It’s Monday and here’s your Pop Culture Fix!
+ The Morning Show season three trailer is here. It’s very Hamm-heavy, as you’d expect, and even more dramatic than the last two season. A power outage! An explosion! A private helicopter! Laura absolutely eviscerating Bradley about HOW CAN YOU SIT IN THAT CHAIR, etc. I missed this garbage soap!
+ Ayo Edebiri and Rachel Sennott on their college meet and lesbian fight club.
+ Related: The NYU classmates behind the year’s most delightfully dumb comedy.
+ How Boygenius made a queer women’s haven in Halifax. (Anne Lister would be so proud. 🥲)
+ How one key moment in Heartstopper sparked a debate about compulsory heterosexuality.
+ Ashnikko’s Weedkiller takes you into a queer dystopian world.
+ Billboard’s Queer Jams of the Week includes Victoria Monét, Omar Apollo, Ashnikko, and more.
+ Miranda Rights: Be kind to the late-in-life queer women in the actual, non-And Just Like That world.
+ The long-awaited rise of the bisexual male heartthrob in TV and Film. We’ve come a long way from Carrie Bradshaw questioning whether bisexuality even exists.
+ Bachelorette Gabby Windey says this Netflix reality show inspired her to explore her bisexuality.
+ The transnational activism of women in hip hop.
+ Bring It On cast gets together for spirited EW reunion.
+ Vanity Fair has a first look at Our Flag Means Death season two.
+ Alyssa Thomas and DeWanner Bonner are the WNBA’s super couple on and off the court.
+ How does Kristen Kish Feel at the top of Top Chef? It’s complicated.
Feature image photo by Kevin Kane/WireImage
+ Ex-MTV VP says Christina Aguilera asked to have VMA performance re-edited to include Madonna kiss. Surprise, it was Justin Timberlake who ruined it because he was salty over his ex, Brittney Spears, doing the sapphic smooch on stage. “Since hitting the charts in the late ’90s, Spears and Aguilera had been pitted against one another as rivals in the media — and Madonna, Mother of Reinvention and Motha of Controversy, was going to share the stage with them. Once rehearsal footage revealed Her Madgesty would also be kissing both of the erstwhile Mouseketeers, the MTV folks literally high-fived. However, on the night of the show, the decision to cut away from Aguilera’s kiss with Madonna, which immediately followed Spears’ smooch, was made on the fly by associate director Stefani Cohen” so they could show Timberlake’s reaction instead. GROSS.
+ Raven-Symoné tells Whoopi she gives off ‘lesbian vibes,’ Whoopi says she just plays them on TV.
+ It’s the 25th anniversary of Living Single — how would you feel about a revival?
+ Sha’Carri Richardson is officially the fastest woman in the world!
Sha’Carri Richardson has won the 100M Final: pic.twitter.com/5QzcOVjQw3
— philip lewis (@Phil_Lewis_) August 21, 2023
+ How Lena Waithe fell for Mary Tyler Moore.
+ Disney is launching a Frozen 2 podcast sequel, whatever in the world that is.
+ Looks like Hayley Kiyoko is just as mad as us about A League of Their Own’s cancellation.
+ And Just Like That has been renewed for a third season.
.@NiecyNash says she will always say yes to Ryan Murphy and Ava DuVernay projects. https://t.co/CwWqTLrJuW pic.twitter.com/S1QhZKTazE
— Entertainment Weekly (@EW) August 21, 2023
+ Over at Vanity Fair: Emma Seligman wants to show “really, really horny female characters.”
The Shiva Baby auteur on her wacky queer teen fight club movie, Bottoms.
+ Derry Girls creator Lisa McGee sets next Channel 4 project.
Welcome to your Monday Pop Culture Fix, my friends! I hope you’re ready to rage at Amazon some more!
+ As Valerie Anne shared in their rightfully outraged post on Friday afternoon: A League of Their Own’s already truncated second season has been cancelled by Amazon. The streamer blamed the strikes for the decision, and, like you, Abbi Jacobson thinks that excuse is garbage. In an Instagram this weekend, Jacobson wrote: “What luck I have had to get to tell these stories and play this character I love so much. What a rare thing in life. And so I am sad today. To blame this cancellation on the strike, (which is an essential fight for fair wages, protections and working conditions, etc…) is bullshit and cowardly. But this post isn’t about all that. About all the ways this show has been put through the ringer. Not today.” Also, apparently all the scripts were completed BEFORE THE STRIKE.
+ kd lang on Tony Bennett: “It was a salve for society to see an older man and a young dyke in a happy relationship.”
+ The Last of Us showrunner on Season 2 plan, casting Abby and his favorite scene.
+ On the new narrative cooking video game, Venba, here’s Saniya Ahmed over at Wired: “As Venba navigated a new world while holding on to the culture she holds dear, I saw myself.”
+ Bobbi Salvör Menuez and Amandla Stenberg star in Jacqueline Castel’s supernatural horror romance My Animal, which will finally be in select theaters on September 8 and on VOD September 15. (And don’t miss Drew’s review from OutFest!)
+ Grave Seasons is a farming game much like Stardew Valley but every time you start a new game one of the townies is a murderer.
+ Please allow me to praise Natalie for her World Cup work here on Autostraddle; she made it into the Washington Post!
+ Gen Z’s coming out still faces hurdles, according to TV and movies.
+ Billboard’s queer jams of the week includes new music from Reneé Rapp, Doechii, Anitta and more!
+ Is it time to retire the NC-17?
+ Arlo Parks pivots to poetry. “Parks’s sophomore album, My Soft Machine, was released in May to critical acclaim. Before her tour ends at the Eventim Apollo in London, near where the 22-year-old grew up, she’ll also release The Magic Border, a collection of poems she’s written, lyrics to songs on My Soft Machine, and photographs by Daniyel Lowden, on September 12. The book is an exploration on queerness, and a meditation on grief and blackness. Parks would describe it as ‘a tangled mass of everything that has made me angry or giddy or low or impossibly happy to be alive.'”
+ Oh lord, here we go again.
OFFICIAL TEASER. We’re expecting. FX’s AHS: Delicate. Part One premieres 9.20 on FX. Stream on Hulu. #AHSDelicate #AHSFX pic.twitter.com/aRaS1vCBkr
— FX Networks (@FXNetworks) August 21, 2023
Happy midweek, my friends! Here’s your Wednesday Pop Culture Fix!
+ Warrior Nun executive producer Dean English has announced three Warrior Nun feature films in a 1.5-minute YouTube video. No real details yet, but English says they’re coming: “One thing we need to touch on involves the strike in Hollywood involving actors and writers. And it’s due to that that we cannot make any announcements today on that front. Some may ask, ‘Does this perhaps infer that there’s going to be a universe being launched of Warrior Nun, which could expand into films and TV series following characters that we already know?’ The answer to that question is yes. And there will be more details in the future.”
+ The New York Liberty won the WNBA Commissioner’s Cup last night and queer superstar and former league MVP Jonquel Jones was the game’s MVP. Already cool enough, but! Also! The Liberty’s charity of choice, Callen-Lorde, will receive prize money. Callen-Lorde provides healthcare to unhoused LGBTQ+ young adults, transgender healthcare, women’s healthcare, HIV testing, prevention and treatment regardless of insurance status or ability to pay.
https://www.instagram.com/p/CwAt7trLaJ6/
+ It’s the 20th anniversary of Cheetah Girls if you can believe it! Over at Refinery 29, Zeniya Cooley wrote about how the movie gave Black girls a space to dream.
+ Heartstopper fans are obsessed with Imogen’s sapphic character development: “Besties to lovers.”
+ In Red, White & Royal Blue, a director centers true queer intimacy on screen.
+ 8 graphic novels like Nimona with murder teens and queer pining.
+ How queer pro wrestlers are handling America’s anti-LGBTQ+ heel turn.
+ Sam Smith reflects on evolution from ‘confused queer kid’ in heartfelt message to fans.
Feature images NBC // Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Image
+ The cast of Parks and Recreation came together in support of the SAG-AFTRA strike, which I heard about on Friday because I saw a bunch of tweets with Aubrey Plaza leading a lil horse around and then realized it was THEE Lil Sebastian! On her strike sign, Aubrey wrote: “Ann Perkins works for the AMPTP,” which is so many levels of funny to me. Still sending you all our love and support, writers and actors! Solidarity! (You’re 5,000 candles in the wind, Lil Seb!)
Aubrey brought Lil Sebastian to the strike, those companies are DONE for pic.twitter.com/gIV6ko9Tbt
— Jack* (-_•) (@captaincupkicks) August 11, 2023
+ Jodi Balfour will not be returning to For All Mankind, so WHAT’S THE POINT of watching anymore!
+ 90 Day Fiancé’ casting director on recruiting the spinoff’s first transgender woman and Deaf person.
+ Idina Menzel says playing Lea Michele’s mom wasn’t great for her ego.
+ Can’t wait to hear your thoughts on AV Club’s best AND worst vampire movies.
+ Why Emma Seligman decided to make a movie about a queer fight club.
+ Billboard’s queer jams of the week includes new music from Tove Lo, Chappell Roan, G Flip, and more.
+ Heartstopper’s Kizzy Edgell and Corinna Brown are on the cover of Attitude magazine this month.
+ Related: Heartstopper creator on expanding the comic for the show, including season 3.
+ Archie Comics’ first trans character makes her solo debut.
+ My grandkids introduced me to Bluey. It’s so good I watch it on my own.
You made it to midweek, no small feat! As a small reward, please enjoy this Pop Culture Fix!
+ Taylor Swift personally offered Heartstopper her song after seeing this ‘beautiful’ queer scene. Fans asked Heartstopper music supervisor Matt Biffa about using Taylor Swift’s song “seven” in the season two finale, wondering if it cost Netflix “big bucks,” but Biffa said that sometimes art is more important than money, and Taylor loved the Tara/Darcy scene it played over so much that she “worked it out” with the show.
https://twitter.com/mrmattbiffa/status/1687106612400705543
+ LGBTQ teens say they are just fine with Heartstopper not being perfect.
+ Sandra Bernhard calls Roseanne Barr’s pivot to ‘anti-woke’ show ‘heartbreaking.’
+ The Megan Rapinoe era only ends when we stop fighting back. (Related: The right-wing backlash against the US women’s national soccer team, explained.)
+ Black characters and stories are finally in the sci-fi and horror spotlight. It’s been a long time coming for fans. I think you might recognize OUR OWN NIC SAM quoted in this article!
+ 15 notable LGBTQ+ houseguests who competed on Big Brother.
+ All the cool reality TV girlies are coming out as queer.
+ Wayne Brady came out as pansexual!
+ It’s the 20th anniversary of The OC, if you can believe that. Over at Vulture: All 92 episodes of The OC, ranked. And at The Cut: 20 years ago, The OC gave us LOOKS — Now they are back.
Feature image via The Late Show With Stephen Colbert / Disney+.
+ Last week I started seeing all these comic book sites reporting that Aubrey Plaza will be playing Kathryn Hahn’s lesbian ex in Agatha: Coven of Chaos. I couldn’t find any actual source so I just ignored it (but not in my heart; I kept hoping in my heart). Now, it’s on all kinds of movie sites and the Twitter scoop acocunt Can We Get Some Toast seems to be confirming it, and they are right about A LOT. According to them, Aubrey will be playing “Rio Vidal! The FIRST Green Witch and Agatha’s ex.” LET IT BE!
+ The initial NC-17 rating for Passages highlights a rigid queerphobic standard.
+ Related: In Passages, a bisexual love triangle explodes spectacularly.
+ Scream 7 is in the works with a new director after the success of the last film.
+ Issa Rae’s Rap Sh!t season 2 is delayed until November because of the strike.
+ The spectacular rise of the “misery lesbian.”
+ The DCEU is dying, but DC animation has never been better.
+ Queer Barbies go back further than you might think.
+ After Heartstopper season 2, here’s 11 feel-good queer romances to watch right now.
+ Related: Every single book Isaac reads in Heartstopper season two and the meaning behind them.
+ Cheryl Dunye on the Black queer legacy of The Watermelon Woman.
+ We didn’t get Batgirl but at least you can watch a luchadores-inspired Batwoman instead.
I know you’re not gonna read this intro because this headline is too spicy, but hey, here’s your mid-week Pop Culture Fix!
+ Natalie dropped an Associated Press interview with Janelle Monáe into our TV Team Slack channel yesterday, and included a screenshot just in case we were thinking about not reading it. The screenshot: “I’m in the middle of putting together a tour for North America. We haven’t been on tour since 2019. For me, I have a lot of things that keep me busy. I’m practicing guitar. I’m having the best sex of my life. I’m happy. Even in the middle of all that’s going on in this world, I’m finding time to steal joy and to center joy and to stay surrounded by the people that bring me joy and that I can bring joy too.” Carmen said she’s so happy for them and so happy for her, and I agree! Also the absolute flex of casually saying “I’m having the best sex of my life” to the AP between talking about your guitar and, like, brunch with pals.
+ The initial NC-17 rating for Passages highlights a rigid and queerphobic standard.
+ HBO’s Last Call spotlights rising anti-LGBTQ violence.
+ Witch From Mercury featured a beloved lesbian couple named Suletta Mercury and Miorine Rembran, who really broke ground in the Gundam franchise — and then Bandai censored voice actress Kana Ichinose’s interview confirming that the characters are married.
+ Listen, if you’re looking to turn someone into a lesbian, apparently the Barbie movie will do it.
+ Joanna Lumley stars in chemotherapy drama My Week With Maisy. Chemotherapy drama means there’s no way on earth my soft heart’s gonna be able to watch this, but you might: “Lumley stars as Mrs. Foster, a retired lady whose cup is half empty, is starting chemotherapy and is anxious. The last thing she needs is to have to share the treatment room with a know it all child, the titular Maisy Jones who wants to grow up to be a lesbian. But through their unexpected friendship, Maisy Jones gives Mrs. Foster much more than just a glimmer of hope.”
+ LGBTQ+ hip-hop artists use their spotlight to express queer joy.
+ The best queer moments in Final Fantasy.
+ Emma Corrin needed a primer on the “absolute mindfuck” of Marvel movies before doing Deadpool 3.
It’s Monday and that means it’s Pop Culture Fix day! Also it remains World Cup day, all hours of the day, every day, because I still cannot figure out what time zones Australia and New Zealand are in!
+ Can I interest you in a Morning Show season three trailer? I sure think I can! There’s only a brief glimpse of Bradley and Laura in the same scene, but it’s easy to see that they’re in a fight with each other. Bradley’s sending out her feelers on a red carpet and Laura won’t even make eye contact with her. I know Jon Hamm’s here now and blah blah blah, keep your straight drama, but give us that queer chaos too, AppleTV!
+ Sarah Paulson is heading back to Broadway for the first time in 13 years.
+ Aubrey Plaza is heading Off Broadway for the first time.
+ Over at Billboard’s Queer Jams of the Week, new music from Sam Smith, Anne-Marie, CHIKA, and more!
+ Where to start with the queer cinematic canon.
+ All the queer Easter eggs you might have missed in the Barbie movie.
+ Stephanie Beatriz on her bisexuality and what’s queer in her new show Twisted Metal.
+ Wanda Sykes returns to Netflix with The Upshaws.
+ Lizzo is a Legolas girl (or: my own personal favorite thing from the internet last week).
+ Give Loki an actual boyfriend, you cowards!
Last night I dreamed I was the only one who could save the world from this terrible monster attack, and so Beyonce spritzed me with her cologne (Beyonce by Beyonce) and told me it would give me superpowers. After I beat the monsters, I thought she would say, “The power was inside you all along.” But no, it was actually Beyonce by Beyonce that saved the day. ANYHOODLE, here’s a Pop Culture Fix, which is almost as cool as being spritzed with Beyonce’s signature scent by her own hand. (No, it’s not.)
+ Heartstopper’s season two trailer is for the softies like me! I swooned so hard I almost passed out! Or, at the very least, I almost made myself cry!
+ According to Phillip Lewis on Twitter (I’m not going to call it X, ever), “A Black Lady Sketch Show” showrunner Robin Thede and her team donated the series’ entire wardrobe to Beauty2thestreetz, a nonprofit that provides services for homeless women.”
+ One Indigenous lesbian superhero coming right up!
+ 15 must-watch movies about strikes and unionizing, from Newsies to Norma Rae.
+ Did you know Friends’ “The One With the Lesbian Wedding” was the show’s highest rated episode? I did not know!
+ Ladies First: A Story of Women in Hip-Hop is so very relevant to your interests.
https://youtu.be/QMcnPdp54aE
+ Love Is Blind creator says there are logistical roadblocks to having a queer spin-off. Maybe he should read D’Vaughn and Kris Plan a Wedding and USE HIS IMAGINATION.
+ How loving Boygenius makes queer fans feel young again.
+ What women’s soccer means to queer fans.
+ Demi Lovato came out to their parents after “Cool For the Summer.”
+ RuPaul’s Drag Race winner Yvie Oddly gets married! Oh, I just love love!
+ Greta Gerwig knew Kate McKinnon was destined for greatness when they were in college.
It’s Monday and you know what that means? One extra cup of coffee and a Pop Culture Fix!
+ The full Marvels trailer is finally here! (And, friends, look at their OFFICIAL LEGO.) There’s also more gay and lady-led trailers from SDCC in this post, if you scroll on down. Also I was already beyond psyched for The Marvels, and then! And then! There’s like a hundred space cats! Hurry up, already, movie!
This fall, #TheMarvels take flight. 💫
Watch the brand-new trailer, and don’t miss Captain Marvel, Monica Rambeau, and Ms. Marvel’s cosmic team-up, only in theaters November 10. pic.twitter.com/VSFb7oR9Xa
— Marvel Studios* (@MarvelStudios) July 21, 2023
+ Melissa Benoist is going to be Teela in Masters of the Universe revolution!
+ Star Trek: Lower Decks crossover on Strange New Worlds gets surprise early premiere. You can read about that “chaos bomb” on EW (and I’ll have a full review for you tomorrow)! Here’s the full Disco trailer that came out during SDCC.
+ Can I also interest you in some Wheel of Time season two photos?
+ HBO Max released the full trailer for the Adventure Time spin-off, Fiona & Cake, at SDCC. I, for one, cannot wait!
+ Harley Quinn season four trailer? Mmm hmm. They released that too!
+ Netflix released The Dragon Prince season five early!
+ God Is a Woman doc about Panama’s matriarchal Kuna Tribe to open Venice Critics’ Week.
+ Cynthia Erivo shares love of queer community atop a mountain with Bear Grylls.
+ Ali Riley’s rainbow-colored fingernails at Women’s World Cup a middle finger to FIFA.
It’s almost World Cup time, and you know what that means: Natalie found OVER ONE HUNDRED openly gay players and coaches! Now, please enjoy this Pop Culture Fix while you’re waiting for the footie. (I say footie now because I’m totally getting into soccer.)
+ Okay this is just about the wildest thing I have ever heard — because, before this, I could only ever imagine Alyson Hannigan as Willow on Buffy the Vampire Slayer, but Melanie Lynskey actually passed on the role! And now I can easily see her playing our most beloved, most formative lesbian witch. Prior to the SAG-AFTRA strike, Lynskey spoke to Entertainment Weekly about her two Emmy nominations (The Last of Us and Yellowjackets) and said, “I was not sure about doing television at that time. It was very early in my career. I had a very old-school agent who was like, ‘TV? That’s for has-beens!’ and I was like, ‘I don’t think it is anymore.’ Certainly now things have really changed, but I just wasn’t super into it at the time.”
+ The Chi season six trailer is here!
+ Elite is officially getting an eighth season.
+ Great news from The Marvels (which keeps getting pushed back and pushed back and pushed back, which is driving me nuts)! Anyway, the great news is that Goose is still here! Also, Ms. Marvel is jumping from Disney+ to ABC. A very big deal. It also means the writers and actors will finally see residuals for it. (Don’t miss Kayla on what LGBTQ actors are saying about the strike.)
Goose in a new still from #TheMarvels! pic.twitter.com/4dY5WUBaqE
— The Marvels Updates (@marvelsupdates) July 18, 2023
+ Nic has alerted me to some queers on 90 Day Fiance: Before the 90 Days.
+ Megan Rapinoe makes a powerful stand for trans women in sports.
+ AudioFile magazine says about Dykes to Watch Out For: “The full-cast audio adaptation of Alison Bechdel’s classic comic strip about the messy lives of a group of queer women in the 1980s is absolutely flawless.” That includes Carrie Brownstein, Roberta Colindrez, and Roxane Gay.
+ Attitude magazine published a really lovely and insightful interview with King Princess.
+ I was fawning over the Megan Rapinoe Nike World Cup commercial but Natalie let me know there are even more, including Debinha (gay and from Brazil)!
Happy Women’s World Cup Kick-Off Week to all who celebrate! We’ve obviously got a full list of the soccer gays coming at you, so stay tuned for that. In the meantime, here’s your Monday Pop Culture Fix!
+ Okay Nike’s Megan Rapinoe World Cup ad is not only one of the coolest sports animes I have ever seen in my entire life; it’s also G A Y. There’s a whole thing with an animated Sue Bird lying on the beach gazing at a Sailor Moon-y Rapinoe playing the keytar. THE KEYTAR. Also, the Nike logo fades into a rainbow in the intro and that’s rad as heck too!
+ We have received official confirmation from Deadloch writer Kate McCartney that she’s queer! (This made me laugh out loud for real. Thank you, Kate!)
+ Orange Is the New Black signaled the rot inside the streaming economy.
+ Eight comedians define the meaning of “queer hack.”
+ Keke Palmer is the internet’s sweetheart.
+ Bravo celebrates Queer Eye for the Straight Guy’ 20th anniversary with a special marathon.
+ Jess Rothschild made a six-episode podcast about the gay gay gay history of Fire Island and it features Margaret Cho and Joel Kim Booster. Jess told me: “I am really trying to break the stereotype that Fire Island is relentlessly cis, white, gay men. I have at least 3 women in each episode, many sharing the Black and trans experience there.”
+ The Legend of Zelda has always been queer.
+ Clowns announce new album Endless, release video for “Bisexual Awakening.”
You made it to midweek! And your reward is one (1) Pop Culture Fix! (Plus my love and adoration, of course.)
+ Oh man, okay, so you’re just watching this Twisted Metal trailer like “okay okay pretty cute” — and then! A WILD STEPHANIE BEATRIZ APPEARS! I’ve never played this game, but Digital Spy sums it up thus: “The series takes place in an apocalyptic wasteland where a milkman with amnesia, John Doe (Anthony Mackie), is tasked with delivering a mysterious package if he wants to stay alive. He teams up with Quiet (Stephanie Beatriz), a mostly silent rash car thief, and the two embark on a desperate mission through Las Vegas, fending off ruthless marauders in deadly, destructive vehicles for a shot at a better future.
+ A Black Lady Sketch Show will not return for season five.
+ Harley Quinn is back on July 27th!
+ The full trailer for Heartstopper season tow has arrived.
+ Amazon’s Transparent is heading to Broadway as a musical.
+ And so has the trailer for the final season of Reservation Dogs.
OFFICIAL TRAILER for FX’s #ReservationDogs. The Final Season. Streaming 8.2. Only on Hulu. pic.twitter.com/flkZH3bIq9
— Reservation Dogs (@RezDogsFX) July 6, 2023
+ Lindsey Shaw opens up about being fired from Pretty Little Liars.
+ Michelle Buteau shrinks for no one.
+ Reneé Rapp is leaving The Sex Lives of College Girls, and her goodbye post — “I love that bitch [Leighton] more than you know ” — made me laugh out loud for real.
+ Stephanie Hsu on the queer storyline cut from Joy Ride that could be saved for the sequel.
+ May I interest you in the Rap Sh!t season two trailer?
https://youtu.be/tqR76mqILkU
+
Feature image photo by Steph Chambers/Getty Images
Okay it’s official: We’re gonna call this whole entire summer PRIDE! Thank you to all you Europeans for telling me that Pride just keeps on going over there! Tell me something else good in this Pop Culture Fix!
+ At a pre-World Cup press conference this weekend, 38-year-old Megan Rapinoe told reporters that she’ll be joining her wifey Sue Bird in lesbian sports legacy retirement at the end of this NWSL season. It wasn’t exactly a shock, but, much like Sue Bird’s retirement, it’s hard to imagine the game without her. There’s been no shortage of sports journalists weighing in on her announcement. The Athletic: Megan Rapinoe’s retirement announcement stirs emotions with a World Cup to come. The Seattle Times: Megan Rapinoe will retire with amazing legacy on and off the pitch. The Los Angeles Times: Megan Rapinoe leaving soccer on her own terms, the same way she rose to stardom. Time magazine: Megan Rapinoe won’t go quietly.
https://twitter.com/itsmeglinehan/status/1677727102332997633
+ Please enjoy Esther Perel’s 10 favorite erotic films.
+ Drag Race All Stars 8 makes herstoric reveal ahead of season finale.
+ Love, Barbara sheds new light on queer film pioneer Barbara Hammer.
+ Some advice from filmmaker Cheryl Dunye: “Keep putting yourself out where you belong.”
+ I loved Casey McQuiston’s Red, White & Royal Blue so much, and the trailer for Netflix’s adaptation is making me so excited for it too!
+ This queer horror slasher is dripping with punk Gen Z style.
+ What a struggling Disney could learn from Nimona’s surprising success.
+ Tracy Chapman on her lesbian anthem Fast Car becoming a country hit.
+ Czech period drama We Have Never Been Modern brings intersex awareness and a sense of urgency.
+ Candace Cameron Bure denies that she tried remove queer Fuller House character.
Does it feel like Pride is still happening? It feels like it to me! Maybe the whole of summer can just be Pride now? Let me know what you think! And also here is a Pop Culture Fix!
+ Okay there is no way in the world that Mattel is going to let Barbie be gay in the Barbie movie. Absolutely no way. And yet! What in the lesbian heck is this? There is no straight explanation on the face of the earth for this! PinkNews deep dived on it. Please discuss!
New clip from Greta Gerwig’s ‘BARBIE’.
“I hope no one from school saw us with a life-sized Barbie in our car!” pic.twitter.com/uyxSk0v6AG
— DiscussingFilm (@DiscussingFilm) July 4, 2023
+ 15 non-LGBTQ+ movies that queer people still love.
+ 10 songs that spark queer Latine joy.
+ Anime characters that made is realize we’re queer.
+ Buzz Lightyear werks at Disney World!
+ The glorious, queer evolution of Janelle Monáe’s pleasure and politics.
+ Celebrating TV’s chaotic bisexual characters.
+ Best LGBTQ+ movies of the 70s, ranked.
+ Melissa Etheridge wasn’t overly impressed with Rolling Stone’s list of most inspirational gay anthems of all time.
Dear @RollingStone…was it something I said?
“I don’t care what they think
I don’t care what they say
What do they know about this love anyway?” https://t.co/y4jq1KVPaT— Melissa Etheridge (@metheridge) June 28, 2023
+ Bikechess, a dark comedy about journalism in Kazakhstan, wins Karlovy Vary Works in Progress Award. According to Variety: “The Kazakh film follows Dina, who works as a journalist for the national television station. The stories she is asked to report on are becoming increasingly absurd and full of praise for the government. Her love life is limited to a few secret meetings with her married cameraman. Dina looks after her young sister, a lesbian activist, who regularly finds herself in trouble with the authorities.”
+ The power of pink: How Nimona uses color to subvert stereotypes and embrace self-expression.
It’s Monday and you know what that means: Pop Culture Fix time! It’s also July 3rd and you know what that means: I’m already furious about the fireworks that will terrorize my cats!
+ Beautiful: Over at LitHub, Thea Glassman wrote about Santana Lopez! (Big Songs, Big Emotions: On Glee, Santana’s Coming Out Scene, and Naya Rivera) “It’s hard to fit in every wonderful thing people told me about Naya Rivera. But I’ll try, in their words.” Truly, read this; it will make your day.
+ Good: From has been renewed for a third season (and if you missed Valerie’s review, it’s right here and so forkin’ creepy!).
+ Bad: Freeform cancelled Single Drunk Female.
+ Leslye Headland will direct Netflix’s feature film adaptation of The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo.
+ The Neuchatel International Fantastic Film Festival is hosting a Female Trouble Retrospective, “a 20-film, century-spanning spotlight built on a French play-on-words that blurs gender and genre.” It follows last year’s wildly successful Scream Queer.
+ Alison Bechdel says The Bechdel Test was really just meant to be a little lesbian joke in the 1980s; she had no idea how widely it would resonate.
+ Queer Arab comedy Cousins explores the ties that bind.
+ Cindy White over at AV Club used Jennifer Lawrence’s new movie, No Hard Feelings, as springboard into a deep-dive on the history of women in sex comedies — ending with this summer’s forthcoming queer romp, Bottoms.
+ Broadway is awash in bad pop musicals pretending to be about feminism.
+ I didn’t realize Emily St. James is writing for Yellowjackets now! That’s thrilling!
+ Jodi Balfour talks playing powerful lesbians in Ted Lasso and For All Mankind.
+ Anne Hathaway and Thomasin McKenzie queer drama Eileen gets year-end release at Neon.
Well let’s just hop right into today’s Pop Culture Fix because I almost cannot even believe it!
+ Warrior Nun showrunner Simon Barry announced this morning on Twitter that fans have actually done it! They have saved the show! There’s no details yet, only that Warrior Nun has risen from the ashes, which is honestly the most unreal-amazing thing I have ever seen fandom accomplish, and I have seen fandom get A LOT of stuff done in my 15 years writing professionally on this gay internet. Congratulations, y’all!
Today I’m happy to officially report that because of your combined voices, passion and amazing efforts – #WarriorNun will return and is going to be more EPIC than you could imagine. More details to come! SOON! Thank-you!! #SaveWarriorNun #WarriorNunSaved ❤️🎬 pic.twitter.com/yuTbRR2L3q
— Simon Barry (@SimonDavisBarry) June 28, 2023
+ Lesbian Representation on Broadway: A History.
+ Out In Hollywood releases 2023 Out Loud List with best unproduced TV scripts by queer writers.
+ How Frog and Toad became queer anti-capitalist cottagecore icons.
+ Alyson Stoner says they were fired from a kids’ TV show after coming out as queer.
+ The 10 best-written queer anime characters.
+ GAZE to showcase best of queer cinema with unmissable 2023 program.
+ Nimona cast and crew talk bringing the timely, queer positive graphic novel to Netflix.
+ And Just Like That boss on the series’ (many) sex scenes.
+ The Oscars can’t speak to the greatness of Angela Bassett.
+ 25 queer films that emerged from the Sundance Film Festival.
+ The underrepresentation of Sapphic women in media.
+ Watch to 1:43 please!
https://youtu.be/eOKrWpaG5kk
Happy Monday, buddies and pals! Here’s a Pop Culture Fix for you!
+ Drive-Away Dolls is meant to be a lesbian B-movie trilogy.
+ Harley Quinn season four is coming to Max in July! Finally! Some good news!
+ Sherry Cola is unlearning scarcity and embracing abundance (and we are here for it)!
+ As Carmen mentioned in last week’s AAA: Some The L Word OGs came out to support the WGA Strike last week, including Ilene Chaiken and her sign declaring that corporate greed killed Jenny???
https://twitter.com/bishilarious/status/1672020087451312129?s=46
+ The Chi’s official season six teaser is here.
+ Married at First Sight Australia star Alyssa Barmonde confirms she’s bisexual.
+ TV and movie characters who were almost LGBTQ.
+ The women of color at Black Girl Nerds discuss their perspective on And Just Like That season two.
+ Hayley Kiyoko goes rogue for The Cut.
+ Whoopi Goldberg accidentally said food is more important than bitches on The View today, lol.
I had an enormous victory at the vet this morning, getting MAJOR CAUTION expunged from Quasar’s record! But that’s not even the biggest queer news of the day, which you’ll find right here in this Wednesday’s Pop Culture Fix!
+ Joe Biden and Dr. Jill Biden announced the USWNT World Cup roster this morning, with a little help from a whole lot of celebrities, including Megan Thee Stallion, Quinta Brunson, Issa Rae, Taylor Swift, Shaq, Breanna Stewart, Mia Hamm, Mariska Hargitay, and more! Natalie says Megan Thee Stallion shouting out Megan Thee Legend Rapinoe is a true *chef’s kiss*! The other gays on this year’s roster are Kelly O’Hara and Kristie Mewis.
𝐈𝐓’𝐒 𝐇𝐄𝐑𝐄!
We asked a few friends to help with this year’s World Cup roster announcement 🤩
Visit https://t.co/sLCJ8RhiOx for full details 🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/TckXmhgQyy
— U.S. Women's National Soccer Team (@USWNT) June 21, 2023
+ Outfest will honor Amandla Stenberg with the Platinum Maverick Award.
+ The movies that caused our queer awakenings.
+ This profile of Sara Ramirez at The Cut is, um, interesting. (Sara, call us! Carmen Phillips would be your favorite interviewer EVER.)
+ Aubrey Plaza was at the Sparks game last night!
Aubrey Plaza in the building for the @LASparks 🤩 pic.twitter.com/hDstQwVoIk
— WNBA (@WNBA) June 21, 2023
+ Alex Borstein on flashing into Susie’s magnificent future for The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel.
+ The stars of Fubar dish about on-set antics and lesbian action stars.
+ We Baby Bears did a special nonbinary bear Pride episode.
+ A timeline of surprisingly queer ‘Sex and the City’ episodes.
+ The official trailer for Brandi Carlile’s In the Canyon Haze? Don’t mind if I do!
https://youtu.be/GFYtpL5Lo_U