Music Monday: B.P.E. is a B.F.D.

I’m going to need to require everyone who comes here watches “Girls5Eva” on Peacock kind of immediately. The truly hilarious and zanily joyful satire of a 90s girl group attempting a comeback is as charming as it is ridiculous (in a very good way). Basically every show with major LGBTQ+ storylines has been eliminated in The Great Cancel Your Gays purge (RIP, “Queer As Folk” – you were just getting so weirdly good), so I am going to need your help to get “Girls5Eva” renewed again. The series has not yet been greenlit for a third season. Peacock has not had the greatest track record when it comes to finding audiences for its shows, but goodness does “Girls5Eva” deserve one. Like I dare “B.P.E” to not get stuck in your head (again, in a very good way). Happy Monday, kittens.

My Weekend Crush

Please, everyone, light a joyful candle for Kacy (our favorite fictional federal law enforcement duo of Lucy Tara and Kate Whistler). With the slew of queer shows that have been canceled recently (also light a memorial candle for the complex, messy “Queer As Folk” reboot, which became the latest Cancel Your Gays victim), Lucy and Kate are still holding strong on “NCIS: Hawai'i.” Did I expect one of my favorite, life-affirming wlw couples on TV right now to come from a standard-issue mainstream CBS crime procedural? No. Am I thrilled they’ve made their relationship the show’s most fun and minimally complicated relationship to date? Yes. Do I want nothing but “smiles and sunshine” for these two with easily solved “problems” like, “Oh, no I haven’t told my boss I’m dating a woman, but we all already know it’ll be fine.” Yes, very much yes.

Look, I like intense, complicated, unnerving lesbian drama as much as the next queer lady. But I also like to enjoy cupcake couples who offer needed representation and unadulterated joy for its queer followers. And, so far, the series has delivered in the second season, already giving us several glimpses of their domestic bliss, oversized breakfasts and many, many kisses. Bring the smoochies, bring them, show! Why do you think “Heartstopper” is so popular with The Youths? More joy, more smiles, more sunshine.

p.s. Yes, I realize most fictional representation of law enforcement adds to the inaccurate mythologization of police and largely amount to copaganda. I can know how deeply fucked up and flawed our criminal justice system is while still rooting for a fictional TV couple to smooch.

p.p.s. Oooh, if you’ve got a thing for brunettes you’re gonna LOVE the next episode because someone goes undercover with a new hair color per these new production stills.

A Real Tár & Lesbianing

Cate Blanchett as a tuxedo-wearing lesbian EGOT conductor going through a possibly career-defining mental breakdown? Yes, please — GIVE IT TO THE GAYS, YES. I really don’t know what to say other than, perhaps it’s time to find a new spot on the mantel for another shiny naked gold man, Cate. As if her status as a queer women’s icon isn’t cemented already, I expect “Tár” to add Special Preferred Platinum-Plus Lesbian Crush Object level status to her legacy. I can’t wait for this movie, to see Cate (and Portrait of a Lady on Fire’s Noémie Merlant!). But also this movie scares me a little because it seems intense and complicated and a little unnerving. Still, truly, who can’t get excited for INTENSE, COMPLICATED, UNNERVING LESBIAN FEELINGS STARRING CATE BLANCHETT IN A TUXEDO? That’s what I thought.

Nine Seasons in TiBette

Well, well, well, well. Here we are again. Will they. Won’t they. Will we. Won’t we. I honestly don’t have a metaphorical dog in this hunt anymore. Now, don’t get me wrong, I’m a long-term endgamer. I’ve basically been Team TiBette for the duration, but so much time and so much history and so much this, again has happened that honestly at this point I just want to see how it all ends. Period. So here, in the first clip of the third season of “The L Word: Generation Q” and of course this is what they release. Of course. So, thoughts? Will they? Won’t they? Should they? At least we don’t have to worry about Jenny Schecter anymore. But everything else? Yeah, here we are again. Get ready for the ninth season of TiBette, starting Nov. 18. Get those tight dresses ready, metaphorically.

Join Us At the End of the World

Does the prospect of possible future lesbian content warrant current excitement? Probably, if it’s the highly anticipated first trailer for “The Last of Us,” the new HBO post-apocalyptic series based on the hit video game series. Now, I know, I still have a hard time with major media based on amusement park rides and video games. But, as someone with a gamer wife, I do now appreciate that today’s video games have unmistakable storylines and real character progression, which gives them a definitive edge over the animatronics of a theme park ride.

Anyway. The new TLOU adaptation is already giving us some very The Walking Dead vibes, what with the end of the world caused by a humanity decimating infection (in this case, it’s a fungus that makes humans into murderous mushroom heads who are definitely not zombies). Pedro Pascal apparently can’t get enough of shepherding the universe’s underage charges across dangerous landscapes (hello, The Mandalorian) because he plays Joel, a smuggler who promises to take a teenage girl (Ellie, played by Bella Ramsey who we last saw as the little badass ever, Lady Lyanna Mormont). The original video game came out on Playstation in 2013, and was followed up by a successful sequel in 2020.

And that’s where the gay stuff comes into it. If you were on Tumblr anytime in 2020 you probably already know because of the endless sea of gifs, but in the sequel the story picks up by following a now more grown-up Ellie who is still fighting to survive in the post-apocalypse but now also happens to also have a girlfriend. And, as mentioned above, there were endless clips and videos and gifs of Ellie and her girlfriend Dina all over Tumblr. So the new series puts us in the unusual position of rooting for the sequel before we’ve ever seen the original. But any show that drops a surprise Melanie Lynskey on us has gotta be good and gay. Also, in case the Lynskey bona fides weren’t enough, the series also stars Anna Torv. Yes, here I am now officially rooting for a video game show to succeed. Come on, sequel, come on.

Music Monday: Another Fanny

Well, well, well. In light of recent Broadway developments/life imitating art, here is Naya Rivera’s Santana Lopez auditioning to be the understudy for Lea Michelle’s Rachel Berry in “Funny Girl” in its fictional Glee-world Broadway revival. With Lea taking over for Beanie and the whole debacle of this show and this summer marking the second anniversary of Naya’s death, this hits even harder. Thanks for the music and sharing your talent. We’ll never forget you. And, truly, you woulda made a great Fanny, kiddo. Happy Monday, kittens.

My Weekend (Baking) Crush

Goodness, do I need the warm hug this show represents. It’s the warm buttered bread of television. Always good, always nourishing, always sweet. After the two years we’ve all had, we need this pastoral world of warm bakes and good neighbors more than anything. I can’t wait to see what comes out of the ovens this year. Enjoy the warm bread, kittens. Happy weekend, all.

p.s. Describing Paul as the White Walker of baking is truly chef’s kiss, or in this case, baker’s kiss.

Gender Fuck Thursday: ALOTO Butches

Omg, have I not stopped talking about the new “A League of Their Own” yet? Of course not. I will NEVER. So when I say the butch representation in ALOTO goes a long way toward rectifying the egrigious lack of representation in most of our more mainstream queer entertainment, I am in no way kidding. Think “The L Word,” where Shane is the group’s resident butch — but really just its andro fuckboi.

But the way the show has shown a nuanced representation of butch and trans people during the era has truly been a revelation. These are legitimately butch-presenting and masculine presenting characters that showcase the beautiful diversity in our community. Roberta Colindrez’s Lupe, Kelly McCormack’s Jess and Melanie Field’s Jo DeLuca, plus Chanté Adams’s Max and Lea Robinson’s Uncle Bert are not only wonderful, but also important. (And Rosie, oh Rosie Rosie.)

Our community contains multitudes, and butch and trans representation is a big and beautiful part of that. So it’s about time we saw them in all of their glory. And it’s not just about putting them in pants or suits or cutting their hair. It’s an attitude. And you just love to see it. You really do.

Live, From New York, It’s Them!

Live, from New York, it’s SNL’s first nonbinary cast member! Nonbinary comic Molly Kearney was named one of four new cast members joining the show in the wake of last season’s exodus. (Oh, Kate, Kate — you were always too good for the show. But you were definitely the best thing about those 10 seasons, McKinnon. And you too, Ady.).

But, back to Molly or as they calls themselves on Instagram, meatbrickmolly. Besides being the first nonbinary cast member in the show’s 48 season history, Molly is also the first “A League of their Own” cast member to join SNL. Yes, as if things weren’t queer enough, Molly is a freaking Rockford Peach on the first season of ALOTO. And if those gay credentials weren’t enough, I think all signs point to them being fully ensconced on Team Rainbow.

Like this.

Or this.

Or that.

And definitely this.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Molly 🙋Kearney (@meatbrickmolly)

So, congrats Molly on joining the cast. May you be a worthy successor to the McKinnon legacy and break even more ground in the process.

p.s. Thanks for spotting my very unfortunate pronoun mistakes. Fixed with my sincere apologies. Sometimes you mess up.

Nothing Compares to the Truth

I don’t know a lot. But I know that Sinéad O’Connor was right. But, alas, Sinéad O’Connor was also first. And the first to cast a righteous stone all too often get stoned themselves for being right. Thirty years ago, when Sinéad tore up the picture of Pope John Paul II while on “Saturday Night Live” to protest the Catholic Church’s unfettered sexual abuse of children, she was right. But she then became perhaps the first modern celebrity to be “canceled” for expressing her truth. Back in 1992 she was pilloried, and worse, for stating what we all today know. The Catholic Church systematically covered up the sexual abuse of children by its priests and others for decades — if not much, much longer. I’ve always loved Sinéad. And while she has struggled with mental health issues over the years (and who wouldn’t after the public evisceration she had to endure), she remains a righteous voice rising above the din of naysayers. I hope this new documentary reminds a forgetful public that, all those years ago, Sinéad was right.

Music Monday: Chicks for Her

Hard to believe, but Sunday marked two years since Ruth Bader Ginsburg passed away. Her death rocked the American foundation, ushering in the ultra-conversative Right Wing Supreme Court and giving Republicans a way to make all their anti-democracy, anti-immigrant, anti-woman, anti-POC and anti-gay dreams to come true. None of that is hyperbole. RBG’s death had that big an impact. Indeed, it changed the course of history — and not for the better. That, that’s why we all cried. None of this is RBG’s fault; she fought as good a fight as anyone to make this a more free, more just and more equal country. But then, that’s the sad course of progress. One step forward, one (or more) steps back. Now it is up to us to continue that fight. To push back against Republicans and MAGA nutters who want to abolish a woman’s right to choose, ban trans people out of existence and block Black people from voting. May the next RBG stand up and continue her tradition of changing the world for the better. May the next generation have more rights, not fewer. More freedom, not less. More equality, not discrimination. Thanks for the reminder, The Chicks (and their daughters and nieces). Happy Monday, kittens.

My Weekend (SGALGG/GGALGG) Crush

While watching the Emmys on Monday I had the strangest sensations. Great winner after winner was named: Sheryl Lee Ralph, Quinta Brunson, Jennifer Coolidge, Lizzo, Jean Smart. Did I just experience JOY from an award show? Granted, the telecast ended up fizzling toward the end and then limped to the finish. And, of course, as with any award show, there was plenty of SGALGG. There were also plenty of GGALGG, as is now also always refreshingly the case. So please enjoy these moments of JOY and ladies enjoying being in the presence of other ladies. Though, if seeing newly minted Emmy winners Jean Smart and Sheryl Lee Ralph SGALGGing together doesn’t make you happy, what could? Happy weekend, all.

Jean Smart & Everyone

I mean, who wouldn’t want a chance to hold Jean’s hand, like Marvelous Mrs. Maisel’s Rachel Brosnahan and Yellowjacket’s Tawny Cypress.

Or Maisel’s Alex Borstein and Yellowjackets co-stars Christina Ricci and Melanie Lynskey. Christina appears to also want a handful, and who can blame her.

Jean Smart & Hannah Einbinder

But no one called DIBS as hard as her “Hacks” co-star Hannah Einbinder. They already dream kissed in the show, so real life truly cannot be a stretch. (Yes, I know I know, very May-December.)

Quinta Brunson & Hannah Waddingham

Can Hannah resurrect her Shame Nun from Game of Thrones to shame Jimmy Kimmel for his disrespectful stunt during Quinta’s acceptance speech? Because, yeah.

Zendaya & HoYeon Jung

The future looks bright for young Hollywood. Now how about a “Squid Game” and “Euphoria” cross-over? I mean, the characters are all desperate and destructive in their own ways.

Lizzo & Zendaya

Joy. That’s all, just joy.

Christina Ricci & Reese Witherspoon

Are Christina’s Misty from “Yellowjackets” and Reese’s Tracy Flick from “Election” kind of spiritual twins? I mean, at least in the striving department. Possibly not the (possible) cannibalism. Also, props to Tawny for rooting for some good femslash between these two.

Sarah Paulson & Holland Taylor

Truly, no award show is complete without our royal lesbian couple gracing the red carpet, now with a new pert alternative lifestyle haircut to boot. Also, there arrival marks our official transition into GGALGG land.

Hannah Einbinder & Her Afterparty Suit

Did I mention she changed into this after the awards? Because, yes.

And it encouraged her to perhaps cheat, respectfully, on Jean. Just a little. But then if The Bear’s Ayo Edebiri wanted a bear bug, you’d give one too.

Ariana DeBose & Everyone

Not to be out-gayed, Ariana indeed had a gay old time at the Emmys. Like schmoozing with Amanda Seyfried.

Or canoodling with Tracie Thoms and Rosario Dawson in a mini “Rent” movie reunion.

And how about this epic kibitzing with none other than RuPaul across the aisle.

Finally, there’s this. Possibly the gayest thing to happen at the Emmys. Ariana. Bowen Yang. Kate McKinnon. Like the only way it could have been gayer is if Sarah and Holland photobombed them. Oh well, goals for next year.

Good & Evil Times

Shoot. The first week back from a vacation always gets away from you somehow. But at least there are things like the new Netflix movie “The School for Good and Evil” to look forward to. Starring Kerry Washington and Charlize Theron as the aforementioned good and evil school head mistresses, respectively, the film looks a little like Harry Potter but with women at its center and more diversity. And more diversity in fantasy and science-fictions films is always welcome because the lack thereof is, clearly, a choice. It’s like all the right wing nutters who insist that elves and mermaids can’t be Black. My dudes, they are ELVES and MERMAIDS. To purposely not have people of all races, ethnicities, body types, you name it play IMAGINARY creatures is truly a failure of imagination. If the worlds we make up in our heads aren’t diverse and inclusive, then they’re not really all that worth imagining — now are they?

This Wednesday

I come back from my summer vacation and it’s already fall. At least it is fall in my heart. And this trailer certainly sets the vibe. Spooky setting. Iconic characters. Brienne of Tarth. Male genital mutilation. And snapping! While I wasn’t sure at first, the new trailer for Tim Burton’s “Wednesday” series looks wickedly fun. Great casting. Impeccable look. And I hear Christina Ricci will even show up in some secret roles. Now that’s a family I can welcome.