Need a boost to get over Hump Day? The Hot Sheet is Queerty’s midweek pop culture catch-up, highlighting the entertainment stories everyone’s talking about, the ones you might’ve missed, and the notable LGBTQ+ film & TV releases in the days ahead. Here’s everything you need to stay in-the-know:
What To Watch This Week
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- Cris Miro — Now Streaming (Max): This Argentinian biopic series tells the story of trailblazing trans artist Cris Miro who made history in the Buenos Aires theater scene in the ’90s.
- I Am: Celine Dion — Now Streaming (Amazon Prime Video): The legend, the voice, the story of her struggle to reclaim her power after a debilitating illness changed her life forever.
- Birder — Now Available (VOD): A handsome stranger makes his way to a nude queer campground, luring the locals into his darkly fetishistic trap in this erotic thriller.
- My Lady Jane — June 27 (Amazon Prime Video): A crackling, romantic rewriting of history that asks: What if the infamous Lady Jane Grey had survived her execution at 17?
- Fancy Dance — June 28 (AppleTV+): Oscar-nominated Lily Gladstone headlines this stirring Sundance drama about and Indigenous woman’s search for her missing sister.
- The Mole, Season 2 — June 28 (Netflix): The backstabbing continues in the return of this reality competition series, with LGBTQ+ contestants and a new host in gay journalist Ari Shapiro.
Culture Catch-Up
MONSTER MASH: Ahead of a no-doubt heart-wrenching Season 2 finale this weekend, AMC’s fang-bangin’ Interview With The Vampire has been renewed for a third season, teasing… a band of rock’n’roll vampires? Talk about death metal! [Variety]
KNOCKOUTS: Fierce queens from around the world are ready to fight for the crown in a new season of Canada’s Drag Race: Canada Vs. The World, featuring drag superstars from Canada (Lemon, Tynomi Banks, Miss Fiercalicious), the U.S. (Kennedy Davenport, Alexis Mateo, Eureka!), the U.K. (Cheryl, Le Fil), and France (La Kahena), all readyyyyy to ruuummmmble!
IMMATERIAL GIRL: The trailblazing trans musician and producer SOPHIE was taken from us way too soon, but her legacy lives on in a posthumous self-titled album this fall, assembled lovingly by family, friends, and her closest collaborators. [INTO]
HORNY CINEMA: Filmmaker and noted chatty queen Luca Guadagnino says his next film, Queer—starring Daniel Craig & Drew Starkey—is his most personal to date, with sex scenes that are “are numerous and quite scandalous.” Luca, you don’t have to keep selling us on this, we’re already seated! [Cinecittà]
JUST BE A QUEEN: Someone at HBO deserves a raise because they had the brilliant idea to pair up the iconic Sasha Velour with Lady Gaga for an interview in support of her Chromatica Ball concert film, in which mother monster says she’s been hard at work on “LG7.”
SHOWBIZ!: One of the hardest workers in the biz, the lovable Murray Hill is making the most of his spotlight with a plum role in Bridesmaids director Paul Feig’s new action-comedy, plans for his own star vehicle detective show, and a glowing profile in “the Grey Lady” [The New York Times]
STARS ARE JUST LIKE US: Heartstopper‘s Kit Connor has never been more relatable than when he admitted his phone’s camera roll is filled with shirtless photos of the hunky Charles Melton. Same! [Queerty]
STANDOUTS: Pride Month is nearly over, but you better believe we’ll be laughing all the way to 11:59pm on June 30 with this list of the best, boldest, and most brilliantly funny LGBTQ+ comedians in the game right now, from Wanda Sykes to Patti Harrison to Jaboukie Young-White. [LGBTQNation]
SHOES… MORE SHOES: Bridgerton babe Nicola Coughlan ad-libbed a pitch-perfect anthem for gay men in the key of Real Housewives, and now she’s releasing a dance floor-ready remix with proceeds going to LGBTQ+ nonprofits Not A Phase and Trevor Project. [INTO]
LISTEN UP: The unmissable, Queerties-nominated Surface Level Podcast has linked up with GLAAD for the incredible Voices: Stay Proud campaign, which spotlights independent Black & Brown LGBTQ+ podcasters and creators. If you haven’t already, add them to your listening queues, stat!
PUSHING THE ENVELOPE: The Oscars keep getting gayer and gayer, especially now that the Academy has invited a number of queer stars & filmmakers (and iconic allies) to join its ranks, including Lily Gladstone, Bottoms director Emma Seligman, Stephanie Beatriz, Catherine O’Hara, and more. [Variety]
WHAT’S UP, DOC?: Internet thirst-quencher Manu Ríos is reuniting with Elite‘s creator for Netflix’s sexy, soapy new Spanish-language medical drama Breathless—can somebody check our vitals? [Queerty]
INNER CIRCLE: Instagram’s “Close Friends Only” video podcasts series brings together two baddies who have the sapphics in a chokehold, Reneé Rapp & Rachel Sennott, and cuts them loose, sharing laughs—and secrets—as they give viewers a glimpse into their green “circle of trust.”
The Final Hump
It’s a quieter than usual summer for LA’s queer film community, which is usually gearing up for Outfest this time of year, the city’s long-running LGBTQ+ film festival. But, in its absence, other fests have swooped in to save the day, ensuring independent queer voices still have a place on the big screen.
Up first is the ongoing Dances With Films indie festival, now in its 27th year, which is hosting a day of LGBTQ+ programming in partnership with Outfest at Hollywood’s TCL Chinese Theater on Thursday, June 27. That includes includes a media diversity & inclusion panel, a documentary short programming block—featuring the timely short Is Gay Marriage Next?—and a group of narrative shorts, highlighting coming-of-age romance Scraps, dark comedic quest Starry Eyed, and more.
The day culminates in the world premiere of Regarding Us, starring Empire‘s Alexandra Grey, which tells the story of a trans woman who loses her teaching career in the Catholic school system, but winds up having a profound impact on two young students. You can watch the trailer below, and find more information/tickets for its Dances With Films premiere here.
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“Close” is currently free on Paramount+. It tells the story of 2 boys who are BFFs until they turn 13 and start classes at a new school. Their schoolmates start questioning them about the nature of their relationship and then everything changes.