According to GLAAD’s annual Where We Are On TV report, between June 2022 and May 2023 there was actually a 6.4% decrease in queer characters on screen from the previous year, and the number looks to decrease even further in 2024. That’s partly down to, according to the report, the cancellation of many shows on The CW — the company that brought us Riverdale and Gossip Girl and has been leading the way in LGBTQ+ representation on TV in recent years — since it was bought by Texan company Nexstar Media Group.
But nonetheless, there’s still some highly-anticipated queer programming coming to our screens this year. Of course, you already know about season two of Heartstopper, Netflix’s heartwarming high school love story. But if you’re looking for some fresh queer content to binge over the next few weeks – think: a femme and non-binary led reality series, Kristen Stewart leading a slew of gay ghost hunters and the new dramatically-messy series from the producer of Euphoria – then add these shows to your watchlist too.
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The Ultimatum: Queer Love
From the creators of Love is Blind comes their “next great social experiment”: The Ultimatum: Queer Love. After the success of The Ultimatum: Marry or Move On last year, where six couples were given eight weeks to make a final decision on their relationship (either to go the full hog or end things completely), the latest reality series sees the same format except with all female and non-binary couples testing fate. Hosted by Freaks and Geeks’ JoAnna Garcia Swisher, the first four episodes of the series are set to debut on 24 May 2023 on Netflix.
The Idol
Euphoria’s Sam Levinson and Abel Tesfaye’s (also known as The Weeknd) controversial series The Idol follows a pop star (Lily-Rose Depp) as she grapples with fame, sexuality, drugs and toxic industry managers. While little is known about any other character in the show except for Lily and Abel’s, we do know that The Idol is markedly queer; it’s up for the Queer Palm award at this year’s Cannes Film Festival. It’s a prize previously won by Pride, Todd Haynes’ Carol and Celine Sciamma’s Portrait of a Lady on Fire. It also has a handful of LGBTQ+ identifying actors at its helm including Troye Sivan, Hari Nef and Dan Levy. After Cannes, the show will then make its way to HBO on 4 June 2023.
Glamorous
Sex and the City’s Kim Cattrall plays Madolyn, a supermodel turned beauty CEO who wants to shake up her business. Luckily, she sees an opportunity in taking one of the brand’s gender non-conforming queer sales assistants from the makeup table to the board room. Playing her newbie hire Marco Meija is YouTuber Miss Benny, while the show is written by Jordon Nardino (who also did Desperate Housewives) who will also be producing with Damon Wayans Jr. (New Girl). With the show having filmed summer last year, it’s likely Glamorous will be making its way to Netflix 22 June 2023.
Fellow Travellers
Bridgerton’s Jonathan Bailey and American Horror Story’s Matt Bomer star in this eight-episode queer period drama set over four decades and based on the novel of the same name by Thomas Mallon. Beginning in the 50s and at the heights of McCarthyism, devout Catholic, fresh-from-uni Timothy (Jonathan) starts his political career at a time when there is a ‘lavender scare’ focused on outing “sexual subversives” in government. He falls, however, for State Department official Hawkins (Matt) and the two navigate a double life that crosses the Vietnam War and protests in the 60s, the drug-fuelled disco parties of the 70s and the tragic AIDS epidemic of the 80s. Coming to Paramount+ and Showtime, the series was filmed last summer and so a release date is expected to arrive soon.
Kaiser Karl
Not to be confused with the (also upcoming) Jared Leto-starring movie about the legendary late fashion designer, this Disney+ series stars Daniel Brühl in the lead and is set to be incredibly extravagant and camp. With over 40 different sets and 3,000 costumes, 160 of which created from scratch, Kaiser Karl will be set mainly in the 70s and will follow the designer’s years at Fendi and Chloé before he famously revitalised Chanel. It will also cover the queer nightlife of 1970s’ Paris and Karl’s personal life and relationships with the icons du jour, such as the love triangle between Karl, socialite Jacques de Bascher and fellow leading designer Saint Laurent, as well as his friendships with Marlene Dietrich and Andy Warhol. Although no exact release date has been announced, the six-episode series is set to air before the end of the year.
Kristen Stewart’s gay ghost-hunting show
In one of the most random yet most eagerly anticipated projects of the year, this currently untitled show is produced by Kristen Stewart as she and a slew of queer-identifying ghost-hunters, paranormal specialists, mediums, psychics and investigators go looking for life beyond the grave. Whether the ghosts are haunting gays or if they identify as gay themselves as yet remains a mystery, but we do know it is “the most gayest, most fun-est, most titillating queer ghost hunting show ever” and “a paranormal romp in a queer space, with elevated aesthetics”. Having began casting last June with a secret major streamer behind it, the show is expected to air this year – perhaps around Halloween? We can only hope.
Gen V
A spin-off of popular series The Boys, Amazon Prime’s superhero TV show Gen V has teased in January that it will be out sometime this year. Following a set of young superheroes at a university for crime-fighting, a statement from Amazon calls it an “irreverent, R-rated series that explores the lives of hormonal, competitive Supes as they put their physical, sexual, and moral boundaries to the test”. It stars Jaz Sinclair and Chance Pedromo, who both previously starred in Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, alongside Lizzie Broadway, Maddie Phillips and Patrick Schwarznegger. There’s also a gender-shifting superhero played by musicians Derek Luh and London Thor.
This article was originally published on 18 May 2023 and has since been updated.