11 Queer Shows to Watch this Month
And why Legendary is the best thing on TV right now
Ladies,
This will not surprise you, but I watch *a lot* of TV. As a 12-hr day compulsive email-checker, spreadsheeter, to-do crosser-outer, TV is really the only thing that will turn off the problem-solving mechanism in my brain (sponsored in part by the legal cannabis of California State). I’m on the path to finding new things to do with my downtime (such as opening a book), but right now this is my salve.
And there are a lot of queer things to watch right now. That’s it, that’s the tweet! I’m gonna get right to it with a little list of some things on a screen that brought me joy, but will also caveat that some of these things did not bring as much joy, and that I watched them so maybe you don’t have to.
*Charlie XCX voice* Let’s ride!
Xx Fran
some shows that brought me joy this week
1. How do I even begin to describe why Legendary is the best thing on TV right now? The competition reality series pitting ten houses from the ballroom scene against each other in a series of routines, runways, drama, battles, etc, has delivered everything I have ever needed in a show, tbh. Legendary gets a lot right. But most importantly, they have hired experts in the ballroom scene like Jack Mizrahi, Syd Baloue, Dashaun Wesley, and Leiomy Maldonado — all of whom have clocked the necessary hours to help production and HBO figure out how this show can continue to serve and amplify ballroom culture, and the Black and brown queer/trans people that come with it.
In a lot of competition reality shows, there are, what we call in the community, “filler queens.” But on Legendary, there are no fillers. Each and every house — each and every member of the team — has such a rich history that every confessional you kinda wish you could watch the spin-off. These girls will make you cryyyyyy, and then make you bust out laughing in a second. Not to mention, a healthy dose of petty-yet-necessary drama makes its way into the moments we need it most.
Despite controversy, each judge adds an essential energy to the show’s chemistry and I love all of them even when they annoy me (except for Leiomy who has never annoyed me). Also, every episode features a vogue FIGHT to the DEATH — not actually death, but let me tell you, these girls are here to murder. I’m rooting for Balenciaga (Honey!!!!) and Miyake-Mugler (ready for Tati to vogue down), but the winner will be Tisci, DUH!!!
I have watched every episode twice because it is so juicy, so saccharine, so rich with nutrients. If you are not watching Legendary, in the words of Law Roach, you need to DO what NEEDS to be DONE!!!!!!!!!!!! Episodes drop Thursdays! This is not sponsored!!!!!
2. I also love my friend Mikelle’s companion podcast to the show. I will warn that if you don’t want spoilers, I would not “subscribe” as it may pop into your feed with the losing team before you’ve watched the episode. But Mikelle’s expertise, attention to detail, and interview style are a perfect way to break down each episode.
3. Ok, ngl, I was not prepared to like Hacks. An old rich white lady comedian (Jean Smart)? And her new employee, a canceled, entitled young white lady comedian (Hannah Einbinder)? What is going to bring me back each week?
The answer is jokes. Very, very good jokes. And a bomb-as-hell supporting ensemble cast. Johnny Sibilly plays a hunky water bill collector? And love interest to the equally hunky Carl Clemons-Hopkins? Poppy Liu plays an erratic, self-involved blackjack dealer? Meg Stalter is a scene-stealing administrative assistant? Mark Indelicato! The extremely gay child star from Ugly Betty who created my identity as we know and understand it today!!! Not a single cast member misses a line reading (especially Poppy). To top it off, the lead characters Deborah and Ava are also magnanimous, sharp, brilliant, nuanced, and always leave you wanting more. Oh, and Ava has a bisexual heartbreak B-plot! Queers stay winning.
4. It took me way too long to watch The Lady and the Dale, a docuseries on Elizabeth Carmichael, the woman who created a fuel-efficient three-wheeled car. I’ll admit, the car element was a barrier to entry for me. But the show has intrigue! Fraud! FBI investigations! Anti-trans media bias! It twists and turns on many themes, and I am grateful for this nugget of herstory, courtesy of Zackary Drucker.
5. Drag Race Australia is…….fine. It’s an acceptable daytime watch, sometimes playing while I clean or do very half-assed ab exercises. I have been enjoying the international iterations of Drag Race a lot because they are a little stripped-down, and the casting feels so fresh, untapped, and at times agnostic of the cultural behemoth that is the Drag Race Industrial Complex. In American Drag Race, the girls are just very up on their Instagrams, too aware of public perception, and we don’t always get to see the rawest or most uninhibited version of their art. With a franchise like Canada, UK S2, or now Australia, there is an unalloyed quality to their drag I can’t help but appreciate. Anyway, team Anita!!!!
6. The 6-part FX docuseries Pride seeks to unpack queer culture in America by the decade, starting from the 1950s leading up to the present. I did most certainly cry a few times. In awe every moment Raquel Willis is featured, especially her (still goose-bumping) speech from Brooklyn Liberation, the action we organized last summer.
Watching it, I’m not sure I learned a whole lot. To be fair, I know a lot on the topic, but I can’t help but feel something like this would have been a little more extraordinary if it came out, like, six or seven years ago. (I mean, it’s called “Pride.”) Now it just feels like overtrodden territory. I’m also just kind of sick of watching queer history documentaries helmed by white people. See: [redacted], [redacted], [redacted], and the (plagiarized) Death and Life of Marsha P. Johnson.
7. Eeeee! Out yesterday, the second and final season of Ryan O’Connell’s Special aired — to my surprise and delight — full-length episodes instead of the 15-minute bites we got last installment. I loved watching Ryan’s acting chops bloom, and as the mind behind the show, its full episodes are much deserved and a far better vehicle for this story about a messy gay guy with cerebral palsy. I also greatly appreciate all the gay sex. Yay, gay sex!
8. I watched the first episode of Halston so you didn’t have to. Out of everything on this list, this show telling the storied life of the titular American fashion designer is perhaps the one I enjoyed the least. The characters are dry and unlikeable, the telling of this history feels esoteric, and the most exciting thing that happens in the pilot is a fashion show exclusively featuring very fancy muumuus?
The story just isn’t there, imo. And where I can recognize that any actress who sets out to depict the undepictable Liza Minelli is doomed to fail, Krysta Rodriguez is just…. not it. Her opening number is extremely impressive, though!
And Sir Ewan McGregor acts his ass off, but I do not know why he wants to be gay so bad, or why we are casting a straight man in a queer role in the year of our lordess 2021. The character of Halston also has, um, zero redeeming qualities? But at least Ewan gets butt-fucked in the first five minutes!
9. The first season of Shrill was so good, I watched it twice. I was so enamored by the extremely bingeable comedic genius of Aidy Bryant and the wit, earnestness, and catharsis of Annie — an aspiring Portland journalist who is frequently taken for granted in her work and personal life due to fatphobia. My main critique of the first season was that we didn’t get to see enough of Fran, Annie’s queer roommate played by Lolly Adefope. But in this last season (and the previous), Fran is much more of a focal point as the romance between her and her girlfriend reaches a point of contention. Though the finale doesn’t really offer any closure, it is still very satisfying. I can’t wait to see what Aidy does next!
10. I guess it was a very wise pivot to transmogrify Aziz Ansari’s Master of None from a show about a dude’s melancholic love life into a show about Lena Waithe’s melancholic love life. It doesn’t come out til Sunday, but from what I’ve watched, I’ve enjoyed. It’s a little slow, but the world needs more shows about queer women who also happen to be womanizers — queer villainy is a triumph! I love how Lena Waithe constructs an unlikeable character, and I’m glad she’s back at the vessel that broke out her career in the first place. I can’t wait to finish it!
11. If I’m being real, most of the opinions I have about Pose are not really up for public consumption so much as they are for my group chats. There is this funny thing critics and TV-watchers alike do with this show; We handle it with silk gloves, with the gingerest utmost care, because at all costs we don’t want to fracture this beautiful, precious, unprecedented thing.
Pose is history. It is a perfect cultural object. It is a new standard for casting queer projects. It is a vehicle for extremely talented breakout stars and a history long gone untold. But is it good TV? To be honest, I don’t know the answer to that question. But now that the show is ending, I am really looking forward to the voices of Black, queer critics unpacking how the show moved and breathed.
One thing I will say about this season is that I’m glad we are following an Elektra B-plot as she and her family work to dispose of a dead body, a former client. Episode 3, a Dominque Jackson vehicle, is easily one of my favorite episodes of the entire series. I found her performance profound, hilarious, and heartbreaking through every scene. And the ball. in. that. episode. Mama. The best ball the show has ever seen. I also appreciate the villainy of The House of Khan, led by the unbridled servation of Pretentia Khan played by Leyna Bloom. All in all, I can’t wait to watch the ladies of Pose bring us home.
this week’s action
When most people hear “Palestine” in conversation, there is bristling, confusion, and shame around what they do not know, what seems like a very complicated issue. As someone who is still learning about it, I promise it is not that complicated. I recommend taking time to read up on the topic, understand how the US plays a part, lend support, and learn why Palestinians deserve liberation in their militarized, terrorized, occupied land. Amplify your learnings on social by sharing the words of leaders you follow in the space.
Fun fact: Leiomy’s dress was provided by Lidow Archive, a queer-owned clothing rental business. The owner, Haile, is out in Los Angeles. She has an amazing collection.