Here are the most anticipated projects expanding LGBTQ visibility beyond Pride Month.
Over the past decade, Pride Month has seen an increase in LGBTQ-themed stories told onscreen. 2022 was no different, with the release of several notable projects, including the third and final season of Love, Victor, celebrated films Fire Island and Trevor: The Musical, the return of series like P-Valley and The Umbrella Academy as well as the debuts of new ones, from First Kill to The Lake and Loot to the Queer as Folk revival.
LGBTQ visibility (nor Pride), however, is limited to one month a year, especially as more and more inclusive stories are told onscreen throughout the year. Looking ahead, the next six months will include even more groundbreaking projects, including the theatrical debut of Bros, co-written and starring Billy Eichner, as well as a series adaptation of A League of Their Own and the return of What We Do in the Shadows.
Here are the most anticipated new and returning projects expanding LGBTQ visibility beyond June in 2022.
A League of Their Own
Aug. 12 (Prime Video)
From co-creator and star Abbi Jacobson comes an all-new, authentic TV adaptation of the 1992 classic. Evoking the joy of Penny Marshall’s beloved film, the series will expand the story to focus on the many lives of the women who made history as the first players in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League.
According to Amazon, “the show takes a deeper look at race and sexuality, following the journey of a whole new ensemble of characters as they carve their own paths towards the field, both in the league and outside of it.”
Anything’s Possible
July 22 (Prime Video)
In this modern coming-of-age film directed by Billy Porter, Eva Reign plays a transgender high school student named Kelsa, whose senior year is upended when her classmate, Khal (Abubakr Ali), unexpectedly asks her out.
For Porter, this film marks his directorial debut after earning an Emmy for his acclaimed performance in the FX series Pose and playing the Fabulous Godmother in the 2021 live-action adaptation of Cinderella. “Representation matters. It was always my intention to fill that slot and fill that void,” the performer told ET about bringing visibility in front of and behind the lens.
Bros
Sept. 30 (Universal Pictures)
This fall, Billy Eichner will make history as the executive producer and star of the first-ever LGBTQ-themed rom-com from a major studio. Telling the story about two gay man “maybe, possibly, probably, stumbling towards love,” Bros will also feature an all-LGBTQ cast, with Luke Macfarlane as Eichner’s love interest as well as appearances by Bowen Yang, Guillermo Díaz, Harvey Fierstein, Jim Rash and more.
“Bros means so much to me. It’s the thing I’m most proud of that I’ve ever done,” Eichner told ET, explaining the film “[tells] a story unlike any we’ve ever seen in a rom-com at this level.”
Chucky Season 2
Fall TBD (USA/SyFy)
Over 30 years after Child’s Play first introduced an evil “Good Guy” doll possessed by a serial killer, the franchise returned with its first TV series. Created and executive produced by Don Mancini, the man behind the original films, Chucky follows residents of a small, idyllic town whose lives are upended and secrets are exposed after a series of murders take place.
While the series is a slasher at heart, the coming-of-age drama also tackles sexuality and bullying while expanding LGBTQ visibility within the horror genre. And much to the delight of fans of the franchise, season 2 is set to introduce Lachlan Watson as Glen/Glenda, the child of Chucky (Brad Dourif) and Tiffany (Jennifer Tilly).
“I certainly did not expect that it would be going strong 30-something years later,” Mancini said of the success of the franchise. “I dreamed of it, of course. But even back then, the dream was a bit different because television wasn’t such a big thing then, or at least it wasn’t on my radar as much.”
“So, the first dream I never imagined would happen was that it would become a franchise and that the character would become iconic. That has been a wonderful gift that we have gotten from the fans,” he continued. “It’s been quite a ride.”
The Great North Season 3
Sept. 25 (Fox)
The Fox adult animated comedy is lowkey one of the most mainstream LGBTQ series on TV, thanks in large part to its continued focus on one of the four Tobin children, Ham (Paul Rust), and his boyfriend, Crispin Cienfuegos (Julio Torres). After first being introduced early in season 1, Crispin has become a welcomed, recurring character as his relationship with Ham proves to be the most stable of the family’s many attempts at love.
And with the likes of Shannon Woodward, Patti Harrison, Margaret Cho and Leslie Jordan among the openly LGBTQ stars lending their voice power to many of Great North’s guest roles, it’s hard not to appreciate the representation heard throughout the series.
The Handmaid’s Tale Season 5
Sept. 14 (Hulu)
As life in the United States once again echoes the horrors of the Hulu series, The Handmaid’s Tale is returning for an anticipated fifth new season, which will pick up after the events of season 4 as June (Elisabeth Moss) faces consequences for killing Commander Waterford (Joseph Fiennes) amid her ongoing uprising against Gilead.
Serena Waterford (Yvonne Strahovski), meanwhile, is attempting to raise her profile as the widowed Commander’s wife in Toronto as Gilead’s influence starts to creep into Canada. And she’s not the only one trying to seize power, as Commander Lawrence (Bradley Whitford) is working with Aunt Lydia (Ann Dowd) to reform Gilead and make his own rise through the ranks.
The new season comes over a year after season 4 concluded in June 2021 with a shocking finale -- an ending that was the “most satisfying one they’ve ever done,” Strahovski told ET at the time, while Max Minghella, who returns as Commander Blaine, said that ultimately what the finale did for the series, was allow for things “to go in directions that we could not have done before.”
Harley Quinn Season 3
July 28 (HBO Max)
After a two-year hiatus, the adult animated series is finally back with all-new episodes as it continues the mayhem and madness of Harley Quinn’s (Kaley Cuoco) world. According to HBO Max, the new season will see Harley and Poison Ivy (Lake Bell) “[returning] to Gotham as a new power couple of DC villainy. Along with their ragtag crew -- King Shark (Ron Funches), Clayface (Alan Tudyk), Frank the Plant (JB Smoove) -- Harlivy strives to become the best version of themselves while also working towards Ivy’s long desired plan of transforming Gotham into an Eden paradise.”
When speaking with ET ahead of the series’ debut, Cuoco described the show as “dirty,” revealing that they battle for how many curse words they get to say per episode. Bell added, “We get to ping pong a lot of light comedy, bad words and naughty business.”
Inside Out Season 2
Aug. 1 (HGTV)
Following My Lottery Dream Home host David Bromstad, husbands Nate Berkus and Jeremiah Brent and Bargain Block’s Keith Bynum and Evan Thomas, realtor and designer Carmine Sabatella is the latest personality to bring gay visibility to HGTV with the indoor/outdoor renovation series Inside Out co-hosted by Mike Pyle.
“I am beyond grateful to be a part of this wonderfully inclusive network,” Sabatella wrote on Instagram while celebrating Pride with the network.
My Policeman
Oct. 21 in theaters, Nov. 4 on streaming (Prime Video)
Adapted from Bethan Roberts’ novel by producers and partners Greg Berlanti and Robbie Rogers, the film tells a story of forbidden love amid changing social conventions in 1950s Britain. My Policeman stars Harry Styles as a cop named Tom, Emma Corrin as a teacher named Marion and David Dawson as a museum curator named Patrick -- three people whose lives get twisted up in an emotional journey that will affect them longer than expected.
Queer for Fear
Fall TBD (Shudder)
Queer for Fear is a four-part documentary about the history of the LGBTQ representation in the horror genre. Through interviews with Lea DeLaria, Kimberly Peirce, Jennifer Tilly, Leslye Headland and more, the series will examine everything from queer authors Mary Shelley and others to the influences of the 1920s monsters craze and how real-life events like the “lavender scare” and the AIDS crisis were reflected in everything from alien invasion films to the modern-day takes on vampires.
They/Them
Aug. 5 (Peacock)
Over 40 years after starring in Friday the 13th, Kevin Bacon is returning to his horror roots in They/Them, which is pronounced “they-slash-them.” In the Peacock film, the 63-year-old actor plays the director of a gay conversion camp where several queer and trans campers have been forced into a week of programming that becomes increasingly more unsettling as the LGBTQ youth work together to protect themselves from a mysterious killer.
“They/Them has been germinating within me my whole life,” writer and director John Logan said of the film. “I’ve loved horror movies as long as I can remember, I think because monsters represent 'the other' and as a gay kid I felt a powerful sense of kinship with those characters who were different, outlawed, or forbidden.”
The Oscar-nominated screenwriter added, “I wanted to make a movie that celebrates queerness, with characters that I never saw when I was growing up. When people walk away from the movie, I hope they're going to remember the incredible love that these kids have for each other and how that love needs to be protected and celebrated.”
Uncoupled
July 29 (Netflix)
After creating hits like Sex and the City, Younger and Emily in Paris, Darren Star has teamed up with Modern Family co-executive producer Jeffrey Richman on the Netflix series starring Neil Patrick Harris. As Michael, Harris’ life is upended after his husband of 17 years (Tuc Watkins) suddenly leaves him and is forced to navigate New York City as a newly single gay man in his mid-forties.
In addition to Harris, the series stars Tisha Campbell as Michael’s business partner, Suzanne; Emerson Brooks as TV weatherman Billy; Brooks Ashmanskas as art dealer Stanley; and Marcia Gay Harden as a socialite named Claire.
The series, meanwhile, marks Harris’ second on-screen gay role following his acclaimed performance in It’s a Sin from creator Russell T. Davies.
What We Do in the Shadows Season 4
July 12 (FX)
After years of playing with their sexuality ambiguity, the FX series leans into the queer, pansexual nature of the vampire roommates, Laszlo (Matt Berry), Nadja (Natasia Demetriou), baby Colin (Mark Proksch) and Nandor (Kayvan Novak), who is determined to find eternal love with anyone who fits his ever-increasing list of demands. Of course, this new search for a soulmate only intensifies the dynamic between Nandor and his human familiar, Guillermo (Harvey Guillén), whose devotion to him is pushed to the limits.
“Both Nandor and Guillermo find love this season,” executive producer Paul Simms said of the new season, while Guillén teased that after being shipped away at the end of season 3, “Guillermo realizes a lot of things about himself and realizes a lot of things that he's been missing in life in general. And so, they are both after love and [he] comes back with a better understanding. But they still have this mutual love for each other.”
The actor added, “I think their love is really great and deep, but it's not always in a relationship form.”
Other film and TV highlights include the fall returns of 9-1-1: Lone Star (Fox), American Horror Stories (FX), The Conners (ABC), High School Musical: The Musical: The Series (Disney+) and Law & Order: Organized Crime (NBC), as well as the upcoming, but unconfirmed debuts of Am I Okay? (HBO Max), Dope Queens (TomorrowLand Productions), High School (Amazon Freevee) and Interview with the Vampire (AMC).
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