LGBTQ+ SHOWS
AJ and the Queen
Robert, a down-on-his-luck drag queen who performs as Ruby Red, prepares for a new adventure, heading out on a journey in a van across America. Joining Robert on the trip is tough-talking 10-year-old stowaway AJ. Ruby gets a chance to step back into the spotlight along the way, and AJ comes up with a crafty plan to earn some extra cash. The tour hits a snag as the vehicle rolls into Texas, and it comes to an end when Ruby competes in the Miss Drag USA pageant. Features young nb character, gay, and disabled visibility. Available on Netflix.
Atypical
This heartfelt comedy follows Sam, a teenager on the autism spectrum, who has decided he is ready for romance. In order to start dating -- and hopefully find love -- Sam will need to be more independent, which also sends his mother (Jennifer Jason Leigh) on her own life-changing path. She and the rest of Sam's family, including a scrappy sister and a father seeking a better understanding of his son, must adjust to change and explore what it means to be "normal." The series is created and written by Robia Rashid and Academy Award-winning producer Seth Gordon. Includes genderfluid casting and queer storyline.
Black Mirror: San Junipero
"San Junipero" is the fourth episode in the third series of the British science fiction anthology television series Black Mirror. When two women find each other in San Junipero, their lives are changed forever. Available on Netflix.
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Brooklyn Nine-Nine
Comedy. Detective Jake Peralta, a talented and carefree cop with the best arrest record, has never had to follow the rules too closely or work very hard. That changes when Ray Holt, a man with a lot to prove, becomes the new commanding officer of Brooklyn's 99th precinct. As Holt reminds Peralta to respect the badge, an extremely competitive colleague - Detective Amy Santiago - starts to close in on the hotshot cop's arrest record. Other members of the precinct include Sgt Terry Jeffords, a devoted family man, Detective Charles Boyle, a hard worker who idolizes Jake, and Rosa Diaz, a sexy-yet-intimidating detective. Civilian office manager Gina Linetti is tasked with cleaning up everyone's mess, while somehow getting involved in everyone's business. Features gay and bisexual relationships and representation. Available on NBC and Hulu.
Dear White People
This Netflix-original series follows a group of students of color at Winchester University, a predominantly white Ivy League college. The students are faced with a landscape of cultural bias, social injustice, misguided activism and slippery politics. Through an absurdist lens, the series uses irony, self-deprecation, brutal honesty and humor to highlight issues that still plague today's "post-racial" society. Features queer, gay, lesbian, and trans poc representation.
Degrassi: Next Class
Following the lives of a new generation of students at Degrassi Community School as they encounter high-school issues such as racism, drug use, homophobia, mental illness, cyber bulling, sexuality, religion, and more. Features nonbinary, pansexual, and queer representation. Available on Netflix.
Degrassi: The Next Generation
The young lives on Degrassi Street are always rife with problems. Whether it's about sexuality, growing up, drugs or parents, there's always something going on in the high school and at their homes. The long-running, multiple award-winning series follows the characters in a soap opera-type format as they endure the pangs of transitioning from childhood to adulthood. Starting in season 2, the cast features gay, lesbian, and bisexual main characters and issues.
Euphoria
An American adaptation of the Israeli show of the same name, "Euphoria" follows the troubled life of 17-year-old Rue, a drug addict fresh from rehab with no plans to stay clean. Circling in Rue's orbit are Jules, a transgender girl searching for where she belongs; Nate, a jock whose anger issues mask sexual insecurities; Chris, a football star who finds the adjustment from high school to college harder than expected; Cassie, whose sexual history continues to dog her; and Kat, a body-conscious teen exploring her sexuality. As the classmates struggle to make sense of their futures, the series tackles the teenage landscape of substance-enhanced parties and anxiety-ridden day-to-day life with empathy and candor. Available on HBO.
Everything Sucks!
It's the 1990s, and groups of outcasts in Boring High School's AV and drama clubs are trying to brave the ups and downs of teenage life in a simpler world without smartphones and other 21st century technology. The two crews of nerdy students are frustrated that no one is taking them seriously so they decide the best way to make it through high school is to join forces and make a movie -- that'll help them get noticed. And there's also the usual teenage romance issues to deal with. Luke, the ringleader of the AV club, falls for Kate, but she is harboring a secret-- she's gay. Features predominant lesbian coming-of-age storyline. Available on Netflix.
Good Girls
When sisters Beth and Annie and their best friend Ruby become fed up with playing by the rules and not getting the respect they deserve, they band together to take control of their lives -- by holding up a local grocery store. Beth's the perfect wife and mother, but her used-car-dealing, cheating husband has sent her family into financial ruin; Ruby is happily married to a policeman but can't afford the medical bills and experimental drugs to help her daughter; and Annie, a single mom, is caught in a nasty custody battle with her ex. In desperate need of money, the women plan the heist expecting to ease their financial burdens. But new to the game of crime, they get pulled in deeper than they ever imagined -- and the only way out of this will be together. Features young transmale actor and character. Available on Netflix.
Grace and Frankie
For as long as they can recall, Grace and Frankie have been rivals. Their one-upmanship comes crashing to a halt, however, when they learn that their husbands have fallen in love with each other and want to get married. As everything around the ladies is coming apart, the only thing they can really rely on is each other. Available on Netflix.
Marvel's Runaways
There are times when pretty much every teenager thinks his or her parents are evil -- but what if it was actually true? That's the situation six Los Angeles teenagers find themselves in when they stumble upon a terrible secret and realize that their parents have been lying to them for their entire lives. The offspring begin an investigation to try to figure out what their guardians are after, while the adults wonder if their kids are hiding secrets of their own. The unlikely crew of teens bands together -- led by de facto leader and primary strategist Alex Wilder -- to stop their parents before it is too late. Features lesbian and bisexual representation. Available on Hulu.
One Day At A Time
This Netflix-original comedy-drama follows the life of Penelope, a newly single Army veteran, and her Cuban-American family as they navigate the ups and downs of life. Now a nurse, Penelope is raising two strong-willed children. When faced with challenges, Penelope turns to her "old-school" mother, and her building manager, who has become an invaluable confidant. The series offers a contemporary take on what life looks like in both good and bad times, and how loved ones can help make it all worthwhile. Features queer latinx characters. Available on Netflix.
One Mississippi
This Amazon original series is a dark comedy inspired by events in comic Tig Notaro's life. Tig is still dealing with serious health issues, including recovering from a double mastectomy. When her mother becomes gravely ill, Tig returns to her hometown in Mississippi, where she is forced on a painful (and at times, hilarious) journey that unearths uncomfortable truths about herself and her family. In order to heal, both physically and emotionally, Tig must reconnect with her roots before moving forward. Tig is a gender non-conforming lesbian. Available on Amazon Prime video.
Orange Is The New Black
Piper Chapman is a public relations executive with a career and a fiance when her past suddenly catches up to her. In her mid-30s she is sentenced to spend time in a minimum-security women's prison for her association with a drug runner 10 years earlier. This Netflix original series is based on the book of the same title. Forced to trade power suits for prison orange, Chapman makes her way through the corrections system and adjusts to life behind bars, making friends with the many eccentric, unusual and unexpected people she meets. Features lesbian, bisexual, trans, and nonbinary characters. Available on Netflix.
The Politician
Wealthy high school student Payton Hobart has known since he was 7 years old that he is going to be the president of the United States. The first step toward that goal is to become his school's student body president. To do that, he will have to navigate the treacherous political landscape of Saint Sebastian High School. Hobart feels he needs to win the election to secure his spot at Harvard and continue on his projected path to success. To achieve his goals, he'll have to outsmart his ruthless classmates without sacrificing his own morality and -- most importantly -- carefully crafted public image. Features a transmale lead, nonbinary poc, lesbian, gay, queer, and disabled visibility. Available on Netflix.
Pose
Set in the 1980s, `Pose' is a dance musical that explores the juxtaposition of several segments of life and society in New York: the ball culture world, the rise of the luxury Trump-era universe, and the downtown social and literary scene. All forms of LGBTQIA+ representation. Available on FX or Netflix.
Queer As Folk
Set in working-class Pittsburgh, the drama revolves around a group of gay friends and their relationships, careers, loves and ambitions. The first American television show to center around gay characters, to feature representations of gay sex, and to feature gay marriage.
Queer Eye
These five queer style experts forge relationships with men and women who often have different beliefs from them, leading to moments of social commentary interspersed with style advice. Advising people in need of lifestyle makeovers, and resulting in emotional growth. Available on Netflix.
Riverdale
Archie Andrews starts the school year with the world weighing on his shoulders. He's decided he wants to pursue a future in the music business, but his recently ended clandestine relationship with the music teacher has left him without a mentor, and his friendship with Jughead Jones is in a bad place. Things look like they might be turning around when Veronica Lodge, a new girl, arrives. Amidst all the small-town banality lurks a mystery: the recent tragic death of Jason Blossom, the twin brother of beautiful and popular troublemaker, Cheryl. Starting in season 2, there is lesbian/bi representation. This show also has several queer writers. Available on Netflix.
Schitt's Creek
Comedy. A wealthy couple -- video store magnate Johnny and his soap opera star wife Moira -- suddenly find themselves completely broke. With only one remaining asset, a small town called Schitt's Creek, which the Roses bought years earlier as a joke, this once-wealthy couple must give up life as they know it. With their two spoiled children in tow and their pampered lives behind them, the Rose family is forced to face their newfound poverty head-on and come together as a family to survive. Features pansexual and gay representation. Available on Netflix.
Sense8
Eight strangers around the globe find themselves connected -- first by a violent vision, then by their shared ability to connect with one another's thoughts and actions, and finally by the urgent need to find out what happened and why. Their need to know goes beyond simple curiosity -- as they pursue answers, a mysterious organization hunts them down, intent on destroying them. The intense thriller is the first foray into television (or, more accurately, Netflix) for renowned filmmakers Lana Wachowski and Lilly Wachowski ("The Matrix Reloaded"), who created the series with J. Michael Straczynski ("Thor"). Features trans, gay, and lesbian representation. Also directed by two transwomen. Available on Netflix.
Shameless
William H. Macy stars as Frank Gallagher, a single father of six who spends much of his free time drinking at bars. The Gallagher children -- led by oldest daughter Fiona (Emmy Rossum), who takes on much of the child-rearing responsibility due to her mother's absence -- manage to raise themselves in spite of Frank's lack of parenting and unusual parenting style when he does choose to act like a father. Features gay, bisexual, and trans representation. Available on Netflix or Showtime.
Shrill
Annie is a full-figured woman who wants to change her life -- but not her body; she is trying to start her career while juggling bad boyfriends, a sick parent and a perfectionist boss. Features trans and genderfluid actors, and gay and lesbian representation. Available on Hulu.
Six Feet Under
Dark comedy. Laced with irony and dark situational humor, the show approaches the subject of death through the eyes of the Fisher family, who owns and operates a funeral home in Los Angeles. Peter Krause stars as Nate, who reluctantly becomes a partner in the funeral home after his father's death. Features gay representation. Available on HBO or Amazon Prime.
Special
Actor-writer Ryan O'Connell stars in this semi-autobiographical series based on his memoir. He plays Ryan, a gay man with cerebral palsy who decides to do away with his identity as an accident victim and go after the life that he wants. After years of dead-end internships, blogging in his pajamas and mainly communicating through text, Ryan figures out how to take his life from bleak to chic as he gets ready to start limping toward adulthood. Features gay disabled representation. Available on Netflix.
Take My Wife
Comedy. The show follows real life couple Cameron Esposito and Rhea Butcher as they share their lives as stand up comics who are balancing work, relationships, and the breaking down of gender barriers. Available on Amazon Prime.
Tales of the City
Upon returning to San Francisco, Mary Ann is reunited with her daughter, Shawna (Ellen Paige), and ex-husband Brian 20 years after leaving them to pursue her career. As she flees the midlife crisis that arose from her seemingly perfect Connecticut life, Mary Ann returns to her home, where she is quickly drawn back in by Anna Madrigal and her chosen family, queer young residents of 28 Barbary Lane, a boardinghouse-turned-apartment complex that is owned by Anna. This limited series is a sequel to the 1993 miniseries and is inspired by the "Tales of the City" book series by Armistead Maupin. Laura Linney and Olympia Dukakis reprise their roles from the original TV production. Features a full spectrum of queer and trans identities. Available on Netflix.
The Bisexual
New Yorker Leila lives in London with her girlfriend of 10 years and business partner, Sadie, but Leila has a secret: she is bisexual; realizing that she is living a lie, Leila breaks up with her girlfriend and tries to live life as a bisexual. Available on Hulu.
The Fosters
Family drama. Stef and Lena have built a close-knit family with Stef's biological son, Brandon, and adopted twins, Mariana and Jesus. When Lena meets Callie -- hardened from being in and out of foster homes -- the couple welcome her into their home, thinking it is temporary. Callie's blunt commentary about the atypical family hits a nerve with the twins, who struggle with their own identities. Features lesbian, bi, transmale, and nonbinary representation. Also created by a gay activist. Available on Netflix.
The L Word
This long-running Showtime series features intertwined stories about the lives and loves of a group of lesbians and bisexuals in Los Angeles. The characters date, get into committed relationships, consider having families, hook up, break up, question their sexuality, stay in the closet, come out or sleep around -- sometimes all of the above. Features lesbian, bi, transmale, and deaf representation. Available on Netflix or Showtime.
The OA
In addition to her role as creator and executive producer of this mind-bending series, Brit Marling also plays the role of Prairie Johnson, a young woman who returns home after a 7-year disappearance. Her sudden return is not the only miraculous occurrence: everyone is shocked to learn that Prairie is no longer blind. While the FBI and her parents are anxious to discuss Prairie's disappearance, she won't talk about what happened during the time that she was missing. Available on Netflix.
The Other Two
Comedy. Centered around two siblings desperately seeking their lot in life. Aspiring actor Cary is struggling to land better auditions than "Man at Party Who Smells Fart," while his sister Brooke is simply struggling in general. Their mom, played by Molly Shannon, is (not) dealing with the loss of her husband. As they work toward self-improvement, their lives are turned upside-down when their teenage brother Chase becomes an internet sensation overnight. Features gay main character. Available on Comedy Central and on demand.
Transparent
Dark comedy. Mort has a secret that he really wants to tell his three adult children, who are so self-absorbed they don't see that something has changed for divorced, girlfriendless dad. Even when he invites them to dinner en masse to share his news, somehow, the conversation becomes about them. The secret unfolds, though, when he comes home and sees his married daughter getting intimate with her ex. Now, he knows her secret; she learns his; and the dysfunctional family finds one secret after another being exposed. Features transfemale and nonbinary actors and characters. Available on Amazon Prime.