Every week, The GLAAD Wrap brings you LGBTQ-related entertainment news highlights, fresh stuff to watch out for, and fun diversions to help you kick off the weekend.
1.) With a world premiere at Tribeca Festival earlier this year, Our Son hit select theaters today and will be available on VOD December 15. Married for 13 years, gay couple Gabriel (Billy Porter) and Nicky (Luke Evans) appear to have the perfect life together. However, when growing stress and anxiety leads to divorce, each man finds himself fighting for custody of their young son. Buy tickets now to see what Tribeca praised as “a moving, turbulent gay marriage story with heart and humor.”
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2.) After a world premiere June 1 at the Inside Out Film Festival in Toronto, Runs in the Family, an LGBTQ road trip comedy film directed by Ian Gabriel, launched on Netflix over the weekend. In this witty father-son story, we are introduced to Varun (Ace Bhatt), a former scammer, and River (trans actor Gabe Gabriel), a trans drag performer, as they venture on a road trip across South Africa to rescue River’s long-lost mother from a rehab clinic in eSwatini. However, River’s only worry is missing Her Majesty’s Drag Competition and the opportunity to win the prize money to pay for his top surgery. Head to Netflix to stream it now!
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3.) From director Jono Mitchell, comes Bad Together. Available for VOD as of Tuesday, the film explores the friendship of two seemingly opposite queer men, Robbie (Andrés Erickson) and Cameron (Queer Niro), over the span of four years as they learn to accept and love both themselves and one another. The story opens on Robbie, fresh from a breakup and in a dark place. Enter Cameron, the life of the party whose gravitational pull is impossible to resist. But despite his charms, he’s a bit aimless and always craving validation. And so, a bond is formed. Watch here to see how that bond unfolds!
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4.) Queer photojournalist and filmmaker Amanda Mustard turns the investigative lens on her own family in Great Photo, Lovely Life, a stirring documentary that is now available to stream on Max. Mustard investigates sexual abuse crimes committed by her grandfather and embarks on a personal journey in pursuit of the truth and reconciliation for her family. The film had its world premiere earlier this year at SXSW and now you can watch it here!
#GreatPhotoLovelyLife, an @HBO Original Documentary that follows photojournalist Amanda Mustard’s investigation into the sexual abuse crimes committed by her grandfather, is now streaming on @StreamOnMax. pic.twitter.com/qo8dZwYbqm
— HBO Documentaries (@HBODocs) December 6, 2023
5.) Adapted from Alasdair Gray‘s novel of the same name, Poor Things has its limited release today, with a wide release slated for December 22. The film is essentially a reimagining of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, wherein the resurrected corpse is that of a woman (Emma Stone) who died by suicide, her body a perfect vessel for the curiosity of unorthodox scientist Dr. Godwin Baxter (Willem Dafoe). Among the cast is out gay comedian and actor, Jerrod Carmichael. Don’t wait to buy tickets and head to the cinema!
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6.) FX has set Michelle Williams to star in the limited series Dying for Sex from lesbian director Leslye Headland. Based on the hit podcast, Dying for Sex tells the story of a woman diagnosed with metastatic breast cancer (Williams) who leaves her husband of 15 years and begins to explore her sexuality. In more FX news, the network has confirmed the premiere date and Feud Capote Vs. The Swans, the second installment of gay director Ryan Murphy‘s award-winning anthology. The limited series will premiere its first two episodes on Wednesday, January 31; find key art below! Additionally, Netflix has picked up a fourth installment (part six) of comedy series The Upshaws. The series is co-created by lesbian writer Wanda Sykes and features the gay character Bernard Upshaw Jr. (Jermelle Simon); stay tuned for more details.
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7.) The new TV series Culprits, based on the anthology book “Culprits: The Heist Was Just the Beginning“ (2018), debuts on Hulu today. This high-concept thriller starts where most heist stories end: A talented crew pulling off one last big score. But, years later, when the team starts getting killed off one-by-one, Joe (Nathan Stewart-Jarrett)— a gay father with kids at home—must make things right before his past catches up with him. With supporting performances from Gemma Arterton, Kirby Howell-Baptiste, and Niamh Algar, don’t wait to watch the show!
Attention USA! CULPRITS will play on Hulu from December 8… https://t.co/srtY8S5Lxg
— J Blakeson (@jblakeson) October 23, 2023
8.) Queer Queens, NYC rapper Dai Burger released a new single “Whole A$$ Mood (W.A.M.)” today off her forthcoming project Dai Dreamin’. With an MO of slick rhymes, raw sexuality, and food centered lyrics, watch the official music video below and see her latest splash! LGBTQ club icon Saint Ahmad has also shared his debut EP Minds, featuring five tracks that explore the various states of mind he’s experienced being a Black gay man.
9.) Queer Australian singer-songwriter Asha Jefferies dropped Keep My Shit Together Wednesday, giving us a preview of the genre-fusing, heart-on-her-sleeve songs included in her upcoming debut album Ego Ride (out on April 12). Stream the song HERE. Additionally, queer singer-songwriter Meduim Build has debuted his new single “In My Room;” watch the official music video below!
10.) Nonbinary comedian Cole Escola will make their Off-Broadway debut in 2024 as Marry Todd Lincoln in Oh, Mary! Written by and starring Escola, the dark comedy explores the “unrequited yearning, alcoholism, and suppressed desires” of the First Lady in the weeks before Abraham Lincolns assassination. Oh, Mary! will play the Lucille Lortel Theatre beginning January 26 ahead of a February 8 opening night. In more theatre news, gay Heartstopper breakout star Joe Locke will make his Broadway debut next month when he joins the cast of musical Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street. Locke will play the pivotal role of the young apprentice Tobias, beginning performances at the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre on Wednesday, January 31!
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11.) The nominations for the 2024 Film Independent Spirit Awards are here and the presenters have been announced! Gay actor, comedian, producer, and writer Joel Alexander Kim Booster has teamed up with queer actress and director, Natalie Morales to announce the nominees. Some of the LGBTQ related works up for consideration are Bottoms (Emma Seligman), All of Us Strangers (Andrew Haigh), Anatomy of a Fall (Justine Triet), Kokomo City (D. Smith), Theater Camp (Molly Gordon, Nick Lieberman), May December (Todd Haynes), Passages (Ira Sachs), Going to Mars: The Nikki Giovanni Project (Joe Brewster, Michèle Stephenson), Monica (Andrea Pallaoro), and more. The ceremony is set to take place Sunday, February 25 at 5:00 PM EST and will be streamed live on IMDb’s and Film Independent’s YouTube channels.