11 of the Best Queer Shows on Netflix
LGBT+ representation has tremendously improved. Here are 11 of my favorite queer shows you can watch right now.
Cover Photo: TV featuring Netflix logo (2018). Photo by Thibault Penin and via Unsplash (edited).
A Changing Media Landscape
Queer representation in media has improved drastically in the last decade. This can be attributed to the fast pace of acceptance in American culture and the legalization of same-sex marriage. The rise of streaming platforms has also created new opportunities for queer characters.
According to GLAAD’s Where We Are on TV Report, in the latest season of scripted primetime programming, 8.8% of regular TV characters are queer, an all-time high. With this increase, there is a greater representation of the diversity and intersectionality of queer life. LGBT+ representation today includes well-rounded characters that face challenges other than homophobia and that have goals other than acceptance, like real people. Queer characters are now part of every genre: reality, sci-fi, drama, comedy, true crime, sitcoms and even anime.
What’s a better way to celebrate than to find a new favorite show?
Queer Eye
Queer Eye is a Netflix reboot of the 2003 reality show Queer Eye for the Straight Guy. Five gay friends travel the United States to improve the lives of nominated heroes using their skills in food, grooming, fashion, culture, and design. The series is total feel-good fun. Queer Eye has become an absolute phenomenon—there are already three seasons—with no sign of stopping.
Sense8
Sense8 is a technically ambitious sci-fi fantasy created by the Wachowski siblings (The Matrix). The action-packed show spans the globe, following an international cast. 8 people are connected in a mystery they must unravel as they overcome challenges of gender, politics, sexuality, religion, and identity. The series features two queer relationships, one of them including a transwoman. Sense8 is a total visual spectacle but was cancelled after two seasons due to the astronomical production cost.
The Fosters
The Fosters follows the titular family led by married matriarchs Lena and Stef. The series is an emotional drama that investigates complex topics of adoption, civil rights, trans issues, sex trafficking, feminism, and mental health. The Fosters lasted five seasons but Callie and Mariana Foster’s stories will continue in the new spin-off Good Trouble.
London Spy
London Spy is a gay British mystery thriller. Need I say more? A lonely man finds himself trapped in a government conspiracy following a confusing series of events. Lasting one season, London Spy is a truly suspenseful, and totally gay, miniseries.
How to Get Away With Murder
Created by the indomitable Shonda Rhimes, How to Get Away With Murder follows five law students who find themselves bound together by a fatal incident. The show features a diverse cast and many queer characters. HTGAWM tackles topics of homophobia, incarceration, and systemic racism. There are currently five seasons of HTGAWM and ABC has renewed for season 6!
Devilman Crybaby
Hailed as the best anime series of 2018, Devilman Crybaby is the latest interpretation of Go Nagai’s 1970s manga Devilman. Emotional high-school student Akira Fudo attends a hedonistic party with his best friend and becomes possessed by a demon. The ensuing story examines humanity through the lenses of sex and death. Director Masaaki Yuasa tackles the ultra-violent and graphic material with his signature creativity. Devilman Crybaby is only one season long but the series is a powerful statement on love and humanity, while being undeniably queer.
Elite
Elite is a murder mystery, reminiscent of How to Get Away With Murder. In this Spanish Netflix Original, a student is murdered at a prestigious private school and it seems everyone has something to hide. While a soapy teen drama, Elite is an examination of wealth and privilege through drugs, corruption, religion, and social status. The series also features a queer couple and a polyamorous relationship. There is currently just one season of Elite but season 2 has been officially announced for release later this year.
One Day at a Time
Critically lauded One Day at a Time is an updated sitcom by TV legend Norman Lear. The show follows the experiences of a multi-generational Cuban-American family living in Los Angeles. ODAAT delicately balances seriousness and hilarity. In between laughs, the series is unafraid of discussing difficult issues of alcoholism, post-traumatic stress disorder, and race. ODAAT also features an emotional coming out story and subsequent queer young love. Unfortunately One Day at a Time has been cancelled after three wonderful, but underappreciated, seasons.
American Crime Story: The Assassination of Gianni Versace
The second season of American Crime Story follows real-life gay serial-killer Andrew Cunanan, the murderer of fashion icon Gianni Versace. While this controversial dramatization has been denounced by represented parties as fictitious, The Assassination of Gianni Versace is a complex and riveting portrait of America in the 1990s, following the end of the AIDS crisis. Actor Edgar Ramirez, who played Versace, notes, “The show talks about the open and raging political homophobia on one side, and it also talks about the internalized — and even more dangerous — homophobia within.”
Special
Special is a semi-autobiographical miniseries created by and starring Ryan O'Connell. Ryan starts a new internship and leads his coworkers to believe his symptoms of cerebral palsy are the result of a recent car accident. Special is a humorous and authentic representation of a gay man simply living his life. The miniseries is groundbreaking in several ways, even including a sex scene. O’Connell explains, “Disabled people are not really discussed, and if we are it’s always through a lens of pity or infantilization. No one ever thinks of us as just being human with our own sexual wants.” Special is one season long and renewal is not yet announced.
Pose
Pose follows queer ballroom culture in late 1980s America, amidst the AIDS crisis. The story revolves around Blanca Rodriguez-Evangelista who begins her own dance house. Pose boasts the largest transgender cast ever on TV and is therefore a layered, empathetic, and — given the recent murders of trans people — truly vital portrayal of the trans experience. Pose has been renewed for Season 2.
Honorable Mentions
Newly released, just in time for Pride Month, Tales of the City features a largely queer cast (I haven’t finished it yet). Chilling Adventures of Sabrina includes a regular, though minor, queer character. Dear White People includes a layered portrayal of queerness in the black community. Riverdale also includes a few queer characters.
P.S. Questions!
Have you seen any of these shows yet? What’s your favorite queer series?
