5 New Films/TV Shows Featuring LGBTQ+ Relationships to Watch

Jun 30

June may be coming to a close, but pride never really ends. While it’s been fun going out to the parades and festivals this month, what are some other ways to continue celebrating pride as a queer person? For me, I’ve found a lot of joy in catching up with new releases that are community inclusive. While a lot of the “good stuff” is yet to come here in the next few months (looking at you My Policeman and Thor: Love and Thunder potentially), I realized there are some new big releases I would love to spread the word about to you. Above that, I found myself focusing on watching LGBTQ+ movies and shows that have romantic comedy vibes, actually showing these relationships and their nuances. For years we have been given the bare minimum of characters who have a queer identity, and the media has avoided actually showing these relationships to their fullest. With the help of other progressive artistic mediums like graphic novels and podcasts, it seems we’re entering a new age in representation for the community where we get to explore love to the fullest! Here are some recent favorites of mine that do just that. They are all must sees!

Fire Island

I have been a huge fan of Bowen Yang and Matt Rogers for quite some time now thanks to their podcast ‘Las Culturistas’— I mean, I am literally listening to it as I write this. But to hear these two among such a talented cast and crew on Fire Island makes my heart so happy. This movie does not disappoint. It’s so real, so funny, and feels like the first movie of its kind that feels like everyone involved on the project was from the LGBTQ+ community. The fact that it’s an adaption of Pride and Prejudice but in the modern day and also fixes a few of my small tiffs with the original story while at it? Simply iconic to say the least. Watch it for the good times, stay for the beautiful story and learn more about general queer culture while you’re at it because this felt almost too relatable at times.

Crush

You may have heard about this movie thanks to some controversy that spread across the web between the two lead actors, Rowan Blanchard and Auli’i Cravalho, with Cravalho accusing Blanchard of being biphobic. Despite those claims, Crush actually turned out super sweet. It is giving classic high school romcom but with a fairly grounded relatable outlook for a Gen Z audience. It focuses on a young artist pursuing her crush, yet ends up falling for her teammate and learning what true love really feels like. I appreciated that this movie avoided following dated romcom tropes twists for a queer relationship because I have noticed that happening a lot with gay romance films. Usually that fault comes from the creators not authentically understanding the queer experience and how different the dating culture can be from their own. It’s a simple, cute, heartfelt movie with low stakes that I would highly recommend if you want a feel good low-stress movie to watch!

Our Flag Means Death

Come for the pirates, stay for the love story! Taika Waititi is at the forefront of proper representation of identity in this industry and this show proves just that! While the name and pictures of the show would come off like a stereotypical pirate adventure with comedic flare, it pivots after a few episodes into a more historically accurate representation of swashbucklers by turning into a romantic comedy. You quickly learn as the show progresses that the flag in question that “means death” may not just be the one with skulls and crossbones, but it may also reflect that of the flag culture in the queer community as well. It features several queer relationships and even characters with differing gender identities too! The show makes so many brilliant decisions in social commentary while staying lighthearted and engaging the whole way through. The creators waited for a few months specifically to announce it was going to get a season 2 on purpose— waiting until June 1st to announce it for pride month. A major win for the community I would argue!

Heartstopper

Young love, it’s a beautiful and awkward thing. It’s about time we have a story like this for the LGBTQ+ community. I have to send a shout out to Gale, my nibling and favorite twelve year old, for recommending this show. I think the amount they love this series shows how important it is for young people. There’s a comfort in finally seeing a coming-of-age movie that makes sense for you and your life experience at a young age and this show hits gold with that. The show is based on the novel by Alice Oseman and stars Fisayo Akinade, Kit Connor, and Sebastian Croft. A solid watch for any age but especially a good show to watch with any of the younglings in your life in case this could bring them a new perspective that would help them out.

First Kill

Alright, this last pick is ironic— I can admit it. But if there’s anything my fellow early Gen Z gays can admit, it’s that we all had a teen vampire show phase. Vampires ARE queer in the same way pirates are to a certain degree, although vampires are historically queer in literature (versus how pirates were in real life). This show brings us the modern day forbidden vampiric romance we missed out on growing up. It centers around a young vampire having to make her first kill in order to establish her place in her family. In doing so, she ends up falling for the girl that she was supposed to target. It’s giving a star-crossed lovers moment too considering the target comes from a family of vampire hunters as well. Saucy stuff! While you may feel yourself reverting back to your 2009 ways while watching this, I have been reminding myself about how I watched all of Twilight with the lens of Edward being transmasc because it made more sense to me. So basically, this show is a way to treat your inner child in certain ways!

It doesn’t stop there, folks. There’s so much material coming out that has been either rumored or confirmed to have inclusion of queer relationships: My Policeman, Lightyear, My Fake Boyfriend, Thor: Love and Thunder, Good Omens 2, Umbrella Academy Season 3, What We Do In The Shadows Season 4, etc. So many good shows and movies, where do you even begin? Either way, enjoy using these productions as a way to keep your pride celebrations going even after June passes by.

Autumn Hart

(Any/All Pronouns)

Autumn is an actor and writer who strives to make the unseen seen in their storytelling. You can find them crying over fiction podcasts and Mitski on the reg.

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