What TV shows could you watch on Hulu if you want to see some gay, lesbian or bisexual women characters? Hulu’s original content keeps getting more queer and there are so many television programs for the LGBT audience, and if you’re looking for the answers to these questions — and I think you are, because here you are — boy have I got the post for you, my friend! (We’ve also got a list of the best queer movies on Hulu if you’re in the market for that.)
Although Hulu famously hosts content from a variety of studios and networks, this list is focused on Hulu originals — shows you can expect to remain on Hulu iin most of the markets they serve. Except for, of course, the ones they’ve removed. (Dollface and Marvel’s Runaways, so far.)
The Bisexual
2019 // One Season // 6 Episodes // Channel 4 Co-Production
The Bisexual sets itself apart by featuring a diverse group of lesbian friends in addition to focusing on the queer protagonist’s narrative and the entire show just feels so undeniably authentic. “Akhavan has done something truly brilliant here,” wrote Heather Hogan in her review. “She’s created a show for an audience that understands the joke ‘Bette is a Shane trying to be a Dana’ and then centers it on a character who’s meant to make everyone who gets that joke a little uncomfortable.”
Casual
2014 – 2018 // 4 Seasons // 44 Episodes
(Photo by: Greg Lewis/Hulu)
Smart, irreverent family comedy Casual centers on Valerie (Michaela Watkins), who, along with her daughter Laura (Tara Lynne Barr), moves in with her dating-app-founder brother Alex (Tommy Dewey) after her divorce. In Season One, Alex dates a poly bisexual woman named Emmy, and in Season Two, Laura has a thing with a female friend — and it seems for a bit that that is the end of it, but nope! Laura is bisexual and continues dating and having things with other women through the series’ four seasons. However, you do have to suffer through four seasons of Alex, a very entitled white man!
Class of ’09
2023 // Limited Series // 8 Episodes // FX co-production
Queer actress Kate Mara and L Word Generation Q fave Sepideh Moafi star with Brian Tyree Henry in this suspense thriller that follows a class of FBI agents at three points in time as they attempt to grapple with massive changes in the criminal justice system. Moafi plays Hour Nazari, a lesbian who becomes a data specialist with big ambitions and Mara is Ashley Poet, a former nurse who specializes in undercover work.
Conversations With Friends
2022 // Limited Series // 12 Episodes
The latest Sally Rooney adaptation haf a lot going for it, including Sasha Lane as Bobbi, the ex-girlfriend / best friend / slam poetry partner of the lead character, Frances, but unfortunately is often just as annoying as its characters. According to Refinery 29, “The dynamics of gender and sexuality underscore the show, which centres on Frances, a 21-year-old bisexual woman whose antithetical desires are the catalyst for an examination of romance and dissection of monogamy.”
Dopesick
2021 // One Season // 8 Episodes
Based on Beth Macy’s non-fiction book, this acclaimed limited series tackled the opioid crisis from multiple angles: The Sackler family who got rich lying about a highly addictive drug, the Purdue Pharma salespeople trained to exploit doctors and shortchange patients, the D.A.s and other government employees who dared to build a case against Purdue and, finally, the residents of a small coal mining down in Virginia that became ground zero for the epidemic. In that town we meet Betsy (Katelyn Dever, who earned an Emmy nomination for her role), a closeted lesbian coal miner whose on-the-job injury leads to a prescription that leads, soon enough, to addiction.
East Los High
2013-2017 // 4 Seasons // 61 Episodes
Ser Anzoategui (Vida) made their small-screen debut playing Daysi in this show about a group of interconnected friends at a high school in East LA. The first season has a coming out arc that ends pretty brutally, but it’s a show that tackles a lot of social issues and was Hulu’s first with an all Latino cast and crew.
The First
2018 // One Season // 8 Episodes
Paul Schiraldi / 2018 Hulu
Lisa Gay Hamilton plays Kayla Price, a former mission commander and a lesbian, in this show about the first human mission to Mars. Her wife is played by Gay for Pay Queen Tracie Thoms, of course. Kayla is part of the main ensemble but her sexuality doesn’t come up very often.
The Girl From Plainville
2022 // Limited Series // 8 Episodes
This Hulu docuseries traces the very bizarre case of Michelle Carter, who was prosecuted for involuntary manslaughter after her internet boyfriend killed himself following some encouragement via text message from Carter. Elle Fanning’s stand-out performance as Carter, who was bisexual (which is addressed in the series) is amongst many elements giving this psychological complicated story some heart without dwelling heavily in sensationalism.
The Handmaid’s Tale
2017 – // 5+ Seasons // 60+ Episodes
This brutal Hulu TV show is dripping with artistry and performed by a magnificent cast, capable of communicating entire worlds in a line and also with silence. Lesbian characters Moira (Samira Wiley) and Emily (Alexis Bledel) get bigger stories in later seasons as we delve deeper into a dystopian nightmare gradually unraveling at its fundamentalist seams. Eventually, Moira’s sexuality becomes a bit of an afterthought as she focuses more on activism and mothering June’s child while June goes bananas. It’s not a pleasant world to witness, yet it remains a seductive watch. Every moment of dark humor is hard-won, like freedom itself.
Harlots
Hulu/ITV // 2017 – 2019 // 3 Seasons // 24 Episodes
I declared Harlots the most accurate portrayal of indoor-market sex work ever represented onscreen in Season One — surprisingly more resonant to me as a former sex worker than any contemporary portrayals — and its extra queering in Season Two made it moreso and then some. If Season One was about sex work, Season Two is about the reality that what’s done to sex workers is inextricable from what’s done to all women — the lessons about power, violence, solidarity and struggle in stories about sex work are ones that the larger conversation about gender ignores at its peril. Season Three I would prefer not to discuss, thank you.
High Fidelity
2020 // One Season //10 Episodes
Although Rob’s relationships with women aren’t central to the plot, Zoe Kravtiz’s character is a smart, wry, endearing hot bisexual mess on this truly delightful re-imagination of the original film (which starred John Cusack as Rob), which was based on a Nick Hornsby book. Updated for the current era with a diverse cast of clever, passionate and musically-obsessed hipsters. Unfortunately, it was cancelled after merely one short season.
How I Met Your Father
2022 – // 2+ Seasons // 26+ Episodes
In this spin-off of How I Met Your Mother, the framing device is Sophie (Hillary Duff in the present, Kim Catrall in the future)’s story of meeting her son’s father, Jesse. Jesse’s adopted sister, Ellen (Tien Tran) is a farm-owning lesbian who’s just moved to New York City looking for love following her divorce with her wife. Her character was “criminally underused” at first but stepped closer to the spotlight as the season progressed.
Little Fires Everywhere
2020 // Limited Series // 8 Episodes
This brilliant adaptation of the bestselling book adds some queer elements that weren’t explicitly present on the page for the characters of Izzy and Mia Warren (played by Kerry Washington, who produced the series with co-star Reese Witherspoon). Set in an affluent Ohio suburb in the ’90s, Little Fires Everywhere is a searing investigation of class, race and the idea of “good white people.”
Letterkenny
2016 – // 11+ Seasons // 75+ Episodes
Valerie describes this quirky Canadian comedy as “full of quick-witted, fast-talking folks with very specifically Canadian humor that somehow seems universally hilarious.” Though many of the women are canonically queer, the on-screen proof of that is not always central.
Light as a Feather
2018-2019 // 2 Seasons // 26 Episodes
Light as a Feather started out as a fun campy horror/teen drama that happened to have a gay character in its main ensemble, and it was all fun in games through Season One and most of Season Two. It had the Final Destination “cheating death” kind of spook factor, mixed in with some supernatural twin stuff and secrets upon secrets upon lies. Season Two gave the queer lead, named Alex of course, a girlfriend, but the end of Season Two took a bit of a turn re: its queer characters.
Love, Victor
2020 – 2022 // 3 Seasons // 28 Episodes
Carmen wrote of this LGBTQ Hulu TV show: “Love, Victor has always led with its sweetness! Even when grappling with serious themes (one of Victor’s love interests has had an alcohol addiction, this season another gay character is almost involved in a hate crime, a different member of their friendship circle has a mom who struggles with clinical depression) the angst level never moves much beyond ‘way harsh Disney Channel.'” And Season Two ends on a gay cliffhanger for perpetual high school popular girl Lake making eyes with Lucy, the ex of the school’s biggest jock, and picks back up in Season Three exactly where you want it to.
Mrs. America
2020 // Limited Series // 9 Episodes // FX co-production
Sarah Paulson, Niecy Nash, Cate Blanchett, Tracy Ullman, Rose Byrne, Uzo Abuba and Melanie Lynskey are just some of the wildly talented women at the forefront of this history of the feminist movement in the 1970s and its fight against conservative activist Phyllis Shalafley (Cate Blanchett), specifically. Bria Henderson plays Black lesbian early Ms. magazine editor Margaret Sloan-Hunter. In episode five, Ari Graynor shows up as Brenda Feigen, a feminist activist and attorney who falls for Jules, a lesbian photographer portrayed by the one and only Roberta Colindrez. In Episode 7, we briefly glimpse Midge Costanza and Jean O’Leary, a lesbian couple who pushed for inclusion in the feminist agenda and within the Carter administration.
The Other Black Girl
2023 // Limited Series // 8 Episodes
This adaptation of the bestselling thriller finds a young publishing aspirant, Nella, the only Black gril in her office, thrilled when a second Black girl is hired. But her relationship with the new girl, while promising at first, eventually turns suspicious and is the ticket to unveiling some larger forces at work. Nella’s queer best friend, Malaika, is the show’s unsung hero and a breath of fresh air.
Only Murders in the Building
2021 – // 3+ Seasons // 30+ Episodes
(Photo by: Craig Blankenhorn/Hulu)
From our beloved Jamie Babbit came the Hulu TV show Only Murders in the Building, an immediately buzzy whodunit set in a New York City apartment building where a murder is followed by a homegrown true crime podcast hosted by nosy neighbors Charles (Steve Martin), Oliver (Martin Short) and Mabel (Selena Gomez). In Season One, we had a lesbian cop, but in Season Two Mabel ends up enchanted by a lesbian art gallery owner played by noted agent of chaos Cara Delevingne.
Pam & Tommy
2022 // Limited Series // 8 Episodes
The story of how Tommy Lee and Pamela Anderson’s sex tape got leaked and basically created the celebrity sex tape industry at a revolutionary time in the history of the internet is truly a wild one, weaving between Pam and Tommy’s chaotic romance and the tale of the handyman Tommy fucked over who stole the tape, Rand Gauthier. Rand’s ex-wife, Erica, a former porn star, is played by Taylor Schilling, and lives with her hot girlfriend.
Reasonable Doubt
2022+ // 1+ Seasons // Onyx Co-Production
Kerry Washington’s the EP of this new legal drama with an all-Black writers room starring Emayatzy Corinealdi as Jax Stewart, “the most brilliant and fearless defense attorney in Los Angeles who bucks the justice system at every chance she gets.” Tiffany Yvonne Cox (Good Trouble) plays Autumn, “the listener and caretaker of Jax’s friends” who’s happily married to her wife and has been best friends with Jax since tenth grade.
Reboot
2022 // One Season // 8 Episodes
Hannah (Rachel Bloom) tells Hulu (it’s meta!) that she wants to reboot classic sitcom Step Right Up… but make it edgy. What she doesn’t tell them in the original pitch is that the original showrunner was in fact her father, with whom she has a contentious relationship, and that Step Right Up was his way of re-telling his own story in a less-horrifying manner. And, as Heather wrote in her glowing review, “basically every single woman on this show is, in some way, gay! Surprisingly gay! Hilariously gay! Subversively gay!” It’s light and fun and full of surprises. This is one of Hulu’s best LGBT shows for sure!
Saint X
2023 // One Season // 8 Episodes // not renewed or cancelled yet
“I’ve just always felt I was mean to be a leader. A commander, even. I can’t explain it.”
Saint X is many things, “good” is not one of them, but it has some things going for it. Emily Thomas (Alycia Debnam-Carey) moves to a Caribbean neighborhood in Brooklyn 15 years after her older sister died on a Caribbean island during a family vacation. Authorities said it was an accident but the Thomases believe otherwise, and of course all of this is now resurfacing in Emily’s present-tense life. Her best friend, Sunita (Kosha Patel), is a gay lady!
Shrill
2019-2021 // 3 Seasons // 22 Episodes
Aidy Bryant stars in this adaptation of writer Lindy West’s memoir, in which she navigates the world as a young journalist in a fatphobic world, including working at an eccentric Seattle newspaper with a very weird person named Ruthie played by our favorite weirdo Patti Harrison. Her best friend, Fran, is a black British lesbian with all the self-confidence Annie herself lacks, and her romantic storylines eventually land her in a delightful relationship with Emily (ER Fightmaster).
This Way Up
2019 – // 2 Seasons // 12 Episodes // Channel 4 Co-Production
This cute comedy centers on Aine, an Irish woman living in London who returns from rehab to re-make her life. Her sister, Shona (Sharon Hogan), realizes she is bisexual and dates a co-worker, Charlotte (Indria Varna) in Season One. Soooo… it’s not a big storyline but also don’t you want to see Sharon Hogan be gay for a second??
Utopia Falls
2020 // One Season // 10 Episodes
It’s hundreds of years in the future and New Babyl, the last living colony on earth, has divided into different sectors for specific industries, from which 24 candidates are chosen to compete in The Examplar performance competition. Six of these candidates are followed by the show’s narrative, including sexually fluid Brooklyn and dancer Sage.
Tiny Beautiful Things
2023 // Limited Series // 8 Episodes
This adaptation of Cheryl Strayed’s Tiny Beautiful Things (which was a compilation of her Dear Sugar advice columns ) stars Kathryn Hahn as Claire, a writer who finds herself heading up an advice column while her own life falls apart. In a deviation from its source material, Claire’s husband, Danny, is Black, and their daughter, Rae, is queer and biracial. “The problem with this series,” Drew wrote in her review, “is it wants inclusivity without acknowledging how that changes its central narrative.”
Woke
2020 – 2022 // 2 Seasons // 16 Episodes
Keef Knight is a Black cartoonist on the up-and-up who avoids controversial material in his work — but after being traumatized by an encounter with the police, he gains the ability to see and hear inanimate objects talking to him and is increasingly aware of the racial microaggressions that infiltrate his life. He eventually befriends Ayana (Sasheer Zamata), a lesbian reporter who calls him out.
Wreck
2023- // 1+ Seasons // 6 Episodes // BBC Three
Hulu picked up this British comedy horror about a young gay teen who gets a cruise ship job to investigate the disappearance of his sister on said ship. On said ship he works with Vivian (Thaddea Graham), a lesbian who works on the ship after fleeing her homophobic family and Rosie (Miya Ocego), a trans woman who works as a Cher impersonator. Kayla loved the show for its portrayal of a gay guy/lesbian friendship, the relationship between Vivian and her eventual love interest Lily, and its “stunning horror.”
Other streaming TV lists:
- 60 Best Lesbian, Bisexual and Queer TV Shows on Netflix
- 40 Queer TV Shows with Lesbian and Bisexual Characters Streaming on Prime Video
- The 40 Best LGBTQ+ TV Shows on HBO Max With Lesbian or Bisexual Characters
It sometimes feel like these streamers bury their queer content? Like, I literally only watch gay stuff and yet I still have to specifically search it out by title (I’m looking at you, Prime Video/A League of Their Own).
In any case, thanks for this roundup, Riese and TV Team! I wasn’t aware of several of these shows and now have happily replenished my ‘to watch’ docket.
And reader, if you have already seen all of these and are still looking for more, please treat yourself to seasons one and two of VIDA (currently on Hulu), because it always bears a rewatch.
Hulu now has all three seasons of Vida
Thank you feromuch Riese for all the tips for some of the lesbian and queer content.Always checking it out for there is so much to share.
Love always from Feromoon
Ooh! So many shows to add to my watch list. I just finished the Creamerie on Hulu, and it had a minor lesbian plot line!
To paraphrase that one overprotective ex character, I would literally saw off my arm for another season of The Bisexual
the movies are good but it need more feeling
u know if u gay u get a funny feeling down there yea it need more
Thank you for compiling this list, but I’d be reluctant to include Pam and Tommy without a note that Pamela Anderson didn’t consent to this show being made and found the whole thing incredibly distressing:
https://www.buzzfeed.com/noradominick/pamela-anderson-pam-and-tommy-criticism
Perhaps dispassionately, I’m fine with it being on the list because it factually fits the definition of this list, but a caveat would be a welcome addition – I think we’ve all experienced the crummy feeling of finding out something was produced unethically after consuming it, so a warning for those who would’ve made a different decision with this info would be welcome.
Never not going to be sad about the cancellation of High Fidelity!! One of most rewatched seasons of television tbh
I’ve been rewatching Vida on Hulu, and also was so delighted to see This Way Up on the list! It’s a lovely show