King Me

Now that we’ve shaken off our initial Pride anxiety, how about we celebrate our queerness with a big middle finger (in a fun, fabulous way, naturally) to the gender binary. Get ready for the first major drag king competition series from the free LGBTQ+ streaming service Revery. “King of Drag” is hosted by “Somebody Somewhere” star Murray Hill. They’ve lined up some great guest judges as well including “Somebody Somewhere” co-besties Bridget Everett and Jeff Hiller, “Yellowjackets” sapphic survivor Liv Hewson, comic Cameron Esposito, and director Paul Feig. I know? I’m going to have to figure out how to stream Revry now.

Wilderness at Heart 2

How have we not discussed this trailer yet? Though, am I the only one annoyed by the addition of Elijah Wood? Like, I get it, shows add people in new seasons. But did it have to be a famous dude? Now his hobbity face and placid eyes will be all up in my female wilderness trauma and it just annoys me. Granted, things didn’t work out so well for Adam last season. So, if that’s the plan I will withdraw my previous complaint. But, yeah, can’t we just focus on having a phenomenal female cast for once?

Anyway, I don’t really know what’s in store for this new season. I mean we’ve already had murder, mystical woodland rituals, bear death and human popsicles, with heavy hinting at cannibalism. Speaking of new males, the trailer seems to show us a beardy fellow who might meet an untimely demise. So if in the end the person they eat is some rando forest dude instead of one of their team, honestly, I’d be here for that energy. I’m also very much here for the trailer showing off their casting department’s skill. Like, look at this masterful casting, just LOOK!

But, as a lesbian…supporter, I’m mostly here for the reunion between Taissa and Van. We got the Adult Van we wanted in Lauren Ambrose, and if you aren’t excited to watch former high school lesbian sweethearts turned wilderness survivors/possible cannibals who reunite as adults politicians/possible nerd store owners, well, it’s like we never survived a plane crash in the Canadian Rockies together or something.

My Weekend (Casting) Crush

Look, I really enjoyed “Yellowjackets.” And, as I’ve mentioned, the pitch perfect teen/adult casting for the parallel timeline story is part of that appeal. Now, if you’ve watched (and you should watch) the full first season, you are left with new, tantalizing casting questions.

SPOILER ALERT: If you haven’t finished the season stop reading now. Now. NOW.

Right, so, who should play Lottie Matthews? The reigning Antler Queen appears to be the Big Bad, or at very least a present-day cult leader, of the series in the finale’s shocking reveal that her minions are out there (sporting the woodsy, witchy insignia that kept popping up). Showrunner have confirmed that Adult Lottie will make an appearance in the second season. So, it’s time, which Gen. X actress should play the grown-up Courtney Eaton? Who is the 40-something Antler Queen?

Obviously, I have some suggestions.

Shannyn Sossamon

Why her? The early 2000s rom-com star has the look and the range. Her turn on former favorite “Sleepy Hollow” shows she can pull off the spooky stuff too.

Fairuza Balk

Why her? Come on, it’s Fairuza Balk! I mean, if we’re talking witchy I’d say so one is better. And crazy, come on, can that woman play crazy.

Summer Glau

Why her? A dark horse candidate, but her action and sci-fi bonafides make her an interesting choice. I mean, she was River – obviously she can play damaged yet deadly.

While we’re doing dream casting, how about we get unhealthily obsessed with who is the perfect person to play Van. The show’s resident red-haired lesbian, played as a teen by Liv Hewson (who played gay before in “Let It Snow” and is themselves gay and non-binary). Again, I have some suggestions.

Lauren Ambrose

Why her? I mean, look at her. LOOK AT HER.

Merritt Wever

Why her? If you’ve seen Merritt in literally anything before, you know why.

Alicia Witt

Why her? She was literally playing a sarcastic red-haired teen during the exact era our Yellowjackets were wandering through the forest.

So, who should be our Lottie and Van? Discuss amongst yourselves. Happy weekend, all.

Sting Like a Yellowjacket

Yellowjackets Hive, rise, RISE! So, unless you’ve been living under a rock or your plane crashed deep in the Canadian Rockies, you’ve probably heard about Showtime’s new cult-hit series “Yellowjackets.” The story of a championship high school soccer team who crash lands and then survives 19 months alone together in the wilderness is riveting to say the least. Also, there’s probably cannibalism. Think “Lord of the Flies” meets “Alive” meets “Jawbreaker/Mean Girls.”

Told in two concurrent timelines, directly after the crash and then 25 years later, the series has some of the best young actor to adult actor casting I’ve seen in quite some time. The adult cast includes a who’s who of Gen X actress excellence: Melanie Lynskey as adult Shauna, Juliette Lewis as adult Natalie, and Christina freaking Ricci as adult Misty. And their junior counterparts (Sophie Nélisse as young Shauna, Sophie Thatcher as young Natalie and Sammi Hanratty as young Misty) are no less impressive.

If you’ve watched you know the central mystery (well, mysteries) revolve around what actually happened out there in the woods. The repercussions of their survival still reverberate 25 years later. And, again, we haven’t even really gotten to the whole eating each other stuff yet.

In a way the frantic kinetic energy of “Yellowjackets” made the perfect foil to the raw pastoral calmness of “Station Eleven.” While their stories are clearly very different, their storytelling about the ending of the world — or at least the world as they knew it — both fall along Right After and Long After timelines. Both flash us to the present, while showing us how we got there. And both revolve around central female characters finding new ways to live amid unimaginable trauma.

Also, in another pleasantly unexpected parallel, Shauna from “Yellowjackets” and Kristen “Station Eleven” are perhaps the very definition of end-game Knife Girls. Like, it’d be a real competition to watch them field dress, say, a rabbit. Or an ex-lover.

The way their storytelling diverge also perfectly complements each series. “Station Eleven” is a limited series that ran just 10 episodes that told a carefully bookended apocalyptic tale about the power of art and the connections we make around it. “Yellowjackets” is a 10-episode-per-season series that has already been renewed for its sophomore turn and left us with so many tantalizing unanswered questions. Both those formats feel right. While obviously I would watch more “Station Eleven,” the symmetry of its beginning, middle and end (even through shifting timelines) feels right. Final. Whereas I can’t wait for more Yellowjackets madness, and the insane possibilities in this story.

Snow Days

What if you took “Love Actually,” set it in small town America and then populated it with a diverse cast of teenagers? Well, the result would be the new Netflix film “Let it Snow.” Based on a young-adult novel anthology by authors Maureen Johnson, John Green, and Lauren Myracle and a screenplay “30 Rock” and “Pitch Perfect” alum Kay Cannon, the movie is a perfectly pleasant holiday rom-com for the rest of us. But what makes “Let it Snow” really special is it included a lesbian storyline, which was not included in the original book.

For those keeping score at home, that’s two well-written lesbian teen storylines Kay has now included in her most recent movies. (Side Note: If you haven’t seen “Blockers,” because it’s got a terrible name and the trailers made it seem like a dumb movie about parents trying to protect young women’s sexual purity, you are missing out.)

[Spoiler Alert: Stop reading if you don’t want to know a key plot point...I mean it. For reals.]

Now, I could quibble with the cluelessness which Dorrie (Liv Hewson a.k.a. The best thing about “The Santa Clarita Diet”) approaches her cheerleader maybe girlfriend. She sees her blowing her off around friends as her being “hot or cold,” not her obviously still being in the closet and freaking our about her friends finding out. It just seemed so, well, obvious. But then, I guess I am not a teenager looking for love, so I could possibly not be the target audience.

But other than that, it was a sweet little story made sweeter by recognizing queer girls need feel-good holiday romances just like the rest of us.