In celebration of Pride Month, we're re-watching some of our favorite LGBTQIA+ centered films and television shows that uplift and embrace the many facets of the diverse LGBTQIA+ community. Sure, we could just tell you to watch Showtime's The L Word and Queer As Folk (both shows that we're proud to call Sessions Family), and you absolutely should (along with both of their reboots, The L Word: Generation Q on Showtime and Queer as Folk on Peacock TV, also all Sessions Family!), but here are a couple of other wonderful #SessionsFamily shows and films that deserve a place in your viewing queue.
Netflix's latest hit just released this month and has already generated fan pages and enthusiastic tweets. Described as Buffy the Vampire Slayer meets Killing Eve, this fun, addictive lesbian vampire romance is based on a short story by series creator V.E. Schwab. The main storyline involving the star-crossed lovers played by Imani Lewis and Sarah Catherine Hook draws you in but the supporting cast of their respective vampire and vampire hunting families will keep those episodes on autoplay.
Based on the popular Broadway hit musical, The Prom film adaptation was released by Netflix in the thick of the pandemic and proved to be a salve during difficult times. With an all-star cast, including Meryl Streep, Kerry Washington, Nicole Kidman, and future Oscar winner Ariana DeBose, The Prom is "a sweet homage to all the young lesbians and gays finding the courage to live and love authentically" (as described by AfterEllen reviewer Claire Heuchan).
It took far too long for Gus Van Sant to make his biopic on pioneering, iconic civil rights activist and politician Harvey Milk. The end result from Focus Features showcases Harvey's life and distinctive attitude about love, acceptance, tolerance and equality. Taken from this world far too early by violence, Harvey Milk's legacy endures and his words and spirit are needed more than ever.
Showtime's semi-autobiographical series created by star Abby McEnany hilariously, and painfully, captures the life and longing of a 45-year old self-described "fat, queer dyke" who lives with depression and OCD. A new romance transforms Abby and propels her on her journey to be a better person. The critically-acclaimed series was cancelled after two seasons, but those two seasons brilliantly capture the struggles of identity and the pressures of constantly being othered.