June, as Pride Month, is an excellent opportunity to shine a spotlight on the diverse queer entertainment that is still to come this year. Which films and series with lesbian, gay, trans and other queer characters are still coming in 2024? We have scoured the cinema and streaming landscape for you to 10 new starts on the topic of LGBTQ+ to introduce. Starts like All of Us Strangers and Slow were by no means everything.
10 series and films with an LGBTQ+ focus that will be released in 2024
1. Karl Lagerfeld starts the fashion rebellion on Disney+
Becoming Karl Lagerfeld – S01 Trailer (German) HD
Daniel Brühl transforms into Becoming Karl Lagerfeld in the famous German fashion designer “Kaiser Karl”. The miniseries not only traces the rise of the initially derided German in the Parisian fashion scene of the 1970s, but also focuses on his love affair with Jacques de Bascher.
2. Kristen Stewart shows in Love Lies Bleeding how love transcends itself
Love Lies Bleeding – Trailer (German subtitles) HD
Love Lies Bleeding is not only the name of a flower, but also that of an escalating romantic thriller that was already shown at the Berlinale and will be in cinemas this summer: In 1989, lesbian Lou (Kristen Stewart) falls in love with bisexual bodybuilder Jackie (Katy M. O’Brian), who has just arrived in the small town, in her fitness center. But a criminal father, a violent brother-in-law and bodies pushed to their limits repeatedly put obstacles in the way of their relationship.
3. The Umbrella Academy’s queer sibling clan says goodbye to Netflix
The Umbrella Academy – S04 Teaser Trailer (English) HD
A Netflix series that seems to cover all shades of gender identities and sexuality with its dysfunctional and lovable superhero family is The Umbrella AcademyWhether gay, trans or with tentacles: The Hargreeves siblings around Viktor (Elliot Page), Klaus (Robert Sheehan) and Co. master every apocalypse together – even if it means saying goodbye in the upcoming 4th season.
4. The best queer feel-good entertainment will be on Netflix in 2024 with Heartstopper Season 3
Heartstopper – S03 Announcement (German subtitles) HD
The calmly beautiful British boy-meets-boy love story of Heartstopperwhich comic book author Alice Oseman herself directs, has been a hit on Netflix since 2022. This fall, it returns for its third season. In addition to the main couple Nick (Kit Connor) and Charlie (Joe Locke), the colorful circle of friends includes the trans girl Elle, the asexual Isaac and the lesbian power couple Darcy and Tara. Rarely have LGBTQ+ characters been portrayed as comfortably as here, even if the series does not avoid topics such as mental health.
5. First love between boys shows us young hearts
Salt dispenser
Young Hearts
14-year-old Elias makes friends in the Dutch-Belgian film Young hearts with his neighbor Alexander, who is the same age, and quickly realizes that he is falling in love for the first time. But the reactions of those around him raise questions and the teenager tries to understand the chaos of his feelings. Only Berlinale visitors know whether the drama will take a similar direction to Close. Everyone else can find out soon in the cinema.
6. The documentary Baldiga travels back in time to queer West Berlin
Salt dispenser
Baldiga: Unlocked heart
Of course, issues surrounding LGBTQ+ people cannot only be dealt with in feature films and series. The documentary Baldiga: Unlocked heart uses the life of photographer Jürgen Baldiga to shed light on the queer scene in Berlin in the 1980s and 1990s.
7. The Polish drama Woman from Freedom depicts gender dysphoria
Common Ground Pictures
Woman of Freedom – Woman of …
Aniela/Adam (Malgorzata Hajewska) fills the role of father and husband as well as possible in his Polish homeland. But in Woman of Freedom one’s own body increasingly becomes a source of discomfort because it does not reflect one’s true identity. The film follows the experience of gender incongruence (gender dysphoria) over 45 years.
8. New rom-com with Jonathan Groff coming soon
Levantine Films
A Nice Indian Boy
Despite Love, Simon and Bros, romantic comedies with homosexual protagonists are still a rarity in the cinema. A Nice Indian Boy could follow up this year: Naveen (Karan Soni) introduces his fiancé Jay (Jonathan Groff) to his very traditional Indian family. A white and gay husband? Can they reconcile that with the biggest wedding of the season?
9. Cartel boss Emilia Perez undergoes gender reassignment surgery
Vixens
Selena Gomez in Emilia Perez
Emilia Perez is a crime comedy about an unusual offer that a lawyer in Mexico has to face: a feared cartel boss wants her help to leave the drug business behind and disappear forever – by undergoing surgery to become the woman he has always dreamed of. The female ensemble around Zoe Saldana, Selena Gomez and leading actress Karla Sofía Gascón was awarded the prize for best actress in Cannes 2024.
10. Horror and identity in the shimmering light of the screen
I Saw The TV Glow – Trailer (English) HD
I Saw the TV Glow was already convincing at Sundance and the Berlinale as a groundbreaking mindfuck à la Donnie Darko, somewhere between 90s nostalgia and horror nightmare. Owen (Justice Smith) befriends the lesbian Maddy (Brigette Lundy-Paine), who introduces him to the TV mystery series “The Pink Opaque”. This has consequences for the lives and identities of everyone involved.
Of course, all of this is just a small selection of the series and films with an LGBTQ+ focus that the year has to offer. In terms of series, 2024 should also bring us new seasons of the Netflix hit Elite, the fantasy of What We Do in the Shadows and the comedy The Sex Lives of College Girls. There will also be more films in cinemas and streaming. For now, however, these 10 representatives should whet your anticipation that the year will bring even more entertainment in all the colors of the rainbow.
*. If you make a purchase via these links or take out a subscription, we receive a commission. .