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 official trailer is out for Hocus Pocus 2, which premieres September 30 on Disney+. Drag Race superstars Ginger Minj, Kornbread Jeté, and Kahmora Hall will play drag versions of the wise-cracking, child-hungry Sanderson sisters at a show when the real witches (reprised by original stars Bette Midler, Kathy Najimi, and Sarah Jessica Parker) show up. Bubble, bubble, looks like these queens are in trouble!
2) Out actor Ian McKellen will star in upcoming period thriller The Critic. In 1934 London, actress Nina Land (Gemma Arterton) is set on winning the approval of Jimmy Erskine (McKellen), the most formidable drama critic in town. However, Nina finds herself treacherously ensnared in blackmail, duplicity and homicide after Jimmy is targeted by his newspaper’s new owner David Brooke (Mark Strong). Additionally, out actress Rebel Wilson will star in upcoming road trip film K-Pop: Lost In America. Just days before an American debut at Madison Square Garden, an up and coming K-Pop group becomes stranded in Waco, Texas without phones, money, or transportation. The group must work together to find their way back to New York, and learn to love Texas along the way.
Patrick Marber’s screenplay is a corker. It’s a joy to be reunited with him, Romola Garai and Mark Strong – and to meet the rest of the super-talented cast. https://t.co/JZQ4MLWEVp
— Ian McKellen (@IanMcKellen) June 28, 2022
3) Out actress Katy O’Brian will join out actress Kristen Stewart in upcoming A24 flick Love Lies Bleeding, in her first major film role. The film is described as a romance fueled by ego, desire and the American Dream. Additionally, actor Ben Whishaw will star in upcoming dark comedy Bad Behavior. Former child actress Lucy (Jennifer Connelly) pursues enlightenment at a spiritual retreat headed by Elon (Whishaw) and simultaneously grapples with an intimate yet tumultuous relationship with Dylan (Alice Englert), her stunt actress daughter.
EXCLUSIVE: Dave Franco, Katy O’Brian, Ed Harris And Jena Malone Join Kristen Stewart In ‘Love Lies Bleeding’ For A24 https://t.co/g5cqJRjAMb pic.twitter.com/pN8p8vcwvl
— Deadline Hollywood (@DEADLINE) June 27, 2022
4) Pulsar Content has boarded sales on Italian film Fireworks, based on a true story of two young boys who were subjected to a hate crime, murdered in a small Sicilian town in the ‘80s, and whose deaths begot Arcigay, Italy’s first and largest LGBTQ rights group. The film focuses on the love story between the two teenage boys and the tragic consequences they faced from their conservative town.
“Stranizza d’Amuri” (“Fireworks”) is the true story about the hate crime that gave birth to Arcigay, Italy’s first and largest LGBTQ rights group.https://t.co/lCku5vweGy
— Variety (@Variety) June 27, 2022
5) The official trailer has dropped for season three of Harley Quinn, which comes out on HBO Max in July. Season three will focus on Harley Quinn (Kaley Cuoco) and Poison Ivy’s (Lake Bell) budding romance as well as toxic relationships they’ve both dealt with in the past. Additionally, the season three trailer of High School Musical: The Musical: The Series is out, revealing out online personality JoJo Siwa and out actor Jesse Tyler Ferguson as part of this season’s cast. In the backdrop of a California summer camp, the Wildcats are ready for an unforgettably romantic, curfew-less summer in the outdoors as they prepare for a stage production of Frozen and a simultaneous docuseries of said production.
6) Out queer/non-binary actor Poppy Liu has been cast as a guest star in Disney+ series American Born Chinese. Based on Gene Luen Yang’s eponymous graphic novel, the show follows high school student Jin Wang (Ben Wang) who struggles to balance his social life with his immigrant home life. After meeting foreign exchange student Wei-Chin (Jim Liu), their words collide and Jin is soon embroiled in a war between Chinese mythological gods. Liu will appear as the enchanting Princess Iron Fan who possesses magical powers.
Disney+ Series ‘American Born Chinese’ Casts ‘Hacks’ Breakout Poppy Liu (EXCLUSIVE) https://t.co/1E1XMGem80
— Variety (@Variety) June 27, 2022
7) Out actor Jeffery Self has joined the recurring cast of Amazon Prime’s The Horror of Dolores Roach. Based on the hit podcast of the same name, the series follows recently released prisoner of sixteen years Dolores Roach, who returns to her now-gentrified hometown of Washington Heights with no trace of her family or boyfriend. She reconnects with old stoner buddy Luis and begins to sell massages in the basement of his restaurant Empanada Loca, but when her newly successful business is threatened, she and Luis become codependent in the extreme efforts they make to survive. Self will play rising influencer/podcaster Caleb, one of Dolores’ regular massage customers, who brings in business after featuring Empanada Loca in his podcast.
EXCLUSIVE: Marc Maron, Jean Yoon, Judy Reyes, and Jeffery Self have joined the cast of Amazon’s ‘The Horror of Dolores Roach’ in recurring roles https://t.co/05qwFgTN0H
— Deadline Hollywood (@DEADLINE) June 29, 2022
8) Out actor Kiersey Clemons has been cast in an Apple TV+ Godzilla and Titans live action series based in Legendary Television’s Monsterverse. The show will focus the aftermath of a Godzilla-Titans war that destroyed San Francisco and the journey of a family to discover their mysterious connection to a surreptitious organization called Monarch. Clemons will play seemingly untrustworthy American ex-pat May, who skillfully keeps ahead of the game to protect herself and others. In addition, out actor Jonathan Groff will play a voiceover in upcoming Netflix limited series Lost Ollie, which follows a lost toy on an epic cross-countryside adventure to reunite with the boy who lost him.
Anna Sawai, Joe Tippett & Kiersey Clemons Among Cast Of Apple’s Live-Action Godzilla and Titans Series https://t.co/bSWoBiew8P
— Deadline Hollywood (@DEADLINE) June 30, 2022
9) Out actor, broadcaster, and comedian Stephen Fry will host upcoming series Dinosaur – With Stephen Fry. Fry will walk amongst dinosaurs and discuss prehistoric eras with experts in the backdrop of an immersive, hyper-realistic, 360-degree prehistoric environment displaying Jurassic jungles and Cretaceous plains. Additionally, out gay actor Guy Branum and out bi actress Janet Varney have been cast in upcoming comedy series Platonic. Childhood best friends Sylvia (Rose Byrne) and Will (Seth Rogen) reconnect in adulthood after falling out in their youth. Albeit platonic, their friendship soons becomes enthralling and spirals their lives out of control, leading them to reassess their choices. Branum plays Charlie’s confidante and law firm partner Stewart, and Varney plays Charlie’s colleague Vanessa.
British TV Legend Stephen Fry To Host Debut Series For Paramount-Owned Channel 5; ‘Dinosaur – With Stephen Fry’ Will Recreate Prehistoric Environment During Four-Day Landmark https://t.co/znBZiviett
— Deadline Hollywood (@DEADLINE) June 28, 2022
10) Out actors Zane Phillips and Michael Hsu Rosen will play series regulars in upcoming Netflix drama series Glamorous. Gender-nonconforming queer young man Marco Mejia (out actor Miss Benny) makes it big working for renowned makeup tycoon Madolyn Addison and gets a chance to further his life better understand his own queerness. Phillips will play Madolyn’s desperately dedicated son Chad, and Rosen will play Madolyn’s beauty company’s moody and opinionated graphic designer Ben, who remains closed off until he forges a connection with Marco.
11) Rina Sawayama’s new single “Catch Me In The Air” is out now (watch the visualizer here!), Hayley Kiyoko’s new single “deep in the woods” is out now (watch the visualizer below!), and Willow’s new single “Maybe It’s My Fault” is out now (stream it here!). Additionally, the music video for Elliot Lee’s single “54321” is out now (watch it here!), Tanzer’s new music video entitled “Disco Instamatic” is out now (watch it here and stream it here!), and the music video for Ty Herndon’s single “When You Get There” is out now (watch it here!). In other music news, the music video for Jasmin Savoy’s single “goddamnit” is out now (watch it here!) and queer dream pop artist Summy’s latest single “I Wish I Never Met You” is out now (watch it here and stream here!).
12) Out bisexual comedian, actor, and writer Travon Free has collaborated with Saladin Ahmed and Shaka King on 15-part webcomic series Drac: Son of Dante, free to read on Tapas Media’s website and app. A contemporary, multicultural retelling of the emblematic goth villain Dracula, immortal flutist Dante becomes captivated with humanity against his better judgment and the natural order of his species, regardless of the consequences of his fascination. However, when his son Drac chooses a human bride, conflict abounds.
13) Out actor and producer Jim Parsons will play the lead in an Off Broadway revival of award-winning 2002 musical A Man of No Importance, beginning in October. In 1960s Dublin, Alfie Byrne (Parsons) is a bus driver for an amateur theater troupe dead set on staging a production of Oscar Wilde’s Salome. Alfie must contend with prejudice and shame over a love “that dare not speak its name.”
Jim Parsons will star in an Off Broadway revival of ‘A Man Of No Importance,’ the 2002 musical featuring a book by Terrence McNally, music by Stephen Flaherty, and lyrics by Lynn Ahrens https://t.co/zvG0izgt4O
— Deadline Hollywood (@DEADLINE) June 28, 2022