BY JOHN CARTER JR
They’re Queer, they’re here, and they’re ready to steer you toward new subscriptions. It is Pride Month and the LGBTQIA+ Communities across the country are celebrating not only the proud history of their people but also the ability to celebrate in full, proud fashion as the COVID-19 situation improves. Nonetheless, streaming has been a godsend for many homebound individuals during the pandemic and now in the month of Pride, there are some exciting developments for those who support and are in these communities.
It was recently confirmed that Loki from Marvel’s Thor and Avengers franchises will be genderfluid in the Marvel universe. This came to surprise fans, many of which were in celebration of the recognition. This news comes in advance of the release of the new streaming show featuring the titular character. This only leaves fans to speculate whether or not the MCU will receive more LGBTQIA+ representation.
Whether that being in the form of an Ice Man storyline, especially given Disney’s acquisition of FOX and therefore the X-Men. Or maybe even a storyline with the recently introduced William “Billy” Maximoff, a character known to be in an openly gay relationship with Hulkling in the comic. Only time will tell with Marvel’s Current Phase 4 plans seemingly being rewritten constantly during the pandemic.
Rupaul’s Drag Race All Stars 6’s cast was recently unveiled with fan favorites like Eureka O Hara, Ginger Ming, and A’keira C Davenport set to return to the main stage. Expected to have many slays, shades, and sashay aways, this season is looking to continue to ride the hype surrounding Drag Race. The season will be the first US season to exclusively be premiered on a streaming platform with it debuting on June 24th. The show only gets more and more popular with each season and if the response to Drag Race UK season 2 or All-Stars 5 the hype is only growing.
The series finale to Pose, the drama based on the lives of LGBTQ+ people of color in ballroom culture, just premiered on FX with a two-parter. The show has been running since 2018 and has since become a hit for Ryan Murphy and company. The news of the show ending however is not without any consolation as Murphy announced his flagship project American Horror Story would have a spin-off next month: American Horror Stories. In this series, every episode is a different story instead of every season. Murphy was also announced that it would have crossover elements to the main series.
In other more celebratory news, the Rugrats reboot recently launched on Paramount+. The series changes not only in terms of its new CGI medium but also in terms of character design and story. It was revealed that Betty DeVille, mother of main cast characters Phil and Lil is part of the LGBTQIA+ community. She is played by queer actress Natalie Morales, who recently played the lesbian romantic interest to Linda Cardellini in the Netflix Original Dead to Me Season 2.
This wasn’t the only time Nickelodeon has expanded upon one of their characters in such a way. In the 2019 Netflix original Rocko’s Modern Life: Static Cling Rachel Bighead was revealed to be Transgender. With Paramount+ leading the charge with LGBT content who knows what they will serve up next.
Happy Pride Month!