Happy Pride Month, Mary Suevians! June is finally here, bringing with it a celebration of LGBTQ+ culture and history. And because it’s Pride, there’s a bevvy of new films and television series featuring queer actors, directors, writers, and storylines. We’re living in a peak age of queer content, where countless series feature LGBTQ+ characters in a variety of genres. Let’s take a look at what to watch this month:
Fire Island, June 3 on Hulu
Comedians Joel Kim Booster (Sunnyside) and Bowen Yang (Saturday Night Live) star in Fire Island, an updated queer twist on Pride and Prejudice that takes place at the titular vacation destination. The film, directed by Andrew Ahn (Spa Night) also stars Conrad Ricamora (How to Get Away with Murder) as the Darcy to Kim Boosters’ Elizabeth, along with Matt Rogers (I Love That for You), James Scully (You), and queer icon Margaret Cho.
The Book of Queer, June 2 on Discovery+
Queer luminaries Dominique Jackson, Alex Newell, Leslie Jordan, Margaret Cho, and Ross Mathews will narrate this five-episode docuseries about historic and groundbreaking queer individuals throughout history. The series will explore queer icons like ancient Greek poet Sappho, Alexander the Great, King James, Joan of Arc, Akhenaten, and many more, with a queer ensemble of actors and drag artists performing reenactments of great gay moments in history.
P-Valley, June 2 on Starz
Season 2 of the critically acclaimed series from Katori Hall finds the crew at strip club The Pynk dealing with the pandemic, and the power struggle between Uncle Clifford (Nicco Annan) and Autumn (Elarica Johnson). If you haven’t visited P-Valley, now is a great time to catch up.
Irma Vep, June 6 on HBO
Academy Award winner Alicia Vikander (The Danish Girl, Tomb Raider) stars in this limited series remake of the French classic ‘Les Vampires’. Olivier Assayas’ new series is itself a remake of his 1996 film, which follows the same plot. Vikander plays Mira, a movie star fresh off of a superhero film who is looking to make something more serious. She’s also dealing with the fallout of her ex-girlfriend and ex-assistant Laurie (Adria Arjona) getting married. The series also features Portlandia‘s Carrie Brownstein and Maggie Cheung.
Stand Out: An LGBTQ+ Celebration, June 9 on Netflix
This star-studded queer comedy event (part of Netflix is a Joke fest) was hosted by Bob the Drag Queen and Billy Eichner, featuring stand-up comedy from queer and trans comics like Tig Notaro, Patti Harrison, Gina Yashere, Margaret Cho, Eddie Izzard, Joel Kim Booster, Judy Gold, Patti Harrison, Mae Martin, River Butcher, Guy Branum, Sandra Bernhard, and many many more.
Queer as Folk, June 9 on Peacock
The groundbreaking queer series returns, this time focusing on a diverse group of queer friends living in New Orleans who struggle to reconcile in the aftermath of a club shooting reminiscent of the Pulse tragedy. The series stars Kim Cattrall, Juliette Lewis, Devin Way, Fin Argus, Jesse James Keitel, CG, Johnny Sibilly and Ryan O’Connell. It’s an almost entirely queer/non-binary/trans cast, with queer writers and directors at the helm.
First Kill, June 10 on Netflix
First Kill, based on the 2020 short story by YA author Victoria “V. E.” Schwab, offers an updated queer twist on teen vampire dramas like Buffy the Vampire Slayer. The series follows the star-crossed romance between vampire slayer Calliope (The Equalizer‘s Imani Lewis) and teen vampire Juliette (American Crime Story‘s Sarah Catherine Hook). Both Calliope and Juliette are prepping for their respective first kills, but their plans fall by the wayside when they start falling for each other.
Love, Victor, June 15 on Hulu and Disney+
This third and final season finds Victor going on a journey of self-discovery — not only deciding who he wants to be with, but more broadly, who he wants to be. With their post-high-school-plans looming, Victor and his friends are faced with a new set of problems that they must work through to make the best choices for their futures.
The Lake, June 17 on Amazon Prime
Justin (Orphan Black‘s Jordan Gavaris), a recently divorced gay man, brings Billie (Madison Shamoun), the biracial daughter he gave up for adoption, to the lake where he summered as a boy. Justin hopes spending the summer together with Billie will bring them closer. Still, Justin’s obsession with wresting control of his family cottage back from his stepsister Maisy-May (Julia Stiles) only pushes them further apart. It will take a lot of growing up for all parties to learn how they fit into a family, including the Iron Lady of the lake, Maisy.
The Umbrella Academy Season 3, June 22 on Netflix
Season 3 of the Netflix comic book adaptation The Umbrella Academy see the Hargreeves siblings come face to face with a paradox where their father created a different team of superpowered children. But, as Number Five points out in the trailer, it also means that somewhere in the universe they’re still out there and not part of the Umbrella Academy. Season 3 will also introduce Elliot Page as Viktor Hargreeves, who like Page, is trans.
Wildhood, June 24 on Hulu
This coming-of-age LGBTQIA+ drama follows two-spirit Mi’kmaw teenager Link (Phillip Lewitski), who lives with his toxic father and younger half-brother Travis (Avery Winters-Anthony). When Link discovers his mother could still be alive, they hit the road in search of her. Along the way they meet Pasmay (Joshua Odjick), a pow wow dancer drawn to Link.
The Chi Season 5, June 24 on Showtime
Season 5 of The Chi delves deeply into the many joys and complications of Black love: relationships, children, career, community and self. The season will see Nina and Dre rebuilding their relationship.
Westworld Season 4, June 26 on HBO
It’s been two years since we last saw Westworld, and the twisty sci-fi saga finally returns. Academy Award winner Ariana DeBose (West Side Story) joins Evan Rachel Wood and Tessa Thompson. The season is described as a “dark odyssey about the fate of sentient life on earth”, so expect violent delights and violent ends.
Are you excited for Pride month? Let us know in the comments!
(featured image: Jeong Park/Searchlight Pictures/20th Century Studios)
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