It’s the time of the year where you might have a little more space to sit on the couch and catch up with some television you’ve missed.
Here’s a bunch of LGBTIQA+ themed shows that are the perfect binge view over the holidays.
What It Feels Like For a Girl
This series is an adaptation of Paris Lees bestselling book, that is inspired by her own teenage years and journey of gender transition. 15 year old Byron is bullied at school for being too effeminate, and is also given a hard time at home by his Dad.
The teen begins cottaging and soon moves on to sex work, before getting mixed up in a hedonistic world of sex, drugs, crime and serious partying. Byron finds his tribe but also a whole lot of trouble. Watch the 8-part series on SBS OnDemand.
Big Boys
British comedy Big Boys delivered its third and final season this year. Based on the real life of Jack Rooke, it follows Jack as he works his way through university alongside best mate Danny, and friends Corinne and Yemi. Meanwhile Jack’s Mum Peggy is returning to the dating world, and Cousin Shannon adapts to being a new parent.
The show stars Dylan Llewelyn as Jack, Jon Pointing as Danny, and Camille Coduri, best known for Doctor Who, as Peggy. Find the series on ABC iView.
Gentleman Jack
Suranne Jones portrays Anne Lister, who is often cited as being the first modern lesbian. While Sophie Rundle plays love interest Anne Walker.
Lister lived in Yorkshire in the 1830s and was a wealthy landowner and industrialist. She defied the conventions of the time and was a successful business owner. She also wrote volumes of diaries, which run to about 5 million words, part of which was written in a code.
When historians cracked the code and were able to read the ‘sealed section’ they discovered it was all about Lister’s love and sex life, including her relationship with another landowner Anne Walker. Find two seasons of the show on HBO Max.
Heartstopper
Head to Netflix to catch the adorable Heartstopper. There are three seasons of the show, and the movie that will wind up the story of Nick and Charlie is coming soon.
The series is based on the popular graphic novel series from Alice Oseman. It’s made stars out of actors Kit Connor, Joe Locke, Sebastian Croft and Yasmin Feeney. Find the series on Netflix and say “Hi”.
Heated Rivalry
The new kid on the block is Heated Rivalry. The final episode of the show’s first season will arrive on Boxing Day. Over the last five week’s we’ve slowly been drawn into the world of closeted ice hockey players and followed top players Shane Hollander and Ilya Rozanov.
When the series first made its debut most of the talk was about its bold sex scenes, of which there were many. But as the episodes have come each week it’s blossomed into a huge romance story. Find the series on HBO Max.
Boots
News recently came through that Netflix will not be making any more of this show about gay in the military, which is a shame because it was really good. It’s still totally worth a watch.
Boots stars Miles Heizer who previous appeared in Parenthood and 13 Reasons Why. The coming-of-age tale follows Cameron Cope (played by Heizer) who is described as being directionless in life, and very much in-the-closet when it comes to his sexuality. He’s joined by best friend Ray McAffey (Liam Oh) as they head to boot camp to train as marines. Find the series on Netflix.
Invisible Boys
Filmed in Geraldton is Invisible Boys which is adapted from the novel of the same name from local writer Holden Shepard. It follows the story of four guys coming to terms with their sexuality in regional Australia.
Actor Joseph Zada, who plays main character Charlie, has since been cast in the next installment of the Hunger Games franchise. Fin this excellent series on Stan.
Pose
Set in New York Pose featured a groundbreaking number of actors who are trans playing trans roles, and it dives deep into the ballroom scene and the onset of HIV in the 1980s.
Making its debut in 2018, the show ran for three seasons and features Billy Porter, Michaela Jae Rodriguez, Dominique Jackson, Indya Moore, Ryan Jamaal Swain, Angelica Ross, and Sandra Bernhard. The first series has a second plotline that features Kate Mara, Evan Peters, and James Van Der Beek.
Find the entire series on Disney+ and check our our chat with actor Dominique Jackson.
It’s a Sin
It’s a Sin is from the acclaimed writer and producer Russell T. Davies, who has been beyond a phenomenal amount of really good TV including Queer as Folk, Bob and Rose, The Second Coming, Casanova, Doctor Who and A Very English Scandal.
This 2021 series is arguably his best work, a drama that’s filled with comedic moments that retells the story of the HIV crisis from a British perspective. Olly Alexander, Callum Scott Howells, Omari Douglas, Nathaniel Curtis and Lydia West play a close knit group of friends, while there’s also stunning performances from Neil Patrick Harris, Stephen Fry, Keeley Hawes and Tracey-Ann Oberman.
This is a must-watch series, find it on Stan.
Tales of the City
Check out a classic, ABC iView has the first season of the television adaptation of Armistead Maupin’s Tales of the City.
To date Maupin has written ten novels in his series about the residents of 28 Barbary Lane in San Francisco.
Laura Linney plays Mary Ann who is finding her way in the big city in the late 1970s. Olympia Dukakis received wide acclaim for her portrayal of transgender landlord Anna Madrigal, and the cast of the first season also includes Thomas Gibson, Parker Posey, Ian McKellen, Janeane Garofolo, and fashion designer Bob Mackie even makes an appearance.
Over the years more series came including 1998’s More Tales of the City, 2001’s Further Tales of the City and the most recent instalment 2019’s Tales of the City.
