Well my friends it is now July, when all the corporations can finally deactivate their rainbow gradients and move forward with heterosexual revelry. Yet we remain thirsty every month of the year for lesbian, bisexual, queer and trans characters on our streaming television screams — but will Netflix, Hulu, Peacock, Amazon Prime Video, HBO Max, Paramount+ and Disney+ deliver? Or did they exhaust their gay wings flapping so hard in June? Let’s find out!
HBO Max’s LGBTQ+ Content for Gals, Gays and Theys in July 2022
Rap Sh*t: Season One Premiere – July 21
Following two estranged best friends who reunite and deicide to form a rap group, this new show from Issa Rae is co-stars queer non-binary actor Aida Osman, who’s also the Executive Story Editor! Bisexual actress Jonica Blu Booth plays Chastity, a character who I am certain is as gay as the day is long or I will quit my job??? But officially all we know about her character is that Chastity is a “sex work manager” who calls herself “The Duke of Miami.”
Harley Quinn: Season 3 – July 28
Harley and Poison Ivy are finally GFFs and BFFs forever in the only animated series I have watched in full as an adult! In Season 3, Harley and Poison Ivy wrap up their ‘Eat. Bang! Kill. Tour” and return to Gotham as the new DC villany power couple. Together they aim to become the best Harlivy possible and work towards Ivy’s goal of turning Gotham into an Eden.
Pretty Little Liars: Original Sin: Season One – July 28
The latest entry in the PLL franchise takes place in the blue-collar town of Milwood, where twenty years ago, a series of tragic events almost ripped the town apart. Now, a new set of Liars are being tormented by an A-ish figure to pay for their parents’ secret sins and their own. Trans actor Jordan Gonzalez plays trans character Ash, the head of the school’s LGBTQIA+ group and the love interest of main character Minnie (Maria Pyles), a queer teen who escapes her childhood trauma by engaging in virtual worlds. Lea Salonga plays Minne’s gay Mom and Kim Berrios Lin plays her other Mom!
Amazon Prime Video’s LGBTQ+ Movies and TV Shows for July 2022
Jennifer’s Body (2009) – July 1
“This film explores some of my favorite themes all in one glossy, campy, self-aware package: misandry, women being extremely gay together, principled revenge, and the triumph of aught culture,” wrote Erin Sullivan in her favorable review of this vaguely queer Megan Fox / Amanda Seyfriend vehicle.
1UP (2022) – July 15
In this effort from Buzzfeed Studios, Vivian “V” Lee (Paris Berelc) is a competitive gamer on video game scholarship (?!) to Barrett University, where, frustrated by the overconfident men on her gaming team (?!) The Betas, she makes the bold choice to quit and start her own girl power squad, joined by her best friend Sloane (Hari Nef) and with a little help from coach Parker (Ruby Rose). Ruby Rose has a shaved head, a motorcycle jacket and a sassy young son in the trailer. (Fun fact: their role was originally cast with Elliot Page, who stepped back from the project after coming out as a trans man because the role was written as a queer woman character.)
Anything’s Possible (2022) – July 22
Billy Porter’s exuberant LGBTQ+ rom-com follows Kelsa (newcomer Eva Reign), a confident Black trans high school student, through her senior year and her first big romance with her cutie classmate Khal. Amazon Prime describes it as a “romance that showcases the joy, tenderness, and pain of young love” and I am inclined to believe them in this instance!!!
Paper Girls: Season One – July 29
Paper Girls, based on the wildly popular critically acclaimed comic book series that debuted in 2015 (YES I OWN A COPY OF ISSUE #1), opens in 1988 when a group of 12-year-old girls discover a time machine on their paper route and are thrust into the future to confront their future selves (and in two cases, their queerness). I AM SO EXCITED 4 THIS TO HAPPEN
Hulu’s Lesbian and Queer Characters for July 2022
Milk (2008) – July 1
This biopic telling the story of the legendary gay rights activist and politician Harvey Milk has a queer female character, Anne Kronenberg, played by Allison Pill. I saw this film in the theater and cried like a baby!
Killing Eve: Season Four – July 10
The final season of Killing Eve had a very controversial ending, perhaps you heard??? Anyhow, Season Four also provided additional opportunities to witness the erotic cat-and-mouse game played by Eve and Villanelle set against the background of some international spy assassin government situation that nobody cares about anymore.
Not Okay (2022) – July 29
Not Okay, written and directed by multi-talented queer Quinn Shephard, stars Zoey Deutch as Danni Sanders, an aspiring influencer who pretends to have lived through a Paris terrorist attack to earn a social media following. Shephard’s girlfriend, Nadia Alexander, is playing “Harper,” which I am confident is a gay character because if you’re in your girlfriend’s movie and the character is named Harper then surprise, you’re gay!
Paramount Plus+ July 2022
The Only (2022) – July 12
This documentary about Black gay goalkeeper legend Briana Scurry honors her legacy and her impact on women’s sports and gives a glimpse at what she was silently enduring behind the scenes.
Peacock’s Offerings To the LGBTQ+ Gods In July 2022
Fried Green Tomatoes (1991) – July 1
This de-gayed adaptation of the Fannie Flagg novel Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe is the story of iconic tomboy Idgie Threadgoode who develops a “close friendship” with her dead brother’s ex-girlfirend Ruth, who Idgie extracts from her abusive relationship and brings into a life together running the Whistle Stop Cafe.
A Simple Favor (2018) – July 1
When I walked out of the theater after seeing A Simple Favor I declared it the most significant cinematic experience of my life and although I was being hyperbolic and I’m not even sure if it’s technically a good movie, I will defend it with my life!!!! Anyhow Blake Lively wears a 7-piece suit and is bisexual and Anna Kendrick is a mommy vlogger and there is a MYSTERY with lots of TWISTS!!!!
Disney+ LGBTQ+ Content for July 2022
High School Musical: Season Three Premiere – July 27
High School Musical: The Series is transporting the whole gang to Camp Shallow Lake for two weeks of fun in the sun and a big summer musical production of “Frozen.” Relevant to all of us here is that gay icon / former bowtie enthusiast JoJo Siwa will be joining the cast and is holding hands with a girl in the preview.
Netflix’s Queer Content for July 2022
Stranger Things 4 – July 1
Stranger Things 4 is nearly twice the runtime of any previous season, which means that it had to be broken into two parts — the first dropped over Memorial Day Weekend, and the second part comes out over July 4th Weekend. We’ll see noted 80s teen lesbian Robin team up with the rest of the nerds of Hawkins to battle the Upside Down and hopefully make a little time for her band crush, Vickie, while she’s at it.
Are we going to get Irma Vep recaps?
I’ve really been enjoying this show. It’s so weird and meta and I always enjoy shows or films about making a show or film. And I love how Mira is unambiguously a very messy bisexual. I’m fully expecting things to heat up once her ex-gf is back in the picture full time (because we all know the ex’s new husband is going to be brought in to direct the film serial, right? That’s the only logical place I can see this story going).
That’s what I was thinking also about him directing. There was that one scene that screamed mommi to me like someone in the writers room has read some Autostraddle.
we do have somebody writing about the show for autostraddle, yes!
How is this the first I am hearing about a Paper Girls show???? I will admit I’m wary of how they’re going to do some of it. There’s a lot I think would be extremely difficult to translate from page to screen.
Ruby Ruse uses they-pronouns, not she.
Thanks for the article! I loved the beginning :)
And what a pity that there is no new LGBTQ content on Netflix.
She has “they/she” on Instagram, so people can use both.
Re. Milk-
While I applaud that this film exists at all, I also watched it after seeing Times of Harvey Milk at a festival.
Watching Milk I got *extremely* pissed at how it minimizes lesbian and other non (white) gay male importance. Harvey himself cherished his co-fighters and would not approve of Milk and the way it depicts him.
Go and watch Times of Harvey Milk on Vudu.
Why is nobody talking about “How to screw it all up” on Amazon Prime?
SO excited for Harley Quinn S3!