DJ and music producer David Morales in “Disco: Soundtrack of a Revolution.”
(PBS)
'Disco: Soundtrack of a revolution'
In 1970s New York, the gay and black communities sweated together in small clubs and basement bars to the beat of disco music, a genre that made its way into the global mainstream, thanks to singers like Donna Summer and Sylvester , and places like Studio 54. Described as a “revisionist history” of the disco era, this new docuseries reinforces disco music as a defining gay musical genre and a cultural phenomenon that brought together people of all sexual orientations and gender identities. (The nightclub also faced a hateful, anti-gay backlash.) The three-part series also looks at how the nightclub allowed gay men who felt newly empowered by the gay liberation movement to find joy and camaraderie (and sex) in the dance floor in The years before a plague changed everything. (Transmitting on PBS.org June 1st; airs on PBS on June 18).
'Dead Boys Detectives'
Based on the comic series by Neil Gaiman and Matt Wagner, this paranormal fantasy is about Edwin (George Rexstrew) and Charles (Jayden Revri), teenagers born decades apart, and now ghost best friends, who run a detective agency that solves supernatural mysteries. The eight-episode series, the latest in Netflix's Sandman Universe, features soft-hearted queer characters and queer characters in various stages of coming out and coming of age. Central to it is the chemistry between Edwin and Charles, who share a kind of love story (homoerotic, if not sexual à la “Euphoria”) that underscores the value of chosen families. In your review Reviewing the series, Times television critic Robert Lloyd called it “extraordinarily well-made: cleverly written, cleverly acted, sensitively performed, marvelously realised.” (Transmitting on Netflix)
Andrew Scott in Netflix's “Ripley.”
(Netflix)
'Ripley'
Andrew Scott, who alongside Paul Mescal dove into dark emotional waters in the gay drama “All of Us Strangers,” plays the titular rogue in this witty eight-episode thriller. Adapted from Patricia Highsmith's 1955 novel “The Talented Mr. Ripley,” the series is set in 1960s Italy and follows Tom Ripley (con artist, heartthrob and psychopath) as he manipulates his way into the lives of Dickie ( Johnny Flynn), an American who runs a trust fund, and Dickie's friend Marge (Dakota Fanning). The question of whether Ripley is gay is as old and unanswered as Highsmith's novel and the 1999 film adaptation. starring Matt Damon. In this case, the answer remains delightfully enigmatic. in a interview with the timesScott said: “I love the fact that we don't know. “I think there are a lot of people who can relate to that.” For an extra scoop of the macabre, Oscar-winning cinematographer Robert Elswit filmed the series in black and white. (Transmitting on Netflix)
'I kissed a boy'
From “The Bachelor” to “Love Is Blind,” gay men who are fans of reality dating shows have long had to live out the romantic aspirations of straight people. (Thanks for trying, “Boy meets boy” and “Finding Prince Charming.”) Queer men have a new chance to see romance blossom with dopamine butterflies and then break down in tear-soaked rage when the UK's first gay dating show premieres on streaming in the US this month. Australian singer Dannii Minogue, younger sister of gay diva Kylie, is the hostess of an elegant mansion where 10 young singles meet, mingle and kiss in the hope of finding a partner, or at least a lover (or if that doesn't last). , maybe a good friend with benefits?). Crossing the pond later this year on Hulu: “I Kissed a Girl,” this show’s sapphic sister. (Airing on Hulu June 15.)
Louis De Point Du Lac (Jacob Anderson), Armand (Assad Zaman) and Lestat De Lioncourt (Sam Reid) in AMC's “Interview with the Vampire.”
(Larry Horricks/AMC)
'Interview with the Vampire'
This elegant adaptation of Anne Rice's beloved and best-selling vampire novel returns for a second season with some additions (a Parisian setting) and subtractions (a new actress, Delaine Hayles, plays the young but old vampire Claudia). Returning are dashing vampires Louis (Jacob Anderson) and his servant Rashid (Assad Zaman), who, as revealed in the first season, was actually Armand, a former vampire who has a troubled but fraught relationship with Louis. Lestat (Sam Reid) is also back, tormenting the imagination of his lover Louis and providing the series with dark, hallucinatory antics. These are some handsome, stylish gay bloodsuckers who speak French and flash bright smiles but aren't afraid to kill to survive, kind of like Fire Island with fangs. (Season 2 episodes air weekly through June 30 on AMC; stream on AMC+.)
'The Second Best Hospital in the Galaxy'
Queer animation fans are in for a busy summer, with characters of all shades of LGBT and Q appearing in several new and returning shows, from “Hazbin Hotel” to “Harley Quinn.” Released in February, this adults-only sci-fi comedy from “Russian Doll” writer Cirocco Dunlap is set in a space hospital where two alien surgeons, best friends Klak (Keke Palmer) and Sleech (Stephanie Hsu), treat his The strange interstellar illnesses of creature patients in a world where gender is non-binary and queerness is a given. The all-star cast includes queer artists Sam Smith and Bowen Yang and queer favorites Maya Rudolph and Natasha Lyonne. Dunlap recently told Yahoo News that the eight episodes reflect the queer contours of his own family. “My mom is bisexual, my dad was gay, my sister was in a polyamorous relationship and that was my experience growing up,” she said. (Transmitting on Main video.)
