Here are some of the queer films and TV shows that you just have to see this year…
A new year is upon us, and what better way to celebrate than to take a look at the upcoming movies and television series audiences get to choose from in 2024! It seems that queer representation is making its way into awards season, with 2023 favorites All of Us Strangers, Maestro, and Rustin leading the pack. Now, with a brand new year, movie theaters and streaming platforms are looking to pack their schedules with another 12 months of fascinating stories from the 2SLGBTQI+ community. Here is a list of some titles to look out for in 2024.
Mean Girls
January 2024 starts strong with a new adaptation of the pop culture sensation Mean Girls. After Lindsay Lohan and Rachel McAdams took the box office by storm in 2004 by showcasing the ins and outs of high school social cliques, the forever fetch comedy made its way to the Broadway stage in musical form. Now, the musical adaptation of that Broadway show is opening in movie theaters with a semi-new cast, led by out artist Reneé Rapp as the ultimate bully, Regina George. Mean Girls costars Angourie Rice, Moana veteran Auli’i Cravalho, Christopher Briney, Busy Philipps, and original 2004 cast members Tim Meadows and Tina Fey, who also wrote the screenplay.
Mean Girls hits theaters on January 12.
Feud: Capote Vs. The Swans
Writer and producer Ryan Murphy seems to have plenty of television shows screening at all times on network and streaming platforms. 2024 will bring a new season of the Murphy-led anthology series, Feud, this time focusing on the personal lives of New York socialites as seen through the eyes of writer Truman Capote (Tom Hollander). The new season will costar A-list names like Naomi Watts, Diane Lane, Chloë Sevigny, Calista Flockhart, Molly Ringwald, Demi Moore, and the late Treat Williams. Many of the episodes are written by out screenwriter, Jon Robin Baitz, and directed by Academy Award nominee Gus Van Sant.
Feud: Capote vs. The Swans premieres January 31.
Drive-Away Dolls
Some of the most provocative films of the past few decades have come from the sibling directing team, the Coen Brothers. However, the duo recently decided to split up and make their own individual movies, which sparked the creation of Drive-Away Dolls. Directed by Ethan Coen and written by Coen and his wife, Tricia Cooke, the road trip comedy stars Margaret Qually as Jamie, a free-spirited lesbian dealing with a breakup. Jamie drives across the United States to Tallahassee, Florida, with her shy friend Marian (Geraldine Viswanathan), looking for adventure, and they find it in the form of a criminal enterprise. The movie costars Beanie Feldstein, Rustin heavyweight Colman Domingo, Pedro Pascal, Bill Camp, and Matt Damon.
Drive-Away Dolls will have a theatrical release on February 23.
Love Lies Bleeding
The famed Sundance Film Festival, taking place this year in Park City, Utah, tends to be the go-to event to premiere independent features that promise unique voices and up-and-coming filmmaking techniques. This year, the festival will debut a new romantic thriller, Love Lies Bleeding, produced and distributed by A24 and directed by Rose Glass (Saint Maud). The movie stars Kristen Stewart and Katy O’Brian as gym enthusiasts who strike up a romance built on ego and bodybuilding. The sexy drama includes performances by Jena Malone, Dave Franco, Anna Baryshnikov, and Ed Harris and shows Kristen Stewart in an outrageous role like never before.
Love Lies Bleeding premieres at the Sundance Film Festival in January before heading to movie theaters on March 8.
Girls5eva
Leave it to series creator Meredith Scardino (Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt) and executive producer Tina Fey to give new meaning to diverse friendships through song. Girls5eva first premiered in 2021, presenting the adult lives of a former 2000s girl group (Sara Bareilles, Busy Philipps, Renée Elise Goldsberry, Paula Pell) looking to shed their one-hit-wonder status. The third season of the series heads to Netflix this time around, and the new season will see Paula Pell’s divorced lesbian dentist character Gloria in a prime spotlight, right where the hysterical comedian belongs. As the latest iteration of the band looks to record more hits for their adoring fans, the core four women delight in adventures alongside series cameos from Andrew Rannells, Ashley Park, and Janine Brito.
Girls5eva Season 3 hits Netflix on March 14.
Challengers
Initially set to release in 2023, Challengers saw a significant delay in premiering to general audiences due to last year’s SAG-AFTRA strikes. Now that those strikes have been resolved, the film about former friends and lovers facing off in a professional tennis match will see bisexuality and sports play out in a seductively new way. Directed by out filmmaker Luca Guadagnino (Call Me by Your Name) and starring Zendaya, Josh O’Connor, and Mike Faist, Challengers is a sexy dramedy that should be on everyone’s must-see list.
Challengers arrives in theaters on April 26.
Wicked
It looks like Mean Girls isn’t the only Broadway to silver-screen adaptation to look out for in 2024. The smash hit Wicked is finally coming to theaters this year, giving cinematic depth to the origins of the Wicked Witch of the West first seen in The Wizard of Oz. In this new rendition of the famous tale, queer actor Cynthia Erivo lends her talent to the role of Elphaba alongside pop star Ariana Grande as Galinda. Fellow Travelers heartthrob Jonathan Bailey, Jeff Goldblum, Ethan Slater, out Saturday Night Live veteran Bowen Yang, Keala Settle, and Academy Award winner Michelle Yeoh round out the impressive ensemble cast. However, this installment is just Part One of two, as the second film will drop in 2025.
Wicked: Part One will hit theaters on November 27.
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