Pop Culture Fix: ABC Nixes Lesbian Buddy Sitcom But Their LGBT History Miniseries Is A Go


Upfronts

+ AnĀ untitled single-camera sitcom about “a rougish lesbian and her best friend, a neurotic straight white male,” which starredĀ butch lesbian comedian Julie Goldman, has not been ordered to seriesĀ by ABC. This makes me really sad in my soul because I was really looking forward to it. ABC also passed onĀ a new Wanda Sykes project called “Dream Team.”

+ The new Nancy Drew series Drew, starring Sarah Shahi as Nancy Drew has also been passed over, apparently for being “too female.” CBS President Glenn Geller has denied this assessment, adding, “We are the network that hasĀ Madam Secretary, 2 Broke GirlsĀ andĀ MomĀ ā€” we have lots of female leads, we have a great balance. Actually, our new series are more diverse this year than last year.”

+ A seven-part miniseries about the rise of the LGBT movement, When We Rise, will air on ABC, directed by Gus Van Sant, and involved parties include Whoopi Goldberg, Rosie O’Donnell, David Hyde Pierce, Mary Louise-Parker and Rachel Griffiths.

+ Queen Latifah will star in the Lee Daniels Project Star, about three girls who come together to form a band in Atlanta.

+ AND Kate McKinnon showed up at the NBC Upfronts with her selfie stick and her Ellen imitation and made selfie stick history.

1280_kate_mckinnon_nbcupfronts_160517

Women On Your Teevee

Well, here is a picture one might consider “easy on the eyes”:

photo by Ruven Afanador for The Hollywood Reporter

photo by Ruven Afanador for The Hollywood Reporter

This picture comes to us along with words, specifically a roundtable with these ladies about being ladies in Hollywood and the joy of working with other women (and for Shonda Rhimes specifically). Apparently, Sarah Paulson always has to dye her hair blonde if she wants to play a romantic lead.

Faking It

Carter Convington tells The Hollywood Reporter how he would’ve ended Faking It if it hadn’t been cancelled ā€” it’s mostly about Karmy, so if that’s your bag, go check it out! And read my very last Faking It recap ever of all time. Or maybe also my first. Were we ever so young?

Kristen Stewart

Kristen Stewart‘s film Personal Shopping was booed at Cannes even though it was actually very good and she was very good in it.

Tegan & Sara

Out Magazine talks to Tegan & Sara about their new album and also the many times the two sisters were at odds with each other, dishing out the silent treatment and nearly breaking up after 2007’s The Con.

Photo via Out Magazine. Pants by Veronica Beard available at Saks Fifth Avenue. Jacket available at Church Boutique LA. Sara: Shirt by Rag & Bone. Pants by Sandro available at Bloomingdaleā€™s. Jacket by Mossimo for Target.

Photo via Out Magazine. Pants by Veronica Beard available at Saks Fifth Avenue. Jacket available at Church Boutique LA. Sara: Shirt by Rag & Bone. Pants by Sandro available at Bloomingdaleā€™s. Jacket by Mossimo for Target.

Also. Also. Also.

+ My favorite comedianĀ Julie GoldmanĀ is on the cover of GO MagazineĀ which means there’s a nice meaty interview for you there too.

+Ā WILL WE EVER SEE MORE LGBT CHARACTERS IN GENRE FILMS? WELL, WILL WE?

+Ā New Ghostbusters trailerĀ and why so many assholesĀ can’t handle it.

+ AĀ new Rocky Horror Picture Show trailerĀ has debuted, but many in the LGBT and particularly the trans community are not excited about it.

+ On queer Goddard.

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Riese

Riese is the 43-year-old Co-Founder of Autostraddle.com as well as an award-winning writer, video-maker, LGBTQ+ Marketing consultant and aspiring cyber-performance artist who grew up in Michigan, lost her mind in New York and now lives in Los Angeles. Her work has appeared in nine books, magazines including Marie Claire and Curve, and all over the web including Nylon, Queerty, Nerve, Bitch, Emily Books and Jezebel. She had a very popular personal blog once upon a time, and then she recapped The L Word, and then she had the idea to make this place, and now here we all are! In 2016, she was nominated for a GLAAD Award for Outstanding Digital Journalism. She's Jewish and has a cute dog named Carol. Follow her on twitter and instagram.

Riese has written 3273 articles for us.

25 Comments

  1. “How satisfying it would have been to finally see Karma and Amy as a true couple! There would have been lots of kisses, none of them dreams! But slowly it would have become clear that in becoming a couple, the two of them had lost something that made them ā€¦ them. Eventually, they would both realize they’d have to sacrifice their relationship to save their friendship. The series would have ended with Karma and Amy’s life goals intact: roommates in college, houses next door to each other, best friends forever.”

    Ugh, this is so dumb, and I’m saying that as someone who was anti-Karmy. You never – or almost never – hear this sort of bullshit about m/f ships that use the “friends to lovers” trope.

  2. Whenever I see Tegan and Sarah now my mind automatically jumps to this

    I don’t remember when or why I came across this screencap in the first place but it gives me life.

  3. I have many — SO MANY– complicated, conflicted feelings about Laverne playing Frank-n-Furter. They run from the gender politics behind Rocky as a show, which are almost indefensible from a 2016 perspective, and feelings about the implications of a trans woman playing Frank. But also, at the same time, feelings from my nostalgia laden heart wanting to protect something that meant so much to me as a queer theatre kid from the evil doers at FOX who will certainly neuter it, tame it, and ruin it.

    Anyway, if anyone else has feelings or thoughts about Laverne Cox and RHPS. Please, let’s chat about it! I can’t tell up from down on this one, really.

    • RHPS is my all time favorite movie and one of my favorite birthday presents to date were the tickets my friend got me to see it as a play. I am nervous to see this remake, what if it is terrible like that one episode of Glee?

      • This is one of my top worries. I don’t see how you pull of Rocky, the real Rocky, at 8pm at night on broadcast television without gutting it completely like Glee did. There are just too many restrictions. And also, RHPS wasn’t a mainstream success for a reason. So I think we could be looking at a very glossy, very “pretty”, very heartless remake just in time for a mainstream Halloween.

        The fact that it was directed by Kenny Ortega (of High School Musical and 90s Boy Band fame) does little to help me assuage those worries.

  4. Do you have to be soooo proud because you have 3, 3!!!!!!!, shows with female leads? Ok, how many shows do you have on CBS? 6? 10? Nop, I think you have a bit more than that. So, shut the fuck up.

    Iā€™m also scratching my head and wondering how and why Kevin James and Matt LeBlanc are still relevant in the world of TV? Because CBS has primetime slots for those people, plus a MacGyver remake. My god, this sounds like the conservative paradise, how the hell PoI ended up here?

    • I had two look both those shows up and they sound terrible. I understand LeBlanc has awards, but based on the premise it’s going to be canceled after one season. On the plus side there is a show called Doubt, which stars Katherine Heigl, but more importantly has Lavern Cox(who plays a successful trans woman) on the cast!

      Speaking of CBS, Sunday’s episode of Undercover Boss(happenstance that I was on the right channel at the right time) was about the Hamburger Mary’s chain. Related to the site they featured a trans woman, who works as part of their drag shows to pay for her trans related care, which at the end of the episode the CEOs said they will pay for, and promote her to the WeHo and LBC restaurants to work at). The woman even told one of the CEOs, who was undercover, the difference between trans women and drag queen and that it’s not the same thing. It was amazing to see that on a primetime reality show on CBS
      Also featured was a butch woman(who works at the LBC location), and at the end the CEOs gave her and her partner a free vacation as a bonus, but in the end credits it said she quit to do peruse other things.

      • It seems that Doubt’s choice was the reason Drew was dropped.

        I’m very happy for Lavern Cox because it was very hard to watched what OITNB’s showrunners did to her role and I want some quality material for her (not sure if I can trust CBS on that).

        My problem is Katherine Heigl, the choice between her, the white blonde, and Sarah Shahi doesn’t sit well with me. Plus she already has a cancelled show not so long a ago and her movies are always awful.

        • I agree about Heigl and CBS being untrustworthy atm when it comes to writing trans characters. But, Lavern being such a strong and powerful figure, I am sure she will try her best to let that not happen. I also hope they have a trans writer on staff or at least have a woman writer. Cause, I am tried of men in general writing for women, specially trans women. And yes, Sarah Shahi would have been way better for this role!

          Also, to be fair Lavern and the OITNB are trying to show an accurate and sad realities of being a trans woman(specially twoc) in jail.

  5. Speaking of Tegan & Sara, I was at work walking to the post office and saw a woman wearing a jean jacket that looked like Sara. I’m not sure if it was her, or just her doppelganger, but I’m just going tell people I saw Sara Quinn on the mean streets of LA(this part is true).

    Really sad to hear Wanda’s show didn’t get picked up(at leas not yet), I love her work. FYI, the Boston globe article about the Rocky Horror Show, comments from former AS writer, and all around amazing science woman, Mari Brighe.

  6. Also I think it’s important to point out that a lot of trans women, especially trans women of color like myself, are totally excited to see Laverne in Rocky Horror and can’t wait for her to kill it!

    • I loved reading Laverne’s quotes about what a great experience it has been for her so far; excited for her.

  7. Rocky Horrible freak show The most Anti Trans movie ever made. Drag queens ARE NOT NOR ever been Trans people. This movie and since this movie has given the world Trans-phobia to the world.
    The first thing people think is the Trans people are gay men in a dress or a pedophile. this is because of no education in the matter. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lost_history TRANS PEOPLE ARE NOT NEW to the World.. sorry for the caps

    • Let me up date my deal with Rocky horror .. The First 1980s movie is Anti-trans .. with someone the is really trans in a new movie ok that is not so bad. I am part of a trans M to F support group ( please don’t let the name fool you ) https://www.crossdresserheaven.com and people with Gender issues and it is a safe group they get rid of the trolls and the freaks.

  8. Personal Shopper apparently got a standing ovation at the second showing because Cannes cannot make up their collective mind I guess. I like what I’ve seen by Assayas (Irma Vep! Clouds of Sils Maria! Carlos!) so I’m sure I’ll check it out.

    Today I saw Kedi, a documentary about the street cats of Istanbul, and while I personally felt it would have worked better as a short, I understand I am in the minority where cats are concerned, and figured it may be of interest to the group.

  9. I was absolutely disheartened to hear that Nancy Drew was passed over.

    We just lost the whole Agent Carter series and now this? Good god, 2016 feels like a mess.

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