The Best LGBTQ Shows To Stream In Self-Isolation
As two queers who really love television, we are ready to prepare you for your Coronavirus watch party.
Below are some of our favorite shows, arranged by genre for ease!
Soaps and Comedies
GLOW
Streaming on: Netflix
GLOW (Netflix)
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I’m starting this list off with the most underrated Netflix show of all time. GLOW literally stands for the “Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling,” which should tell you everything you need to start binging this series immediately. If the thought of a bunch of badass women duking it out in a wrestling ring doesn’t hook you, it also features two quality LGBTQ storylines and an all-star cast of twelve women—which is great because Marc Maron and his mustache are just about all the dude I can handle. The show really delivers in its ability to transport you to Los Angeles in the 80’s, with all the neon lights, spandex, cocaine, hairspray, and synth-heavy tunes you can imagine. GLOW tackles some really important issues relevant to the time period, like sexism in the entertainment industry and the spiraling AIDS crisis sweeping the nation. It’s ability to masterfully weave in and out between drama and comedy is what makes GLOW such a compelling watch. If you’ve avoided this show because you’re not “into wrestling”, it’s not really about the wrestling.
Broad City
Streaming on: Hulu
Broad City (Art Streiber/Comedy Central)
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Few TV duos are more iconic than Ilana Glazer and Abbi Jacobson, so it’s easy to see why their hilarious show has become such a cult classic. Starting out as a web series, Broad City quickly broke the internet and earned itself a whole five seasons on Comedy Central. Abbi and Ilana star as themselves in the show and play a pair of 20-something best friends trying to make it in New York. Most of their plans turn out unexpectedly, leaving the twosome to have to navigate a lot of bizarre situations and circumstances—like the time they splurge at a fancy restaurant, Ilana gets a shellfish allergy and Abbi accidentally stabs herself with an epipen, or the time Abbi finds a random cat in her apartment and fearfully interrogates it. Both Ilana and Abbi have storylines of dating women throughout the series, but the best relationship in Broad City is undoubtedly their own. Keep your eye out for the LGBTQ guest stars, like Wanda Sykes, Lea DeLaria and Cynthia Nixon.
Shrill
Streaming on: Hulu
Shrill (Hulu)
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Shrill is basically what happens when you fast forward through all of the deeply unfunny Saturday Night Live sketches and press play when you see that it’s a skit full of women. It’s creator Aidy Bryant is ever the goddess of comedic delivery, and stars as Annie, a struggling young journalist who is learning to discover her own worth despite her man-baby boyfriend, a job that doesn’t value her talent, and control-freak parents. Annie’s best friend is a black British lesbian woman named Fran, whose confidence is high enough to bolster them both through the ups and downs of their lives. Shrill is an understated comedy that celebrates body positivity and finally gives Aidy Bryant a chance to shine away from SNL’s problematic clutches.
Schitt’s Creek
Streaming on: Netflix
Schitt’s Creek (Pop)
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Ew, David! Schitt’s Creek has become a cult classic comedy, known for its quippy one-liners and Catherine O’Hara’s legendary Moira Rose. In case you’ve missed all the hype, Schitt’s Creek is about a family who loses their fortune and ends up moving into a small town motel. With their fabulous life and riches behind them, the Rose family must adapt to their change in circumstance and embrace their new way of living by coming together as a family. David Rose, played by the ingenious Dan Levy, is one of the first openly pansexual characters on television. Each season of Schitt’s Creek features storylines with his romantic relationships, which inform the overarching queer narrative of the show.
Jane the Virgin
Streaming on: Netflix
Jane the Virgin (The CW/Netflix)
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Ahh, friends. If you’re looking for a show that will take your mind off the doom and gloom of the world but still has all the addictive appeal of a twisty drama, then I can’t recommend Jane the Virgin any more highly. This show has got it all - creative storytelling, playful mystery, murder, action, romance. Jane the Virgin begins with the accidental insemination (yes, you read that right) of a young woman named Jane, derailing her perfectly planned life and turning it into a complicated telenovela. The show has a few LQBTQ characters in the series, with one of the lesbian romances even spanning all five seasons (though admittedly, it’s not a major focal point). Rosario Dawson, who recently came out as a member of the LGBTQ community, also joined the cast in Season 4, which sparked the second lesbian romance of the series.
Atypical
Streaming on: Netflix
Atypical (Netflix)
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Centered around a teenager on the autism spectrum named Sam, Atypical explores teenagedom through a unique perspective. The show spends most of its time illustrating the different ways that people on the spectrum experience the world, but it also dives into the storylines of Sam’s family members as well. That’s where the queerness comes in! We won’t say more here because we don’t want to spoil too much, but this show is definitely worth watching if you’re in the mood for short episodes and reliving your high school crush.
One Day At A Time
Streaming on: Netflix
One Day At A Time (The Salt Lake Tribune)
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One Day at a Time has enjoyed a boost of notoriety after all that well documented Netflix drama, and is back on our screens now thanks to Pop TV (same channel that gives us Schitt’s Creek!) Starring the iconic Rita Moreno as the grandmother, One Day at a Time centers its plot around a Cuban-American family living in Florida. Penelope, a single mom, and her kids Alex and Elena live in a bubbly world of multicam canned laughter. It’s a little jarring to go from “peak TV” to the sitcom format, but if you don’t mind it this show is great for a few laughs and touching moments. It does get gay, but it takes a while, so be patient if you start today!
Orange Is The New Black
Streaming on: Netflix
Orange Is The New Black (Netflix)
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When Orange is The New Black dropped on Netflix in 2013, it was a breath of fresh air for LGBTQ viewers. Not since the original L Word’s heyday in the early 2000’s has a show featured so many lesbian women in its main cast, so Orange Is The New Black definitely deserves some credit for its queerness. The show features the semi-true life of Piper Kerman, a woman who is sentenced to a minimum-security prison for her association with a drug runner—who also happens to supply Piper’s ex-girlfriend. The first few seasons are original and funny, but Orange Is The New Black definitely loses its way a little in its later seasons. Like it’s premise, Orange Is The New Black finds itself with the problem of having too much time and not quite sure of how to spend it. With its diverse cast and a spotlight on the poor conditions women face in our broken criminal justice system every day, the show is still worth the watch despite its flaws in execution.
Drama With A Capital “D”
Vida
Streaming on: Starz
Vida (Starz)
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I know what you’re thinking—”why would I subject myself to yet another streaming subscription called Starz?” The answer is simple, my queers. Vida is the show you didn’t know you needed—for real. I knew it was a gem of television when I heard Selena featured in the pilot, and let me tell you—it only glows up from there. It’s a story about two disconnected sisters who must come together and make sense of their recently deceased mother’s affairs. The bar their mother owned is being temporarily run by their mom’s wife, Eddy. Vida is an amazing showcase of queer Latinx realness, a rare show that combines the Latinx community and the queer community flawlessly. It confronts serious issues like gentrification, grief, and familial dysfunction with warmth, nuance, and humor. Sadly this upcoming season is Vida’s last, but that’s all the more to get on this train before season three begins on April 26th!
Sense 8
Streaming on: Netflix
Sense 8 (Netflix)
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Sense 8 is a show about a group of eight strangers across the globe who develop a psychic connection and can control each other’s minds and bodies. And that gets weird pretty quickly, but it also gets really interesting. The plot of the show is complete nonsense, but the highlights include an extremely diverse cast, a whole bunch of queer storylines and relationships, and a bunch of really groovy, colorful montages that sometimes lead to orgies. Come for the gayness and stay—just for the gayness. Plus, who doesn’t love a Wachoski sister?
The L Word: Generation Q
Streaming on: Showtime
The L Word: Generation (Showtime)
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The L Word reboot, Generation Q, is a grab bag of lesbian stories. It follows around our OG favorite lesbians of Los Angeles with Bette Porter running a contentious campaign for major, Alice rising to stardom and living the lavish life of a successful television personality, and good old commitment-phobe Shane featuring a crazy hot partner. There are some new characters and storylines to follow in Generation Q, too, and they follow the footsteps of their trailblazing mentors as they venture through trials and tribulations of the Los Angeles lesbian scene.
Tales of the City
Streaming on: Netflix
Tales of the City (Netflix)
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Netflix’s Tales of the City is a show inspired by the book series written by Armistead Maupin, and a continuation of the 1993 miniseries of the same name. It takes place in San Francisco and centers around an adorable elder woman named Anna who owns an apartment complex at 28 Barbary Lane. The story follows around a cast of characters, many of whom are gay, lesbian, and transgender, and highlights the importance of having the love and support of chosen family in the LGBTQ community.
Pose
Streaming on: Netflix
Pose (FX)
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Pose is an Emmy-award winning dance musical that captures a gender-nonconforming ballroom culture scene in New York in the 1980’s. It’s acclaim is especially noteworthy because it holds the largest cast of transgender actors in history! Pose is also celebrated for its inclusion of queer actors of color, its ensemble cast, its deeply moving portrayal of the HIV/AIDS crisis, and Billy Porter’s outstanding performance in the role of a lifetime. It’s bold, it’s colorful, and it’s an important celebration of queer stories.
The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story
Streaming on: Netflix
The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story (Pari Dukovic - FX)
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While on the subject of award-winning dramas, the second season of FX’s American Crime Story, The Assassination of Gianni Versace is an Emmy-award winning story about the largest failed manhunt in U.S. History. If you don’t know the story of Gianni Versace, prepare to be stunned by this crazy account of the events leading up to his death. American Crime Story also provides commentary on the politics of homosexuality in 1990’s America with some serious Talented Mr. Ripley vibes.
Dramadies
House of Flowers
Streaming on: Netflix
House of Flowers (Netflix)
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House of Flowers is a Spanish dark comedy series about a dysfunctional family who owns a flower shop. Their secrets are even seedier than their plants! The upper-class De La Mora family hides behind a facade of perfection, but once the skeletons in their closets are exposed by their patriarch’s mistress, their household erupts in sibling rivalries, heartbreak, and lots of drama. Central to House of Flowers are its storylines for its LGBTQ main characters, and the show showcases a commentary on subjects like race, class, sexuality, homophobia, and morality in Mexico.
Killing Eve
Streaming on: Hulu
Killing Eve (BBC)
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Here’s what you should know about Killing Eve—it’s villain, aptly nicknamed Villanelle, is like the queer and kinky version of Cruella de Vil. She’s easily one of the most fascinating and entertaining villains on modern TV, and she’s played by Jodie Comer, whose chemistry with Sandra Oh (Eve) is just too damn real. Killing Eve depicts the cat-and-mouse game between an M15 spy, Eve, and a cunning, brutal psychopath assassin, Villanelle. The two women become wildly obsessed with one another as they each vie for the power of besting the other. Although the show has been justifiably blamed for its queer baiting (see criminally queer promo photo above), Villanelle is actually into women—right?
Gentefied
Streaming on: Netflix
Gentefied (Netflix)
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Netflix’s new show Gentefied is a funny, sharp and charming story about a Mexican-American family who own a taco shop in a neighborhood undergoing gentrification. Three cousins—Chris, Erik, and Ana each have a role to play in ensuring the success of their family business, but are all ultimately struggling with their own personal journeys. The youngest of the cousins, Ana, is a queer artist whose relationship with her girlfriend is embraced and accepted by their loved ones — which is incredibly refreshing and heartwarming. Gentefied smartly tackles a sensitive and relevant topic with humor and heart, and most importantly, tells an intersectional story about the Latinx community that we all need to hear.
The L Word
Streaming on: Netflix, Showtime, Hulu
The L Word (Showtime)
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Sure we may be in self-isolation, but last I checked talking, laughing, loving, breathing, writing, winning, losing, and cheating were all acceptable activities while social distancing. What better way to spend your time than pondering that age old question of, “Who killed Jenny?” The L Word is an LGBTQ staple, the hub of all lesbian representation on television. But as someone who has watched and rewatched the series in its entirety about a trillion times, I can definitely say its drama and comedy are timeless.
Spooky and Syfy
The Haunting of Hill House
Streaming on: Netflix
The Haunting of Hill House (Netflix)
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Based on the gothic novel by Shirley Jackson, The Haunting of Hill House tells the story of a family’s haunting through a series of childhood flashbacks and present-day horror. The Crain family must contend with the painful aftermath of their mother’s traumatic death while battling literal ghosts and the ghosts of their past. In the mood for an intense, brooding lesbian opining about the tragedy of life and death in a series of thrilling scenarios? Hill House has you covered.
Black Mirror: San Junipero
Streaming on: Netflix
Black Mirror: San Junipero (Netflix)
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Black Mirror is a sci-fi anthology series that explores the dangers of technology on the modern world. You’ll never feel more like your television is the enemy while watching this show, but that just all adds to the unsettling vibe of it all, you know? Part psychological thriller and part satire, the series showcases a different story in every episode across its five seasons. While there are many quality episodes to watch, San Junipero stands out among the best, and even snatched up two Primetime Emmy awards in 2017. What’s most notable about the episode is its lesbian romance and its happy ending — an unexpected twist for both Black Mirror and the majority of LGBTQ storylines on TV!
Mindhunter
Streaming on: Netflix
Mindhunter (Netflix)
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If you’re looking for something deeply unsettling and uncomfortably spooky, then Netflix’s Mindhunter holds all the cards. It’s basically Criminal Minds on steroids with a way higher budget and a lot more violence. Mindhunter showcases a group of FBI agents who study the psyches of serial killers through profiling and interview techniques. Things get gruesome pretty much immediately and stay that way throughout the entire show. One of the FBI agents is a lesbian psychologist who gets a significant subplot in season two and yes, of course she’s the brightest of them all.
The Sinner
Streaming on: Netflix
The Sinner: Season two (USA Network)
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Speaking of things creepy and unsettling, The Sinner is another top choice if you’re craving a suspenseful, psychological thriller to keep you up at night. This anthology crime series follows detective Harry Ambrose in his pursuit of solving mysterious violent murders. Each of The Sinner’s three seasons focuses on a different chilling case, but they’re all equally intriguing. Season two of the show introduces a lesbian detective whose ex-girlfriend becomes closely intertwined with the unsolved case.
American Horror Story
Streaming on: Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime
American Horror Story (FX)
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American Horror Story is the definition of a kaleidoscopic cluster of an absolute mess. Its seasons range from highly entertaining to questionably tone-deaf, from “this is exactly what I was waiting for,” to “wait, no one asked for this.” It’s really just a hodgepodge of violent and creepy subject matter divided into 9 differently themed seasons. But in true Ryan Murphy fashion, there are a whole bunch of queer characters scattered throughout—prominently featured in Asylum, Hotel, and Coven. (Not coincidentally, those are its stand out seasons.) Is it spectacular TV? Unequivocally no. Is it hilarious in both intentional and totally accidental ways? Absolutely.
Period Dramas
Bomb Girls
Streaming on: Amazon Prime
Bomb Girls (Global Television Network)
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Ever just want to watch a whole factory of Rosie the Riveters working heavy machinery, fighting for feminism, wearing pants, and forging female friendships? Well Bomb Girls is just like that, and as to be expected with stories of women working the factory line during the 1940’s, it has a lesbian storyline for one of its main characters. The show follows a group of women as they navigate their lives, loves, and losses during World War II.
Las Chicas Del Cable (Cable Girls)
Streaming on: Netflix
Cable Girls (Netflix)
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Las Chicas Del Cable (Cable Girls) is a soapy, Spanish television drama about a group of women working at a telephone company in 1930’s Spain. Between a runaway with a fake identity, a bisexual socialite, a brainy brunette and a woman torn between her career and her family, its cast of characters is rich in development, and the bond between the four women is what makes the show so special. The main focus of Cable Girls is on the struggles women faced in the early twentieth century, but it also shares the hardships that bisexuals, lesbians, and transgender people experience in an unaccepting society. Cable Girls explores the emotional themes showcased in any great telenovela — love, betrayal, and the fight for women’s freedom.
Gentleman Jack
Streaming on: HBO
Gentleman Jack (BBC/HBO)
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If you’re into queers and period dramas and aren’t subscribing to Anne Lister gallivanting around Halifax, you are missing the boat! Created by Sally Wainright, Gentleman Jack lets us explore the real life diaries of Anne Lister in a creative and energizing way. She’s a businesswoman with swagger who jaunts through the streets to get those aristocratic ladies in the sheets. She’s falls right into that lesbian storyline of moving too fast, asking more than one woman to go and live with her at Shibden. If you’re interested in English history at all, this watch is a great way to have fun and learn a weird amount about how to sink coal pits.
Drop us a line to let us know the show’s you’re binging! Stay safe and stay inside.
