What in the Bisexual Heck Is Going on With Tessa Thompson and Evan Rachel Wood in This New “Westworld” Trailer?
I’ll have a full rundown of all the gay shenanigans coming out of San Diego Comic-Con in Wednesday’s Pop Culture Fix — but I cannot wait that long to ask the most pressing question to arise from the world’s largest con thus far: What in the bisexual heck is going on with Tessa Thompson and Evan Rachel Wood in this new Westworld trailer? You will remember that the first season three trailer revealed Lena Waithe’s character, was heavy on Evan Rachel Wood’s new world, and suspiciously light on Tessa Thompson. Was she too busy with Avengers and Men in Black and the new Thor to be on teevee anymore, we wondered? Well, now we know she’s not too busy to strut around and engage in perhaps the most legendary bisexual spooning situation of all time.
Strut.
Spoon.
Hurt/Comfort.
Bonus Lena Waithe.
Please share your theories in the comments. Only gay ones, please.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=64CYajemh6E
MAKE IT GAY, YOU COWARDS: 20 TV Shows That Just Need to Lean Into the Truth
This year’s inaugural Gay Emmys were fun, huh? There were so many gay shows we had OUR OWN EMMYS to honor them! In fact, there were so many shows that we couldn’t even fit them all into our Emmys! We left like three-quarters of the gay TV shows behind! It felt so good to see that reality before our eyes. Did it satiate us? Friends, no! It only made us hungrier! These last few weeks, we’ve been prowling around our TV Team Slack channel feeding each other’s incandescent bewilderment that all shows aren’t gay. And so of course we made a list. Here are 20 TV shows that always make us yell MAKE IT GAY, YOU COWARDS at our televisions and at each other.
The Good Place
Heather: Listen, Eleanor Shellstrop is bisexual and that’s canon and I’m not going to argue about it. HOWEVER, enough tip-toeing around her feelings for Tahani. Let’s see that attraction and affection play out ON OUR TEEVEES. The Good Place is one of my can’t-miss shows and I’m going to watch it forever. I love Eleanor and I love Chidi but I just do not buy them together. (And I am not immune to the charms of straight couple will-they/won’t-they storylines, okay? Pam and Jim are one of my all-time favorite TV couples.) Anything can happen on this show. Anything. Maya Rudolph is God. Stop forcing what’s not there, Michael Schur. You’ve done it before, do it again: Make it gay!
Valerie Anne: COSIGNED IN PERMANENT INK.
Carmen: X3.
Doctor Who
Heather: Obviously the Doctor is canonically queer. Her wife is/was River Song. Now I want to see them interact with each other while the Doctor is a woman. I’m not just saying this because Alex Kingston is one of the great loves of my life (along with Viola Davis and Stacy); I’m saying it because it adds a very fascinating dynamic to an already established story and all these dillhole straight white men have already said they won’t watch Jodie Whittaker in the TARDIS so why not just go all in, you know? “You and me. Time and space. Watch us run.” GIVE IT TO ME.
Insecure
Carmen: This is my hill, and I am willing to die on it. IT MAKES NO SENSE THAT NONE OF THE BLACK GIRLS ON INSECURE ARE GAY. I’m only a year younger than Issa Rae. I’ve known many crews of young, black “woke millennial” homegirls who saw each other through turbulent times. Do you what was true about every one of those crews? Especially in cities like LA? At least one of them was queer. It doesn’t have to be Issa (though that is a mighty lesbian wardrobe that she’s always wearing, full of graphic tees and sweatshirts and cute natural hairstyles), it doesn’t even have to be Molly, the up-and-coming lawyer. But I am putting my foot down, there’s no way that Kelli – the body positive, sex positive, hilarious, accountant – isn’t sexually fluid.
I should point out that after two years of pretending that black queer women didn’t exist at all, the currently airing season of Insecure finally paid passing homage to the women of #BlackGaySlay. Issa had a black lesbian couple in the back of her Lyft once, and she commented how cute they were. While the crew partied at Beychella, Kelli made a quip that she’d hook up with a woman because “Janelle Monae made it OK.” Which only furthers my point! She’s the one! It’s time to stop being a coward Issa, and go there already.
The Flash
Valerie Anne: The Flash is the only show in the CWDCTV universe who hasn’t given us a recurring queer lady at all over the entire course of the series so far. Arrow had Sara and Nyssa (though now has none), Supergirl has Alex, Black Lightning has Anissa, Legends is the gayest show on the CW. But the closest thing The Flash has is the relationship between Caitlin Snow and Killer Frost which is just confusing. Actually that’s not true, the closest they came was when the villain of last season took a new body that happened to be a woman and still slow-danced with his wife who he was drugging, which is worse than confusing, it’s downright awful. Give me a lesbian speedster, a bisexual meta, anything. Here, look, after a quick Google search I’ve decided that they should add Andrea Martinez aka The Comet, a canonically queer DC Comics character. And she can date Caitlin and/or Killer Frost. Boom. Solved it.
Superstore
Natalie: Superstore is the best show on television you’re probably not watching. I love it so much. It shines a light on blue collar Americans — you know, like Roseanne, but without the tokenism or the repugnant racism — and tackles the issues in a beautifully subversive and hilarious way. How could this already great show get even better? Give the people what they want, Justin Spitzer: make Dina gay!
I get why they didn’t make the character gay to start with: having this blunt, aggressive, power-hungry, arrogant, mean female character be a lesbian would’ve been a bit too stereotypical for this socially conscious show (a la Kerry Weaver on ER). But, with the fourth season of Superstore just around the corner (you’ve still got time to catch up on Netflix!), I think both the show and the character are in a place where they can take that stereotype and turn it on its head. What if lesbianing was the one thing that Dina Fox couldn’t conquer effortlessly? What if developing feelings for a woman turned Dina into the emotional mess that she’s always criticizing Amy for being? There’s so much comedy gold that could be mined, Superstore… all you gotta do is make her gay.
The Gifted
Valerie Anne: It should be illegal to have Amy Acker, who played lesbian icon Root on Person of Interest, on a TV show and not have a single lady for her to flirt with. Or even baby gays for her to support knowingly. Also it’s been said many, many times, but learning you have powers/the entire X-Men deal is such a strong allegory for queerness that it’s a damn shame they don’t have a single lesbian lurking around the mutant safehouse.
Murphy Brown Reboot
Carmen: I was approximately between two and ten years old when the original Murphy Brown aired, so my memories of it are fuzzy. Here’s the biggest highlight: Murphy Brown was at its core about feminism and the realities women face in the workplace. If the promos for the reboot are to be believed, that much hasn’t changed.
When people say a television show is about feminism, in my brain I hear l-e-s-b-i-a-n.
So.
Heather: Mmm hmm.
Westworld
Riese: At the beginning of this season Erin mentioned the “three timelines” from last season and I was like WOW this show never makes any sense to me, yet I keep watching it! Even more confusing than the three timelines? The lack of lesbian action. There’s some, sure. Like, THE TINIEST AMOUNT POSSIBLE. But not nearly enough!
Blindspot
Valerie Anne: HOW ARE YOU GOING TO TELL ME PATTERSON IS STRAIGHT, FAM?! I don’t believe it. I won’t! Maybe I’ve been watching too much Critical Role, but in my humble and gay opinion, Ashley Johnson has queer vibes pouring off her and it feels rude for the show to not be leaning into that (the way it seems the video game The Last of Us is doing with the character she voices). There was definitely also a point I thought Zapata was going to fall for a lady but alas. Ever since Blindspot buried their gays so hard in early seasons, they’ve done nothing to make up for it. I don’t want to quit the show (have you SEEN JAIMIE ALEXANDER), but I need a lesbian to hook me, if you know what I mean.
Natalie: I agree with you wholeheartedly on this very important subject, Valerie — I mean, Patterson thought about getting a cat, despite the fact that she’s allergic, and if that doesn’t scream gay, I don’t know what does. You’re right, after the killing off two lesbians and shipping the other one off to Paraguay or something, Blindspot owes us this. That said, let’s be clear about something: Natasha “Tasha” Zapata is a bisexual goddess who is so clearly in love with her best friend who she (mistakenly) believes is straight. The writers need to just go ahead and make that canon.
(Also Tasha totally had a crush on Kalinda Sharma Nas Kamala but, c’mon, it’s Archie Panjabi… who wouldn’t?)
Last season, Patterson’s dad stopped by the FBI labs and everyone’s shocked to learn that Patterson’s dad is Bill Nye the Science Guy. Know who’s not shocked, though? Tasha Zapata, because she’s already done her due diligence and met her future girlfriend’s parents. And when Bill Nye discovers that Patterson and Tasha are fighting, her urges his daughter to make amends and in doing so, parallels their relationship and his marriage. Even Bill Nye knows!
It’s ironic that a show called Blindspot wouldn’t be able to recognize that the true love story isn’t between Tasha and Reade (stop trying to make me like them together, I will not!), but between Tasha and Patterson. It’s only because Patterson rejected her last season — she was mad that Tasha kept secrets about her torturous ex which, I mean: VALID — that Tasha even went to Reade. He’s the rebound. Blindspot writers, why can’t you see that?!
Single Parents
Riese: This show hasn’t started yet, so I haven’t seen it yet, but it is absolute blasphemy that a show about single parents does not feature ANY lesbian Moms.
Carmen: ESPECIALLY one that stars Leighton Meester in that blue blazer and those chucks on her feet.
Heather: Serena’s out now. You’re turn, Waldorf.
Big Little Lies
Riese: The only logical endgame here is: two beautiful women drink white wine. Cut to a shot of the beach. Cut back to a shot of the two women, except now they’re having sex.
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
Natalie: Sometimes when you unwittingly end up shipping non-canon couples and you talk about it publicly, people (read: the straights) start to look at you strangely. It’s not their fault really, they haven’t spent a lifetime mining subtext for some inkling of representation so, of course, they don’t get it. But, if you bring up the fact that Olivia Margaret Benson of SVU should be gay and that she and the love of her life Alexandra Cabot should be building a family together, even the straights are like, “you right.”
EVEN THE STRAIGHTS CAN SEE IT!
Last year they brought Stephanie March back to SVU for a very special episode and Alex and Olivia didn’t even end up making out! I mean, what was even the point?! You’re 20 seasons into SVU‘s run, NBC, there’s no reason that in 20GAYTEEN, Olivia Benson should still be denying what even the straights can see: SHE’S GAY.
So, so very gay.
Agents of SHIELD
Valerie Anne: Similar to why at least one of the mutants in The Gifted should be gay, same goes for inhumans on SHIELD. I know my dream ship of Skimmons will never sail, but I don’t think it’s unreasonable to hope that Daisy is bisexual. I mean the name she originally chose for herself was Skye. So gay. She hasn’t had a love interest in a minute, maybe some superpowered babe can drop by next season and quake things up for her. (Get it? Quake? I’ll be here all week.)
The Rookie
Natalie: I’m not holding out much hope for the new fall season — I haven’t seen a single trailer that surprised me with any lady loving characters that I didn’t already know about — but if I have to pick the new show most likely to have a lesbian or bisexual character, I’m going to go with ABC’s The Rookie.
Now, to be sure, there’s not much in the trailer that suggests that lesbianism might be happening on the show, but “lesbian cop” is a well worn television trope for a reason. The cast boasts four main women. We know one gets involved with Nathan Fillion’s character, so she’s out, leaving: Afton Williamson, Alyssa Diaz and Mercedes Mason. The short pixie cut has me leaning in Williamson’s direction, but something about Alyssa Diaz’s swagger in her uniform has me thinking that she might be ABC’s newest queer character.
Midnight, Texas
Valerie Anne: Everyone knows all witches are queer and I’m not sure why Midnight, Texas refuses to admit it. I guess what I’m realizing is, when there is a supernatural element to a show, I cannot accept that there are no lesbians as far as the eye can see. How are you going to have angels and demons and witches and psychics and vampires and not ONE SINGLE QUEER PERSON. This town is full of outcasts and misfits, and I feel like we fit the bill, especially in a place like Texas. I really enjoyed the first season of this show but I want to REALLY LOVE it this season. So you know what to do, show.
This Is Us
Carmen: The Pearsons are an idyllic, if weepy, modern American family. They love each other across race and class differences. They share meals, and fight, and harbor old secrets for decades that they always eventually forgive each other for. They’re custom designed in the liberal Hollywood TV making factory to have you cry into a box of kleenex every week. Granted, Randall’s birth father (masterfully portrayed by Ron Cephas Jones in a historic Emmy winning performance) was bisexual, but he left us nearly two years ago!
As the Pearson family keeps expanding, it’s time for one of the women to come out of the closet. Are you trying to tell me that this is somehow the only big messy family in America without a gay cousin or aunt? I mean, doesn’t Beth Pearson come from a tribe of sisters? And a cousin who’s also like her sister? You want me to believe that zero of them are gay? C’mon!
One of the major mysteries of the new season involves a fast forward, which means we will get to know currently angsty pre-teen Tess as adult social worker Tess. An empathetic social worker with a cute wardrobe who specializes in foster care and child adoption? Sounds like she is the one we’ve been waiting for.
Supergirl
Heather: Look, I know Supergirl‘s already gay. Alex Danvers is one of my all-time favorite lesbians. I know what she had with Maggie was so special, and it was a goddamn delight and gloriously heartbreaking watching their story. I know Alex is getting a new girlfriend this season, and I am excited. BUT I have been watching Katie McGrath have queer chemistry with every woman (and inanimate object she brushed up against) since Merlin. When she came to Supergirl, I incorrectly told Valerie not to lean in too hard to the subtext in her recaps. I just thought, you know, I didn’t want another Faberry/Brittana war on our hands. Now I just have this build up of ANGSTY GAYNESS trapped inside me and have had to ask Valerie to murder me because of it in Slack more than once.
Valerie Anne: “KARA DANVERS, YOU ARE MY HERO,” SHE SAID, TO THE WOMAN WE’RE SUPPOSED TO BELIEVE IS JUST HER GAL PAL.
Outlander
Kayla Kumari Upadhyaya: Especially because it is on Starz, which has been really great on the Make It Gay front lately (see: Vida and Black Sails), it is incredibly frustrating that in three whole seasons of historical/sci-fi/fantasy/romance series Outlander there has been nary a lesbian. EVEN THOUGH CLAIRE AND GEILLIS HAVE JUST AS MUCH CHEMISTRY AS CLAIRE AND JAMIE, A HILL (IN THE HIGHLANDS OF SCOTLAND) THAT I AM WILLING TO DIE ON. Sure, it’s based on an incredibly hetero book series, but the show has already taken some liberties by deviating from it’s source material, so is it really so much to ask for a lesbian or two or a hint of bisexuality for Claire who lbr already exudes Big Bi Energy?
Sesame Street
Riese: Sorry, I had to.
Okay now you tell us your MAKE IT GAY, YOU COWARDS television shows.
Announcing the Winners of Autostraddle’s Inaugural Queer TV Awards!
Riese has been talking for a long time about Autostraddle hosting its own gay Emmy Awards. It was mostly just a pipe dream, until we turned around in 20GayTeen and realized that — for the first time ever — there were actually more than enough queer characters, shows, and actors for us to really do it. Seeing them all listed out in our voting announcement post was honestly a thrill, and we know you felt it too, because you told us so in the comments:
I‘m just having a moment of gratitude for these nominations, and also, that Gillian Anderson is in the category that she’s in. — Amidola
This survey was so rude – these choices were brutal. (but also, I love that we had so many options!) — Ellie
I am THRILLED to have so many options to choose from that many of these are genuinely difficult decisions. High school me is in disbelief at how much more representation there is now compared with a relatively short amount of time ago. It’s wonderful and it makes me very happy. — rustytiffany
OK, how am I supposed to choose between all my faves? But also, such a good problem to have!!! — hiptobequeer
How can I possibly choose between my children??? But also this was great and I’m truly shocked & happy by how hard it is to choose in any of these categories. “Man we didn’t hate” made me laugh out loud (and then was ALSO super hard to choose for? what the heck). — Laura R
For regular categories, the individual TV Team Votes were weighted more heavily than those of the TEN THOUSAND readers who voted. For fan favorite categories, the winner was 100% determined by reader votes.
Without any further ado, here are the winners of Autostraddle’s inaugural Gay Emmys!
Outstanding Comedy Series
One Day at a Time
Other nominees: Jane the Virgin, Fresh Off The Boat, One Mississippi, Broad City
Before we get to this year’s Outstanding Comedy winner, we must take a moment to honor the overwhelming strength of this category. Lots of winners will tell you “It’s just an honor to be nominated.” Here’s the thing, this time it really is just an honor to be nominated. Out of the six nominees for Outstanding Comedy, a whomping three of them (One Day at a Time, Jane the Virgin, and Fresh Off the Boat) tied as our overall most nominated shows! With a record shattering SEVEN NOMINATIONS EACH! Brooklyn 99 came in just behind them, with five nominations. This category was stacked.
In the Emmys, the most anticipated race often comes from the Outstanding Dramas. Prestige dark hours about men (and, in a trend I’m excited for, increasingly women) behaving badly continue to fuel television’s “golden era.” Those type of critics’ bait television shows largely continue to ignore queer women’s stories. We find ourselves in other spaces. Spaces that often are left just outside the gates on the “Can You Believe They Got Snubbed?” list. The fact that Jane the Virgin and One Day at a Time continue to find themselves locked out of the Emmys Outstanding Comedy race year after year is more an indictment of the white, male majority of the Television Academy than it is about the quality of either of those shows.
At Autostraddle we are proud that our top three nominated series are all showrun by women. We’re even prouder that our inaugural winner, One Day at a Time, is co-run by a woman of color, Gloria Calderon-Kellett, who is helming one of the most heartfelt, funny, poignant, and diverse half hours on television. — Carmen Phillips
Outstanding Drama Series
Killing Eve
Runner up: Everything Sucks
Other nominees: Riverdale, Transparent, How to Get Away With Murder, Halt and Catch Fire
Crescendoing, relentless, all-consuming obsession fuels the narrative of Killing Eve, Phoebe Waller-Bridge’s sexy, smart, distinctly feminine action thriller starring Sandra Oh and Jodie Comer as the toxic spy-assassin duo who can’t stop thinking about each other. Watching Killing Eve feels exactly like that: seering obsession. This category was stacked with great, complex dramas, but there’s something just purely intoxicating about Killing Eve that sets it apart. Though it’s the phrase most often used to describe Eve and Villanelle’s dynamic, “cat-and-mouse” hardly covers what Oh and Comer bring to these characters or what’s even on the page. It’s never quite clear whether they want to murder each other or make out. Hunting each other, longing for each other, Eve and Villanelle might be one of the most complex queer relationships on television. But beyond that dripping subtext, it’s just a very good thriller with compelling twists and turns and sharp edges that refuse to be dulled. — Kayla Kumari Upadhyaya
Outstanding Sci-Fi/Fantasy Series
Black Lightning
Other nominees: DC’s Legends of Tomorrow, Marvel’s Runaways, Jessica Jones, Orphan Black
Anissa Pierce is the first black lesbian superhero on television, on a show comprised of an entire family of black superheroes. (She’s also, as far as we collectively are aware, the first explicitly lesbian superhero on network television, period, which is a huge deal as it’s very rare for the first lesbian anything to also be a POC.) That, itself, is enough to make it a shoe-in for this category, but Black Lightning is more than just the stats; it’s a really good TV show. It takes all of the best elements of superhero stories — grappling with secret identities and their impact on relationships, how and when to use superpowers, the giant expanse between “good” and “bad” — and it does so without shying away from the fact that the Pierce family is black in Trump’s America. Black Lightning even tackled Charlottesville in season one, centering an episode on a white supremacist confederate monument on Anissa’s campus, and her struggle with containing her own fear and righteous rage (and the accidental manifestation of her powers) when she was provoked within its presence. There are few shows as relevant as this one right now, and even fewer that confront our culture with such triumph. — Heather Hogan
Outstanding Lead Actress Playing an LGBTQ+ Character in a Drama Series
Viola Davis, How to Get Away With Murder
Runner up: Sandra Oh, Killing Eve
Other nominees: Judith Light (Transparent), Jodie Comer (Killing Eve), Sherri Saum (The Fosters), Aisha Dee (The Bold Type)
Viola Davis is one Grammy — one small, tiny audiobook — away from being the second black woman to ever capture the EGOT; she already has an Emmy, an Oscar and a Tony to her credit. Judith Light is a celebrated actress with nearly 40 years in the business; she is one of just six performers to win back-to-back Tonys. Sandra Oh has a Golden Globe and two SAG Awards already and, whether she wins or not, her Emmy nomination for Best Actress in a Drama is already etched in the history books. There was once a time when actors avoided playing gay; today well-crafted LGBT characters attract our best and brightest.
Last year when we were making our Emmy picks, Heather wrote:
Viola Davis is one of the greatest living actors in the world, and the fact that we get to see her play a brilliant, glorious, complicated, tortured, triumphant, broken, beautiful bisexual woman every week on broadcast network television is frankly unbelievable. In lesser hands, How to Get Away With Murder wouldn’t have made it a full season. She carries it all and elevates it to a place beyond anything written on a page or suggested by a director. She has deserved every award she’s ever been nominated for, and plenty that she hasn’t, and that includes this one.
Yes, including this one. — Natalie
Outstanding Supporting or Guest Actress Playing an LGBTQ+ Character in a Drama Series
Samira Wiley, The Handmaid’s Tale
Runner up: Madelaine Petsch, Riverdale
Other nominees: Nikohl Boosheri (The Bold Type), Sara Ramirez (Madam Secretary), Kimiko Glenn (Orange is the New Black), Alexis Bledel (The Handmaid’s Tale)
I’m almost tempted to just say, “Samira Wiley won this race in the Emmys just this past weekend, and that’s all you really need to know.”
Let’s dig deeper. One of our decisions in creating the “Gay Emmys” was to build a space for acknowledgment and critique. Acknowledgement that the quality of the stories and performances we’re finally receiving as LGBTQ+ women is growing and improving with every year, and Critique that those same performance remain woefully under-appreciated when it comes an Emmys season that’s largely dictated by the tastes of white, straight, cis men. Samira Wiley’s performance as Moira in The Handmaid’s Tale is a perfect intersection of those two competing interests. She’s one of the few actresses (along with Tatiana Maslany, Evan Rachel Wood, and Sandra Oh) who finds herself nominated in both our homegrown awards and the actual Emmy race. And get this, she won in both places! In fact, on Saturday night she made history as part of a first-time ever sweep for black actors in the Best Guest races. Samira’s take on Moira has been emotionally raw. It’s no small feat, considering how little screen time she’s given. She commands the screen and squeezes the most out of every harrowing second. — Carmen Phillips
Outstanding Lead Actress Playing an LGBTQ+ Character in a Comedy Series
Stephanie Beatriz, Brooklyn Nine-Nine
Runner up: Isabella Gomez, One Day at a Time
Other nominees: Yael Grobglsa (Jane the Virgin), Kristen Bell (The Good Place), Ilana Glazer (Broad City), Tig Notaro (One Mississippi)
If you follow Stephanie Beatriz on any social media, you know just how much this woman is acting when it comes to playing Rosa Diaz on Brooklyn Nine-Nine. Beatriz’s energy is completely divergent from her character; she even transforms her voice for the role. But those are just really fine-tuned acting tools that most capable performers have, not necessarily the kinds of things that make one worthy of a comedic acting win, especially in a category as stacked as this one. Beatriz’s humor is sharp, often physical but also harnessed in the way she punches every syllable, as with her line reading of “That’s Nora Ephron, you idiot.” Beatriz can bring out a softer side of Rosa when she needs to, but she never fully dials down that intensity. She’s always on, even when she isn’t the focus of a scene. She makes a character full of rage and contempt extremely likable (and not despite those characteristics but because of them). — Kayla Kumari Upadhyaya
Outstanding Supporting or Guest Actress Playing an LGBTQ+ Character in a Comedy Series
Rosario Dawson, Jane the Virgin
Runner up: Sheridan Pierce, One Day at a Time
Other nominees: Yara Martinez (Jane the Virgin), Luna Blaise (Fresh Off the Boat), Isidora Goreshter (Shameless), Alex Borstein (The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel)
Put a group of 50 people in a room, ask them a question and you’ll probably end up with 50 different answers, but, apparently, if you bring a bunch of lady-lovin’ women together and ask them about Outstanding Supporting or Guest Actress, the answer is damn near unanimous: Rosario Dawson.
And that’s not a slight on any of the other nominated actresses here — we were positively charmed by Sheridan Pierce’s quirky portrayal of Syd on One Day at a Time; we saw ourselves in Fresh Off the Boat‘s Nicole (Luna Blaise) when she admitted she might like girls over chips with Eddie; we loved Isidora Goreshter’s Svetlana on Shameless (some of us more than others). It’s just the power of Rosario Dawson.
The moment Jane Ramos sauntered over to Petra Solano, hand extended with a cocky smirk on her face, and became Petra’s lawyer, she had us… and Petra… and this award. — Natalie
Outstanding Lead Actress Playing an LGBTQ+ Character in a Sci-Fi Series
Tatiana Maslany, Orphan Black
Runner up: Dominique Provost-Chalkley, Wynonna Earp
Other nominees: Nafessa Williams (Black Lightning), Lyrica Okano (Marvel’s Runaways), Caity Lotz (Legends of Tomorrow), Chyler Leigh (Supergirl)
Though the industry was slow to realize it, the truth is finally out there: Tatiana Maslany is one of the best actors of her generation. Orphan Black was the perfect showcase of that truth, with Tatiana playing every Leda clone with astounding nuance. She never relied on wigs or wardrobe to differentiate them, instead giving each clone their own mannerisms, quirks and postures. She even layered those performances, having one clone mimic another, and it was always subtle and brilliant. In Cosima, we got a lesbian character who, in a pretty bleak landscape of queer rep at the time, was saying things like, “My sexuality isn’t the most interesting thing about me” and “I’m not going to apologize for my heart, okay?” Cosima’s relationship with Delphine was complicated and emotional and the strongest romantic through-line of the whole series, and Tatiana embraced it wholeheartedly, sometimes name-checking the “clonesbians” fans, and being an active, outspoken ally.
Sci-fi is too often not taken seriously, for reasons I will never understand — the “real” Emmys don’t even have it as a category at all, making it extremely rare for even the best sci-fi shows to be nominated. Luckily, Tatiana’s talent eventually broke through, and she’s nominated this year for the third time, for Orphan Black‘s final season. I’m excited to honor her for this show one last time. — Valerie Anne
Outstanding Supporting or Guest Actress Playing an LGBTQ+ Character in a Sci-Fi Series
Katherine Barrell, Wynonna Earp
Runner up: Floriana Lima, Supergirl
Other nominees: Sara Serraiocco (Counterpart), Mayko Nguyen (Killjoys), Carrie Ann Moss (Jessica Jones), Jes Macallan (Legends of Tomorrow)
Oh are you surprised it’s me, Valerie Anne, here to celebrate a Wynonna Earp win? I didn’t think so. This win is great because Nicole Haught is such a special character. She easily could have been a caricature, just Waverly’s hot cop girlfriend (I mean her name is literally a play on that) but as the episodes and seasons progressed it has become clear that she’s important to this story and this show entirely separate of Waverly. Katherine Barrell brings a softness to what could have easily been a rough exterior, and when she’s given the chance, she can give you comedy gold. The two episodes that featured Nicole and Wynonna getting drunk together (actually… both times it was Nicole getting drunk and Wynonna not so much), Kat delivered such smart comedic timing, it was truly a joy to watch. Not to mention every scene between Nicole and Waverly is crafted with such love and care, and Barrell’s performance is so engaging, that the running joke is Haught turns into a heart-eyes emoji every time Waverly is in the room. — Valerie Anne
Outstanding Performance by a Straight Actress in a Straight Role
Gina Rodriguez, Jane the Virgin
Runner up: Rita Moreno, One Day at a Time
Other nominees: Constance Wu (Fresh Off The Boat), Kerry Washington (Scandal), Issa Rae (Insecure), Justina Machado (One Day at a Time)
“Outstanding Performance by a Straight Actress in a Straight Role” is tongue-in-cheek. When we first brainstormed this category, we doubled over a bit in laughter. Then we narrowed down the nominations, and suddenly nothing was funny. How could we choose between Kerry Washington, Constance Wu, Justina Machado, or Rita Moreno?
Every queer woman reading this knows that eye-rolling moment where you see a straight woman on television, and you just want to save her from herself. You want her to not crumple in front of lackluster men who don’t deserve her. You want her not to succumb to the pressures of patriarchy. Hell, you want her (or the actress playing her) to be a meaningful ally to the queer women in her life. More than anything, you want her to have the opportunity to be complicated, messy, emotional, but also dynamic and full and free to love.
So few women characters on television are allowed that kind of breadth. Particularly straight women on TV, who are often forced into the (haha straight and) narrow boxes of a “romantic lead.” I’m so proud to award this year’s “Best Straight” to Gina “possibly more bisexual than Jane” Rodriguez. (Although she does still identify as straight, which’s why we included her in this category.) Not only does she continue to knock it out of the park as Jane Villanueva, a straight romantic lead who never loses track of her own self-worth or compass because of men, but her directorial debut behind the scenes gave us “Chapter Seventy-Four” – an episode nominated on its own merits this year for Best Episode with LGBTQ+ Themes. Now, that’s how you do it! – Carmen Phillips
Best Episode with LGBTQ+ Themes
Fresh Off the Boat, “A League of Her Own”
Runner up: Brooklyn Nine-Nine, “Game Night”
Other nominees: Jane the Virgin, “Chapter Seventy-Four”; Madam Secretary, “Refuge”; One Day at a Time, “Locked Down”; High Maintenance, “Scromple”
As a 39-year-old lesbian who came of age in the ’90s when the only queer character on TV was Ellen and she was getting annihilated for it, watching Nicole casually and successfully come out in 1997 on Fresh Off the Boat was a time-traveling balm to my closeted teenage heart. She came out to Eddie a few episodes before, but “A League of Her Own” found her joining the softball team for the local lesbian bar — the Denim Turtle — and coming out to her dad and step-mom. The episode was sweet and poignant and, like the rest of Nicole’s journey to figuring out her sexuality, full of so many glorious ’90s lesbian jokes. “Come to My Window” played at least three times! It was also the episode where Jessica, who has a notoriously broken gaydar, found out “it can go the girl way.” Honey immediately supported Nicole, and it only took her dad nine innings to get there. — Heather Hogan
Best Coming Out Story
Rosa Diaz, Brooklyn Nine-Nine
Runner up: Kate, Everything Sucks!
Other nominees: Nicole Ellis (Fresh Off the Boat), Cheryl Blossom (Riverdale), Ali Pfefferman (Transparent), Kat Edison (The Bold Type)
Ah yes, here I am, writing about Stephanie Beatriz again! But, more specifically, her character on Brooklyn Nine-Nine: the tough-as-nails and occasionally eratic (but secretly tender, especially when it comes to protecting and loving her friends) Rosa Diaz. I think it’s safe to say that most of us got queer vibes from Rosa early on (and really just a compound of queer vibes from the VERY GAY dynamics between Rosa/Gina/Amy, if we’re being honest), and there are few things more satisfying than picking up on subtextual queerness and then having the writers deliver. And wowza, did they deliver! It’s still strikingly rare for television characters to identify explicitly as bisexual, to actually SAY the word out loud. But Rosa does so. She boldly claims the identity. And Brooklyn Nine-Nine doesn’t just package this neatly in a single coming out episode and call it a day. Rosa’s coming out feels like a genuine journey, like something that ebbs and flows. It’s easier for her to come out to her friends than to her family. Ultimately, her coming out story is inspiring and hopeful, but it isn’t without its complications either. — Kayla Kumari Upadhyaya
Outstanding Performance by an LGBTQ+ Actress in a Comedy
Stephanie Beatriz, Brooklyn Nine-Nine
Runner up: Lily Tomlin, Grace and Frankie
Other nominees: Tig Notaro (One Mississippi), Abbi Jacobson (Broad City), Rosie O’Donnell (SMILF), Kiersey Clemons (Easy)
Yep!!!! It’s me again, writing about Stephanie Beatriz!!!! Honestly, it’s no surprise that she ended up dominating these super queer TV awards. It’s not every day that the stars align so that an actor’s own coming-out-narrative unfolds in conjunction with their character’s, but there’s something magical about it when it does happen. There’s something strikingly authentic about Beatriz’s portrayal of Rosa’s bisexual identity. Beatriz, in fact, had some input in the way the character’s coming out story was crafted and has vocally reiterated a lot of the points that Rosa’s story brings to the surface. Rosa pushes back against her parents when they try to deny her bisexuality by saying that she’ll probably end up with a man anyway. Beatriz has similarly called out any attempts to erase her identity, plainly stating that the fact that she recently got engaged to a man in no way negates her bisexuality. She’s making her voice heard in front of the camera and in real life, too. — Kayla Kumari Upadhyaya
Outstanding Performance by an LGBTQ+ Actress in a Drama
Sara Ramirez, Madam Secretary
Runner up: Samira Wiley, The Handmaid’s Tale
Other nominees: Rutina Wesley (Queen Sugar), Alexandra Billings (Transparent), Laverne Cox (Doubt), Sarah Paulson (American Horror Story: Cult)
In the Comedy equivalent of this race, Stephanie Beatriz had a sweep! Yet, in the Drama category we found ourselves split between Ramirez (winning as Outstanding Performance by an LGBTQ+ Actress in a Drama) and Samira Wiley (who beat out Ramirez earlier in this very post for Outstanding Supporting Actress Playing an LGBTQ+ Character in a Drama). Clearly, both of these Julliard-trained women of color are incredibly talented.
It’s not just that Sara Ramirez uses her celebrity platform to lift up those most vulnerable in our community, trans folks and bi folks of color who are often forgotten underneath the “rainbow flag.” It’s not just that she was vocal in the crafting of her character’s coming out story this year (though as Kayla just noted, that type of behind the scenes advocacy is still critical when talking about queer and bisexual representation). It’s not just that when approached by CBS about the role of Kat Sandoval, Ramirez told them in no uncertain terms that she was coming to the table as the butch icon she’s quickly become, and not as the remnant memories of Callie Torres that they may have been holding on to. Or maybe, really, it’s all of those things. In every moment, with every fiber, whenever and however she can, Sara Ramirez makes sure we know how much she loves us. She’s triumphant. It’s only fitting that we love her back with the same fervor. After all, if we don’t take care of ourselves, who will? – Carmen Phillips
Outstanding Performance by an LGBTQ+ Actress in a Sci-Fi/Fantasy Show
Evan Rachel Wood, Westworld
Runner up: Maisie Richardson-Sellers, Legends of Tomorrow
Other nominees: Tessa Thompson (Westworld), Ariela Barer (Marvel’s Runaways), Aubrey Plaza (Legion), Gillian Anderson (The X-Files)
The second season of Westworld was more polarizing than the first, but there’s no denying that Evan Rachel Wood is a force to be reckoned with. A total 180 from sweet, meek Dolores, self-aware Dolores is fierce and rightfully pissed. I don’t think I will ever, for as long as I live, forget Dolores being fired at and continuing to walk forward into the hail of bullets, unflinching. It was such a powerful image. Evan Rachel Wood carried her storyline with her head high this year, and even though her body movements were always quiet and controlled, her presence on screen was deafening. She more than earned this Gay Emmy, and I wouldn’t be surprised if she won an Emmy Emmy, too. Which is extra awesome because she’s so open about her sexuality and being part of our community that her full legal* name is Evan Rachel Wood Bisexual. – Valerie Anne
Outstanding LGBTQ+ Director / Producer / Showrunner
TIE: Lena Waithe, The Chi and Nahnatchka Khan, Fresh Off the Boat
Runner up: Rebecca Sugar, Steven Universe
Other nominees: Joanna Johnson, The Fosters; Katja Blichfeld, High Maintenance; Cameron Esposito & Rhea Butcher, Take My Wife
According to a recent report, more than 90% of the showrunners in Hollywood in during the 2016-2017 season were white and 80% were male. That diversity (or lack thereof) correlates strongly to who makes up writers’ rooms — showrunners hire who they know, after all — and that dictates the stories we see on television. Hiring an LGBTQ+ director/producer/showrunner is a game-changer. It means we’ll get to know more LGBTQ+ writers and see more LGBTQ+ stories being told.
Sometimes that means, we’re the story — that our lives are the central focus of the show, as with Cameron Espositio and Rhea Butcher’s Take My Wife or Joanna Johnson’s The Fosters. Then there are times we are just allowed to exist, woven into the tapestry of other’s stories, as is the case with this category’s winners, Lena Waithe’s The Chi and Nahnatchka Khan’s Fresh Off the Boat. Whether the characters are front burner or side burner, LGBTQ+ showrunners ensure that stories get told with nuance. It’s priceless.
That said, it’s possible that I’m being too critical about this, and, really, you just voted for Lena Waithe cause you’re still in your feelings about her haircut — which, I mean, SAME. — Natalie
Most Groundbreaking Representation
Black Lightning
Runner up: One Day at a Time
Other nominees: Steven Universe, Take My Wife,You Me Her, Transparent
In a mid-season episode of Black Lightning, Jefferson (one of the best men on TV, for sure) is forced to tell Anissa: “All it takes is one cop! One cop to see your color instead of your humanity and decide, better dead than sorry. Look, you are a black woman, you don’t have the luxury of being naive… I don’t want to lose you because you went along with something that you should have walked away from.”
What he doesn’t know yet is that guns can’t hurt her.
It’s both of these things that make this show so groundbreaking. It refuses to shy away from the realities of being a black family in a country built on and sustained by white supremacy. It comments on police violence. It comments on confederate monuments. It comments on everyday microagressions. It also features a black lesbian character who, it would appear, cannot be killed. “I’ve said before that bullet proof black people is my favorite superhero trope,” Carmen wrote in a season one recap, “but there is also something so sweet about a television lesbian who can’t be shot.” — Heather Hogan
Outstanding Male Character
Rogelio De La Vega, Jane the Virgin
Runner up: Captain Holt, Brooklyn Nine-Nine
Other nominees: Evan Huang, Fresh Off the Boat; Daniel “Hondo” Harrelson, S.W.A.T.; Jefferson Pierce, Black Lightning; Lincoln Rice, Broad City
It’s hard to live a day on Al Gore’s internet without seeing someone utter those three special little words — men are trash — and 99% of the time, that phrase is uniquely suited to describe men and whatever misogynistic BS they’ve done that day. But on television, as in life, there are always a select few men who prove to us: #NOTALLMEN. You can be heroic, like Jefferson Pierce on Black Lightning and still recognize that you can’t do it on your own. You can be a real leader, like Hondo on S.W.A.T. or Captain Holt on Brooklyn Nine-Nine, who works best by empowering the women around you. Or you could be Rogelio de la Vega, the winner of our Outstanding Male Character category, who works overtime to make the world more beautiful for the women in his life.
It’s easy to get lost in Jaime Camil’s portrayal of Rogelio. When he sits and cries with Jane or when he holds Xiomara’s hand through her cancer treatments or when he builds “bro-mances” with Michael and Rafael or when he dons his favorite lavender shirt, Rogelio is quietly rewiring our thinking about masculinity and undoing some toxic tropes about Latino men in particular. We were just too busy laughing to notice. — Natalie
Outstanding Animated Series
Steven Universe
Runner up: Adventure Time
Other nominees: Danger and Eggs, Loud House
Steven Universe is just so many things! It’s the first animated series to show two women kissing on-screen, the first animated series to show two women getting married on-screen, the only animated series on TV to feature almost all women of color as voice actors. It’s got non-binary representation; it’s constantly messing with gender presentation; it’s forever destroying toxic masculinity; it’s dealing with actual depression and actual trauma and finding ways to validate them both. It’s also helmed by non-binary bisexual showrunner Rebecca Sugar, who we just found out is the person responsible for Princess Bubblegum and Marceline’s whole gay deal on Adventure Time. It seems like she took what little she could do there, in terms of queer representation, and multiplied it times a hundred when she got her own show. Steven Universe has changed the game for queer characters on TV forever. — Heather Hogan
Outstanding Hairstyling for an LGBTQ+ Character
Sara Ramirez, Madam Secretary
Runner up: Sandra Oh, Killing Eve
Other nominees: Cameron Esposito and Rhea Butcher, Take My Wife; Nafessa Williams, Black Lightning; Sherri Saum, The Fosters; Lyrica Okano, Marvel’s Runaways
When Sara Ramirez tweeted out this promo shot of her as Kat Sandoval on Madam Secretary, she very nearly broke the queer internet. We were talking about it in literally every single channel in Autostraddle Slack. Twitter, too, was going berserk. All of it, of course, was especially about her alternative lifestyle haircut, which she’d been sporting since she came out as bisexual.
Autostraddle reader Another Rachel said it best: “I’m sorry, but IS THAT HAIRCUT GOING TO BE ON TV? That haircut. Haircut. The way her hair is cut. On tv.” And yes, it was. And yes, it was glorious. (It’s a bonus that when asked about her infamous new hair, Sara Ramirez name-checks black queer Brooklyn barber Khane Kutzwell first.) — Heather Hogan
Fan Favorite Couple
Waverly and Nicole, Wynonna Earp
Runner-Up: Alex & Maggie, Supergirl
I’ve already waxed poetic about Nicole, so let me tell you a little about why Waverly Earp is great. Her coming out wasn’t one big reveal, it wasn’t an epiphany or a secret she carried for a long time. It was an evolvement, a realization; and it wasn’t JUST her queerness she was coming into as she became more herself. It was the totality of Waverly. She was realizing she was more than just a small-town gal, that she could embrace the learned-dead-languages-for-fun, bookish side of her, that she didn’t have to be what everyone expected or wanted her to be. She could just be HER. And it just so happened that as she was learning this by way of realizing she could help her sister re: the Earp curse, that she also realized she deserved more than the boy she settled for who didn’t appreciate her favorite things about herself. And it just so happened that during this realization, the hottest cop to ever grace the Ghost River Triangle strolled into her bar. And Nicole loves Waverly for Waverly, and whatever that means to Waverly is fine by her. It’s no surprise to me that these two lovebirds made their way into so many of your hearts and that they won this fan fave category. — Valerie Anne
Fan Favorite Out LGBTQ+ Actor
Stephanie Beatriz, Brooklyn Nine-Nine
Runner-Up: Kate McKinnon, Saturday Night Live
We had joked about calling these awards The Violas (for the reasons Natalie listed above) or The Mommis (for the reasons listed in perpetuity on this website) but maybe we should have called them the Beatrizes. She absolutely swept these things! — Heather Hogan
Most Devastating Cancellation
Everything Sucks!
Runner-Up: One Mississippi
In the sixth episode of Everything Sucks!, Kate Messner sees her future — two women holding hands, dancing to Tori Amos’ “Silent All These Years” and kissing — and she knows that she wants it. At that very moment, the fear that’s kept her clinging to a fake relationship is outweighed by the desire to see that future realized.
“My whole life, I have been the freak. The girl who nobody picked for dodgeball. The girl who didn’t have a mom. The girl who dressed funny because it was her dad buying her clothes,” Kate admits. “And then, tonight I looked at these people, and I thought maybe there’s a future where I don’t have to be a freak. Maybe I can be who I am and that’s okay.”
Kate Messner gave voice to why representation is so important and, sadly, why the loss of Everything Sucks! is so profound. Kate Messner was to a Netflix audience what that Tori Amos show was to that character: a reminder that maybe you can be who you are and that’s okay. Netflix took for granted that there are still so many of us who still need to hear that message. — Natalie
Fan Favorite New Show
Killing Eve
Runner-Up: The Bold Type
Queer women were always going to be into Killing Eve because queer women are very into Sandra Oh, but it didn’t take long into the first season of BBC America’s breakout show for queer women to become as obsessed with Killing Eve as Eve and Villanelle are with each other. This is a story we’ve never seen before, not like this, and damn the tropes we just want more! — Heather Hogan
Fan Favorite Character
Rosa Diaz, Brooklyn Nine-Nine
Runner-Up: Nicole, Wynonna Earp
Surprise!
We’ll be live-blogging the “real” Emmys next Monday night; hope to see you there!
Boob(s On Your) Tube: Maggie Remains the Best but “Younger” Still Doesn’t Know What to Do With Her
It’s Boob(s On Your) Tube time! As summer TV gets to swingin’, Natalie wants me to remind you that Quiet Ann’s very special episode of Claws airs this Sunday, so get excited for that! This week, the Facebook Watch show Strangers came back and I still love it. Also Riese got addicted to a whole other Facebook Watch show called Skam Austin! And Kayla recapped a pretty dang queer episode of The Bold Type.
Younger 404: “The Talented Mr. Ridley”
Written by Heather Hogan
And then Evan Rachel Wood ended the season inside Tessa Thompson.
Summer is actually officially here now because I’ve had time to catch up on my silliest TV pleasure — Younger! I say it’s still because it’s silly how much I love this show that is essentially just a straight love triangle with some occasional Maggie thrown in for comic relief and my own personal delight. Sutton Foster really is some kind of magician with her charm and wit and her whole entire deal with her perfect face. This season, her secret is out! To Charles, at least, thanks to Younger‘s George R.R. Martin and Charles is being a little baby brat about it in a way I frankly did not expect. We’re not President Fitzgerald Grant levels of pissbaby here, but he’s being petty and vindictive and not thinking at all about the people who work for him and count on Empirical/Millennial to, you know, live. He goes from passive-aggressive to aggressive-aggressive to storming into Liza’s meetings and taking her projects. It is not a good look. Honestly, Josh, a 28-year-old washboard-playing tattoo artist whose shotgun green card marriage in Ireland has already fallen apart, is looking infinitely more mature than this guy.
Or maybe I’m just feeling soft on Josh because Younger has finally paired him up with Maggie! Not romantically, of course, but these two have always had great chemistry and always had each other’s backs, and their relationship has existed outside of Liza, which makes them a perfect character match, especially at this moment, because Liza’s drama is all Empirical/Millennial right now. When Josh tells Maggie he’s going on a sex/booze detox due to his broken heart, Maggie literally goes, “I think there are steps you can take that are less Amish than that” and then teases him when he kisses a dog that it’ll be he last smoochin’ for a while. Hey, but the dog in question is kind of abandoned and so he and Maggie set off into the night in Williamsburg to find his owner. (“I just want to remind you the last stray you picked up, you married her,” Maggie zings!)
Obviously Josh sleeps with the puppers’ owner and when he goes to Maggie’s to confess, she just pats him on the knee and gives him a glass of red wine and tells him it was the right thing today; she hasn’t fasted from sex or booze since grade school, okay, and she’s doing just fine.
In other news, Diana is falling in love with that plumber again and Kelsey remains too good for every dude who bats his eyes at her.
Quick Hits
Ackley Bridge 204
Nas outs herself.
Nasreen’s hunt for a new lady love continued this week on Ackley Bridge and she starts using a Grindr-like app to aid in her search. When the app lights up during lunch with her BFF, Missy, the girls track the proliferation of lesbians to a nearby soccer field (natch!). Missy and Nas take the pitch with the soccer team during their next practice, hoping to suss out which of the girls plays for Nas’ team. One high tackle later, Nas scores herself a date. It does not go well. In fact, it goes so badly, rather than going home with her date, Nas escapes through the bathroom window. Missy’s waiting for her in the alley and they laugh hysterically, as they pile into her half-brother’s car.
The whole situation is so funny that, for a brief moment, Nas’ mask slips and she drops the wrong pronoun… in front of her half-brother, who she’s only known even existed for a few weeks, and who definitely does not know she’s gay. Nas is mortified, Missy silently offers encouragement and Aaron tries to excuse himself from the awkward silence.
“I’m gay,” Nas admits. She steels herself for the backlash — anticipating his disapproval — but it never comes; Aaron doesn’t care who she likes.
“A couple of weeks ago, I didn’t even know I had a sister so it’s all just a bonus,” Aaron tells his sister, her eyes brimming with tears. “Look, I know you didn’t plan on telling me any of this but I’m dead glad you did.”
This was a great episode for Nas — Amy-Leigh Hickman was so good in cycling through Nas’ emotions in a short amount of time — we may not have a girlfriend for her yet, but seeing her expand her support system and build a relationship with her new-to-her brother was still great to watch. — Natalie
Westworld Season 2
So, I finished this season of Westworld and have no more clarity than I did in the middle of the season. It’s frustrating but I will try to focus on the things I did understand/like. For example, Evan Rachel Wood Bisexual. Just like…everything she was doing this season really did it for me. Every time she got shot and didn’t flinch I got gayer. Tessa Thompson and Thandi Newton are unstoppable. It was so nice to have Shannon Woodward back for a while. It could have been gayer. It SHOULD have been gayer. They spent too much time on Douchehat and not enough on literally anyone else. The acting was phenomenal all around, some of the shots were really beautiful. But I feel like I want someone to re-cut the whole season chronologically to help a sister out.
Also I swear to Dolores if the whole season was a simulation I’m going to riot. I don’t think it was because I think Westworld is better than that but I wanted to make that declaration.
At some point this season I wasn’t sure if I was going to watch season three, but the season ended with Dolores and a Hale-shaped host, and there’s a small possibility that Dolores put Teddy’s brain ball in her, which COULD be interesting. Only time will tell if this show will finally be as gay as it should be considering it has bisexual icons (bicons, as they say) Evan Rachel Wood Bisexual and Tessa Thompson at its disposal. — Valerie Anne
Dear reader looking for Detroiters coverage, this week was Carmen’s birthday and we had to pull her away today for that Tessa Thompson beat, but she’s thinking of you and will write up a thing for you next week!
Boob(s On Your) Tube: “Once Upon a Time” Went and Saved the Gays For Last
Hello it is Friday and that means it is only two days until Sunday and that is Vida day! Here’s the brand new promo for this week’s episode!
And if you’re wondering how to watch Starz, Carmen has a primer on that in last week’s Boobs Tube! You can also read Carmen’s recap of the first episode right here on this very website page.
This week, Cheryl Blossom somehow managed to get even more amazing on Riverdale. Riese made you a gay Law & Order quiz. And Valerie Anne recapped a legit really, really good episode of Supergirl.
Here’s what else!
Imposters 206: “That’s Enough. Off You Go.”
Written by Natalie
Part of the cons of Imposters‘ first season was leaving every victim with a blackmail envelope — evidence of something the victim or someone close to them had done that, if revealed, would have reverberations far stronger than whatever Maddie and her con artist sidekicks had stolen — that kept the victim from going to the police. From the beginning, we’ve known that Ezra’s envelope contained proof that his father had been carrying on a 20-year affair and that he’d stolen the patents that were the basis for the family business. We’ve known that Richard threw a football game to pay for his mother’s medical treatments…a worthy cause, yes, but public knowledge of his transgression would’ve killed his career aspirations. And while there have been hints about what’s inside Jules Langmore’s blackmail envelope, we never really knew for sure, until this week: Jules plagiarized her senior thesis for art school.
“Don’t you know what you should be after/ Unless you consult the head of the table”
While a student at the Rhode Island School of Design, Jules had a roommate. She was a genius, her work always so surprising, her talent so enviable, but she suffered from bipolar disorder. The story is cloaked in euphemisms that suggest the roommate and Jules might have been something more, but the show, much to my frustration, doesn’t explore the connection; instead, only describing their relationship as intense. Sadly, the roommate committed suicide during their senior year which left Jules despondent and behind on her schoolwork.
With deadlines looming, Jules swiped her dead roommate’s project and presented it as her own, but she got caught…and just as Jules is preparing to accept whatever punishment RISD hands out, including the destruction of her art career, her family swoops in to save her. In the years since, Jules has carried the guilt of having her career built on this lie and resentment towards her family for saving her and towards herself for letting them.
But, ultimately, the thing that’s most interesting about the story that Jules tells isn’t the story itself, it’s to whom she unwittingly confesses: Lenny Cohen. Lenny Cohen, the fixer for the boss that’s been behind the con all along. Lenny Cohen, the fixer that’s been sent to track down Jules and the other imposters, and “recruit” them into con game (or, presumably, to punish them if they don’t acquiesce). Oh, and did I mention that Lenny Cohen is played by Uma Thurman?
Safe to say, Jules has a type.
Now personally, if the last girl I met at a bar had conned me, stolen all my money and propelled me into a situation where I’m running from the FBI, I might be a little more discerning about the women I meet in bars, but not Jules…she’s almost eager to unburden herself when she meets this stranger in a bar. For her part, Lenny’s remarkably honest with Jules — sure, she leaves out all the “I’ve been sent here to maybe kill you” stuff, but she’s candid about who she is — “I correct people who are in breach of contract” — and what she’s here to do. Jules is clearly charmed by Lenny’s gruffness, in much the same way she was charmed by CeCe’s when they first met, and accepts when Lenny invites herself over for dinner to meet Jules’ friends.
Jules, you in danger, girl.
Into the Badlands 303: “Leopard Snares Rabbit”
Written by Valerie Anne
This week’s episode starts with the Widow’s Butterflies showing up to the Iron Rabbit’s burrow, where Tilda and Odessa had been planning together like good little anarchy girlfriends. They were warned barely in time, and it’s really just enough to avoid a full ambush.
What do you MEAN Brooklyn Nine-Nine was cancelled?!
The fight is brutal—Tilda is forced to kill a girl she used to fight alongside, and Odessa steps in to save Tilda from the Regent, resulting is kidnapped and taken back to the Widow.
The Widow has Odessa in the cage and tries to get information from her. She wants to know who warned the bunnies in the burrow, but Odessa doesn’t budge, not even when the Widow throws in some low (metaphorical) blows, calling her “an inconsequential fling” and saying Tilda will choose her mother over Odessa someday. When she leaves her men to continue trying to extract information from her, she tells them to keep her pretty…she DOES want Tilda to forgive her eventually after all.
Tilda comes flying into Lydia’s window to seek vengeance for her girlfriend, when she’s informed that Odessa isn’t dead, just kidnapped. So Tilda marches right through the front door of the Widow’s mansion and demands an audience. Just like that.
Tilda is willing to give up her whole Iron Rabbit deal to save Odessa. And the Widow brings Odessa out, but before she’ll hand her over, she wants more than a promise that her convoys will be protected. She wants Tilda back fighting by her side. So Tilda ups the ante too: free MK.
As if on cue, MK flies in all rage and violence and Tilda talks him down in the way only Tilda can and she exchanges a knowing nod with the Widow before letting Odessa lead her out. While I’m glad they both got out of that situation relatively unscathed, and I’m glad Tilda and the Widow might work together again soon, I do fear it will be at the expense of the Tildessa relationship. Only time will tell!
Timeless 208: “The Day Reagan was Shot”
Written by Valerie Anne
Here’s the thing: If you’re not watching Timeless, you should be. I think we’ve written about it here before, so I won’t give you a full synopsis, but it’s smart and it’s fun and it’s feminist af. They don’t sugar-coat the past the way some time travel shows do, often highlighting how Lucy, a woman, and Rufus, a black man, might not have the easiest time in one decade or another. I’ve learned more about real history than anything my white/straight/male-washed history books every taught me.
And what’s more, one of the regular characters is Agent Denise Christopher, a queer woman of color. Granted, her wife (also a qwoc) isn’t mentioned much, but they made a point to let us know that Agent Christopher had a wife and kids, and even have Lucy meet them once, and making sure their timeline isn’t interrupted is always important to Denise.
This week’s episode, though, was a Big Gay Episode, and the entire plot revolved around Denise, her wife, and her gayness. Lucy and their programmer, Jiya, go back to the 80s, thinking they had to save President Reagan, but quickly realizing they actually were meant to save a young Agent Christopher. A brush with death that didn’t happen in the original timeline pushes Denise into agreeing to go through with an arranged marriage to a man, so Lucy and Jiya pretend to be a lesbian couple (appropriately named Cagney and Lacey) to try to get her to admit that being married to a man, arranged or not, wouldn’t make her happy.
FAKE LESBIANS. CREATORS OF THE CAGNEY AND LACEY REBOOT TAKE NOTE
Especially since that marriage would result in her quitting the police force, which would mean she never got recruited by the FBI, which means the time travel program they all use to save the world on the regular would probably never exist. Plus also she’d be fucking miserable.
At first, Denise is hesitant; her Indian family is very traditional. She watched her cousin get disowned for marrying a white guy, being a lesbian in 1981 wasn’t exactly going to be smooth sailing. Desperate, both to save the timeline but also to save her coworker and friend a life of misery she knows is avoidable, Lucy breaks all the rules of time travel and whips out a laptop and a flash drive and shows Denise a slideshow of her family in the future. Her wife, her two kids, their collective happiness. Denise’s eyes fill up with wonder and she asks, “Two women can get married?” Hearing that, seeing those pictures, it gave her hope. That moment, in a nutshell, is why representation is important. Sometimes all it takes to ease an anxiety is a promise that something is possible. Just knowing something has been done, or could be done, is sometimes enough to make it less scary. It can, in short, give you hope.
Anyway, whatever Lucy and Jiya do, it ends up being even better than the first time around, because not only did they get Denise to call off the arranged marriage, but somehow they got the timeline to change so that instead of being totally estranged, Denise’s mother is now a bigger part of her life. And of course, her wife and kids are still happy and healthy and having pizza night just as they planned.
REAL LESBIANS
It was a really nice change of pace to have an entire episode revolve around ensuring the lesbian character DIDN’T get shot. And Agent Christopher has worried from the start that her wife and kids might just poof from existence, so therefore that has been a worry of mine all along as well. But instead the emotional crux of this very emotional episode was giving a young police officer hope that she could be a badass FBI agent with a wife and kids someday, and helping her follow through on that plan.
Once Upon a Time 720: “Is This Henry Mills?”
Written by Carmen
Tilly’s been coerced to join Mother Gothel’s secret witch coven in order to save her father and her girlfriend, because she’s The Guardian and can hold all the dark magic in the realm without succumbing to it, which is apparently some powerful stuff (oh, man! This show! Amirite?). She’s hypnotized along with the rest of the coven; they just repeat the same spell over and over again, bringing all the world’s dark magic back to Seattle. When each member of the coven completes their job, they get turned into a tree seedlings, which means that Tilly is going to die.
This is an episode of Buffy that I’ve definitely seen before.
Her dad, the New Captain Hook (they call him “Nook”, get it?), doesn’t quite get what’s going on because he’s still cursed and thinks he’s a Seattle Police Detective. But, he knows that something isn’t right here. He gets reinforcements, first from Detective Weaver (Rumplestiltskin, who’s already awake from the curse and VERY AWARE of what is going on here), and then from Tilly’s girlfriend Margot (Robin Hood!!! Here to save the day!!!).
The trio returns to the coven in a futile attempt to either wake Tilly or break Gothel’s magical hold on her. Margot’s so nervous, her hands are shaking! Luckily, she’s a queer girl in 2018; she’s not freaked out by a little witchy activity. She slices through the coven like it’s nothing and walks right up to Tilly.
She places a gentle hand on her shoulders and looks her in the eyes. Her voice is gentle and patient, like she’s talking to small, shaking, scared cat.
“Hey there — There are a lot of people who are really worried about you, but I know that you’re just having one of your bad days. But if you come with me, maybe we can turn it into a good one. What do you say?”
From beneath her trance, Tilly cries at the sound of Margot’s voice. A single tear breaks through, rolling down her cheek. Before the power of Margot’s love can take root, the dark magic bites back. In a bright flash, Tilly turns Margot, along with the rest of the rescue party, into a scene from Honey, I Shrunk The Kids.
Yep, that’s them.
The season long curse breaks when, in the main plot of the episode, Henry and Regina Mills save the day. Back at the coven, everyone’s returned to normal size. Remembering who they are for the first time all year, Robin Hood takes off Margot’s glasses and runs into Alice’s arms.
They hold each other so tight, Alice’s hands turn red from her grasp. They whisper memories of love and and sweetness, their breath mingling in the cold air. Alice is overcome; she had promised Robin, no matter what, they would always remember each other. And she was right! The hero music swells and Robin kisses the love of her life like she never wants to stop kissing her, ever again.
Love is love is…
Love.
Gothel makes one last attempt to turn Alice to the dark side, promising that they can be a family. With her father on one side of her, and Robin on the other, clasping her hand tight, Alice faces down her wretched mother once and for all. She’s not alone anymore. She’s not an orphan, she’s no longer “a crazy girl who’s lost her way”. She never will be again. With that, she uses all her magic and the love that surrounds her and turns Gothel into a freaking tree!!!!
Side Note: This is not gay, but if you’re a fan of Regina Mills and her relationship with her son, Henry — this is the episode for you! It’s a beautiful love letter to the mother/son relationship that’s been at the heart of the show throughout the last seven seasons.
Quick Hits
Westworld 203: “Virtù e Fortuna”
Westworld still isn’t any queerer than having Evan Rachel Wood Bisexual leading the charge, but it’s still pretty fun so far, and there are a lot of women in charge of things. Dolores is going by Wyatt now and causing a ruckus as usual, Tessa Thompson took command of some soldiers, Maeve is a woman on a mission, and our girl Armistice made a surprise re-appearance. Plus we met a woman who washed up on the shores of Westworld from a safari land, and I have a feeling we haven’t seen the last of her, either. — Valerie Anne
Things on the cobbles have been kind of a mess lately, but this week the writers showed that their still capable of impactful storyline as news of Aidan Connor’s suicide spread across Weatherfield (Gail’s speech was a highlight for me). Grief manifests differently for everyone and for Kate, it’s mostly anger. She’s livid at her brother, chastising him for his selfishness and promising to never forgive this transgression. Rana shows up on Friday’s episodes to comfort her girlfriend, just as Kate’s anger starts to give way to grief. — Natalie
Grey’s Anatomy 1423: “Cold As Ice”
I’m happy to report that April Kepner did not die! She did get very, very cold and almost drown. It was a sort of throwback to episode 3.17 “Some Kind of Miracle”, where Meredith almost drowns, but the hospital staff brings her back to life. Anyway, April is safe and happily back in love with Matthew — the Christian EMT that she left at the altar for Jackson all those years ago. No word yet on how she’s officially leaving the show, but I’m glad that she’s getting a (off camera) happy ending!
Ok, the gay stuff! Geena Davis came back as Dr. Herman (AKA Dr. Dottie Hinson #ALeageOfTheirOwn #NeverForget). She’s even funnier than I remember and Geena Davis is obviously always a megawatt talent. I was impressed with her acting choices and how she approached Dr. Herman’s blindness. Arizona was going to leave her neonatal surgery practice behind and go back into peds surgery as part of her big move to New York, but instead Dr. Dottie Hinson offers to open up a new maternal care research clinic in NYC with Arizona at the head! It’s going to be called the “Robbins-Herman Center for Women’s Health””. No word yet on Callie, but Arizona did mention her (using her full name Calliope! heart eyes) before getting cut off mid sentence. It sounds like Callie is excited for the move and being very supportive! AWWW, YOU GUYS!!! — Carmen
Boob(s On Your) Tube: Is “Grey’s Anatomy” Really Setting Up a Calzona Reunion?
Good Calzona, friends! It’s time for another Calzona Tube with your friendly neighborhood TV Calzonas! This week Carmem reviewed Vida and interviewed both queer showrunner Tanya Saracho and non-binary actor Ser Anzoategui. (If you don’t know how to watch Vida because you don’t have Starz, Carmen has the answers for you below!) Our whole team compiled a spring/summer TV preview for you. Valerie Anne recapped Supergirl’s Worldkiller extravaganza! Kayla pondered how many Black Hoods there are, really, in Riverdale. And Dorothy Snarker explained why you should be watching Killing Eve. Here’s what other Calzonas happened this Calzona!
Grey’s Anatomy 1422: “Fight For Your Mind”
Written by Carmen
This is one of those weeks where you have to start at the end of the story first, you know? I can’t hold it in any longer! And before I get to it — I want you to know, I solemnly swear this was not a fever dream. I promise that this actually happened. Deep breath. Are you ready? I’m ready (I’m not! I will never be ready!) — Here we go.
ARIZONA CALLED CALLIE!!!
ARIZONA CALLED CALLIE AND SHE IS MOVING TO NEW YORK!!!
When I tell you that I scrambled onto the tips of my toes Thursday night, and freaking screamed like I just won the Super Bowl —
Ok. Thank you for indulging my Calzona heart as it beats its loudest and most proud song! Now we can rewind back to the beginning of the story.
That is a sad, sad face Sofia. Don’t worry. I promise the story ends happy.
Sofia’s suspended from school (SECOND GRADE!! Where has the time gone? Also, she’s super tall now!) for stealing the class field trip money. A grand total of $1,200!!!! She wants to use the money to buy a plane ticket to New York. She didn’t want to tell Arizona about her big Ocean’s Eight Heist Plan because she didn’t want to hurt her Mama’s feelings.
Meanwhile, Arizona’s patient of the week has tomophobia, a fear of medical treatment. Her dad died during a routine appendectomy, and now she can’t imagine going under the knife without associating it with death. Which is a problem because her baby has spina bifida and needs to have surgery in utero right now. Arizona tries to reason with her. Maggie tries to reason with her. Nothing helps. The patient checks out of Grey Sloan Memorial against medical advice.
Arizona later cries with April in the hospital hallway. Her life is falling apart! She can’t save her patient. Sofia is depressed and miserable. It’s all bad. So, her best friend does what best friends do. She eats ice cream and gives loving advice that lights a light bulb and changes Arizona’s whole world. She’s a mom, April reminds her, and moms do what is best for their kids.
First Arizona visits her patient at home. She tells her that she understands toe curling, gut wrenching, phobia — perhaps more than most. You see, Arizona Robbins grew up a military brat. She moved bases a thousand trillion times as a kid, and her only stability was roller skating with her dad. They would pack boxes, move states or countries, and then she would break out her skates and all would be ok. Skates were her home. She skated (literally) through college, she skated in medical school — and as we all know, she rolled in on those skates and into our hearts during her very first day at Seattle Grace.
Sunshine, I am going to miss you.
When Arizona was in the plane crash, there was only one thing she could think. If they amputated her leg, she would never be able to skate again. Was that irrational? Sure. But, those skates were how she defined herself. They were her heart and safety and happiness. Arizona tells her patient, she begged her wife not to amputate. She made her promise that no one would take her leg.
We all know how that turned out.
Here’s the thing, Arizona now knows, deep in her inside places knows, that Callie made the right choice. She chose Arizona’s life. She chose Arizona’s life at a time when Arizona was too wrapped up in her phobia to make that choice on her own. And she stood firm in that decision, no matter what kind of pain Arizona wailed on her. And you know what? Arizona did skate again. Callie was by her side to help her learn.
I’ll be honest with you, when Arizona first started the monologue, I rolled my eyes. I couldn’t believe that they were going to reduce all of those years of Callie and Arizona’s love and pain into a pair of roller skates. I was wrong. By the time Arizona wrapped up, I understood the history of their relationship through an entirely new prism of light. That’s a gift.
The monologue worked on her patient, too. She faces her fears and gets the surgery! She survives, proving her own phobia wrong and saving her baby in one fell swoop! Cheers and tears all around!
Arizona’s not done yet. She has one last hard task to do. Because she’s a mom, and moms do what is best for their kids. She waits until Sofia is asleep, and has Carina over for a candlelight dinner.
We join them at the end of the meal, Carina’s face hardened into stone. Arizona tries to plead with her; she knows that Carina will think this coddling Sofia, but she has to do what she thinks is right. She has to do what’s best for her daughter if she can, and in this case she can.
Carina slams down her wine glass on her way out the door. She whips her hair around in a fury; if Arizona’s mind is made up, then why does she care what Carina thinks? Why bother defending herself at all?
There’s a beat. The heaviest thud that never makes a sound. Arizona looks to her feet, just for a millisecond. Carina licks her lips, careening her eyes to the heavens and blinking back tears.
They never say it. And maybe I imagined it. But, that beat? In my heart, that beat rang of Callie Torres. Callie who Arizona spent the afternoon seeing in a new prism of light. Callie who a few weeks ago Arizona admitted made everything in her life make sense. And maybe it’s just that Arizona doesn’t want Carina to think she’s still in love with her ex. Maybe she’s not in love with her ex, and this truly is all for Sofia. The beat weighs all the same.
Arizona comes in close, she nods her head up to Carina’s chin and gently touches her elbows. Carina grabs her by both hands and together they share a passionate goodbye kiss like the kind you read in story books.
*dramatic music plays*
That’s it. Carina squeezes Arizona’s hands one last time and walks out the door.
And that is when Arizona calls Callie, her voice a little hoarse. She thinks it’s best that Sofia move home to New York. She bends down to kiss her sleeping daughter’s forehead as Meredith’s voice over reminds us all that healing is sometimes possible. Then, Arizona nervously bites her lip.
She tells Callie that she thinks it’s best if she moves to New York, too.
I don’t know if Callie and Arizona are getting back together. But, this one perfect moment, Arizona choosing her daughter and her family and the life they built together — it’s already enough for me.
We have two more episodes to go, and it’s already the sweetest goodbye.
A happy lesbian to all, and to all a good night.
Post-Op Thoughts:
Personal fangirling aside, I feel for Carina. Arizona just asked her to move to the United States permanently like what… a month ago? And now she’s moving to New York and leaving Carina alone. Objectively speaking, that sucks.
Thursday’s episode also gave us Arizona’s last on screen surgery, which exquisitely filmed by Jesse Williams (our own Jackson Avery).
One of my new favorite games is called “Who will be the next gay girl now that Arizona is leaving”. Today’s winning contestant is Intern Taryn Helm, AKA Hellmouth, thanks to this exchange:
Hellmouth: Any minute now, she’s going to realize that I am the love of her life —
Intern Qadri: Meredith Grey is straight.
Hellmouth: Have you heard how she talks about Cristina Yang?
Damn right, Hellmouth.
Y’all, I’m very terrified for April Kepner next week.
Boobs Tube Special Edition: How Do I Watch Vida?
Written by Carmen
As we rolled out our Vida coverage this week, a frequent question that kept coming up in our replies was, “I don’t currently have Starz, but I want to watch this show and support! Is there any way I can do that?” I want you all to have nice things so I did some research. If your cable package doesn’t include Starz, or you don’t have cable at all (or even a television!) — Good news, you have options!
First, if you have cable, but your cable package doesn’t currently include Starz, you can just call your provider up directly. According to my research, on average adding Starz can will cost roughly in the range of $10 to $30. The benefit of this is that some of those prices are bundled, so you might end up getting some other premium channels along with Starz for the money. The downside is that it’s probably the most costly of what we are going to talk about here, and may or may not come with a minimum month requirement.
If you don’t have cable (or even a television), but you have working internet and an Amazon Prime account, you are still in business! You can direct order Starz from an Amazon Prime service known as “Amazon Channels”. Amazon Channels is a subsidiary of Amazon Prime’s ongoing video service. You cherry pick the premium cable channels you want to access (for our hypothetical purpose, that would be Starz), and pay for those channels via Amazon like you already do with books and movies. Each channel has its own monthly subscription, and Amazon will allow you streaming access to that channel’s content from the Amazon site (or Amazon video apps on mobile/ tablet/smart tv, here’s a list from Amazon that will tell you all the devices). As of yesterday, a monthly Starz subscription costs $8.99 a month. You can cancel any time from the “Video Subscription” tab underneath your Amazon account. The benefit of this option is ease, especially of you are already familiar with the Amazon website.
If you have don’t have cable/ television and you are not an Amazon Prime member, you have one more choice! Starz has its own independent streaming service! You can order it from the Starz website. This will allow you to stream Starz content directly on their website, but also on the Starz App from Apple and Android smartphones and tablets, along with most streaming television devices. You can check if your device is covered here. As of yesterday, this monthly subscription costs $8.99 a month, the same is if you ordered it from Amazon. And much like the Amazon offering, you can cancel at any time. The benefit of this choice having access directly from Starz without a third party intermediary.
If you were interested in checking out Vida, but felt frustrated because Starz is sometimes a hard channel to access, I hope that one of these options works for you! Let me know in the comments if I can be of additional help. And I’ll be back on Monday with our first official Vida recap! Woohooo!
Quick Hits
Westworld 202: “Reunion”
Nothing gay to report on this week’s episode of Westworld, unless you count the fact that I definitely got gayer when Dolores and Maeve faced off. Also someone on Twitter called Dolores the Khaleesi of Westworld and it’s so true. She’s going from group to group and telling everyone that they’re free, taking down anyone threatening that freedom. And she looks good doing it. Instead of pet dragons though she just has a pet Teddy. — Valerie Anne
Into the Badlands 302: “Moon Rises, Raven Seeks”
Tilda wasn’t in this episode much, but when she was there, she said one truth: “Veil deserves better.” And one lie: she had to give a fake name and she chose Calliope, arguably the most bisexual name ever. The preview images for next week show Tilda with Odessa so I’m hoping we’ll finally find out if they’re murder girlfriends or what. — Valerie Anne
Siren 107: “Dead in the Water”
It’s possible I’m projecting but it really seems like they’re still leaning into this possibility of a man/woman/mermaid throuple. Ryn still talks about “Ben and Madi” like they’re her humans. This week, Madi had to help Ryn out of trouble with the police/Madi’s father, and they decided to come out to him. And by that I mean tell him Ryn is a mermaid. Madi had to pour water on Ryn’s hand, causing her a lot of pain as it shifted into a webbed claw and back again. Madi gently put her hand on Ryn’s arm and apologized in a soft, kind voice and I dunno, y’all, I still ship it. With or without Ben. It’s just still unclear whether or not Ryn loves her humans romantically or is just mimicking the way they interact with each other as she learns to live among humans. — Valerie Anne
Star 215: “Let the Good Times Roll”
The record label is sending everyone to perform at New Orleans Pride. Noah, the label’s troublesome R&B star, doesn’t want to perform because it’s “gay shit”. Star rips him a new one, because she’s a true ally. Whatever. The thing I like most about the entire confrontation is that Star’s wrapping up its second year as the #2 most watched television show in all of black American households. So when a homophobic asshole gets promptly corrected, the message is getting through to the people at home. That matters. Simone is supposed to have sex for the first time with her new teen crush Angel (He’s also her husband — don’t ask! It’s a marriage of convenience! He needed a green card and she needed to get out of foster care!), but she’s worried. Angel thinks it’s because she’s a lesbian and is afraid to tell him. Simone loved Karen with all her heart, but she doesn’t love labels, so that’s not the problem. The problem is that she’s still healing from the abuse of her former foster father. We will have to deal with that soon! Also, there was lots of voguing and rainbows! The end.— Carmen
Once Upon a Time 719: “Flower Child”
Okay, so remember when I told you that Alice is The Guardian? Meaning she can hold all the dark magic in the universe, but not be corrupted by it? Good. Do you know else is very invested in capturing Alice’s gift for fancy magic? Her mother. Before her Adventures in Wonderland, Alice spent most of her childhood trapped in a tower like Rapunzel thanks to her mother, Mother Gothel (the witch in the Rapunzel story whose name I literally never remembered before this season of Once Upon a Time). Mother Gothel’s ultimate evil endgame is to use her coven of witches and make humans pay for, ugh, discriminating against magic folk? It’s a whole thing — the humans committed genocide on her family when she was a teenager. Anyway! Gothel gets Alice to join the coven and bring back all the bad magic by threatening her father and her one true love, Robin. At the mention of Robin’s name, Alice’s eyes grow three sizes! She agrees to do her mother’s dirty work, but I bet that won’t last long! ROBIN HOOD TO THE RESCUE!! IT’S TIME TO SAVE YOUR GIRL! — Carmen
Spring/Summer 2018 TV Preview: All the Lesbian and Bisexual and Trans Women TV Characters Your Heart Requires
The time has come to talk about spring and summer teevee! Okay, the time has kind of passed to talk about spring teevee, but not by too much — all of these shows that started in spring are still airing! It’s been a pretty okay year for LGBTQ women on television so far. Very few deaths, historically speaking, and a decent amount of kissing and some critically acclaimed series filled out with queer women. Summer is always an exciting time for us because it’s when the genre shows rain down in full force and we’ve always had the most representation in sci-fi and fantasy. This spring and summer, though, there’s plenty of non-supernatural dramas too. Below is every show we know about that has a premiere date. We’ll keep this list updated as new premiere dates are announced, and you can bookmark this page or reference it from the Arts & Entertainment Menu at the top of your Autostraddle Website Page.
April 2018 Queer TV Show Premieres
It’s true, these shows have already begun — but they weren’t in our winter preview, and we want to make sure they’re on your radar!
Star, Wednesday March 29th (Fox) – Season Two
Star’s a soap opera about low income, teen girls of color reaching for the music superstar dreams. It has had an impressive slate of black QTPOC representation in front of and behind the camera — including Amiyah Scott as Cotton Brown, becoming the first trans actress to play a trans woman in a regular network TV role, and out actor Miss Lawrence as Miss Bruce. It also stars Queen Latifah and is produced by out gay producer Lee Daniels. One of the show’s lead protagonists is Simone Davis, a biracial, bisexual teen who’s in and out of foster care. She’s got an unbreakable spirit and determination to go after her goals. It wouldn’t be fair not to warn you that (SPOILER ALERT) Star buried one of its gays last winter. I still find the musical soap enjoyable, but it’s something to keep in mind. — Carmen
Siren, Thursday March 29th (Freeform) – Season One
A murder mermaid temporarily shed her tail and popped onto land for a while, learning the way humans do things and then tossing them aside to do what she wants. And sometimes that thing includes kissing a girl. The girl has a boyfriend but the boyfriend is into the mermaid too so we might have our first-ever man-woman-mermaid throuple situation heading our way on Freeform in this ten-episode series. — Valerie Anne
Famous in Love, Wednesday April 4th (Freeform) – Season Two
Bisexual actress Alexis is the star of her own reality television show this season, which means regularly negotiating the temptation to ruin the lives of everybody she knows and cares about in order to amass fame and the veneer of success! What an inspirational character for us all. — Riese
Imposters, Thursday April 5th (Bravo) – Season Two
The Bumblers, including our fave, Jules Langmore, are riding high after exacting revenge on the ex that betrayed them all but things quickly go sour and the trio are forced to regroup in Mexico. Season Two promises to delve more into Jules’ backstory, including introducing us to her sister, Poppy (Rachel Skarsten). — Natalie
Killing Eve, Sunday April 8th (BBC America) – Season One
Sandra Oh has finally booked the post-Grey’s Anatomy leading role she deserves, playing Eve, a spy tracking down a notorious bisexual assassin named Villanelle (Jodie Comer). Their obsession with each other is laced with sexual attraction. And even though it’s a spy thriller, Phoebe Waller-Bridge infuses this dark world with bits of unexpected humor that Oh and Comer bring out masterfully. Killing Eve is the sexy, queer spy thriller I’ve long craved. — Kayla (warning: due to the genre of this show, steady yourself for some gays to get buried.)
Supergirl, Monday April 16th (The CW) – Season Three
Supergirl took a hiatus to sort some stuff out and I’m really hoping that means great things for the back half of this season. Our resident lesbian, Alex, is still getting over her ex-girlfriend Maggie, so I doubt she’ll have any kind of lady love until Season Four, but hopefully the show continues to focus on her relationship with Kara, and remember that the show actually is about Supergirl, not her boring ex-boyfriend. Also if Alex wanted to go on a few bad Tinder dates just for giggles I’d be fine with that, too. — Valerie Anne
Westworld, Sunday April 22nd (HBO) – Season Two
When asked about exploring Dolores’s sexuality, Evan Rachel Wood said her character is “not either a man or a woman” and, furthermore, “All I can say is, yes, there’s going to be something. I wasn’t disappointed. I was like, ‘Yay,’ but that’s all I can say.” It is very difficult to describe Westworld at all in a little paragraph in a teevee preview — because LOL I barely understand what’s going on half the time. Still it’s some of the most exciting television on television these days, even if all the queer stuff has been either deeply buried/implied or very surface level. — Riese
Into the Badlands, Sunday April 22nd (AMC) – Season Two
Season Two came back both with and without a bang. That is to say, Tilda isn’t sporting her classic bang look anymore, but it’s because she needs her hair slicked back — the better to murder men with, my dear. It looks like she’ll be slaying enemies alongside her girl Odessa this season while she works out her mommy issues. We’ll also meet a new character who really upped the murder game; she has potential to really shake things up. — Valerie
The 100, Tuesday April 24th (The CW) – Season Five
I’ll be honest: It doesn’t matter how we do or do not write about this show, someone will get mad at us because we did or did not write about this show. So, here are the facts: The 100 still boasts a badaass bisexual leading character. The 100 also unrepentantly murdered a lesbian character that set off a chain reaction of activism that changed the landscape of queer TV forever. Whatever your relationship is to this show, it’s valid. We’re not telling you what to believe. What we’re telling you is that The 100, unlike Lexa, continues to exist.
The Handmaid’s Tale, Wednesday April 25th (Hulu) – Season Two
This show remains hella dark and chock-full of queer women — one of whom (Moira, played by Samira Wiley) has escaped to Canada where she’s dealing with Gilead-inspired trauma and another (Emily, played by Alexis Bledel) who has been sent to The Colonies to dig up nuclear waste until she dies! You can read my review of it here. — Riese
May 2018 Queer TV Show Premieres
Dear White People, Friday May 4th (Netflix) – Season Two
The black queer women supporting characters of Dear White People’s first season were super underwhelming, which personally hurts me because one of them was played by Nia Long — one of my oldest childhood crushes. Dear White People‘s based on the cult classic satire indie film of the same name about being a black student in a predominantly white university. The original film was produced by Lena Waithe and brought to screen by out gay writer/director/producer Justin Simien. Simien also helms the Netflix series and, according to the trailer, we can at least expect a Lena Waithe cameo in the second season! In her brief clip, she says “black lesbians” real slow and felt so good to my ears, I rewound it three times. — Carmen
Vida, Sunday May 6th (Starz) – Season One
I am so excited for you all to fall in love with Vida! Vida is about two Chicana sisters returning to their old neighborhood in East LA after their mother’s death. One of the sisters is queer. Both sisters are surprised to find out that, upon her death, their mother was married to a woman. Out non-binary actor Ser Anzoategui plays the butch lesbian widow. The show’s produced by an out queer Chicana, Tanya Saracho, and has a predominately queer Latinx writers room. It’s sooo, soo good y’all. It’s on Starz, which I know is not a cable channel that’s easily accessible for everyone, but I promise you that it’s going to be worth the effort to seek out! We’re going to be talking more about Vida in the upcoming weeks and helping you all find ways to support it — because we want you to have nice things!! And this is a really nice thing. — Carmen
Sweetbitter, Sunday May 6th (Starz) – Season One
Sweetbitter is the story of Tess, a 22-year-old who flees her old life for a new one in Manhattan where she immediately snags a job at an exclusive restaurant. Set in 2006, Tess serves an upscale clientele, hangs at an industry dive bar, learns a lot about food and wine and, mostly, learns a lot about people. One of her new friends is Ari, played by Eden Epstein, described as “a backwaiter by day and an adventurous lesbian and DJ by night.” The book was pretty good (although I was partial to it, having also been a young New York aspirant in 2006 and having waited tables in the city), perhaps the series will be even better! — Riese
13 Reasons Why, Friday May 18th (Netflix) – Season Two
I found Season One to be really f*cked up on just about every level including basic storytelling, and allegedly creators are taking this feedback into account with Season Two, which will shift its focus from Hannah’s suicide to a sexual assault trial. According to Netflix, “Liberty High prepares to go on trial, but someone will stop at nothing to keep the truth surrounding Hannah’s death concealed. A series of ominous Polaroids lead Clay and his classmates to uncover a sickening secret and a conspiracy to cover it up.” Furthermore, “Jessica’s recovery will also be explored as Yorkey looks to examine what it’s like to go from being a victim of sexual assault to being a survivor of sex assault.” Lesbian character Courtney Crimson will continue her role and sexually fluid Hannah will remain front-and-center.
Picnic at Hanging Rock, Friday May 25th (Amazon Prime) – Season One
The classic 1975 novel about three schoolgirls who vanish from Appleyard College for Young ladies on Valentine’s Day 1900 has been adapted before — Peter Weir’s 1975 film “certainly picked up on the erotic subtext” of the story, but the new Foxtel series “takes the sexual undercurrents rippling among the residents of Appleyard College and the local townsfolk and makes them a tad more obvious.” Somehow, a wooden dildo is involved. Regardless, we’re in. — Riese
Queen Sugar, Tuesday May 29th (OWN) – Season Three
Details are scant about what to expect from season three of Queen Sugar but with a focus on the “journey of fatherhood,” we anticipate Nova Bordelon exploring her unresolved issues with her late father, Ernest. We’re also keeping hope alive that 20gayteen brings Nova a girlfriend. — Natalie
June 2018 Queer TV Show Premieres
Humans, Tuesday June 5th (AMC) – Season 3
Here’s what we know about Season Three of Humans: “One year after the dawn of consciousness, a decimated and oppressed Synth population fights to survive in a world that hates and fears them. In a divided Britain, Synths and Humans struggle to broker an uneasy peace, but when fractures within the Synth community itself start to appear, all hope of stability is threatened.” Pansexual synth Niska will be back, but her girlfriend Astrid isn’t showing up on IMDB as part of Season Three. I hope she finds somebody else to be queer with. — Riese
Pose, Sunday June 3rd (FX) – Season One
There has never been a show like Ryan Murphy’s Pose on TV. Ever. It boasts 50+ LGBTQ characters and the largest number of trans series regulars in American TV history. MJ Rodriguez, Indya Moore, Dominique Jackson, Hailie Sahar and Angelica Ross are all playing trans characters, and Janet Mock and Our Lady J are producing and have both been in in the writers room. You’re about to learn a whole lot about ’80s ball culture! — Heather
The Fosters, Monday June 4th (Freeform) – Finale Event
After five seasons, the Adams Fosters clan are ready to say their final goodbye. The three episode finale mini series takes place roughly four years in the future from the main body of the show. All of the Adams Fosters children have graduated from either high school or college and the entire family is coming together to celebrate Brandon’s wedding. I don’t care about Brandon Adams Foster, ever, and the trailer for the finale does little to assuage my worries. However, The Fosters really stuck the landing of their final season. They brought back heart to their storytelling and refocused their central energy on Stef and Lena. It’s enough that to have regained my trust going into summer. — Carmen
Younger, Tuesday June 5th (TV Land) – Season 5
This is a good show and I don’t care if you believe me! Yes, there’s a straight love triangle at the center. And no, resident lesbian Maggie doesn’t get as much screentime as she should. But each season gets better and better at developing her character and bringing her into the fold and the real story here is women and their careers and their friendships. The last time we saw Maggie, she was in Ireland bedding the mother of the bride of her best friend Liza’s ex-boyfriend. She also has an on-again/off-again thing with Hilary Duff’s pansexual best friend, Lauren. — Heather
Sense8, Friday June 8th (Netflix) – Finale
AHEM: “Personal lives are pushed aside as the cluster, their sidekicks, and some unexpected allies band together for a rescue mission and BPO take-down in order to protect the future of all Sensates.” — Riese
Claws, Sunday June 10th (TNT) – Season Two
Quiet Ann and the ladies of Nail Artisans of Manatee County are back using their salon to launder money for the mob, only this time, it’s for a female-led Russian mafia. As the ladies are asked to do more, they realize their own capability — they’re criminals and they are good at it — and start to think that, maybe, it’s time they became their own bosses. — Natalie
The Bold Type, Tuesday June 12th (Freeform) – Season Two
This show ended up being one of summer’s sweetest treats last year, and I can’t wait for more romance between bisexual social media maven Kat Edison and lesbian artist and activist Adena El Amin — including, apparently, a big meet-the-parents moment. I am ready to laugh, cry, and yearn for all of Jacqueline Carlyle’s power wardrobe. — Kayla
G.L.O.W., Friday June 29th (Netflix) – Season Two
When G.L.O.W. returns for its second season we will FINALLY get what we craved throughout its homoerotic first season: Yolanda, a lesbian wrestler played by Shakira Barrera. — Riese
July 2018 Queer TV Show Premieres
Heathers, Tuesday July 10th (Paramount) -Season One
UPDATE 6/5: THIS SHOW HAS BEEN OFFICIALLY FOREVER CANCELLED AND WILL NEVER AIR
The initial debut of this program was critically panned, and consequently withdrawn allegedly on account of the Parkland shooting. If they haven’t changed anything about the show since their first go-around, we’ll probably hate it.
Harlots, Wednesday July 11th (Hulu) – Season Two
We return to my favorite show ever about sex workers to find the city’s top madams in an even more dramatic feud than they were in Season One —Violet’s future in peril, her religious fundamentalist gal pal doing what she can to save her, and a new judge determined to rid his city of what he perceives to be “vice.” Liv Tyler joins the cast as Lady Isabella Fitzwilliam, a wealthy woman with zero personal freedom who has mad sexual tension with Charlotte Wells. — Riese
UnREAL, Monday July 16th (Hulu) – Season 4
Traci Thoms returns as Fiona, a power lesbian television executive, in the very uneven final season of this “Bachelor” send-up. Your favorite lesbian, Faith, does a one-episode guest spot as a therapist brought in to mediate a conflict between several contestants.
Wynonna Earp, Friday July 20th (SyFy) – Season 3
Season 2 was full of goo, babies, time warps, demons, and so many ladies kissing. It answered a lot of questions, and asked a whole lot more. Season 3 promises more mystery (Mama Earp?!), drama (a cult?!!), and, of course, quality queer content. At a recent panel, when asked about the gayness of Season Three, Emily Andras said, “What’s the straightest show you can think of? I feel like Season 3 makes Season 2 look like that straight show.” Yee haw. — Valerie Anne
Killjoys, Friday July 20th (SyFy) – Season 4
With Lost Girl’s Michelle Lovretta behind the wheel, it wasn’t really a surprise, but definitely a welcome turn when the main big bad of Season 3 ended up in a relationship with another running antagonist. Aneela and Delle Seyah are a unique pairing, to be sure, but they’ve made it clear that they’d risk just about anything for each other. Their fates were inextricably linked with Dutch, Johnny and D’av’s in the Season 3 finale, so I have a feeling we haven’t seen the last of these murder girlfriends. — Valerie Anne
Orange is the New Black, Friday July 27th (Neflix) – Season 6
Season 6 of OITNB promises, somehow, that it will get even darker than previous seasons as inmates are shipped out of Litchfield following the riot and sent to other prisons. We follow the women who end up in Max, where they try to negotiate a new set of prison gangs, divided by block, and an investigation into what happened during the riot that puts Taystee in a precarious legal position. Adrienne Moore, who plays Black Cindy, told The Hollywood Reporter, “Toward the end of season five, there were some people that were agreeing to stick together, and there were some people that were looking out for themselves. We’ll see the repercussions of those decisions in this next season.”
August 2018 Queer TV Show Premieres
Insatiable, Friday August 10th (Netflix) – Season One
The coming out story of this pretty much universally panned series is apparently its only redeeming factor!
The House of Flowers, Friday August 10th (Netflix) – Season One
A Spanish-language comedy-drama program about a dysfunctional high-class Mexican family that owns a prestigious flower shop. Juan Pablo Medina plays María José, a transgender woman who has a child with her ex-wife, Paulina, who is still carrying a torch for María.
The Sinner, August 15th (USA) – Season 2
This anthology series returns with a new case and a mostly new cast for Season 2, including Natalie Paul as Heather Novak, a black lesbian detective put on the case of a boy who murders his parents for very unclear reasons in very strange circumstances.
Mr. Mercedes, Wednesday August 22nd (Audience) – Season 2
Breeda Wool will be returning as techie lesbian Lou Linklatter, according to Den of Geek. As the first season drew from Stephen King’s book of the same name, Season Two will be drawing from a few follow-up novels. — Riese
Boob(s On Your) Tube: “Westworld” and “Into the Badlands” Return With Some of Your Favorite Murderous Women
Welcome back to another Boob(s On Your) Tube! This has been quite a week! We got our first real look at Gina Rodriguez on the set of Brooklyn Nine-Nine right on the heels of our Jane the Virgin season finale roundtable. The second season of The Handmaid’s Tale dropped and Riese reviewed it. Kayla recapped this week’s Riverdale and wrote about a deleted Choni scene from last week’s musical episode. She also reviewed Disobedience, which opens in Los Angeles and New York tomorrow. Valerie Anne recapped the latest episode of Supergirl.
And, most importantly, Natalie shared some feelings about Janelle Monáe’s Dirty Computer, which finally aired last night, the very day she came out as bisexual/pansexual “free-ass motherfucker” in Rolling Stone.
Here’s what else!
Imposters 204: “Andiamo”
Written by Natalie
Last we checked on Jules and her compatriots, they were hiding out in Mexico, trying to cobble money to get back to Scottsdale, Arizona to retrieve the million dollar ring that Richie unintentionally left behind. Just when they think they’ve got their path back all set — thanks to some forged passports — they discover that their timeline will no longer suffice. Max and Sally, the two cons that worked with Maddie, are holding Ezra’s family hostage and the Bumblers have to get back to the States immediately. So instead of waiting on their passports, Ezra finds a coyote that’ll take them across the border for the low, low price of $10,000. Desperate for quick cash, Jules is forced to tap her last resort: asking her family to wire her the money.
Imposters has been tight-lipped about Jules’ past but we’re getting a clearer picture of who Jules Langmore is this season. We already knew that Jules came from old money and that her family was still flush with cash, even after Maddie’s con, but we never knew what was inside the envelope Maddie used to keep the Langmores from going to the cops. Last week, we found out two things: first, there was some controversy about Jules graduating from art school — presumably her plagiarizing someone else’s work — and second, Jules was able to escape facing consequences for her actions because her family paid to make the problem go away. When Ezra asks if Jules is sure that her family will come through with the money, she admits, “let’s just say my family takes a certain delight in rescuing me.”
And, sure enough, her family comes through… only thing? Her sister, Poppy (Rachel Skarsten), opts to hand deliver the $10,000 they need. After hearing the full story about Maddie and how the FBI is looking for Richie, Ezra and Jules, Poppy offers the money she brought in exchange for a promise from Jules: she’ll come home after they cross the border back to the United States. Jules agrees quickly — far too quickly for me to believe she’s being even remotely sincere — and they board a bus with Ezra and Richie to head to meet their coyote. At a rest stop, Jules admits to Ezra that she’s found herself again in Mexico and she doesn’t want to leave.
“I found something that feels like it’s just mine too. Mexico. All of it. It’s odd, you know? I feel like I’m myself here, like I’ve come home to a place I’ve always known,” she says. Ezra encourages her to stay — it’s some consolation to him that at least someone he loves will be safe — and Jules agrees. It’s enough to make me a tad bit angry…on the one hand, Jules has been her best self in Mexico… she’s painting again, she’s flirting with attractive women and she looks AMAZING… but, on the other, the show wouldn’t be the same without Jules’ humor.
But I should know, after 14 episodes of this show, that nothing ever works out as planned. When Jules, Ezra, Richie and Poppy arrive to meet their coyote, they run into right into a swarm of Federales that have been searching for them. They scramble through an open air market and rush to find their coyote. Firm on not leaving for another hour, their coyote points them to another coyote who can take them immediately so they hop into the truck of cars — Jules and Poppy in one car, Ezra and Richie in another — being carried on a car hauler and begin their trek out of Mexico.
Quick Hits
Westworld 201: “Journey into Night”
Nothing gay to report in the first episode of the new season of Westworld except for how Evan Rachel Wood made me gayer when Dolores, in her white-and-blue outfit, rode horseback wearing an ammo sash and shooting all the men who wronged her. Also it would be an honor to be murdered by Thandie Newton, just saying. — Valerie Anne
Into the Badlands 301: “Enter the Phoenix”
Tilda dropped from the sky like a murderous angel in this week’s premiere of the third season of Into the Badlands. She goes by Iron Rabbit now and her and Odessa—presumably her girlfriend now because of the tandem slayage, though nothing ws said explicitly—are going on heists together, working against the Widow, which breaks my heart but is fun to watch. There’s also a new girl in town with some cool warpaint and some killer skills. Like, literally, she has that black-eyed rage power MK used to have but she can control it and catch crossbow bolts between her fingers and it is VERY GREAT. This season should be very, very fun. — Valerie Anne
Siren 106: “Showdown”
This week on Siren, Ryn kissed Ben in front of Maddie and he was like “uh well” and Maddie was like “yeah she does that” and then they all just moved on! They live with a mermaid who kisses them both on the mouth sometimes, is all. Treated as casually as any other thing that happens on this wild and wacky show that I am enjoying very much. I’m hoping they go full throuple soon but Ryn is a little pissed at them at the moment for not letting her go full murder-mermaid so we’ll see. — Valerie Anne
Grey’s Anatomy 1421: “Bad Reputation”
The gay in this week’s Grey’s Anatomy was mostly present around the edges of this week’s main storyline. Here’s what is most important: Sofia is depressed in Seattle, and Arizona’s going to have to do something about that — SOON. Carina’s worried that Arizona coddles her daughter too much. She may have a point (Callie voiced similar concerns back when she was still married to Arizona in season nine), but I feel very Mama Bear about Sofia Robbin Sloan Torres. So, the minute Carina critiqued one of my favorite GA children, my heart turned cold. Carina’s tough love did finally get DeLuca off of Meredith’s couch though, so there’s that! Oh, and for all my Everything Sucks! fans, Peyton Kennedy has just started a multi-episode arc on Grey’s. She’s not playing gay, but hopefully her presence can be a balm in your soul during this unfortunate time since her own show’s cancellation. — Carmen
S.W.A.T. 119: “Source”
It’s great to have a woman — and a bisexual woman, at that — on this show and, while it could surely be worse, do they have to keep putting her in mortal danger every week? Last week, Chris ends up battered and bruised after fighting with a serial killer, whom she later stops, and this week, while protecting a Russian journalist, she gets stabbed with a poisonous pen. Can’t we just give the girl a break for a bit? Maybe next week they can just have her dealing with some relationship drama — what happened to that cute reporter she went out with? — so I don’t have to spend an hour worried about her fate. — Natalie
The Daytime Emmys are this weekend and Camryn Grimes and Cait Fairbanks, the two actresses that captured our hearts in the Teriah storyline last year, are both nominated for their work. A win would be the first for Fairbanks, the second for Grimes and the second straight year the Emmys have recognized an actress in a gay storyline that had been summarily discarded by their respective shows. So, yay, daytime! — Natalie
Brooklyn Nine-Nine 518: “Gray Star Manual”
It’s been a minute since we had a solid Rosa episode of Brooklyn Nine-Nine, but she had a rare and wonderful storyline with just Amy this week! What happened was Amy was afraid to look at or shop for wedding dresses because she has to work twice as hard as the male sergeants in the NYPD and she was afraid doing something so feminine would cause them to respect her less. But Rosa forced her into a wedding store and sat around in a teal bridesmaid’s dress while coaching her through the whole thing — until they got a call that a serial bodega robber was on the run and Amy chased him down in her wedding dress, leaping over a car and tying him up with the sash she ripped off the bodice. Rosa called her “freaking Wonder Woman.” And it was true and they both are!
Pop Culture Fix: Westworld and G.L.O.W. Bringing You Sweet Girl-on-Girl Action in Their Season Twos and Other Things That Are True
Welcome to your weekly Pop Culture Fix, a collection of stories that are not, unfortunately, about my dog Carol, but rather about lesbian, bisexual and queer related popular culture. This post was supposed to go up five hours ago but then our server crashed!
… Samira Wiley was on Ellen for the first time and told Ellen that she’s the “Lord of the Lesbians” and it was really cute! They also played HOT HANDS.
… DISOBEDIENCE is one of No Film School’s Most Anticipated Films of Tribeca 2018, and oh good news — they’ve released a new clip! We gave away a bunch of tickets to their Los Angeles premiere last week, jsyk.
… Evan Rachel Wood Says Dolores Will Explore Sexuality in Westworld: “Dolores isn’t really either a man or a woman, so she’s probably not defined by anything. All I can say is yes, there’s going to be something. I wasn’t disappointed. I was like, ‘Yay,’ but that’s all I can say.”
… G.L.O.W.’s second season will premiere June 29th, and look out for their new lesbian character, Yolanda, played by Shakira Barrera. You can see her in the teaser standing up in one of the bathroom stalls and again at the end.
… The first official trailer for The Misandrists, which I’ve been excited about for a significant amount of time:
… Lesbian Jesus Hayley Kiyoko talks to W Magazine before her performance on Sunday afternoon about attending the festival as a teenager: “I also remember all the girls being so beautiful. I remember being insecure and overwhelmed, because I would want to talk to them or maybe find a girlfriend at Coachella, and all the girls were hot, but I just never had the courage to talk to anyone.”
… Janet Mock talks to The Guardian about POSE:
Our show is centring on trans women of colour in a way they’ve not been centred on ever. What’s so radical to me is that, unlike Transparent, where there is one main character who is trans and played by a man, we have five main characters who are trans played by trans women. That five black and brown trans women will be the centre of a show on a network drama in primetime is huge. And they’re going to be on billboards. It’s amazing this is going to exist in the world.”
… Bachelor in Paradise teased a lesbian kiss between a bisexual contestant and a mystery woman in their previews… and the woman turned out to be A MAN WITH LONG HAIR. This must win some kind of Queerbaiting Trophy?
… Hayley Kiyoko Rants and Raves About Coachella, ‘The Bachelor,’ Equal Pay & More
… Did Supernatural Just Undo Its Most Infamous Fridging?
… Cheers to American Idol’s Most LGBT-Inclusive Season Yet — But Will It Last?
… It’s true, I confess I have enjoyed them both: Two of this year’s most enjoyable TV shows are about gay serial killers
… “Grove Girls” Documentary Chronicles Fire Island’s Lesbian Community
… Starz has acquired our favorite show ‘Take My Wife’ and “The Pistol Shrimps,” a documentary about a women’s recreational basketball league in L.A. that features bisexual Aubrey Plaza and a bunch of other lesbian and bisexual women because duh it’s women’s basketball in L.A. I should remind you that VIDA premieres on Starz on May 6th and this network is really putting in the work, y’all!.
… Mey saw Blockers and loved it, which was a big surprise to us all — turns out it’s hella feminist, queer and sex-positive. So, here’s Slate’s Outward on why Blockers’ unadvertised gay storyline could have a big impact.
… Coronation Street star feared ‘backlash’ to lesbian love affair
… Ellie Desautels: Meet the Non-Binary Actor on NBC’s Rise
… Former Miss America Marries Girlfriend, Pageant Sends Best Wishes