As the school bells ring on the street corner and leaves drift from the branches of trees onto the ground (or not, depending on where you live), we are served a fresh bounty of television programs and films with lesbian and bisexual characters, from networks that overpay their executives and underpay their actors and writers, such as Netflix, Hulu, Prime Video, Starz, Max and Paramount Plus With Showtime!. This piece was written during the 2023 WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes. Without the labor of the writers and actors who are currently on strike, these series would not be possible, and Autostraddle is grateful for the artists who do this work.
Netlix’s September 2023 Content For Girls, Gay and Theys
Disenchantment: Season 5 – September 1
In its final season, Queen Bean (voiced by queer actor Abbi Jacobson), her elf companion and her personal demon are competing in an epic battle for Dreamland, hoping to save the land from Queen Dagmar’s wicked rule. Wishing them all the best on their journey!
Happy Ending (2023) – September 1
This Dutch film finds Luna and Mink one year into their relationship and Mink unaware that his girlfriend has been faking orgasms this whole entire time. Luna’s friends, appalled by the revelation, propose an innovative solution: a threesome with climate activist Eve (Joy Delima) — but one evening with Eve throws Luna’s whole life upside-down. (ETA I’ve since scene this movie and spoiler alert in the footer1)
Top Boy: Season 5 – September 7
This gritty crime drama produced by noted rapper Drake is about drug gangs operating in the housing estates of East London and it features Jasmine Johnson as Jaq (a role for which she has been nominated for BAFTAs) and British model Adwoa Aboah is Becks, Jaq’s girlfriend.
Sex Education: Season 4 – September 21
Otis and friends have moved forward in life to Cavendish Six Form College, and in the trailer Otis is explaining his work as a sex therapist to a moderately occupied auditorium. Maeve walks by two girls kissing on the street but I don’t know if they will have any lines. Queer character Ola (Patricia Allison) and girlfriend Lily (Tanya Reynolds), aren’t returning, but non-binary character Cal (Dua Saleh) is indeed returning, bless us all! Our beloved Dan Levy is joining the cast to play a writer/professor.
Full seasons of queer-inclusive shows from other networks dropping on Netflix:
- S.W.A.T. (Season 6) – September 1
- Call the Midwife (Season 12) – September 4
- New Amsterdam (Season Five) – September 20
Prime Video’s August 2023 For The Queers
The Wheel of Time: Season 2 – September 1
This is what Prime Video has to say about Season Two: “threats new and very old seek out the young friends from the Two Rivers, now scattered over the world. The woman who found and guided them is now powerless to help, and so they must find other sources of strength. In each other, or themselves. In the Light … or the Dark.”
Wilderness: Season One – September 15
British couple Liv (Coleman) and Will (Jackson-Cohen) appear to have it all — a glamorous life in New York far away from their provincial home town, a widely envied marriage — but it all comes crashing down when Liv learns of Will’s affair with Cara (queer actor Ashley Benson). After coping with heartbreak, Liv moves on to revenge, and plans to execute it on a couples road trip to all the National Parks. Liv is sexually fluid and her best friend, Ash, is a lesbian. The vibes are very much “based on a bestselling thriller.”
Neighbours: A New Chapter (Freevee) – September 18
The long-running Australian soap, following the lives, loves, and challenges of the residents on Ramsay Street in a fictional Mebourne suburb, picks up with a reboot after its 2022 finale. New neighbors include lesbian couple Cara (Sara West) and Remi (Naomi Rukavina) and their two sons. Georgie Stone is returning as transgender woman Mackenzie Hargreaves, a character launched in 2019 after Georgie pitched it directly to the original show’s producer. Chloe Brennan (April Rose Pengilly), a bisexual character from the original series, is also returning, and her character’s girlfriend is returning in a guest capacity!
The Victoria’s Secret World Tour – September 25
So they’re re-booting the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show, historically a damaging cultural instrument, as a feature-length documentary film bringing together women creators from Bogotá, Lagos, London, and Tokyo for “a global fashion event, film, and celebration.” This group of creators is overflowing with queer people: queer Nigerian stylist and social media influencer Ashley Okoli, queer musician Wavy The Creator, trans Italian dancer & choreographer Piscis, trans artist & writer Ebun Sodipo and queer artist Phoebe Collings; as well as Eloghosa Osunde, the Nigerian author of the queer novel Vagabounds!
Gen V: Season One – September 29
Set within the world of The Boys, Gen V is set at prestigious superhero-only college Godolkin University of Crimefighting, where students train to become superheroes with big brand deals. As the students compete for popularity and good grades, it’s clear that super powers have a tendency to raise the stakes. Derek Luh and London Thor play “gender-shifting” character Jordan Li, and I am certain from vibes that there is another queer woman in this story.
Hulu’s LGBTQ+ TV and Film for September 2023
The Other Black Girl: Season One Premiere – September 13
Based on the psychological thriller bestselling novel by Zakiya Dalila, this series is the story of Hazel, an editorial assistant who’s relieved when Nella is hired at her all-white publishing firm — finally she’s not the only Black girl at the office. But something is immediately off with Nella, who’s nice to Hazel’s face, but seems to be undermining her work and her relationships, eventually uncovering a larger dark force lurking within Wagner Books. Hazel’s best friend, Malaika (Brittany Adebumola), is queer!
Special Forces: The Worlds Toughest Test (Fox) – September 25
Premiering on Fox on the 25th and landing on Hulu the next day, this reality competition with no prize at all invites willing adults to complete “the harshest most grueling challenges from the playbook of the actual Special Forces selection process.” Not loving the military tie-in here, but, this season takes place in brutally cold conditions in New Zealand and contestants include David Silver from Beverly Hills 90210, Tara Reid, and America’s lesbian sweetheart, JoJo Siwa.
Paramount+ / Showtime’s September 2023 Gay Shows
Star Trek: Lower Decks: Season 4 – September 7
Heather Hogan’s favorite Star Trek, the quirky comedic animated Star Trek: Lower Decks, is focused on the support crew of the USS Cerritos, one of Starfleet’s least important ships, in the year 2380. Tawny Newsome voices pansexual Ensign Beckett Mariner, as she and her crew attempt to keep up with life itself while being attacked by all manner of sci-fi anomalies.
Max’s Lesbian Shows of September 2023
Sam Jay: Salute Me or Shoot Me – September 23
Lesbian comic Sam Jay’s first HBO stand-up special, filmed at Brooklyn Steel, features the newly-engaged comic taking the stage for “a hilariously frank discussion on embracing our differences, the stresses of long-term relationships, and the power of empathy.”
Apple TV’s Lesbian September 2023 Fare
The Morning Show: Season 3 Premiere – September 15
After a sort of bad but also delightful season two that found Reese Witherspoon and Juliana Marguiles bumping boots, we come to Season Three in which we are all pleased to report that Juliana Marguiles is returning! In the trailer, UBA is the subject of a cyber-attack, and Karen Pittman is sighing in the shower, and Jennifer Aniston wants a seat at the table!!!! Also, Tig Notaro and John Hamm are joining the cast.
Starz’s September 2023 Lesbian Action
Power Book IV: Force: Season 2 Premiere – September 1
Well, it sounds like Tommy Egan is on a mission to avenge Liliana’s death and take over the Chicago drug world but with CBI split up, first Tommy and Diamond have to maintain their edge on Jenard as the factions feud in the streets. Lili Simmons plays Claudia Flynn, who is in fact a lesbian, and in the first season was working to get her new luxury drug onto the streets.
1 I have seen the film and I didn’t like the ending
While I’m not exactly sure what her character will be, I would argue that any role Roberta Colindrez plays by default feels queer. So I am keen to see the film “Cassandro,” which come to Prime Video on September 21. From IMDB: “Follows the true story of Cassandro, the ‘exotico’ character created by Saúl Armendáriz, gay amateur wrestler from El Paso who rose to international stardom.” Based on the trailer, it also includes Raúl Castillo (from VIDA) as Bernal’s lover.
So glad Neighbours is getting a shout out! I absolutely adore Mackenzie, and her storyline helped my mum understand trans 101 points in a way I hadn’t ever been able to explain.
A correction though – Chloe Brennan is bisexual, not a lesbian, and Elly Conway, who is queer and previously been Chloe’s love interest is also returning as a guest. (the first episode back is a wedding and the fan theory is that it’s #Chelly)
Also if you ever want a full in depth background on neighbours queer history/neighbours recaps I would love to write them. Although it’s an Australian soap, its a cultural icon in the UK and has been a huge part of my life and personal queer journey.
thank you for the correction and you should submit a pitch about neigbours!!!!
I really wish someone on the Autostraddle team would give Wheel of Time a chance. Or at least please try to stop presenting it as inaccessible to new viewers. Yes, it is an adaptation of an incredibly long and dense book series, but the showrunner has done a really remarkable job slowly world building. It’s a show that will reward multiple rewatches, but it doesn’t require them. I had no problem following what was going on in Season 1 without any familiarity with the books.
The showrunner is gay and the world is very much post-homophobia. One episode contains a masterful twist on the typical gay narratives we’ve endured in media forever. The main character (in season 1) is queer, and it doesn’t matter to the plot but it is still woven into who she is. There’s also just an absolutely stunning amount of racial and ethnic diversity among the cast. The characters are incredibly well developed and well acted (which makes sense given how much source material everyone has to work with).
It’s been renewed for Season 3, but obviously everything is so in flux right now. Racially diversifying the cast got a lot of flack from the … traditional fans of the books as have some of the plot changes. Getting more queer eyeballs on this delightful little show can only be a good thing! There is so much cool gay shit to come from the later books
I’m sorry, fantasy isn’t my specific area of expertise, but Heather covered it last year and I think is planning to do so this year as well!
Dear Riese,
An Australian show we lesbians need to watch.
‘While the men are off fighting in World War II, two Women’s Land Army recruits arrive in the country and undergo a course in race relations, rural politics, farming, spirituality, sexuality and personal growth.’
https://fero.tips/tv/14501-while-the-men-are-away