The GLAAD Wrap: ‘In The Heights’ out today; new projects from Elegance Bratton and Billy Porter; new music from Orville Peck, VINCINT, and more!

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) The long-anticipated movie musical In the Heights opens today in theaters. This adaptation of Lin Manuel-Miranda’s Tony-award winning show follows a group of people in Washington Heights fighting for their dreams. This includes hair salon workers Daniela (Daphne Rubin-Vega) and Carla (out actress Stephanie Beatriz) who are a couple in the film. Click here for tickets or watch now on HBO Max (free for subscribers); and watch the trailer below.

2) Out filmmaker Elegance Bratton has an autobiographical film The Inspection in the works at A24. Bratton will write and direct the film which will star out actor Jeremy Pope as a young gay man who enlists in the Marines and seeks the approval of his mother (Gabrielle Union). In more film news, the trailer has been released for Ma Belle My Beauty, a polyamorous romance set in the French countryside. The film follows married couple Fred and Bertie, when a woman from their past, Lane, shows up out of the blue and reignites what used to exist between the three of them. The film will be in theaters August 20; watch the trailer below.

3) Netflix released the trailer this week for the upcoming movie musical tick, tick…BOOM!, an adaptation of Jonathan Larson’s autobiographical musical. Out actor Robin de Jesús plays Michael, the gay best friend of the lead, Jon. Pose‘s MJ Rodriguez will also appear. tick, tick…BOOM! will hit Netflix and select theaters this fall. Also this week, Netflix dropped a first look at the upcoming animated The Loud House Movie, a continuation of the queer-inclusive Nickelodeon series. The Loud House Movie premieres August 20. In other Netflix news, Never Have I Ever will officially return for season two on July 15, and the streamer will be releasing a scripted podcast called Rebel Robin: Surviving Hawkins as a Stranger Things prequel centered on the backstory of queer character Robin (Maya Hawke), beginning June 29.

4) The Broken Earth trilogy, a science fiction epic, will be getting adapted into a film series by TriStar pictures, adapted by author N.K. Jemison. The books, set in a bleak futuristic world and focusing on those who gain exceptional power from the Earth, contain queer and trans characters. Out filmmaker Bryan Fuller is set to direct an adaptation of Stephen King’s Christine for Sony and Blumhouse. The story, also adapted into a 1983 film by John Carpenter, follows a shy teen whose new car and source of confidence begins to attack him and those around him. In other development news, out comedian, writer and commentator Jaboukie Young-White is adapting the novel The Gang’s All Queer: The Lives of Gay Gang Members as a TV series for HBO. He will write and executive produce, with Issa Rae also executive producing the series.

5) Out actress and producer Lili Reinhart’s production company Small Victory Productions has signed a deal with Amazon to provide exclusive film and television to the platform, focusing on stories of young adulthood, including queer stories. Out actor Kate McKinnon has joined the voice cast of animated film DC League of Super-Pets, alongside Dwayne Johnson, Keanu Reeves, Natasha Lyonne, and more. Drama Surge, which stars out actor Ben Whishaw as a security guard who is struggling with his job and family, has received distribution in North American from FilmRise.

6) Out actor Billy Porter and out producer Greg Berlanti are teaming up for Fruits of Thy Labor a new project for Peacock, written by Porter and Dan McCabe. The show will follow three generations of an African American show business dynasty through their personal and professional lives. In more TV News, Isis King, a trans actor and model has been cast Amazon’s With Love, as Sol Perez, a trans non-binary resident who starts having feelings for a doctor they work with.

7) The memoir of Dr. Paula Stone Williams, a trans pastor, will be adapted into a limited series by Cannonball productions. The book, As a Woman: What I Learned about Power, Sex, and the Patriarchy after I Transitioned, follows Williams discovering joy after her transition and learning about how the world works. In more news, HBO Max’s Hacks has been renewed for a second season. The show follows the relationship between Vegas comedian Deborah (Jean Smart) and Ava (out comedian Hannah Einbinder), a young comedy writer reluctantly hired to work for her, who is bisexual. The first season is now all available on the streamer.

8) Netflix’s Ridley Jones will be featuring a new non-binary character, Fred the Bison, the first for a pre-school aged show on the streamer. The show will be released on July 13; watch the trailer below. ABC Owned Television stations announced documentary series Our America: Who I’m Meant to Be, which tells the stories of transgender communities through first person narratives. The subjects include Honey Mahogany and Kaylee Harris. The show is available to stream on ABC News Station Apps on a variety of platforms.

9) Out actors Anna Akana and Rory O’Malley have been cast in Hunger, the pilot from Demi Lovato, which follows a group of people in a food-issues group helping one another grow. The guest judges have been announced for the sixth season of RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars. LGBTQ judges include Big Freedia, Jamal Sims, and Justin Simien, as well as Alec Mapa, Cheyenne Jackson, and Fortune Feimster  as special guests. The season will premiere June 24 on Paramount+.

10) Out singer Todrick Hall released his newest album Femuline on Tuesday. He described the album as an “open love letter to the LGBTQ community.” Stream the album here and watch the music video for his song “Rainin’ Fellas” below. Out country star Orville Peck has released a cover of Lady Gaga’s “Born this Way” for the 10^th anniversary edition of the album. Listen to the cover here! Out rapper and GLAAD 20 Under 20 honoree Kidd Kenn dropped his new EP Problem Child this week, the six track EP is available to stream on both Spotify and Apple Music now.

11) Out singer VINCINT released his new album There Will be Tears today. The album includes features from several queer artists including Parson James, Alex Newell, and Tegan and Sara. Listen to the album here. Out musician Joy Oladokun released her new album in defense of my own happiness on Friday. Listen to the album here! Out singer St. Lenox released his album Ten Songs of Worship and Praise for Our Tumultuous Times today. He also released a music video on Wednesday for his most recent single “Teenage Eyes.” Stream the album here and watch the video below.

12) Queer comedians Meg Stalter and Ashley Ray will both be releasing stand up specials on HBO Max for Pride month. Statler is currently appearing on Hacks, and Ray is the host of the podcast TV, I Say. In other news, the GLAAD Media Award-nominated animated series Harley Quinn will be getting a comic book sequel which will cover the period between the second season’s finale and the upcoming third season. The six-issue Harley Quinn: The Animated Series – The Eat, Bang, Kill Tour launches in September and will follow Harley and Poison Ivy on the roadtrip they go on together after fleeing Ivy’s wedding.