June 29, 2024
Streaming Queer: July 2024
Andrea Marks Joseph READ TIME: 10 MIN.
July's streaming offering brings the final seasons of HBCU-set "All American: Homecoming," post-apocalyptic series "Snowpiercer," and sexy Netflix sensation "Élite," but it's not all dramatic goodbyes this month! We are welcomed back into the scandalous royal court of "The Serpent Queen" and good ol' classic reality show "Big Brother" in its 26th season.
This month brings the erotic thrill of tennis-throuple movie "Challengers" to streaming, and it also brings a hopeful documentary about Melissa Etheridge returning to her hometown to meet the incarcerated women struggling with addiction who are inspired by her music.
You'll also have the chance to watch queer revenge psychodrama "Femme," and get into two new reality shows: One where contestants compete in fashion challenges to dress musicians on tour, the other following nine queer Japanese men looking for love. Happy Streaming!
"All American: Homecoming" Season 3
The upcoming season of "All American: Homecoming" will unfortunately be the last we see of the students at fictional Atlanta HBCU Bringston. It's unclear whether the cast and crew knew that this could be the final season before they wrapped, so we don't know if we'll get the emotional goodbyes and warm conclusions these characters deserve, but we're glad to be reuniting with them one more time.
The series follows Simone (Geffri Maya) and her family and friends on campus, including queer Black Filipina Keisha (played by queer Black Filipina actress Netta Walker), a dancer who is seen sparkling on stage in the trailer and worrying about receiving an acceptance letter. We also can't wait to be back with Bringston's resident advice queen Nate (played by gender-nonconforming queer actor Rhoyle Ivy King), who will forever reign as the first Black nonbinary character to be included in a CW show.
"All American: Homecoming" Season 3 premieres July 8 on the CW App.
"The Boyfriend" Season 1
"The Boyfriend" is Japan's first same-sex romance reality series. The Netflix show will follow nine men who move into a beach house for a month, working together at a coffee truck while looking for love. Viewers will follow their romantic endeavors to "meet their one true boyfriend," as well as the friendships formed between these men as they discuss what it's been like to be gay in Japan and the things they learn about themselves during this charming, groundbreaking "story about men and boyfriends". The show will be hosted by "an eclectic mix of personalities," including drag queen Durian Lollobrigida and Yoshimi Tokui from Netflix show "Terrace House."
"The Boyfriend" Season 1 premieres July 9 on Netflix.
"Melissa Etheridge: I'm Not Broken" Season 1
This two-part docuseries follows Grammy winner and out musician Melissa Etheridge, who has formed a connection with a group of incarcerated women who struggle with addiction. Five women at the Topeka Correctional Facility in her Kansas hometown, which Etheridge says she could see from her backyard growing up, have written the musician letters about their lives, sharing that her music has given them hope. Etheridge, who lost her son to an opioid overdose, comes to the prison to meet these women and connect over conversations that will inspire an anthem of hope she writes and performs for them as part of her visit.
Etheridge said in a statement: "I hope that this docuseries shows viewers the challenges that women face in our prison system while also serving as a resource to those who currently are struggling."
"Melissa Etheridge: I'm Not Broken" Season 1 premieres July 9 on Paramount+.
"The Serpent Queen" Season 2
"Life is about what you're willing to do to survive. And I am willing to do anything."
This badass, provocative show following the ambitious escapades of Queen Catherine de' Medici (played by Samantha Morton) returns with more drama, scandal, shocking twists, and sickening turns! It's a thrill to watch the royal court fall apart, to see the famed queen learn who she cannot trust, and meet feisty characters who decide their plans are worth the risk of beheading. Morton is captivating as the determined queen who fights to remain multiple steps ahead of those around her. Minnie Driver is one of many actors who join the cast for Season 2, playing Queen Elizabeth I; Antonia Clarke returns as Mary Queen of Scots; Philippine Velge ("Station Eleven," "Summer of '85") joins as Margot; and Isobel Jesper Jones ("The Bastard Son & The Devil Himself") joins as Edith. We can't wait for more blood-soaked betrayal, calculated moves, and entertaining royal court upsets.
"The Serpent Queen" Season 2 premieres July 12 on Starz.
"Big Brother" Season 26
The team behind "Big Brother" Season 26 is keeping details close to their chest. They've announced that Julie Chen Moonves returns to host the show, and shared absolutely no news about whether we can expect to see any other familiar faces. But if you've tuned into the reality show before, you already know to expect the unexpected.
"BB26" is back with its 94 HD cameras and more than 113 microphones, and, most importantly, its contestants signing up to be recorded 24 hours a day in the hopes of winning $750,000. This season of "Big Brother" opens with a one-hour premiere for two nights, so plan your viewing parties accordingly.
"Big Brother" Season 26 premieres July 17 on Paramount+.
"Snowpiercer" Season 4
The fourth season of this post-apocalyptic drama will be its final revolution. The trailer promises a "closing act" to the desperate, ambitious plan that was boarding Snowpiercer, a train specifically designed to circle the globe until a frozen planet Earth was safe to inhabit again. It also promises an inevitable dark turn in the new beginning that passengers have been hoping, praying, fighting, and dying for.
Queer actor Rowan Blanchard plays Alexandra, the daughter of Snowpiercer's head engineer, Melanie Cavill (Jennifer Connelly), and an engineer herself. Security guard and former detective Bess Till (played by Mickey Sumner) is an openly sapphic character who plays an integral role in the train's most dramatic storylines. Alexandra and Bess are headstrong women, emotionally tied to the most determined people at the core of this terrifying, tense saga; We hope they make it out to enjoy the new life they all deserve.
"Snowpiercer" Season 4 premieres July 21 on AMC+.
"Femme"
This intense, enthralling film follows drag performer Jules (Nathan Stewart-Jarrett, "Culprits") who encounters the homophobic man (George MacKay) who violently attacked him one night; the two cross paths at a gay sauna, where the onetime attacker, not recognizing Jules, checks him out. Realizing his attacker is closeted, and forever changed by the traumatic experience of being assaulted while in drag, Jules embarks on a revenge plot. The film is tense, electric, and charged with the heat of queer attraction, performative behaviors, trauma responses, and righteous anger.
Our EDGE review of the film describes "Femme" as "a revenge drama that starts with a gay bashing but then heads into emotionally tumultuous terrain where love, rage, hate, and fear collide."
"Femme" premieres July 23 on Hulu.
"Élite" Season 8
This is the final season of Netflix's super-horny high school murder mystery, "Élite."
Season 8 will continue its familiar beats of gay sex, high-stakes secrets, teenage acts of revenge, and unflinching commentary on the social hierarchy and wealth disparity in Spain. The sensational show's creator has confirmed that our final return to fictional high school Las Encinas will end on a high note, while the marketing for this season taps into the nostalgia of remembering everyone we've met and lost along the way - so it's unclear who among the OG cast may surprise us with a cameo to bid the show goodbye. We do know that trans actor Ander Puig, who plays trans character Nico, will return this season.
Beloved queer character Omar (played by out actor Omar Ayuso) returns, and so does his sister, Nadia (played by Mina El Hamman). This season will, of course, also introduce new hot characters to seduce and stir up drama among the student body, and contribute towards whatever drama ends with a literal dead body.
"Élite" Season 8 premieres July 26 on Netflix.
"Challengers"
Whether you (somehow, impossibly) haven't seen the movie of the summer yet, or have been waiting for the moment the film hit streaming so that you can finally watch all your favorite scenes on repeat in private, your time has come! The tense, suspenseful erotic drama is directed by out filmmaker and icon Luca Guadagnino.
"Challengers" flashes back to the past in key moments between a will-they-won't-they-have-they-already throuple (played by Zendaya, Josh O'Connor, and Mike Faist) who met as teenagers while training for their professional tennis careers. Tashi (Zendaya) is fierce and all-powerful to the two men, who have been inseparable for most of their lives – until the intensely competitive nature of being around Tashi completely changes their relationship. It's thrilling, it's horny, it's set to electro music you won't be able to get out of your head. It's the film of the summer for a reason. Enjoy!
"Challengers" premieres July 29 on MGM+.
