their lives if she continues making bad decisions, including going on tour. Shawna needs a win — she needs this to work — so she swallows her skepticism, frustration, and anger, and presses on. Aida Osman carries Shawna’s story with aplomb, showcasing every bit of emotion even as Shawna tries so hard to hide it.

It’s Jonica Booth’s Chastity who really benefits from the show’s stylistic and setting changes. In the first season of Rap Sh!t, our view of her is limited. She’s a part-time pimp, drafted into the “family business” by her uncle, and she keeps her top earner close; there’s a hint that there’s something more than business between them, but Chastity never allows it to compromise the work. She knows everybody but you never get the sense that anyone knows her. Insomuch that she’s part of the first season’s IG Live point of view, it’s less about her and more about a foray into party promoting and artist management. The self-proclaimed “Duke of Miami” uses her connections to get her artists into the door and when her connections fall short, she hustles to get things done. Chastity walks with swagger and confidence even if that confidence felt unearned.

But what happens when you take the Duke of Miami out of Miami, as Rap Sh!t does in its second season? What happens when a pimp has to leave her stable unattended for a month to go off on an unpaid trip? And what happens when her ticket out of pimping and hustling is threatened by Francois Boom who is clearly coming for the Duke’s spot? Chastity’s storyline is absolutely the best thing about Rap Sh!t‘s sophomore effort. Chastity still delivers that swagger and she is nothing if not a hustler but this season also gives her the opportunity to be scared and vulnerable. That rounding of the character, plus the fact that Francois is an absolute jerk, makes it impossible to not cheer for her.

If there is a shortcoming to Rap Sh!t‘s new style, it is that it’s less funny than in its first season. There are still plenty of laughs to be had, particularly when Mia gets together with her homegirls, Alesia and Nelly (Brittney Jefferson and DomiNque Perry), but there’s a noticeable tonal shift. Personally, I liked it even if it’ll be jarring for fans of the first season. Also, it felt a bit like Mia got shortchanged in the character development department this season. Through the six episodes provided to critics, Mia’s still out there seducing and scheming which, though fun to watch, doesn’t add any additional complexity to the character.

Rap Sh!t‘s second season arrives on HBO Max a few weeks after the City Girls — the Miami duo who served as inspiration and executive producers of the show — dropped their new album. RAW (Real Ass Whores) was supposed to be their moment: JT and Yung Miami’s stars had risen considerably since their last effort. They were ubiquitous on the hip-hop scene: fixtures on the blogs, on social media, and at award shows. Yung Miami was acting, podcasting and talking about a future reality show. Everything seemed primed for them to finally have that chart topping album.

But, instead, the album flopped.

“It’s tough times. You get what you put in, in this shit,” JT admitted, reflecting on the album’s poor sales.

It’s a real life lesson that, ironically, drives the entire second season of Rap Sh!t. You get what you put in and, this season Shawna, Mia, and Chastity are putting in work.

Rap Sh!t is now streaming on Max.