Queer super spies, fantasy friends turned lovers, & more gay adult animation to stream this weekend

Welcome to your weekend streaming recommendations, a.k.a. the Weekend Watch, a handy guide to the queerest film and TV content that’s just a click away!

This weekend is San Diego Comic-Con, so you know what that means—hot muscle boys in He-Man cosplay! It also means a celebration of everything science fiction and fantasy. This week’s streaming recommendations are animated series with a queer angle, whether it’s a team of cosmic heroes with the hots for each other, sassy secret agents, or an expansive fantasy saga that happens to include all sorts of queer folks.

Read on for animated fantasy series with queer representation to stream this weekend.

Sailor Moon

This beloved anime had queer themes from the start. A team of adolescent girls discovers their cosmic, magical powers and the ability to transform into celestial heroes, all while dealing with the complexities of femininity, family, friendship, and first love. Later in the funny, fabulous saga by Naoko Takeuchi, two new girls join the team, Sailor Neptune and Sailor Uranus. The former is a demure, beautiful violinist, while her girlfriend is an unapologetically butch sports car enthusiast. Sailor Moon even explores the idea of gender identity in its final story arc with a trio of mysterious heroines whose civilian identities are male. Sailor Moon has several incarnations, including a series of manga books, an anime from the 1990s and a recent reboot series, but Queerty highly recommends the ’90s anime for its quirky writing, rich characterization, and beautiful message.

Now streaming on Hulu.

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Q-Force

A one-season wonder that asks “what if Saturday Morning Cartoons but gay,” Q-Force stars the voice talents of Sean Hayes as Steve Maryweather, aka Agent Mary, who leads a team of queer super spies. With tongue planted firmly in cheek, Q-Force also stars out-and-proud performers including Wanda Sykes, Matt Rogers, Patti Harrison, Dan Levy, and Niecy Nash. This satirical spy saga is rife with pop-culture references and innuendos that are definitely not kid-appropriate, but the hysterical writing and excellent voice acting make us sad this one didn’t get a second season.

Now streaming on Netflix.

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The Legend Of Vox Machina

Believe it or not, Dungeons & Dragons can get pretty gay. The tabletop role playing game is a hit with queer folks, who can imagine wielding swords and shields, fighting dragons and romancing whichever gender (or elf or orc or dragon) they please. The Legend Of Vox Machina is based on a campaign by the popular YouTube D&D series Critical Role—which features voice actors actually playing a D&D campaign—and includes fan fave queer characters like lovable half-elf Vax, who falls for the flamboyant and fabulous Gilmore, a shopkeeper. The Legend of Vox Machina adapts several campaigns from Critical Role and has had guest stars like David Tennant, Henry Winkler, and Cheech Marin.

Now streaming on Amazon Prime Video.

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She-Ra And The Princesses Of Power

The reboot of the beloved 1980s cartoon may not have had the beefcake and cheesecake sword-and-sorcery hotties we all grew up with, but Netflix’s She-Ra series was shockingly queer-inclusive. In this version of Etheria, there was no othering of queer characters—you could be gay, bi, pan, whatever. But the central conflict—former friends turned rivals Adora and Catra—was like fanfic come to life. By the end, it was clear Adora and Catra were meant to be, and fans who longed for that kind of inclusion in the older days of cartoons were GAGGED. Also, the show is fantastic and beautiful and poignant in every way. Go watch all five seasons now.

Now streaming on Netflix.

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The Kicker…

Animator Karina Farek created this lovely and heartwarming short animation Dirty Paws as a thesis project in college. Dirty Paws depicts a cute same-sex couple who are dealing with a rather…hairy situation on a full moon.