June is Pride Month, the official month-long celebration of LGBTQ+ history across the world. From the 1969 Stonewall Riots to today’s continuing fight for LGBTQ+ visibility and rights, there’s always a lot to talk about this time of year. Here on Sling, to help start that dialog, we put together this list of the best LGBTQ+ programming, with everything from serious dramas to light-hearted comedies. And be sure to look for our Pride playlist under the "On Demand" tab in the Sling App this month.
Movies
Moonlight
This 2017 Oscar Best Picture winner is a slow burn, chronicling the coming of age of a queer black boy in Miami. Organized into three chapters of Chiron’s life, it’s both heartbreaking and heartwarming to watch as he grows up. Watch on SHOWTIME.
The Kids Are All Right
Julianne Moore and Annette Bening play a lesbian couple whose children become intrigued with who their sperm donor is. They find him (played by Mark Ruffalo) but it ends up complicating things in the couple’s own relationship. Rent for $3.99.
Disobedience
This 2017 movie is set in London, where Ronit (Rachel Weisz) returns for her father’s funeral. She reconnects with Esti, her old friend with whom she shares a romantic past. The flame quickly returns, which makes things messy with Esti’s husband. Watch on Starz.
Transgender Nation
This all-facts documentary focuses on transgender people and their continously pervasive fight for visibility, representation, and rights. Rent for $3.99.
Crazy Rich Asians
Rachel (Constance Wu) travels to Singapore with her boyfriend (Henry Golding) to meet his family, who’s not at all who she imagined them to be. One of his cousins, Oliver, is gay, and actor Nico Santos’s portrayal of him was huge for Asian queer representation. Watch on TNT.
Carol
Carol is adapted from The Price of Salt, a 1950s lesbian love story between a married woman and a younger woman still trying to find her footing. Starring Cate Blanchett and Rooney Mara, it was met with critical acclaim. Rent for $3.99.
4th Man Out
This lighthearted comedy is based on a mechanic and his decision to finally come out to his friends and family. It’s anyone’s guess if his straight-edge small town will accept him. Watch on FilmRise.
Boy Erased
After being outed to his religious family, Jared (Lucas Hedges) attends conversion therapy, where he must make a decision to go forward with the program or accept his true self. Rent for $3.99.
The Watermelon Woman
Paving the way for new queer cinema, The Watermelon Woman stars Cheryl Dune as a young black lesbian making a documentary. Dune also directs the film, who was the first out black lesbian at the time to do so. Watch on Epix.
The Danish Girl
Loosely based on the lives of two reali-life Danish painters, Lili and Gerda, The Danish Girl shows Lili’s transition and her life as a transgender pioneer. Rent for $3.99.
But I’m a Cheerleader
Natasha Lyonne stars in this 1999 lesbian classic about a popular cheerleader who’s sent to conversion camp by her strict, religious parents. It includes some laugh-out-loud comedy. Rent for $3.99.
Princesa Drama
A young transgender Brazilian woman wants to undergo sex-change surgery. She heads to Italy to earn money through sex work, but meets a man who abruptly changes her life. Watch on FilmRise.
The Matthew Shepard Story
This documentary tells the story of Matthew Shepard, a college student tragically murdered in 1998. His story sheds light on hate crimes and how we continue to fight for LGBTQ+ acceptance. Watch on FilmRise.
Portrait of a Lady on Fire
In this critically-acclaimed drama, Marianne is brought to the countryside of France to paint Heloise, a stubborn woman upset about her upcoming arranged marriage. As the two grow close, so does their romantic attraction for each other. Rent for $3.99.
The Perks of Being a Wallflower
Charlie is an anxious teen coming of age in suburban Pennsylvania. As he enters high school, he makes friends with seniors that take him under this wing, including Patrick, who’s gay and navigating his sexuality. Watch on SHOWTIME.
TV Series
Vida
Easily one of the most impressive series I’ve seen recently, Vida made huge strides for queer, Latinx representation. Two sisters reunite in Los Angeles after their mother’s death, and they learn there was more to their mother than previously thought. Watch on Starz.
Couples Therapy
This unscripted series focuses on couples therapy sessions and the complications of these couples’ relationships. It features both straight and gay couples, and is a real look into real people’s lives. Watch on SHOWTIME (available to everyone during the month of June).
The Fosters
This Freeform series aired for five seasons from 2013 to 2018. It centers on Stef and Lena, a lesbian couple raising five kids, all dealing with their own coming-of-age troubles. Watch on Freeform.
Pose
The 1970s underground ball movement in New York City was a wild time. Pose concentrates on the people of this era, including a dancer diagnosed with HIV confronting her mortality, and determined to leave an impact on LGBTQ+ youth. Watch on FX.
The L Word
Perhaps the first and foremost lesbian series, The L Word chronicles the often messy lives of a group of lesbian friends in Los Angeles. It’s the classic hot mess you can’t look away from. Watch on SHOWTIME.
Wynonna Earp
While many LGBTQ+ movies and series focus on LGBTQ+ storylines, Wynonna Earp is unique because it’s a super entertaining, supernatural series that just happens to feature LGBTQ+ characters. Watch on Syfy.
Killing Eve
Sandra Oh and Jodie Comer team up to play a spy and assassin, respectively, who slowly begin to realize their obsessions with one another might possibly be due to their attraction to each other. Watch on BBC America.
Pretty Little Liars
Debuting in 2010, Pretty Little Liars was pretty groundbreaking in the fact that it featured a lesbian main character in a popular teenage series in Emily. The series is based on the novel of the same name, a mystery thriller about four girls and their friend that suspiciously goes missing. Watch on Freeform.
Modern Family
Taking home the Emmy for Outstanding Comedy Series from 2010 to 2014, no show had quite as strong of a grip as Modern Family did on sitcom audiences. The series features Cam and Mitch, a gay couple navigating life and raising a child. Record upcoming episodes on E!
Pride
This six-part docuseries focuses on the history of the LGBTQ+ movement from the 1950s to today. Check out my full review here. Watch on FX.
