No matter if you’re celebrating annual Pride Month or generally seeking out more LGBTQ+ movies and TV shows, queer representation in television and cinema is a prime avenue toward greater cultural inclusivity of the LGBTQ+ community. Over the past few decades—but especially recently—a slew of excellent LGBTQ+ shows and movie titles have debuted both in theaters and on streaming platforms, making it easier than ever to access them.
Check out our latest list of the best LGBTQ+ movies and series where gay themes and pride shows up. Here’s the inclusive list that you can stream right now.
‘Bessie’ (2015)
With Queen Latifah starring as Bessie Smith, this film features queer, black womanhood through a musical lens. It depicts the talented blues singer and her rise to fame and legend status in the 1920s. Stream Bessie today.
Movie Details
Genre(s): Drama, Music, Biography, Docudrama
Length: 115 minutes
Rated: NR
‘The Birdcage’ (1996)
This remake of the outlandish French classic La Cage aux Folles tells the story of an engaged couple in Miami (Val Goldman and Barbara Keeley). When they introduce their to-be in-laws to one another, Val’s father, Armand—the gay owner of The Birdcage drag club played by Robin Williams—pretends to be heterosexual, concealing his relationship with his life partner. This is all in an attempt to please Barbara’s father, who is a conservative Republican senator. Watch The Birdcage now.
Movie Details
Genre: Comedy
Length: 119 minutes
Rated: R
But I’m a Cheerleader (1999)
A cult classic among LGBTQ+ movies, But I’m a Cheerleader is set at a gay conversion camp for teens and a dramatization of teens coming to terms with their sexualities. The protagonist, Megan (played by Natasha Lyonne), is on the surface an average American girl who excels in school and cheerleading. She even has an attractive boyfriend on the football team who is shocked to learn her parents are convinced she is gay, then send her to a boot camp intended to alter her sexual orientation. When Megan is there, she catches feelings for an unabashed teen lesbian and begins to work through feelings about her sexuality.
Movie Details
Genre(s): Drama, Romance, Comedy
Length: 81 minutes
Rated: R
‘Crazy Ex-Girlfriend’ (2015-2019)
In this lively and zany TV series, young lawyer Rebecca Bunch leaves her life and well-paying job at a law firm in New York to seek happiness in West Covina, CA. It just so happens that she landed a job in that specific locale—although, OK, it might also have something to do with the fact that her childhood love interest, Josh Chan, lives there as well. Follow along Rebecca Bunch’s schemes, friendships and love entanglements in this comedy series. Crazy Ex-Girlfriend is even packed with plenty of original musical numbers that are sure to crack you up, too.
Series Details
Genre(s): Comedy, Drama
Rated: TV-14
‘The Death and Life of Marsha P. Johnson’ (2017)
Directed by David France, another one of our recommended pride movies is The Death and Life of Marsha P. Johnson, in which Victoria Cruz investigates the mysterious death of a black gay rights activist and Stonewall veteran in 1992. The film features interviews from the archives with Johnson herself, along with new interviews with the victim’s friends, family and peer activists.
Movie Details
Genre: Documentary
Length: 105 minutes
Rated: TV-MA
‘Elite’ (2018– )
Elite is a highly-acclaimed drama featuring three working-class teenagers in Spain who attend an exclusive private school. Eventually, conflict between them and the wealthy students leads down a path to violence.
Series Details
Genre: Drama
Rated: TV-MA
‘Feel Good’ (2020–2021)
This TV series is a semi-autobiographical, LGBTQ+ romantic comedy. It follows a comedian, Mae, a recovering addict attempting to gain control over addictive tendencies and intense romanticism that overtakes her life.
Series Details
Genre(s): Comedy, Drama
Rated: TV-MA
‘Heartstopper’ (2022– )
A new pick among currently-streaming LGBTQ+ TV shows is Heartstopper, based on the graphic novel of the same name; both iterations are written by Alice Oseman. In this coming-of-age series, two teenagers navigating school and young love come to find that their unlikely friendship could be something more serious.
Series Details
Genre(s): Romantic comedy, Teen drama
Rated: TV-14
‘I Am Jonas’ (2018)
I Am Jonas is a narrative journey that continuously switches between the present and the past: back in 1995 when Jonas was a teenager, then nearly two decades later when he’s in his 30s seeking a sense of balance. This French, queer, coming-of-age movie depicts two different moments of Jonas’s life as they intertwine and mirror each other.
Movie Details
Genre(s): Drama, Romance
Length: 82 minutes
Rated: TV-MA
‘It’s A Sin’ (2021)
During the early years of the AIDS health crisis, young gay friends navigate their new lives in London in this TV series. Brought to us by the creators of Queer as Folk, this heartbreaking yet honest and accurate telling of the HIV and AIDS epidemic of the early 1980s demonstrates the reality of the toll the disease took on the entire LGBTQ+ community—and how society contributed to the shame and marginalization of queer people because of it. Watch It’s a Sin on HBO Max.
Series Details
Genre(s): Drama, Comedy, Mini-series
Rated: TV-MA
‘La Casa de las Flores’ (2018–2020)
This dark comedy-drama follows a dysfunctional family, who owns a successful floristry shop along with a struggling cabaret that are both called The House of Flowers. With several LGBTQ+ main characters, the television series shows an upper-class Mexican family clinging to their image of perfection after their secrets are exposed.
Series Details
Genre(s): Drama, Comedy
Rated: TV-MA
‘Moonlight’ (2016)
One of the most popular and best LGBTQ+ movies of the past decade, Moonlight follows the protagonist Chiron through three core chapters of his life. A young black man who grows up poor and gay in Miami, FL, Chiron is shown during vulnerable and powerful moments along the path to manhood—through love and loss alike. The film delves into themes of black queerness, toxic masculinity and more, all bolstered by consistently captivating character development. It even earned an Academy Award for Best Picture during the 2017 ceremony.
Movie Details
Genre(s): Drama, Romance
Length: 111 minutes
Rated: R
‘Portrait of a Lady on Fire’ (2019)
When a talented visual artist travels to a distant island to paint a young aristocrat’s wedding portrait, the women both feel undeniable romantic chemistry. Their love story is artistically symbolized throughout, playing out through the act of painting rather than overt acts of affection. Directed by Céline Sciamma, Portrait of a Lady on Fire is a mesmerizing and moving tale of forbidden love.
Movie Details
Genre(s): Drama, Romance, History
Length: 120 minutes
Rated: R
‘Pose’ (2018–2021)
A Ryan Murphy creation, this FX TV series Pose is set in late-‘80s and early-‘90s New York
story of ballroom culture as a subculture among Black and Latino LGBTQ+ communities. It also addresses themes of capitalism, the AIDS crisis and the gay and trans community within a network of chosen families that support one another.
Series Details
Genre: Drama
Rated: TV-MA
‘Sex Education’ (2019)
Featuring an ensemble cast of parents, students and staff of a local elementary school, this British television show follows the characters and their confrontations with sexual intimacy. Primarily, the storyline centers on a teenage boy, Otis, whose mom is a sex therapist (and whose best friend is gay). Teaming up with another classmate and close friend, Otis sets up an underground sex therapy clinic at the high school.
Series Details
Genre(s): Comedy, Teen drama
Rated: TV-MA
‘She-Ra and the Princesses of Power’ (2018–2020)
This animated TV show is a reboot of the Filmation series She-Ra: Princess of Power (1985), in which orphan Adora—who through magic transforms into the warrior She-Ra—leads a rebellion of princesses to free her land from evil invaders. With 52 episodes across five seasons, plus a slow-burn romance between two main characters, there is subtle LGBTQ+ representation throughout the animated series.
Series Details
Genre(s): Action, Adventure, Fantasy
Rated: TV-Y7
‘Special’ (2019–2021)
A touching story showing the intersection of LGBTQ+ and disability identity, this semi-autobiographical TV series revolves around a young gay man with mild cerebral palsy. Determined to achieve the life and identity he wishes to embody, Ryan navigates relationships, making friends and being self-sufficient.
Series Details
Genre: Comedy
Rated: TV-MA
‘Steven Universe’ (2013–2019)
In this animated TV series, intergalactic warriors band together to protect the planet. Yet with three being highly trained superheroes and one being a quirky young boy, the team must fight to overcome dangerous obstacles ahead of them. The show specifically succeeds at setting an example of equal representation for children, with admirable characters across the board barring their gender.
Series Details
Genre(s): Action, Adventure, Comedy, Drama
Rated: TV-PG
‘Tangerine’ (2015)
After being incarcerated and discovering her lover was unfaithful, a transgender sex worker seeks revenge on him alongside her best friend. The comedy-drama film has been critically acclaimed for its performances, cinematography and portrayal of transgender people. (Not to mention, Tangerine was shot solely with iPhone 5S smartphones!)
Movie Details
Genre(s): Comedy, Drama
Length: 88 minutes
Rated: R
‘We’re Here’ (2020– )
This American reality television show features past contestants from RuPaul’s Drag Race, including Eureka O’Hara, Bob the Drag Queen and Shangela Laquifa Wadley. In We’re Here, the drag queen trio travels across small-town America recruiting residents to join one-night-only drag shows. Encouraging others to come outside their comfort zones, the queens embark on a quest to show communities the joy and “human side” of drag.
Series Details
Genre: Reality TV
Rated: TV-MA
‘Yellowjackets’ (2022– )
A recently released TV series, Yellowjackets shows the aftermath of a talented high school girls soccer team that survives a plane crash within the wilderness of Ontario, Canada. It tracks the state of their morale—from a functional team to combative and cannibalistic enemies. The perspective transitions from their survival struggle as teenagers to their adulthoods, where the full truth about the experience unfolds years down the road.
Series Details
Genre(s): Drama, Horror, Mystery, Thriller
Rated: TV-MA
Stream new and classic LGBTQ+ movies and LGBTQ+ shows alike—all on DIRECTV STREAM or DIRECTV SATELLITE.
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