Well, here we are steamrolling into July and it’s time to once again look around at each other and wonder, “what will be available to me to watch on the streaming networks that has lesbian, bisexual, queer and/or trans characters in it?” And this month once more we have a slim, spare slate by any metric. There’s not much for the straights this month either, is what I’m telling you. Instead we are supposed to, I think, just think really hard about The Olympics, which luckily will also be chock-full of queer characters.
Because this month is so light, it felt like a good time to experiment with a new format. Let me know what you think, or if you preferred the organized-by-streamer format!
ALSO did you know that all AF+ members get weekly TV and film newsletters from me and Drew? Well now you do and you should join.
New Gay TV and Films Streaming In July 2024
Sprint // Docuseries // July 2 – Netflix
This Netflix series “takes viewers on an exhilarating journey through the highs and lows of athletes’ lives” as they journey from the 2023 World Championships into the 2024 Paris Olympic Games. Amongst the followed runners is our deeply beloved queer Sha’Carri Richardson.
The Man With 1000 Kids // Docuseries // July 3 – Netflix
How did one man father over 1000 kids all over the world? This documentary investigates a “serial sperm donor,” a man who was eventually ordered by a Dutch court to stop donating sperm after doing so privately and through multiple Dutch fertility clinics, lying to everyone about how much he’d donated and his motivations. As lesbians are frequent users of donor sperm, you can imagine there are some in this documentary, including Australian lesbian couple Laura and Kate.
Down in the Valley // Docuseries Premiere // July 5 – Starz
Hosted by Nicco Annan, the actor who plays “Uncle Clifford” on P-Valley, this six-episode docuseries promises viewers a tour of the Deep South, where “Annan immerses himself in the people, sensuality, music, culture and stories of the South. From strip clubs to sex workshops, rap performances and ancient hoodoo rituals, Annan, as well as the audience, will experience it all.” (Starz decided to release the first two episodes for app users on June 28th, but it’ll debut on linear on July 5)
Love Lies Bleeding (2024) // July 9 – HBO Max
After a cinematic release and its debut on VOD, Love Lies Bleeding is making its streaming debut on Max, where now everybody with a Max subscription can enjoy this incredibly hot movie about female bodybuilders in the 1980s starring Kristen Stewart as Lou, a butch reclusive gym manager from a crime family situation who falls for Jackie (Katy O’Brian), an aspiring bodybuilder prepping to make her dreams come true in Vegas.
Melissa Etheridge: I’m Not Broken// July 9 – Paramount+
The legendary lesbian recording artist shares “an inspiring story of healing and transcendence through the power of music,” working with five female residents at a Kansas women’s prison to write an original song inspired by their letters. The docuseries promises to explore “themes of female incarceration, redemption, substance abuse, generational trauma, grief and healing.”
Sunny: Season One Premiere // July 10th – Apple TV+
Rashida Jones plays Suzie, an American woman living in Kyoto whose husband and child disappear in a mysterious plane crash in this production from A24. She’s given Sunny, a domestic robot made by her husband’s company, to comfort her in her grief, but Sunny seems a little sketchy to Suzie and and before long she’s looking deeper into something far more sinister. Musician Annie the Clumsy plays Mixxy, a lesbian mixologist who becomes friends with Suzie.
Monét’s Slumber Party // Season One Premiere // July 19 – Dropout TV
Our very own Carly Usdin edited this new variety series hosted by Monét X change that “brings together the worlds of Peewee’s Playhouse meets ‘The Graham Norton Show, meets drag, meets fantasy, meets laugher.” Guests will include Joel Kim Booster, Rachel Bloom and drag queens like Bob the Drag Queen and Jujubee.
Snowpiercer // Season 4 Premiere // July 16 – AMC
It’s difficult to get any concrete information (that I can understand as someone who has not seen this show) about the fourth and final season of this dystopian sci-fi series set in a supertrain circling an earth transformed into an uninhabitable frozen wasteland. Mickey Summer returns as Bess Till, a gay member of the train’s security force.
Those About To Die // Season One // July 18 – Peacock
This big-budget epic dram set in ancient Rome delves into “the corrupt world of the spectacle-driven gladiatorial competition… the dirty business of entertaining the masses, giving the mob what they want most…blood and sport.” Amongst the “ensemble of characters from all corners of the Roman Empire who collide at the explosive intersection of sports, politics, and dynasties” are some queer women (and not who you’d think from watching the trailer!).
The Decameron // Season One // July 25 – Netflix
Courtesy of Netflix © 2024
This “wine-soaked sex romp in the Italian countryside,” loosely inspired by the iconic short story collection of the same name, follows a cast of misfits evading the bubonic plague pandemic while evaluating their lives and their choices and also scheming and having sex. Saoirse-Monica Jackson (Derry Girls) is Misia, the very gay and very codependent servant of Zosia Mamet’s Pampenia. She is not the only queer character but I can’t tell you who the other one is you will have to watch and see!!!
Elite // Season 8 // July 26 – Netflix
It feels unlikely that the final season of this absolutely wild teen soap will make any attempt to introduce, develop or feature any queer female storylines after its very brief foray several lifetimes ago, but the boys continue to be very gay! Ander Puig returns as trans male character Nicolás “Nico” Fernández de Velasco Viveros.
All Gay Movies & TV Coming To Streaming In July 2024
July 1:
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2011) – Max
Girl, Interrupted (1999) – Max
Rough Night (2017) – Hulu
Tangerine (2015) – Hulu
Friends & Family Christmas (2023) – Peacock
Set It Off: Director’s Cut (1996) – Paramount+
July 3:
Chick Fight (2020) – Hulu
July 8
Jesus Camp (2006) – Hulu
July 9
Barb and Star Go to Vista Del Mar (2021) – Hulu
July 12
Fern Brady: Power & Chaos (2021) – Hulu
July 23
All American (Season 6) – Netflix
July 24
RuPaul’s Drag Race (Season 16) – Paramount+
I do like the divide between new productions and old returnings, but I liked the by streamer as well; i think this has the edge for me, though! I like knowing what’s actually debuting vs what a streamer just now bought
thank you for this valuable feedback!
Those about to die on Peacock looks like it has some queer women characters. 1:29 in the trailer has a brief glimpse.
it has more than that actually, i learned! (and added)
I like your new style of listing, it’s similar to my own list, but it’s a pity that there wasn’t much to list :D
Last month, the number of new shows was also very low, but the good thing about Pride month was that at least Pride itself was a thirty-day show with interesting and heartwarming news, such as the news of the come-out of lovely actors like Jessica Madsen and Louisa Jacobson.
I thought that the services were going to make up for their lack of work this month!
By the way, it might be interesting for you to know that Netflix has more than 60 shows to show this month, but apparently only 5 shows are for queers, one of which is nonsense (The Man With 1000 Kids).
Of course, not completely, because those shows also have heterosexual characters, unlike other heterosexual shows that do not have queer characters.
Those homophobic and anti-woke people who object to the large number of queer works are really incomprehensible. It’s us queers who should be protesting the low number of characters and our shows, not you bigoted heterosexuals.
I prefer the previous format, organized by streaming service. For those of us who do not have access to every streaming service, it’s helpful to be able to skip to content that applies to us. But regardless I always appreciate this monthly feature!
i have been . . . eagerly (gnawing at the bit) waiting for the streaming release of Love Lies Bleeding. it is not on Max yet- is this date wrong???