Category: Queer Up Entertainment

It’s time to go Down Under! The premiere date for the Australian version of RuPaul’s Drag Race has been announced, and it’s arriving so much sooner than we thought. According to World of Wonder, Down Under will sashay onto our screens on – drum roll please, May 1. It will be available in the United States and select territories on WOW Presents Plus, TVNZ on New Zealand and Stan in Australia. Down Under will be the third iteration in the franchise with RuPaul and Michelle Visage, after the US original and Drag Race UK. They will be joined on the panel by Australian comedian Rhys Nicholson. Like the original, the contestants will take part in weekly challenges and the bottom two queens will lip-sync for their lives to remain in the competition. Like Drag Race UK season one, Down Under will run for eight episodes.

The countdown to the end of one of television’s most iconic LGBTQ themes, the ballroom scene of the LGBTQ community has begun. The first trailer for the third (and final) season of Pose has arrived. Set in 1994, three years after the events of season two, the new season will focus on the characters as they reflect on their legacy in the ballroom scene, particularly Pray Tell (Billy Porter), who is struggling with HIV-related health issues. The trailer confirms that Angel (Indya Moore) and Lil Papi (Angel B. Curiel) are still going strong, while Blanca (Mj Rodriguez) attempts to balance life as a house mother – and nurse – in the middle of the AIDS epidemic. We also see the return of other beloved characters such as Elektra (Dominique Jackson), Lulu (Hailee Sahar), Ricky (Dyllon Burnside) and Judy (Sandra Bernhard). Earlier this year, series creator Ryan Murphy confirmed that the critically-acclaimed drama will end with its third season. Murphy said “Pose has been one of the creative highlights of my entire career. From the very beginning when Steven Canals and I sat down to hear his vision and ideas for the show, it has been a passion project. To go from the beginning of my career in the 90s when it was nearly impossible for an LGBTQ+ character on television to Pose, which will go down in history for having the largest LGBTQ cast of all time, is a truly full circle moment for me.” Although Pose’s story comes to an end in 1996, Murphy said “its impact will go on forever”. Canals also expressed his love for the series and described it as a “love letter to the underground NY ballroom community”. Since its 2018 premiere, Pose has received widespread critical acclaim, with nominations at the Golden Globes, Emmys and Critics Choice Awards.
In 2019, Porter made history when he won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series, becoming the first openly gay Black man to be nominated and win in a leading acting category. The third and final season of Pose will air 2 May on FX. So we show the first trailer of the last season of our beloved House of… POSE.

DC Comics‘ latest publicity stunt asks fans to choose which comics get published in the first place, but the social media campaign has also unwittingly sparked a conversation about queer representation among superheroes. Under the hashtag #DCRoundRobin, the publisher put together a March Madness-style bracket of comic book pitches, asking fans to pick their faves. The winner of the bracket will get made into a complete series. It’s certainly grabbing people’s attention, but not always for the right reasons. The bracket is full of well-known characters like Superman and Swamp Thing, with brief summaries for each pitch. In a series of Twitter polls, sixteen pitches will be narrowed down to one victor. This format quickly received backlash because it pits creators against each other in a popularity contest that can be easily gamed. The real controversy is centered around one specific face-off: JLQ vs Robins. Robins is a team-up between Batman’s sidekicks, a popular concept involving beloved, established characters. Meanwhile, JLQ is a story about eight unspecified queer heroes. So DC essentially set up a public poll where fans can vote for or against queer representation. This poll is now effectively a referendum on the existence of queer superheroes. Queer representation is a contentious issue in DC fandom and in pop culture at large, and hardly the kind of choice to leave up to an anonymous poll.

“I can think of at least four actors absolutely hiding their sexuality. it’s painful.” That is how Kate Winslet opened about the stigma surrounding LGBTQ+ actors in the industry while promoting her new film Ammonite. The Academy Award winner said “I cannot tell you the number of young actors I know – some well known, some starting out – who are terrified their sexuality will be revealed and that it will stand in the way of their being cast in straight roles.” Although the entertainment industry has slowly increased its LGBTQ+ representation, the same cannot be said regarding LGBTQ+ actors being cast in diverse roles. The Holiday actress also pointed out that the stigma applies mostly to male actors. She said “It’s bad news. Hollywood has to drop that dated crap of, ‘Can he play straight because, apparently, he’s gay?” Winslet’s recent interview comes at the same time as her recently released LGBTQ+ movie, Ammonite. The Francis Lee-directed film stars Winslet as famed fossil collector and paleontologist Mary Anning, who ends up starting a romantic relationship with Saoirse Ronan’s character Charlotte Murchison, a wealthy woman with dwindling health. Winslet said “There need to be more LGBTQ+ films so that we don’t feel the compulsion to compare the few that do exist, it’s totally mad.”

Last year saw an unprecedented number of major LGBTQ+ movIes in the holiday rom-com genre. And for those thinking that it was a one-time gig, it looks like we’ve got the first bit of news: Netflix seems to be the first out the gate with the announcement for this holiday season. Actors Michael Urie, Philemon Chambers, and Luke MacFarlane are set to star in Single All the Way, a new project from Tony Award-winning director Michael Mayer. In the film, Peter (Urie) gets his best friend Nick (Chambers) to go home with him for the holidays and pretend the pair are in a relationship. Peter’s mother sets him up on a blind date with her trainer James (MacFarlane), which presumably where the comedy kicks in. Muse Entertainment’s and Movie Producer Joe S. Rice said “What I love most about this hysterical, moving project is that it is simply a genuine holiday romantic comedy that explores friendship and love between gay men.” Both Urie and MacFarlane, who are known for projects like Ugly Betty and Brothers & Sisters respectively, are both out actors. Barry Bostwick, Jennifer Robertson, Jennifer Coolidge, and Kathy Najimy will fill supporting roles in Single All the Way. The project is expecting to debut later this year.

This week the important 2021 LGBTQ State of the union address was delivered at LOGO TV by our “Gay-in-chief” Billy Porter. With the “orange menace” ousted from the Oval Office, LGBTQ Americans are finally celebrating a new American landscape. The Emmy-winning actor and activist has returned for the third year in a row to deliver Logo’s rousing speech assessing the status of LGBTQ acceptance and equality in the United States. Needless to say, a lot has changed in the past year. Between the unprecedented COVID-19 pandemic and the nation’s new presidential administration, Porter had plenty of ground to cover. Porter said “In 2020, I told you our union remained far from broken, and our responsibility as citizens has never been more urgent,” the Pose star begins. “We survived a year of challenges that seemed insurmountable at times, and while we continue to face many of these adversities in 2021, I can confidently say that our union remains strong as we march toward greatness and inclusivity.” You can go to LOGO’s website to see the full speech. Hail to the chief.  Insert the correct pronoun here.

The cast of the hit show Glee will be reuniting at the 32nd Annual GLAAD Media Awards ceremony. They will be honoring their late fellow cast member Naya Rivera. The out actress was 33 when it was announced that she died in July. Her body was recovered from a lake after she had went missing, and her four-year old son, Josey, was found alone on a boat the two had ventured out on. Rivera played Santana Lopez, a lesbian cheerleader, on the hit television show from 2009 to 2015. Rivera was bisexual, casually coming out on The View in 2015 with little fanfare. Demi Lovato — who was a guest star that played Dani, the character that was a love interest of Lopez — will introduce the tribute. Cast members Jacob Artist, Chris Colfer, Darren Criss, Vanessa Lengies, Jane Lynch, Kevin McHale, Heather Morris, Matthew Morrison, Alex Newell, Amber Riley, Harry Shum Jr., Becca Tobin, and Jenna Ushkowitz are all confirmed to take part. Diana Argon and Lea Michele are among those notably not confirmed to participate. The 32nd Annual GLAAD Media Awards will air April 8 at 8:00 PM EST. Hosted by Niecy Nash, it will stream on YouTube followed by airing on Hulu at 10:00 PM EST and available for streaming for months later. Announced special guests at the show include out entertainers Matt Bomer, Katy Perry, Anthony Rapp, Jojo Siwa and Sam Smith, among others.

New rumours about a Drag Race US Live series sparked waves of backlash against toxicity within the fanbase and the franchise’s lack of inclusivity. It seems to be true. RuPaul works hard but the rumour mill works harder. Just this week Queer News Tonight reported extensively on an All Stars International cast. Now queer Twitter are once more reeling over a possible shakeup to the Drag Race US format which gives fans the power to pick a winner. The Holy T Twitter page Ruvealed a potential shakeup to the format that could change everything about Drag Race US. Their source claimed, “Producers are discussing the idea of having the contest run live over a 14 week period. Each week the contestants will compete in challenges, and on Friday night a live show will see the public vote for who they want to see going forward. The bottom two will then lip sync and Mam Ru will send a queen home.” It is hoped the new format will give more control to the fans and will think it is just the shakeup needed to keep the show fresh. It would also mean the winner will be announced live, eliminating the need for multiple endings to be filmed.