While GLAAD only counts scripted films and characters in its official tally, that does not diminish the power of LGBTQ representation in unscripted and documentary storytelling. Several of the major distributors tracked in this study released LGBTQ-inclusive documentaries in 2024.
Amazon
Previously, Amazon released the original inclusive documentaries My Name is Pauli Murray in 2021 and Judy Blume Forever in 2023. In 2024, Amazon released the documentary Frida, which tells the story of iconic bisexual artist Frida Kahlo through her own notes, letters, art, diaries, and interviews. The company also released Power of the Dream, which chronicles the WNBA’s journey as players fought for equal pay and their overlapping advocacy efforts in the wider world. This documentary featured a number of LGBTQ players, including Sue Bird, Angel McCoughtry, and Layshia Clarendon.
In 2021, Apple TV+ released The Velvet Underground which tells the story of the band of the same name, who were managed by gay artist Andy Warhol. In 2024, Apple TV+ released Girls State, which tracks one single instance of an annual event held all over the country where young girls come together in an immersive experience to form their own government. One of the women featured in the documentary, Maddie Rowan, discusses her sexuality and why it is important to her to live out loud in this political climate.
In 2023, NBCUniversal released the documentary Every Body which tells the story of three intersex individuals, including exploring their unique and overlapping identities and the medical abuse they endured, all to advocate for greater understanding of the intersex community and an end to unnecessary surgeries. In 2024, NBCUniversal released Queer Planet, which explored a number of different animals and the way that sexuality manifests within those species, proving to be nearly as complex as human sexuality.
Previous LGBTQ-inclusive Netflix documentaries include Tig (2015), Disclosure and Mucho Mucho Amor: The Legend of Walter Mercado (2020), Pray Away (2021), Stay on Board: The Leo Baker Story (2022), Wham!, Money Shot: The Pornhub Story, Anna Nicole Smith: You Don’t Know Me, and Scout’s Honor: The Secret Files of the Boy Scouts of America (2023). In 2024, Netflix released the GLAAD Media Award-winning Will & Harper, a documentary that follows Will Ferrell and his close friend Harper Steele on a road trip across the country. Two years before, Will received an email from Harper, his dear friend of nearly thirty years, disclosing to him that she’s a transgender woman. In the film, Will and Harper hit the open road to process this new stage of their friendship and reintroduce Steele to the country that she loves – this time as herself. Netflix also released GLAAD Media Award nominee Outstanding: A Comedy Revolution, which explores the history of queer people in stand-up comedy and the medium’s use as a method of social change in the last 50 years. 
In 2024, Paramount released Let the Canary Sing, which chronicles Cindy Lauper’s meteoric ascent to stardom and her impact on the world through music and advocacy. The film prominently features Lauper’s queer sister, Ellen, as well as interviews with Billy Porter and Boy George. Lauper’s lifelong allyship of the community is shown through her song “True Colors,” which was written after her friend passed away during the height of the AIDS epidemic, leading Lauper to the establishment of the True Colors Fund, a non-profit dedicated to helping eradicate LGBTQ youth homelessness.
Previous inclusive documentary films from Disney and its subsidiaries include Changing the Game in 2021 and Queenmaker: The Making of an It Girl in 2023. In 2024, Disney released Elton John: Never Too Late, which looks back on gay music legend Elton John’s 50 year career as he prepares for the final show of his farewell tour at Dodger Stadium. Disney also released Child Star, which was directed by queer and nonbinary actor, singer, and former child star Demi Lovato, and features a number of other queer child stars including Raven-Symoné, Alyson Stoner, and JoJo Siwa. Siwa and Symoné both discussed how their queerness affected them as child stars. Finally, Disney released Fanatical: The Catfishing of Tegan and Sara, which tells the true story of a 15-year-and-counting ongoing catfishing and identity theft scam targeting Tegan Quin, one half of the queer sister music duo Tegan & Sara.
