New FX Doc 'Pride' Captures Fight for LGBTQ+ Rights
Each episode of the 6-Part docuseries centers on a decade, starting in the 1950s and ending with where we stand today.
On Friday, May 14, FX will release the first three episodes of Pride, a six-part documentary series focused on LGBTQ+ rights in America. Each episode centers on a different decade, starting with early movement in the 1950s and ending in the 2000s and where we stand today.
The theme of each episode is as follows:
1950s: People Had Parties
1960s: Riots & Revolutions
1970s: The Vanguard of Struggle
1980s: Underground
1990s: The Culture Wars
2000s: Y2Gay
With each decade and its corresponding episode comes its own set of movements, challenges, and advancements the LGBTQ+ community faced and/or achieved. From the famous Stonewall Riots of 1969 to the ongoing, ever-present fight for transgender visibility, Pride takes us through numerous significant events, many of which are lesser known.
“We did not want to make a series that felt like homework,” executive producer Christine Vachon says in the official Pride: First Look trailer. “I wanted to see something that really took me some place I’d never been. What would make Pride really resonate was to feel that there were myriad points of view.”
Each episode features a different director, so we get a unique, refreshing perspective on their respective decade. Notable filmmakers include Tom Kalin (who directed the 1992 queer classic Swoon) who handles the first episode - People Had Parties - which focuses on the 1950s. Cheryl Dunye steps in for the 1970s episode: The Vanguard of Struggle. Dune is perhaps best known for directing the 1996 lesbian classic The Watermelon Woman.
Some of the more intriguing episodes come towards the end, as the series shifts from historical events of the past to today’s ongoing challenges. In the final episode, 2000s: Y2Gay, the series takes us through an important struggle. While many members of the LGBTQ+ community have gained acceptance, for other less-visible members—including transgender people and people of color—the fight is far from over. It’s a powerful ending and necessary reminder that there is always work to be done.
As for the series on the whole, Vachon has a vision for viewers. “I hope it’s a way of just kind of reintroducing to the LGBTQ community this notion of heroes and ancestors and family,” she says. The first three hour-long episodes will air tonight, May 14th, at 8pm, 9pm, and 10pm ET. The second batch airs next Friday, May 21, again at 8pm, 9pm and 10pm ET. If you miss them live, be sure to check them out on demand soon after.
Watch Pride on FX starting tonight, May 14th, at 8pm ET. To get FX, sign up for Sling Blue using the link below.