Mike Flanagan’s “Carrie” Miniseries for Prime Video Is Looking Good
Horror gays, good news, we are getting closer and closer to the fall release of Mike Flanagan’s Carrie miniseries, and we have received some first-look photos from it. And knowing Mike Flanagan’s history, I have confidence we will get a queer character or two. (The man’s bi wife energy exudes itself all over his projects, and for this I am eternally grateful.)
We already know of at least three LGBTQ+ actors in the cast; aforementioned bi wife Kate Siegel, plus trans actress Josie Totah (who will be playing mean girl Chris’s bestie Tina), and non-binary actor Thalia Dudek playing Emaline — who seems to be a new character written for the miniseries. Based on the stills they’re included in, and the fact that Flanagan has spoken about wanting to tell a deliberately contemporary story using Steven King’s themes of “kindness versus cruelty, of empathy and bullying, and violence at school,” including technology’s impact on those themes (the bullies all seem to be holding iPhones up for example), I’ve got a feeling Emaline will be queer; maybe even nonbinary. I don’t think you can really have a show focused on modern-day bullying without a queer character.
One thing’s for sure — Emaline is no fan of Chris. It’s very likely Carrie isn’t the first or only target of Chris’s bullying, which would track with the expression on their face in the press still. It will also be interesting to see if Josie Totah’s character will also be trans, considering she’s one of the bullies. Either way, I’m sure the conversation around it will be interesting.
It’s not every day I say I trust a straight cis man with a queer story, but The Haunting of Hill House and The Haunting Bly Manor are two of my favorite queer stories of all time, so, I’m willing to go in open-hearted for all of Flanagan’s projects. As sure as the Flana-fam will appear, so will a queer character. (This series will have Flavengers Samantha Sloyan, Rahul Kohli, and Ruth Codd, to name a few.)
Another thing about this adaptation is that Flanagan has said he’s going to explore things from the book other adaptations ignored, like the fact that Carrie might not be the only one in the world with these powers, which sounds like it has real coven potential to me. And where there are covens, there are queers.
I, for one, can’t wait for this adaptation, as a fan of everything I’ve seen of Mike Flanagan’s, and I can’t wait to find out just how queer this new world is.
+ For the third year in row, GLAAD has reported a decline in LGBTQ+ representation in film https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/glaad-study-lgbtq-characters-film-1236642072/
+ There is a new documentary out about Mary Oliver called Mary Oliver: Saved by the Beauty of the World, which includes her poetry being read by other poets including Donika Kelly and Gabrielle Calvocoressi
+ Singer Chelsea Cutler released her latest single, “What Else?” along with the official music video
+ The Five Star Weekend creator talks about differences between the book and the show, and how ending up with a mostly queer writers’ room informed the late-in-life lesbian character in the show (warning: spoilers afoot)
+ Layla from Secret Lives of Mormon Wives soft launched her new girlfriend, and says she’s “glowing” now because of it
+ The American Horror Story witches are back in a follow-up to AHS: Coven airing this September
+ Heartstopper Forever won’t be the last Heartstopper content coming our way; there will also be some behind-the-scenes footage, including a documentary called Ending on a Hi
+ On Sophia Bush’s birthday, her girlfriend Ashlyn Harris posted about how Sophia changed her life for the better
+ Meg Stalter made her Broadway debut in Oh, Mary (and Jean Smart was there to cheer her on) https://gayety.com/meg-stalter-broadway-debut-oh-mary-jean-smart
+ Bella Ramsey’s new film Sunny Dancer about a teen recovering from cancer releases in UK theaters next month, which hopefully means we can see it here in the US not too long after; you can check out the trailer for it in the meantime
+ Olivia Wilde’s The Invite isn’t queer, per se, but it does include two women kissing, so there’s that
+ Love Island After Sun hosts Ciara Miller and Tefi Pessoa want Love Island to get gayer and include more LGBTQ+ contestants
+ Speaking of gay reality shows: keep up with the goings-on of I Kissed a Girl with our recaps
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