31 top shows & movies to watch with Pride

If the political climate across the globe is giving you chills – spring is here as South Africa celebrates Pride Month. We’ve shaken up a delicious cocktail of local and international series, movies and documentaries to enjoy. None of those “there’s one queer character in it” scraps, we’re serving those gourmet LGBTQIA+ flavours. All the shows and movies on the menu are by and about queer people, with a Rotten Tomatoes rating of over 85% Fresh. And, okay, yes, we’ve slipped in a handful of off-menu items, but the taste is immaculate.

Bon appetit, and all the joy of Pride Month, Part Two, with 31 local and international series, documentaries, and movies to watch every day this October!

Quick-click links

1. Young, Gifted & Queer (Stream from Thursday, 9 October on Showmax)

2. A Nice Indian Boy

3. Jerrod Carmichael: Don’t Be Gay (Stream from Thursday, 9 October) 

4. Becoming Season 1-2

5. Somebody Somewhere Season 1-3

6. Gentleman Jack Season 1-2

7. Rafiki

8 Inxeba

9. Kanarie

10. Parallel Mothers

11. Hacks Season 1-4

12. The Last of Us Season 1-2

13. Die Tollie en Manila Show

14. Beaulah:Queens Van Die Kaap Season 1

15. Dreams of Gomorrah

16. Die Stropers

17. Mary & George Season 1

18. Yellowjackets Season 1-3

19. Youngins Season 1-3

20. Three Way Season 1

21. Problemista

22. We’re Here Season 1-4

23. Suited

24. Transhood

25. Jerrod Carmichael: Reality Show 

26. John Early: Now More than Ever 

27. Taylor Mac's 24-Decade History of Popular Music 

28. Tig Notaro: Drawn + Tig Notaro: Boyish Girl Interrupted

29. Striking with Pride

30. The Stroll

31. When I Knew

31 days of Pride, 2025!

1. Young, Gifted & Queer (Stream from Thursday, 9 October on Showmax)

RT rating: Unrated

The breakdown: This second documentary from Renaldo Schwarp, who was also behind the award-winning Skeef, centres on the Black queer voices leading Mzansi’s cultural revolution. Push one boundary, and you push them all! See the world differently, and you understand the heart of creativity.

Young, Gifted & Queer showcases the work and lives of three queer trailblazers: kwaai diva Umlilo, Andiswa Dlamini, founder of Other Village People, and rapper S’bo Gyre, featuring moments with queer struggle icons like Dr Bev Ditsie, LeloWhatsGood, Keval Harie, Sibs Matiyela and Lulu Obida. “As Black and queer people, we have this gift of just being cool, of knowing what’s hot, of knowing what’s gonna pop, and we’ve always done this,” explains Umlilo.

Representation: In nominating this documentary for the 2025 Award for Representation of LGBTQIA+: Non-Scripted Films, the Inclusive Lens committee noted, “Young, Gifted & Queer is recognised for its authentic and unapologetic portrayal of Black queer artists in South Africa. By centring real voices over performative allyship, the film highlights resilience, creativity, and cultural impact – offering a bold, honest narrative that advances meaningful representation and visibility for the LGBTQ+ community in African media.” 

2. A Nice Indian Boy (Stream from Friday, 3 October)

RT rating: 96%

The breakdown: Executive producer Mindy Kaling’s (The Sex Lives of College Girls) romcom obsession is put to good use in this hilarious movie about over-the-top families and weddings, adapted from the play of the same name by Madhuri Shekar. 

When Naveen (Karan Soni), a doctor, brings his white-orphan-photographer fiancé Jay (Jonathan Groff from gay hookup series Looking) home to meet his traditional Indian family and parents, Megha (Zarna Garg) and Archit (Harish Patel), mom and dad soon go from confusion to determination in the blink of an eye. Wedding preparations go full steam ahead once they realise that Jay’s late foster parents were an Indian couple, and that he is, in fact, the Nice Indian Boy that they dreamed of their Neveen falling in love with. Their only concern is actually that Naveen has been distancing himself from them, and they want to know why.

Representation: Out, gay and proudly Indian, this film is as much about embracing your culture as it is about sexuality. And it’s a window into how much joy there could be in a world where we can have both.

3. Jerrod Carmichael: Don’t Be Gay (Stream from Thursday, 9 October. First on Showmax) 

RT rating: New release, so unrated

The breakdown: Following his groundbreaking, sometimes shocking experiment with “radical honesty” in his series Jerrod Carmichael: Reality Show, standup comedian Jerrod returns with more observations about his life as a gay, Black man in America in this comedy special. 

Yes, there was fallout from the reality show, and Jerrod has a few funny stories to tell about his reaction to the online comments it received, and less funny stories about how his very public sexuality has affected his relationship with his religious mother. Jerrod mercilessly deconstructs his own internalised homophobia as he explores the roots of his infidelity and how his ingrained masking has corroded his partnership. And explains that he has lived his life so afraid of what would happen to him if the wrong people found out he’s gay, that he kind of “forgot” that he’s also Black!

Representation: The gloves are off and we’re getting the naked truth about how, no matter how much you might not want to make it your whole identity, being Black and gay comes with complex repercussions that impact how you move through the world and experience it … if you look for the humour in the horror.

4. Somebody Somewhere Season 1-3

RT rating: 100%

The breakdown: Actress, comedian and singer Bridget Everett breathes life into this HBO semi-autobiographical midlife crisis drama-comedy. Sam (Everett) is 40-something and lost after returning to her small-town Kansas home to help take care of her dying sister, Holly. Sam gets back a piece of the joy that she’s lost in her life when a new friend and co-worker, Joel (Jeff Hiller, who won the Best Supporting Actor, Comedy, Emmy for this role in 2025), reunites her with people who share Holly’s determined individualism and courage at “church choir practice night” – a front for a secret social club where the town’s queer community can laugh, socialise, dance, and be themselves without fear. Joel, a practising Christian gay man, is the event’s co-founder with Fred Rococo (real-life trans actor Murray Hill), the host of the space, who’s a dapper and delightful transgender man.  PS: if you love Fred, Season 2 places him front and centre in the countdown to his wedding.  

Representation: Trans men and devout queer Christians are unicorns in the media. But in this series, they’re not just relatable, but absolutely beloved and get to live happy, fulfilled lives with lots of friends and laughter. 

5: Gentleman Jack Season 1-2

RT rating: 90%

The breakdown: This historical romantic drama is based on the coded diaries of real-life Victorian-era landowner, lesbian and industrialist Anne Lister (Suranne Jones), and explores her courtship and relationship with Ann Walker (Sophie Rundle). 

Gentleman Jack’s treatment of their relationship covers everything from discreet and guarded flirtation in public, to non-exploitative, sensitive and tender sex scenes that build off the couple’s relationship without ducking entirely behind steamy metaphors. At the start of the series, Anne is a woman who adopts male-leaning versions of feminine dress for the time (hence Gentleman Jack), while Ann favours the full blown floral femininity of Victorian dress, and it’s interesting to see how they influence one another’s style choices across the series. 

Representation: Whew, talk about queer charisma! Lesbians Anne and Ann enjoy a romance for the ages thanks to the level of protection that their money and social status offers them at the time. PS: Anne’s wardrobe is pure goals for anyone with gender-queer swag. 

6. Rafiki

RT rating: 94%

The breakdown: Rafiki is the story of romance that grows between two young women, Kena (Samantha Mugatsia) and Ziki (Sheila Munyiva) amidst family and political pressures around LGBT rights in Kenya, where being gay is still illegal.

Kena’s dad John (Jimmy Gathu) is a local politician who’s campaigning for a local election when she meets and starts flirting with Ziki, the daughter of John’s political rival, Peter (Dennis Musyoka), who’s known for her colourful hair. When Ziki’s friends get jealous of how much time she’s spending with Kena, they attack Kena, and the town gossip raises an angry mob to have them arrested. The fallout splits the lovers, but raises some unexpected family support.
Representation: Winner of 16 international awards but still banned in Kenya, Rafiki catapulted director Wanuri Kahiu onto Time Magazine’s 100 Next list in 2019 and earned her Un Certain Regard and Queer Palm Awards nominations at Cannes, as well as a 2002 GLAAD Media Award nomination. 

7. Inxeba

RT rating: 90%

The breakdown: Inxeba tells the story of Xolani (Nakhane), a lonely factory worker, who joins the men of his community in the mountains of the Eastern Cape to initiate a group of Xhosa teenage boys into manhood. When a defiant initiate from the city uncovers his best-kept secret, Xolani’s entire existence begins to unravel. 

Lindah Majola told Showmax, “It came at a time when South Africans were very uncomfortable with addressing conversations about culture, homosexuality, coming into it, and really accepting yourself. What is also interesting is that the manhood that is being celebrated is very fluid. We have a queer man who is visibly a bit more feminine than his peers and he falls in love with an alpha male. I just love the fact that the film addresses topics that are uncomfortable. It also pushes the narrative of queer roles.”

Representation: Inxeba won the Grand Jury Award at LA Outfest, along with Best Actor for Nakhane at Palm Springs. I-D Magazine noted, “through the character of Xolani we are introduced to a world where homosexuality is still simply not an option.” 

8. Kanarie

RT rating: 100%

The breakdown: Two-time Comics’ Choice winner Schalk Bezuidenhout stars in Kanarie as a small-town boy during apartheid who is chosen to serve his compulsory two-year military training in the South African Defence Force choir, where he discovers his true self through hardship, camaraderie, first love, and the liberating freedom of music.

Representation: This one is for the Gs in LGBTQIA+. Indiewire named Kanarie one of the 14 Best LGBTQ International Films of 2018. Locally, Kanarie won the 2019 SAFTA for Best Script and five 2018 Silwerskermfees Awards, including Best Film and Best Director.

9. Parallel Mothers

RT rating: 96%

The breakdown: Spanish writer/director Pedro Almodóvar is fascinated by the relationships between women and the emotionally complex dynamics of motherhood and camaraderie as women raise children together. In the film Parallel Mothers he brings in one of his muses, Penélope Cruz, to tell a story of two mothers – chaotic, generous photographer Janis Martínez (Penélope, who won five major awards for the role) and teen gang rape victim Ana (Milena Smit) – who give birth together during the Covid pandemic lockdown. The two develop an intense relationship that straddles the line between friendship, sexual love, and a mother-daughter bond. 

Representation: Parallel Mothers won the GLAAD Media Award for Outstanding Limited Release Film. A little bit L and a lot Q, the film spends time on subtly exploring the nuances of Janis and Ana’s romantic and sexual feelings, while framing the kindness and tender connection between them as the truly sacred part of their relationship.

10. Hacks Season 1-4

RT rating: 99%

The breakdown: Hacks follows the sparky interplay between bisexual trainwreck and Gen Z comedy writer Ava (Hannah Einbinder, who won the 2025 Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series Emmy for the role), her “boss” – demanding ageing comedienne Deborah (Jean Smart, who has racked up four Outstanding Actress: Comedy Emmys for the role) – and Deborah’s retinue, including her manager Marcus (Carl Clemons-Hopkins) and PA Damien (Mark Indelicato). 

Representation: Hacks’ creators have stated that they wanted to reflect the full spectrum of gender and sexual identities and cultures that they worked with in LA but more than that, they wanted to show the world as they wanted it to be: filled with queer people just living their lives.

11. The Last of Us Season 1-2

RT rating: 93%

The breakdown: This multi-award-winning horror series about the end of the world is also one that clings to love and hope in all forms. Joel (Pedro Pascal) the smuggler escorts 14-year-old Ellie (non-binary performer Bella Ramsey) across an apocalyptic version of the United States in which society has collapsed thanks to a fungal outbreak that turns its human hosts into zombies. Season 1, episode 7 centres on Ellie’s backstory, including her playful love for her best friend Riley (Storm Reid) and their first kiss. Series fans have also fallen in love with gay couple Bill (Nick Offerman), a grumpy doomsday prepper, and Frank (Murray Barlett), an outgoing survivalist in Season 1, episode 3, who get a far bigger, kinder and more moving story than they did in the game on which the series is based.

Representation: This queer representation is critically acclaimed! Nick’s performance as Bill, and Storm’s performance as Riley, won them Independent Spirit Awards in 2024, while The Last of Us won the 2024 GLAAD Media Award for Outstanding new TV series.

12. Die Tollie en Manila Show

RT rating: Unrated

The breakdown: Manila von Teez is not just Tollie Parton’s co-host in this drag talk show, behind the scenes she’s the fairy godmother of drag. Manila is the head of wardrobe, the lead designer, the seamstress, and a whole lot more. It’s a job only a drag queen could do!

Before Tollie and Manila interview their guests – including prospective Johannesburg mayor and long-time Democratic Alliance politician Helen Zille, actor Frank Opperman, and musicians Craig Lucas, Jack Parow, and Loki Rothman – Manila has just 30 minutes to put them into quick-drag backstage. And then it’s lights on, jaw dropped, and time to get chatty.

Representation: Now it’s time for the straights to walk in queer people’s shoes! Tollie and Manila charm some unexpected discussions out of their guests, as the drag makeovers highlight how flexible our identity can be when we give ourselves a chance to peacock.

13. Beaulah:Queens Van Die Kaap Season 1

No RT rating, but 9.1 out of 10 stars on IMDb

The breakdown: This reality series steps inside the private and professional lives of some of the Western Cape’s most fabulous drag queens, who’re connected through performing at Cape Town’s Zer021 Social Club (located in Canterbury Street in District 6). 

Sometimes it’s buddy-buddy, and sometimes it’s clique vs clique as we meet Veon Wentzel (Manila von Teez) and his friends, Carl Richards (3Divas singer Kat Gilardi), and Wade Khoosal (Ina Propriette). We go inside talent management agency The Drag Cartel with proud trans woman Gillian Archer (Maxine Wilde) and her drag sisters, Fabian van Schalkwyk (Emogan Moore), and Brandon Samuels (BB Vahlour). And we meet the one who seems to have beef with everyone – trans glamour queen Madison Scarr.

Representation: Beaulah offers a frank, fearless and funny, for-us-by-us look at queer lives in South Africa, and how, despite massive financial challenges, artists use performance and humour to uplift and build communities and push back against bigotry. It’s also a warts-and-all glimpse inside the hard work it takes to be fabulous.

14. Dreams of Gomorrah

RT rating: Unrated

The breakdown: In this Zulu-language coming-of-age story, an aspiring young artist named Phiwo (Yola Plaatjie) travels from Nkandla to Durban, where her devoutly religious widowed father (Mfana Jones Hlope) is expecting her to marry a pastor, so that she can avoid her late mother’s path of sinfulness. 

When Phiwo gets stranded  in the city, without cash or contacts, instead of heading for the nearest church, she turns to a sex worker named Thandi (Annalisa Gxabu) for help. As it turns out, it’s an excellent choice, as Thandi takes Phiwo safely to her aunt’s house. And that’s not the end of the instant, intense connection that Phiwo feels to Thandi. Should she follow her heart, possibly at the expense of losing her family, or should she resign herself to a "normal" life with the perfectly nice seeming man who does nothing for her?

Representation: Lesbians unite! We get a full-on “Draw me like one of your French girls” scene between Thandi and Phiwo, and lyrically filmed scenes about beauty and connection. 

15. Die Stropers

RT rating: 92%

The breakdown: Fifteen-year-old Jannu's (Brent Vermeulen) life on the farm is disrupted when his family adopts a troubled teenager his age named Pieter (Alex van Dyk). Jannu has been his conservative Afrikaner family's picture-perfect, church-going, rugby-playing son his whole life, so at first he tries his best to make big city newcomer Pieter feel welcome, and to lead by example. But Pieter's issues are beyond Jannu's scope of understanding, and his outspoken contempt for Jannu's efforts soon has Jannu questioning his values, while it sheds an uncomfortable light on all the things about culture, masculinity and sexuality that Jannu has seldom given a passing thought.

Representation: Like Balbesit, Die Stropers is brave enough to lift the lid on South African masculinity with all its good points and pitfalls, including the violence and repression of preferences, including sexuality, that underpins power and privilege.

16. Mary & George Season 1

RT rating: 94%

The breakdown: South African filmmaker Oliver Hermanus (Living, Moffie, Skoonheid) directs the first three episodes of Emmy-nominated series Mary & George. Based on a scandalous true story outlined in Benjamin Woolley's book The King's Assassin, this historical drama stars Oscar winner Julianne Moore and Nicholas Galitzineas as Mary Villiers and her son, George, who schemed, seduced and killed to conquer the Court of 17th-Century England … via the bed of King James I (Tony Curran). Yes, that same King James who commissioned the King James version of the Bible.   

Representation: Queer and seducing a king? Get with your bad self, George Villiers! We tend to think of the past as being rigid about gender roles and sexuality, but as this story shows, a lot was happening out in the open because queer people have always existed. Being gay in the backstabbing royal court is really the least of George’s problems – he’s more worried when his older brother John (Tim Victor) is caught strangling dogs as he slowly goes insane. 

17. Yellowjackets Season 1-3

RT rating: 92%

The breakdown: Lesbianism, limerence, and sexual exploration meets cults and cannibalism as we head into the Canadian wilderness for the tale of a teenage girls’ soccer team going feral in the 19 months following a plane crash – and the impact on the survivors back home 25 years later.

While stranded, the survivors form a nature cult, driven by starvation, PTSD, madness, and a desperate desire to appease any force in the wilderness that could stand between them and death. Meanwhile audiences the world over are scouring every scene to explore the show’s mysteries like who came back alive and who got eaten? What happened to the Wilderness Baby? What does The Symbol mean? How did they get home? 

Representation: More questions crop up like, do you love her, do you want to be her? Do you want to eat her or kiss her? Wires get crossed, sexuality is fluid, and intimacy gets confusing sometimes. But you’ll have to pry Yellowjackets couple Taissa (Liv Hewson) and Van (Jasmin Savoy Brown) from our cold, dead hands … unless they eat us first.

18. Youngins Season 1-3

7.6 stars out of 10 on IMDb

The breakdown: Five Olifantsfontein High boarding school students – Amo Mosweu (Ayakha Ntunja), Buhle Kunene (Kealeboga Masango), Khaya Jali (Toka Matabane), Tumelo Dibakwane (Lebohang Lephatsoana), and Mahlatse Jiyane (Thabiso Ramotshela) – become friends as they scheme to take down their pervert principal, cover up an accidental murder, and just try to make it through Matric alive! 

Representation: We have a really thorough look at the experiences of Black queer youth in South Africa today, with gay, bisexual, and transgender students getting equal storyline time and treatment as straight couples on screen. Youngins doesn’t shy away from the uglier side of peers’ reactions to queer identity, the ingrained misogyny driving young men to mock any expression seen as feminine, and how much strength queer kids draw from the open-hearted love, support and acceptance of their friends. 

19. Three Way Season 1

The breakdown: This hot topic Moja Love reality series follows three people in one relationship as they experience parenthood, love and friendship. Lerato Nompumelelo Nkosi, who is a lesbian, is having a baby with bisexual couple Professor “Velvet” Bengu, who’s a singer, and Mandla Sithandwa Shongwe, who’ve been dating for three years. All three have agreed to raise the baby together, with the option of adding a second mom if Lerato falls in love. 

Three Way takes the cameras along as Lerato discusses her choices with her own mom, Mandla does some explaining with his own family, and he has even more explaining to do after Professor catches him cheating with a woman and kicks him out of their house, placing their co-parenting status in jeopardy. 

Representation: Bi erasure who? This trio is taking the idea of choosing your family seriously as they explore how some of the pitfalls of any relationship, like infidelity, have a different impact for people who’re taking a non-traditional route to parenting.

20. Becoming Season 1-2

RT rating: Unrated

The breakdown: High-profile LGBTQIA+ South Africans like Ramazan Ngobese, Gugu Kumalo, Yaya Mavundla, and the late Gina Sokoyi bring us into their lives and social circles to reveal what it’s really like being trans in South Africa in this reality series. 

In the second season, Becoming visits the House of Diamonds, headed by mother of the house Treyvone Moosa who reveals what it’s like being trans or non-binary, as they try to rebuild their relationships with their children, Seoketsi and Koyame. And the children of the House, including Caley, Lulu, Ayabonga, Nene, and De-Lovie, show us the day-to-day details of how being trans and queer impacts their lives, from doctors’ appointments, to dating, to their experiences with found family, and birth family.

Representation: Trans identity is not a monolith, and this series is a rare window into the enormous range of gender expression that falls under the T-umbrella in LGBTQIA+ rainbow. Becoming explores the internal and external barriers to being true to your identity, while letting trans people explain how gender dysphoria feels, and what it takes, financially, psychologically, and socially, to find a way of just existing that feels right and comfortable.

21. Problemista

RT rating: 86%

The breakdown: Fantasy comedy film. Alejandro (Julio Torres, Fantasmas and Los eSpookys), a struggling aspiring toy designer from El Salvador, starts working for Elizabeth (Tilda Swinton), a New York City art critic, art world outcast and nightmare boss, in exchange for visa sponsorship that will allow him to make his mark before the clock runs down on completing his rat run through the bureaucratic maze he’s facing to get a work visa. 

Representation: Alejandro’s toy designs have a rich vein of camp – especially the fashion doll who can cross her fingers behind her back for extra drama! The film’s writer-creator is gay, but more than that, he is Julio Torres. Tilda is Tilda and identifies as queer. 

22. We’re Here Season 1-4

RT rating: 100%

The breakdown: Emmy, Peabody, and GLAAD Media Award-winning reality series. Four drag queens from RuPaul’s Drag Race take a road trip through small town USA to meet isolated LGBTQIA+ people, and help them to build community through putting on a one-night-only drag show. The drag queens for Season 1-3 are Bob the Drag Queen, Shangela and Eureka O’Hara, while Jaida Essence Hall, Priyanka, Sasha Velour and Latrice Royale take over for Season 4. The series celebrates the open-minded acceptance and self-love at the heart of Pride. But it doesn’t gloss over the realities of standing up to the political movements that are provoking hate and fear to justify attacks on queer people.

Representation: A truly intersectional reality show, with nearly every colour of the Pride Flag flying high (sorry to our Ace friends, though), queer joy celebrated, and a focus on teaching what healthy family and community relationships can look like. 

23. Suited

RT rating: 100%

The breakdown: This HBO documentary film takes us behind the scenes at the Brooklyn tailoring company Bindle and Keep, which specialises in making gender non-conforming clients look and feel immaculate. The story begins with how co-founder Rae Tutera  persuaded tailor Daniel Friedman to take them on as an apprentice, and then as a business partner. We get to meet a handful of their clients who’re looking for a bespoke suit experience for a special occasion, and Suited shows how affirming it can be to wear something that fits you exquisitely, while projecting the physical image that you want it to – truly the height of the tailor’s art.

Representation: Whether you’re trans, non-binary, or in any way gender-queer with a preference for masculine presentation or well-fitted suiting, this will have you weighing up your options. 

24. Transhood

RT rating: 86%

The breakdown: Filmed over five years in the right-wing, religious conservative-dominated state of Kansas, movie-length HBO documentary Transhood follows four kids – Avery (aged 7), Jay (aged 18), Leena (aged 15) and Phoenix (aged 4) – as they grow up challenging their assigned gender identity in the United States. The film doesn’t hold back about the challenges the kids and their supportive families face, or about how their goals sometimes clash and shift along the winding path of establishing gender identity, social transition, and choices surrounding medical transition. But it does so with open-hearted, sympathetic neutrality and honesty.

Representation: Crosses the big T in LGBTQIA+ with love.

25. Jerrod Carmichael: Reality Show 

RT rating: 95%

The breakdown: This unique comedy-reality series centres on standup comedian Jerrod Carmichael’s attempts at “radical honesty” in his life with family, friends and potential partners. With a hint of tongue in cheek, Jerrod takes us along via camera as he confesses his crush to his long time friend Tyler the Creator and asks him to be Jerrod’s plus-one at the Emmy Awards. If you’re looking for therapy, come along as Jerrod discusses possible sex addiction at his latest appointment. And climb aboard for a road trip as Jerrod tries to explain to his conservative-leaning dad why “accepting” but silencing queer kids isn’t accepting them at all. 

Representation: Get ready for the realest, rawest, funniest deep dive into life as a queer, Black man from a conservative, religious family in the United States. There are so many points of connection for local LGBTQIA+ viewers, so it’s worth a watch, no matter which flag you fly.

26. John Early: Now More than Ever 

RT rating: 100%

The breakdown: Stand-up comedian John Early blends comedy sets, music mockumentary, and industrial strength cringe in this special that takes aim at how very weird the people in his generation can be in online safe spaces … and at the hideously untalented and ferociously self-promotional among us and their efforts to perform authenticity. Between performances we get production insights into John Early’s “musician” character and his cancel-courting abuses of power, contempt for his stage band The Lemon Squares, attention-seeking antics, and worse. 

Representation: If you’re looking for a “relatable” gay, white, male comedian, behold the final boss.

27. Taylor Mac's 24-Decade History of Popular Music 

RT rating: 100%

The breakdown: Actor, musician and cabaret artist Taylor Mac allowed HBO to film a performance of judy’s* 24-hour stage production, A 24-Decade History of Popular Music. The show uses 246 pieces of popular music to reframe American history through the eyes of marginalised communities and their efforts to push back and hold onto culture and joy. To do so, judy enlists judy’s audience to take opposing sides in history, even encouraging them to rebel against judy. Aside from the result being a magnetic performance, this feast for the eyeballs won an Emmy for Outstanding Costumes in 2024. 

Representation: Could not be queerer or more delightful! But get ready for that feeling when you’re singled out and picked apart by a drag queen or stand-up comedian. 

*Taylor’s pronoun of choice is “judy”.

28. Tig Notaro: Drawn and Tig Notaro: Boyish Girl Interrupted

RT rating: 100% each

The breakdown: Get ready for the world’s first-ever fully animated stand-up comedy special in Drawn! Tig’s slow, drawn-out stories get a whole new dimension as we’re taken everywhere from her blood-spattered dental surgery incident, to her (somehow also blood-drenched) proposal to her wife. While Drawn gave us Tig’s sillier, sweeter side, her hour-long stand-up comedy special Boyish Girl Interrupted celebrates a certain kind of awkwardness familiar to genderqueer and gender non-conforming people. In one segment, Tig takes us along for a gleeful moment with a baffled airport security guard following her cancer-related double mastectomy. “I was enjoying the awkwardness so much,” she insists. Watch now, and find out what it’s like to have your own boobs try to kill you!

Representation: The butch lesbian experience we’ve been yearning for!

29. Striking with Pride

7.2 out of 10 stars on IMDb

The breakdown: In the mid-80s when British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher threatened to plunge Welsh coal miners into poverty with the stroke of a pen, it wasn't just Britain's coal miners who stood by them. Help came from an unexpected source as London’s LGBTQIA+ activists dedicated their 1984-1985 Pride march to raising funds to support the striking coal miners. Now as filmmaker Ashley Francis-Roy spotlights the need for solidarity by going back to the original sources, Welsh drag queen Tayce (RuPaul’s Drag Race) tells the story of the strike – and how we find strength by uniting in common causes – to a new generation of children. 

Representation: Looking for truly intersectional activism? Striking With Pride highlights vital contributions that were largely ignored by the media at the time, including those by lesbians who raised funds, and the Welsh women who kept their families and neighbours afloat. 

30. The Stroll

RT rating: 95%

The breakdown: During the 1980s and 1990s in New York, there were few work opportunities and fewer support systems available to gender non-conforming people. Many Black and Latina transwomen fleeing abuse at home, or just looking for a way to reach for their dreams, wound up in the city’s Meatpacking District, in an area nicknamed The Stroll, where they became sex workers. Transwomen who survived hate, violence, intimidation and constant police harassment and exploitation now tell their stories alongside archive footage on New York. The documentary also highlights how activist Sylvia Rivera rallied the LGBTQIA+ community around the hate crime murder of Black transwoman Amanda Milan, who was stabbed to death in Times Square in 2000, and drove real political change. 

Representation: The Stroll flies the flag for Black trans people and all LGBTQIA+ people whose financial and social marginalisation make them an easy target for hate. It’s a reminder of how we’ve all benefitted from the colossal amount of work that Black transwomen have done, since Stonewall, to campaign for the rights of everyone in the alphabet soup. 

31. When I Knew

RT rating: Unrated

The breakdown: This 35-minute HBO documentary from back in 2008 asks a simple question with a complex and hugely variable answer. Inspired by Robert Trachtenberg’s 2005 book of the same name, filmmakers Fenton Bailey and Randy Barbato (The Eyes of Tammy Faye) asked 16 gay and lesbian people across the United States about the defining moment in which they recognised their own sexuality or gender identity. For many, in the brief snippets of their stories, this happened long before they came out. But for others, the realisation upended everything they thought they knew about themselves. 

Representation: Gay and lesbian people speak directly about their experiences – in the face of claims like “kids are too young to know”, and “surely you would have known before?”