Paramount Global

Jasmine Savoy Brown as Mindy and David Arquette as Dewey in Paramount Pictures and Spyglass Media Group's "Scream."
Jasmin Savoy Brown as Mindy Meeks-Martin, Scream

SUMMARY

Considering the quality, quantity, and diversity of films distributed under Paramount Global and its labels, GLAAD has given Paramount Global a FAIR grade

Given Paramount’s lack of inclusive films in 2021, it is exciting progress to see LGBTQ inclusion in its 2022 slate. The addition of lesbian character Mindy to the Scream franchise opened the door for further inclusion in the sequels, and LGBTQ characters were a welcome sight in award season flick Babylon and simultaneous streaming and theatrical film On the Come Up. 

As for Paramount+, certain films such as Blues Big City Adventure and The In Between had brief inclusion and would have benefited from further fleshing out their LGBTQ characters. A huge standout in Paramount+ was the young adult film Three Months, which focused on a gay teen getting tested for HIV and was a GLAAD List script. Stories surrounding those living with HIV are incredibly underrepresented across all forms of media, and Three Months is an excellent example of the content GLAAD strives to make commonplace to erase the stigma around HIV.

Overall, GLAAD encourages Paramount to expand its representation in blockbuster films and major franchises, particularly as it comes to including more diverse characters, and to create more films like Three Months where LGBTQ characters lead the narrative.

HISTORY

The Famous Players Film Company, founded in 1912, entered a three-way merger in 1916 to form Paramount Pictures. In 1994, the Viacom Network acquired Paramount. Paramount’s streaming service launched in 2014 as CBS All Access, introducing original programming in 2016. As CBS re-merged into ViacomCBS in 2019 (now Paramount Global), the company expanded its library of content to include Paramount Pictures and officially relaunched its streaming service as Paramount+ in 2021. Paramount also became the first major studio to sign a multi-picture deal with Netflix in 2018, although current Paramount films stream on Paramount+. 

Starting in the mid-nineties and early aughts, Paramount began releasing LGBTQ-inclusive films, including the comedy In and Out (1997), which received substantial press for a kiss between Kevin Kline and Tom Selleck and remains in the top 10 highest grossing LGBTQ films alongside The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999). There were numerous LGBTQ-themed films from this time period such as Home for the Holidays (1995), Clueless (1995), The Brady Bunch Movie (1995), Brain Candy (1996), Kiss Me Guido (1997), Election (1999), The Next Best Thing (2000), and The Hours (2002). In 2016, Paramount released Star Trek: Beyond, which showed Hikaru Sulu with his husband and daughter; this intersectional inclusion in a large and recognizable franchise was a groundbreaking step in the right direction for representation. Paramount’s recent LGBTQ-inclusive films include GLAAD Media Award nominee Rocketman (2019), Like a Boss (2020), and the GLAAD Media Award recognized short film Coded: The Hidden Love of J.C. Leyendecker (2021).

OF THE 7 LGBTQ-INCLUSIVE FILMS,

3 WERE PARAMOUNT PICTURES

4 WERE PARAMOUNT+

Considering the quality, quantity, and diversity of films distributed under Paramount Global and its labels, GLAAD has given Paramount Global a FAIR grade.

PARAMOUNT PICTURES

BABYLON

WIDEST THEATRICAL RELEASE: 3,351 THEATERS

VITO RUSSO TEST: PASS

This epic old Hollywood homage follows fictional key players in the ‘20s and ‘30s film industry. One of the lead characters, Nellie LaRoy, is an aspiring actress from New Jersey who develops a relationship with the supporting character Lady Fay Zhu. Zhu’s introduction in the film is her singing a song about performing sexual acts with another woman, but Nellie LaRoy’s sexuality remains unclear until later in the film. The two grow closer and share physical intimacies, including a passionate kiss in the rain. However, tabloid speculation about the pair’s relationship eventually gets Zhu ousted from the industry altogether. She goes on to find success in Europe, one of the few characters in the film whose story does not end in tragedy. Nellie, however, enters a torrid and tragic romance with protagonist Manny and dies alone in a hotel room at 34. In a film that showcased the unpleasant underbelly of Hollywood, seeing Zhu, a prominent queer character of color, receive the closest to a happy ending, even after her exile from Hollywood, was a pleasant surprise. The film also featured several group sex scenes with characters of various genders, but no specific characters and sexualities are clarified within those scenes. 

Often, queer and POC voices are omitted from old Hollywood narratives. Though the film was not the consummate example of queer and POC characters, showing queerness in this time period, especially through a queer woman of color, takes a step in the right direction towards equal representation.

ON THE COME UP

WIDEST THEATRICAL RELEASE: 603 THEATERS SIMULTANEOUS STREAMING RELEASE ON PARAMOUNT+

VITO RUSSO TEST: PASS

Paramount - On the Come UpBased on the young adult novel of the same name, this drama follows Bri, a young rapper on the rise. Sonny, one of Bri’s close friends, is a gay teen who discusses how hard it is to be out at school. Later on in the film, Bri goes to Atlanta with Sonny, her manager Supreme, and Supreme’s son Miles, a rapper under the name Milez. Miles and Sonny form a romantic relationship; Miles asserts his dad is accepting of his sexuality, but his rap persona Milez has to uphold a straight and masculine demeanor. The film addresses this homophobia in the rap world while still having concrete gay characters in a relationship. The one misstep is that Bri’s Aunt Pooh was a lesbian in the book, but her sexual orientation isn’t made clear in this film; there’s just one moment where she is called a slur by a bystander without any actual context. This marks a missed opportunity to show a Black lesbian as a major positive figure in this film.

SCREAM

WIDEST THEATRICAL RELEASE: 3,666 THEATERS

VITO RUSSO TEST: PASS

Paraount - ScreamThe fifth film in the iconic Scream franchise sees a few old favorites return, while adding a new central ensemble to the Scream world. One of the newly introduced characters is Mindy Meeks-Martin, a lesbian teen who is the niece of original Scream character Randy Meeks. Mindy serves as the meta pop culture brain of the group and often dons pride apparel. At the final climactic party scene, Mindy announces she’s probably going to hook up with another girl, Frances, who she is later seen kissing. Mindy survives the film, and has an expanded role in the sequel. Having an already out Black lesbian outlasting the events of a horror film is an exciting development for such a popular film franchise.

PARAMOUNT+

BLUE’S BIG CITY ADVENTURE

STRAIGHT TO STREAMING RELEASE

VITO RUSSO TEST: FAIL

This Blue’s Clues movie follows Blue and Josh as they go to New York so Josh can audition for a Broadway musical. There is a brief moment during a montage where one man gives another man flowers, to which he responds, “Aw, for me?” The scene lasts two seconds, and could be easily missed, but is still a positive inclusion of a gay couple in a children’s film.

HONOR SOCIETY

STRAIGHT TO STREAMING RELEASE

VITO RUSSO TEST: PASS

This comedy follows the titular Honor as she tries to get into Harvard by derailing the lives of three other students who might recieve a letter of recommendation over her. One of them is Travis, the closeted star athlete. Instead of outing him or engineering some other malicious scheme, Honor convinces him to sign up for the school play to set him up with Gary, the head of the theater club. Gary is out, and a significant character in the film, as so much of the movie’s plot revolves around the theater club. Travis’ girlfriend is jealous of Travis kissing another girl in the play, so Gary plays the female lead in drag instead. Then, Travis’ girlfriend becomes jealous of Honor, causing Travis to finally break up with her and come out as gay. His ex then threatens to out him to his father, but Travis beats her to it, coming out to his father himself. His father is supportive and tells Travis he’s always known. Then Travis gets to kiss Gary in the play, and again later as the credits roll at the end of the movie. 

For a film that had several dramatic twists and spiteful plots afoot, it is notable that the gay characters had agency and a genuine romance and that filmmakers avoided defaulting to a stereotypical “outing threat” as the easy story option. He also had a happier romance than the straight protagonists.

THE IN BETWEEN

STRAIGHT TO STREAMING RELEASE

VITO RUSSO TEST: FAIL

This film follows a romance between protagonist Tessa and her boyfriend Skylar, who dies at the start of the film, which then spurs an attempt to initiate contact with his spirit. Tessa’s friend Shannon has a crush on their classmate, Judd. However, she sees Judd kissing another boy at a party. Judd and the other boy are not major players in the film, and Shannon quickly moves on to another crush. Additionally, Tessa’s stepmother Vickie mentions that she has been in love with a few men, and maybe one woman. The line is said with significance, but not further explored by the narrative. In the future, when studios want to make characters queer, this should be committed to and, when pertinent, expanded upon, rather than brushed past.

THREE MONTHS

STRAIGHT TO STREAMING RELEASE

VITO RUSSO TEST: PASS

Paramount - Three Months

Three Months is a coming-of-age story that centers on the three months it takes the main character Caleb to find out if he is living with HIV or not after he gets a text from a former hook-up saying he has tested positive for HIV. Audiences follow Caleb’s journey of getting tested, joining a support group, and even forming a summer romance of his own. Caleb meets Estha in the support group and they form a bond; both of them have parents who do not approve of their sexuality. The two become closer and Caleb shows him clips of Pedro Zamora on The Real World, which has been helping Caleb come to terms with his potential diagnosis. Caleb and Estha eventually kiss and are intimate without engaging in sex. The next day, Estha tests negative but tells Caleb they shouldn’t see each other anymore. The film also focuses on Dara, Caleb’s lesbian best friend who is hooking up with Suzanne, their older boss who is married to a man and has kids. This ends poorly, with Suzanne’s husband barging in on them and Suzanne saying Dara meant nothing. Though both Caleb and Dara had flings that did not end well, the film ends with them happy, riding a bike together with Caleb’s results, which are never stated. 

This film shows the realities of messy young queer love and provides many instances of chosen family, through the support group, Dara and Caleb’s relationship, and Caleb’s relationship with his grandmother. The movie also sends a powerful message about how an HIV diagnosis is not the end of the world and people living with HIV have long and healthy ongoing lives. It also importantly notes that HIV is not relegated to older generations, still exists in the world today, and should not be ignored when telling queer stories of any time period. HIV testing has also seen it’s advances to shorter diagnosis times with an HIV test that can provide instant results in one minute, to an oral swabs that can be purchased over the counter, to the 4th generation HIV test which can diagnose within 14 days after an exposure. Films like Three Months create opportunities for us all to engage in conversation about HIV that helps us understand and address HIV stigma.

OPPORTUNITIES AHEAD

Paramount is home to several iconic franchises that have introduced LGBTQ characters. As mentioned, Scream’s Mindy plays a more significant role in Scream 6, and we are excited to see her in the following sequels. An upcoming Star Trek film is still in development at Paramount, and GLAAD hopes to see the return of Sulu and his husband and child, or any of the multitude of LGBTQ characters in the Star Trek television series. GLAAD hopes that this film will move forward and continue the ever-increasing representation in the Star Trek franchise. In October 2025, Paramount will be releasing an animated Avatar: The Last Airbender film. The spinoff of the Avatar series, The Legend of Korra, featured a queer romance with the two lead women, and the Avatar novel The Rise of Kyoshi revealed that the titular role is bisexual; the same inclusion can and should be brought to any film in the Avatar franchise. 

Paramount+ will be releasing the adaptation of Mean Girls: The Musical, which features prominent gay character Damien. Paramount is also set to release an adaptation of Spamalot. The stage show portrayed Lancelot and Prince Herbert as gay. Though it was a tad outdated in its humor, their inclusion and updated language in this new adaptation is key. The studio will also be releasing the new musical Quinceanerx, which follows a nonbinary Latine teen determined to have their quince. 

There are also several book adaptations in the works that feature LGBTQ characters in the source material, including Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow, Harbinger, Rosalie Palmer Takes the Cake, and more.

In the past, GLAAD had counted films released theatrically by distributor Paramount Pictures in this report. This year, GLAAD is counting films distributed under Paramount Pictures as well as streamer Paramount+.

Summary of 2022 Findings

24

Total films released in 2022 under studio and official imprints

7

Total number of LGBTQ-inclusive films

29%

Percent of LGBTQ-inclusive films of studio total releases

5

Number of films that pass the Vito Russo Test

theatrical

14

Total theatrical films released in 2022 under studio and official imprints

3

Total number of theatrical LGBTQ inclusive films

21%

Percent of theatrical LGBTQ-inclusive films of studio theatrical releases

3

Number of theatrical films that pass the Vito Russo Test

streaming

10

Total streaming only films released in 2022 under studio and official imprints

4

Total number of streaming LGBTQ inclusive films

40%

Percent of LGBTQ-inclusive of studio total streaming releases

2

Number of streaming films that pass the Vito Russo Test

STUDIO RATING OVER TIME

4/5

2022

FAIR

1/5

2021

FAILING

0/5

2020

N/A

3/5

2019

INSUFFICIENT

3/5

2018

INSUFFICIENT

2/5

2017

POOR

2/5

2016

POOR

1/5

2015

FAILING

2/5

2014

ADEQUATE

1/5

2013

FAILING

2/5

2012

ADEQUATE

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