Screening Room

‘Call Me By Your Name,’ and 12 other picks for the fabulous fall entertainment season

Summer may be coming to a close, but the good news is that the increasingly creative train of entertainment on TV, streaming devices and at the multiplex kicks into high gear with Awards bait and holiday blockbusters set to capture the hearts of Americans…including the queer kind.

To help you get the best of the increasingly vast array of LGBTQ-friendly shows, we’ve put together a partial list of the best of the best.

So get your calendar and set your DVR, and have a look at  must-see list of upcoming fall and winter entertainment.

1. SMILF

Queer icon Rosie O’Donnell produces and co-stars in this new Showtime sit-com, written by comedienne Frankie Shaw. In the series, Shaw plays a single, working mom trying to handle work, motherhood, dating…and her own mother (played by O’Donnell). Shaw’s own real-life beauty can be deceiving; she has a rich comic gift. Few women could get away with asking their OBGYN if her vagina is too stretched.

2. Pitch Perfect 3

The songstresses return, this time facing post-college adulting blues. When an offer arises to reunite the Bellas for a USO tour, the ladies jump at the chance. Actors Anna Kendrick, Rebel Wilson, Brittany Snow and Elizabeth Banks return, this time joined by comedy great John Michael Higgins and out-queer actress Ruby Rose to close out the Pitch Perfect trilogy.

3. Beach Rats

Did someone order shirtless boys? Beach Rats already caused a stir on the festival circuit this year for its gritty, often surreal, depiction of masculinity-obsessed guys living on the Jersey coast. When one begins to explore his queerness, institutionalized homophobia, the confines of gender roles, and deep self-loathing. Critics have already drawn parallels to Moonlight, last year’s indie that took home the top prize at the Academy Awards.

4. Call Me By Your Name

Oscar-nominated writer James Ivory takes on this queer coming-of-age tale from Andre Aciman’s acclaimed novel. Set in 1980s Italy, the story follows a passionate love affair between an American scholar and student. With Armie Hammer and Timothee Chalamet in the leads, Call Me By Your Name looks to earn the same level of acclaim as its literary precursor.

5. American Horror Story: Cult

Queer producer and guingol showman Ryan Murphy brings a new season of the sexually aware horror series to the air, this time with a story set against the election of Donald Trump. Plot details are under wraps, though this season boasts a high pedigree of queer actors, including Chaz Bono, Colton Hayes, Cheyenne Jackson and acting goddess Sarah Paulson.

6. Shameless

The acclaimed Showtime comedy returns for an eighth season as the grifting Gallagher family gets back to their usual antics. If we tell you the season finale is called “The Church of the Gay Jesus,” is that enough reason to watch?

7. Will & Grace

The classic queer sitcom gets the revival treatment, with the original cast—Deborah Messing, Eric McCormick, Sean Hayes and Megan Mullally stepping back into their iconic roles. The plots, of course, remain under tight wraps, though that NBC has extended the 10-episode run to a full 16 and ordered a second season, certainly shows promise.

8. Dynasty

The CW gives the iconic 80s camp series a full-on reboot, this time with former Melrose Place hunk Grant Show stepping into the role of Blake Carrington. Though the mother-of-all bitches Alexis Carrington (played by Joan Collins in the original series) has yet to make the cast roster, if the show follows the model of the original, watch for her to show up in the season finale.

9. Stranger Things

The Netflix horror saga continues with a new season set just a year after the original. As the boys mourn the loss of their friend Eleven and celebrate the return of their pal Will, stranger (excuse the pun) events begin to happen tying Will to the world of the Upside Down, and putting Eleven in a new level of danger. Expect plenty of horror homage and nostalgia amid the sci-fi thrills.

10. Transparent

Amazon’s groundbreaking series comes back for a fourth season, with lead actors Jeffery Tambor, Gabby Hoffman and Judith Light returning. The new season follows Maura and family on a trip to Israel…and takes on Donald Trump’s military ban of transgender soldiers.

11. Battle of the Sexes

America’s current sweetheart, Oscar winner Emma Stone, stars in this biopic of queer icon Billie Jean King. The film will follow King’s tennis rivalry with male rival Bobby Riggs, as well as King’s love affair with hairdresser Marilyn Barnett. Gunning for more Oscar gold, the film also features Oscar nominees Steve Carell and Elizabeth Shue, along with Andrea Riseborough, Alan Cumming and Sarah Silverman.

12. IT

Stephen King’s horror classic gets the cinematic reboot treatment, this time reset in the 1980s. As a group of kids take on the malevolent demon clown Pennywise, they must face their deepest fears and find streingth in one another. King’s original novel featured a good deal of queer content cut from the original ABC miniseries. Here’s hoping the new film retains it.

13 .Star Wars: The Last Jedi

We know you’ll probably see it anyway…though this upcoming film in the greatest cinematic series earns note for several reasons, including the return of Mark Hamill to the role of Luke Skywalker (this time in more than a mute, 30-second cameo). The film will also feature the final appareance of queer icon Carrie Fisher in the role of General Leia, and rumor is she gets in on the action this time for a great final send-off.

What did we leave out? Let us know in comments below…

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