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.) Critically-acclaimed queer romantic drama All of Us Strangers hit theaters today! Directed by gay filmmaker Andrew Haigh, the film centers on lonely screenwriter Adam (Andrew Scott) and his mysterious neighbor Harry (Paul Mescal). As a relationship develops between them, Adam finds himself drawn back to his childhood home, where his parents appear to be living just as they were on the day they died 30 years ago. Find All of Us Strangers in a theater near you!
2.) A24 has shared a new blood soaked trailer for romantic thriller Love Lies Bleeding, starring out actresses Kristen Stewart, Katy O’Brian and Jena Malone. The film follows a reclusive gym manager, Lou (Stewart), who falls hard for Jackie (O’Brian), an ambitious bodybuilder headed through town to Vegas in pursuit of her dream. But their love ignites violence, pulling them deep into the web of Lou’s criminal family. Watch the trailer below and catch Love Lies Bleeding in theaters March 8!
3.) Transgender multi-hyphenate D. Smith’s directorial debut, the award-winning documentary Kokomo City, will make its debut on Showtime and Paramount+ on February 2. Executive produced by out Emmy winner Lena Waithe, the film chronicles the lives of four Black trans sex workers in Atlanta and New York City—Daniella Carter, Koko Da Doll, Liyah Mitchell, and Dominique Silver—as they navigate the challenges of existing as trans, participating in survival sex work and the persistent threat of violence. Check out the trailer below and watch Kokomo City on Paramount+ with Showtime or on the Showtime linear platform at 9 p.m. ET/PT.
4.) Focus Features has unveiled the official trailer for comedy The American Society for Magical Negros, starring queer actor Justice Smith. A satire of the “Magical Negro” trope, the film watches Smith’s character Aren as he is recruited into a secret society of Black people who dedicate their lives to a cause of utmost importance: to make white people’s lives easier, and in turn, keep Black lives safer. Watch the trailer below, featuring bisexual The Other Two star Drew Tarver, and find The American Society for Magical Negros in theaters March 22!
5.) Gay and genderqueer musician King Princess will be making their acting debut in the second season of Hulu’s Nine Perfect Strangers, joining previously announced out performers Murray Bartlett and Maisie Richardson-Sellers. The stars are set to play members of the new group of titular strangers, with King Princess as Tina. Stay tuned for more character details!
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6.) The Buccaneers has been picked up for a sophomore season by Apple TV+. Based on Edith Wharton’s unfinished novel of the same name, the series tells the story of a group of party-loving American girls in the 1870’s who descend upon London to secure a husband and title, inadvertently kicking off an Anglo-American culture clash. Among the group is transgender actress Josie Totah as lesbian character Mabel Elmsworth, who also seeks love in the tightly corseted countryside.
Two’s a party.
The Buccaneers has been renewed for a second season. pic.twitter.com/TInXtnei6F
— Apple TV (@AppleTV) December 19, 2023
7.) Netflix’s forthcoming dark comedy No Good Deed has added out actresses Abbi Jacobson and Poppy Liu to the ensemble, in which they will play wives Leslie and Sarah, respectively. From out creator-EP Liz Feldman, the series centers on three families all vying for the same 1920s Los Feliz villa who discover that their dream house may really be a nightmare.
Lisa Kudrow, Linda Cardellini, Ray Romano, Teyonah Parris, Abbi Jacobson, Poppy Liu, and Luke Wilson will star in No Good Deed — a new dark comedy from the creator of Dead to Me.
The series will follow three families vying to buy the same villa they think will solve all their… pic.twitter.com/uXImBqUkYj
— Netflix (@netflix) December 15, 2023
8.) In more Netflix casting news, queer actor McKinley Belcher III has boarded the streamers’ limited series Zero Day. The show stars Robert De Niro as beloved former President Mullen, who comes out of retirement to lead a commission tasked with investigating a potential world crisis. Blecher plays Carl Lopez, a tough and brilliant DOJ lawyer who serves as the Zero Day Commission’s lead investigator.
The cast of the upcoming limited series #ZeroDay has expanded with Angela Bassett, Dan Stevens, Matthew Modine and McKinley Belcher III joining Robert De Niro, Jesse Plemons, Lizzy Caplan, Connie Britton and more.
See the full lineup: https://t.co/J9Xb7PNef2 pic.twitter.com/l1NkbhYVEy
— The Hollywood Reporter (@THR) December 19, 2023
9.) Bisexual rising star Reneé Rapp will kick off the 2024 season of Saturday Night Live as a first-time musical guest on January 20, hosted by Jacob Elordi. Following Rapp’s starring role in Mean Girls, out January 12, she will perform “Not My Fault” from the musical-to-film soundtrack. Be sure to check out the “Not My Fault” music video, featuring out rapper Megan Thee Stallion! In more music news, non-binary indie pop singer-songwriter morgxn has unveiled the single “To Be Human,” off their highly anticipated new album Beacon, set for release on February 2; watch the official lyric video.
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10.) The nominations for the 24th Annual Black Reel Awards are here and very queer. Leading the pack is The Color Purple, featuring gay actor Colman Domingo as Albert “Mister” Johnson and bisexual actress Aunjanue L. Ellis as Mama. Both Domingo and Ellis received additional nominations for films Rustin and Origin, respectively. With ten nominations, biographical drama Rustin centers on gay civil rights pioneer Bayard Rustin. More LGBTQ-centric nominees include Kokomo City, American Fiction, Little Richard: I Am Everything, Renaissance: A Film by Beyonce, and The Dads. Out talent Ariana DeBose, Ayo Edebiri, and Jerrod Carmicheal also received nods; check out the full list of nominees. In more award news, the winners of the 2nd Annual Children’s & Family Emmy Awards have been announced with a number of inclusive wins, including Marvel’s Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur, Sesame Street, Raven’s Home, Pinecone & Pony, Monster High: The Movie, as well as out stars Joshua Bassett, Brandi Carlile, and more!
Congratulations to these previous #Emmy winners on their achievements at the 2nd Annual Children’s and Family Emmy Awards! #ChildrensEmmys #TelevisionAcademy pic.twitter.com/qK7uLziaHp
— Television Academy (@TelevisionAcad) December 18, 2023