Out Now & Coming Soon
The Lake – Stream on Amazon Prime starting June 17
In The Lake, the first scripted Canadian Amazon Original series, Justin (Jordan Garvaris) returns from living abroad after a breakup with his long-term partner, in the hope of reconnecting with the biological daughter that he gave up for adoption in his teens. The first two episodes were recently screened at the 2022 Inside Out Film Festival.
The Umbrella Academy – Stream Seasons 1-2 on Netflix, Season 3 coming June 22
This acclaimed series based on the graphic novels by My Chemical Romance frontman Gerard Way focuses on a group of superpowered adoptive siblings coming to terms with themselves and their dysfunctional family. Season 3 will include a storyline focusing on actor Elliot Page’s character Viktor Hargreeves coming out as transgender, to reflect Page’s own, real-life transition.
What We Do In The Shadows – Stream Season 1-3 on Disney+ / FX, Season 4 coming July 12
The hilarious escapades of a coven of roommate vampires who alternate between loving and hating each other, What We Do In The Shadows features a cast of characters who are “completely pansexual” according to Executive Producer, Co-Showrunner, and Writer Paul Simms, and often have relationships with men, women, vampires, and other creatures of the night.
Sort Of – Stream Season 1 on CBC Gem, Season 2 coming Fall 2022
This Peabody-nominated series created by Bilal Baig and Fab Filippo, Sort Of stars Baig as Sabi Mehboob, a non-binary millennial trying to balance their roles as a child of Pakistani immigrant parents, a bartender at a queer bookstore and café, and a nanny to the children of a professional couple. Sabi feels like they’re in transition in every aspect of their life, from gender to love to sexuality to family to career.
Be sure to listen to our podcast episode with Bilal and Fab about how they developed Sort Of, and read our interviews with Sort Of Production Designer Chris Crane and Location Manager Adam Cohen!
Star Trek: Discovery – Stream Season 4 on Paramount+ & Crave
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds – Stream Season 1 on Paramount+ & Crave
Star Trek at its core has always been about inclusivity, and Discovery and Strange New Worlds are no exception. Both series take an honest and inclusive look at queer relationships, including heartfelt romances between queer characters who span a variety of identities and orientations.
Read our interview with some of the DGC Ontario Members who worked on Star Trek: Strange New Worlds and what Star Trek means to them.
Chucky – Stream Season 1 on SyFy
The openly-gay creator of the Chucky franchise, Don Mancini, created this darkly funny television series as a way for queer kids to see themselves reflected onscreen. The show’s protagonist, 14-year old Jake (Zackary Arthur), is initially bullied about his sexuality, but gradually develops the confidence to share his first kiss with another boy. Read our interview with Chucky Director Samir Rehem on working with the legendary Don Mancini, putting his own stamp on an iconic character, and more.
The Kids In The Hall – Stream the Season 6 revival on Amazon Prime
The Kids In The Hall: Comedy Punks – Stream the documentary on Amazon Prime
Legendary Canadian sketch comedy troupe The Kids in the Hall have always been trailblazers when it comes to hilarious skits involving explorations of gender and sexuality, and member Scott Thompson is an 2SLGBTQ+ icon for his satirical queer character Buddy Cole. Read our interview with the Director of The Kids In The Hall: Comedy Punks Reg Harkema on tracing the story of this groundbreaking comedy crew, Scott Thompson’s legacy in the 2SLGBTQ+ community, and why tyranny hates laughter.
Station Eleven – Stream the limited series on Crave & HBO Max
Station Eleven, based on the novel by Emily St. John Mandel, tells the story of a devastating flu virus that decimates nearly all of humanity, and the survivors who pick up the pieces 20 years later. A story about hope and community in the face of disaster, Station Eleven focuses on survivors who often aren’t seen in post-apocalyptic scenarios: queer folks, people of colour, women, and other marginalized identities, and was nominated for a Peabody Award in 2022. Read our interview with three DGC Ontario Members instrumental to the production of this extraordinary miniseries: Directors Jeremy Podeswa and Helen Shaver, and 1st Assistant Director Andrew Shea.
Under The Christmas Tree – Watch on Lifetime
While most holiday romcoms often focus on straight, cis couples, in recent years they have begun to highlight more diverse relationships, and Under the Christmas Tree has the exciting distinction of being Lifetime’s first holiday film featuring a romance between two women. We interviewed the Director of the film (and DGC Ontario’s Directors Caucus Rep!), Lisa Rose Snow, about why representation matters, feel-good movies that reflect the world we live in on-screen, her favourite holiday films, and more.
Queens – Stream on CBC Gem
Queens is a comedy-mystery whodunnit following an eclectic cast of Toronto drag queens leading up to the night of the “Miss Church Street” pageant. This flamboyant and hilarious webseries was created by Justin Gray, a drag performer under the name Fisher Price, and directed by DGC Ontario’s Pat Mills. We interviewed Picture Editor Maureen Grant, who also worked with Pat Mills on his feature The Retreat (about a lesbian couple who fight back against a crew of serial killers), about her experience working on Queens.
Run the ‘Burbs – Stream Season 1 on CBC Gem, Season 2 coming Winter 2023
Created by comedian, writer and actor Andrew Phung and filmmaker Scott Townend, Run the ‘Burbs follows the Phams, a Vietnamese-South Asian-Canadian family taking a different approach to living life to the fullest in the burbs. Teen daughter Khia Pham (Zoriah Wong) is openly queer, with proud, supportive parents who encourage and give her life advice when she crushes on neighbourhood friend Mannix (Simone Miller). Read our interview with Run the ‘Burbs Director Joyce Wong about stories from the suburbs, representation, and directing comedic television.
Oldies But Goodies
Queer As Folk – Streaming on Crave
Celebrate the OG Canadian queer dramedy by streaming all of Queer As Folk on Crave, the groundbreaking series about a group of gay friends and their relationships, careers, loves and ambitions. After you’re done binge-watching, read our interview with Director Kari Skogland and Production Designer Ingrid Jurek on how influential Queer As Folk was on their careers and the Canadian television landscape.
Desert Hearts – Stream on Criterion or rent/buy from Apple
The story of straight-edge, buttoned-up literature professor Vivian, who travels to Reno to get a quickie divorce and falls in love with an attractive and unconventional girl named Cay (Patricia Charbonneau). This indie classic stars Helen Shaver as Vivian, who began her career as a prolific actress before becoming an acclaimed Director of television shows like Station Eleven, Maid, Vikings, Westworld, and more.
