The best LGBTQ+ movies and TV shows coming to streaming in August 2023

It’s the Dog Days Of Summer… woof!

If you need an excuse to stay inside and beat the heat, don’t sweat it—we’ve got you covered: There are plenty of amazing new queer and queer-adjacent TV series, films, and specials dropping on streaming platforms throughout August.

Across the major streamers, this month will see the long-awaited return of one of TV’s most heartwarming queer love stories, a hilarious whodunit—back and gayer than ever—and all of RuPaul’s Drag Race Season 15 in its full, 90-minute-episode glory. Plus, streaming debuts of queer classics new and old, from the essential Celluloid Closet to septuagenarian romance Love Is Strange.

Whether you use Netflix, Prime Video, Max (formerly HBO Max), Hulu, Paramount+, Peacock, Tubi—or some combo of the those—Queerty has your can’t-miss recommendations for each.

So, get those watch lists ready; it’s going to be a very gay August.

Jump to your streaming platform of choice:

Netflix • Prime Video • Max • Hulu • Paramount+ • Peacock • Tubi

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What’s new and gay on Netflix in August 2023

Spotlight: Heartstopper, Season 2 (August 3)

At long last: Heartstopper is back! We’ve only been waiting, oh… 465 days (yes we immediately binged season one in a single day when it was released on April 22, 2022). Since then, the sweet story of young love has become a global phenomenon, making stars out of Kit Connor, Joe Locke, Yasmin Finney, and creator Alice Oseman alike. But it looks like the series is primed to pick up right where it left off—and that’s a great thing—as Nick Nelson and Charlie Spring navigate their newly official relationship, family drama, and a trip to Paris.

Also Don’t Miss:

• Ugly Betty, Seasons 1-4 (Aug. 1): Now that Barbie has reminded us how much we all love America Ferrera, it’s the perfect time to revisit her addictive (and very gay) comedy from the late ’00s.
• The Big Nailed It Baking Challenge (Aug. 4): The joyful Nailed It meets The Great British Bake-Off in this new competition series hosted by—who else?—our fave Nicole Byer.
• You Are So Not Invited To My Bat Mitzvah (Aug. 25): We adored nonbinary filmmaker Sammi Cohen’s queer high school rom-com Crush, so we’re eager to see this comedy starring Adam Sandler and Idina Menzel.
• One Piece (Aug. 31): The beloved manga series about a merry band of pirates (with its fair share of queer characters) finally gets a colorful, fantastical live-action adaptation.

Related:

What do all these new ‘Heartstopper’ images reveal about season 2?

The first official look at ‘Heartstopper’s’ second season has left us with a few big questions.

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Amazon Prime Video’s LGBTQ+ offerings in August 2023

Spotlight: Red, White & Royal Blue (August 11)

Based off Casey McQuiston’s best-selling romance novel, Red, White & Royal Blue is the long-awaited story of frenemies from very different worlds who slowly begin to realize they can’t keep their hands off each other! Oh, and they happen to be the First Son of the United States (Taylor Zakhar Perez) and a royal prince (Nicholas Galitzine). Directed by The Inheritance playwright Matthew López, the film shocked when it was given an R-rating; but is the love story actually scandalous and sexy, or did it just earn a stricter rating because it’s gay?

Also Don’t Miss:

• Amadeus, 1984 (Aug. 1): Out gay actor Tom Hulce stars as the (apparently very horny) composer in the Oscar-winning biopic.
• Hazlo Como Hombre, 2017 (Aug. 1): In this Mexican comedy, a long-time friend group is thrown into disarray when one of them comes out as gay.
• Bones And All, 2022 (Aug. 8): From Call Me By Your Name director Luca Guadagnino, this cannibal romance (yes, really) has been touted as an allegory for the queer coming-of-age experience.
• Of An Age, 2023 (Aug. 15): One of our favorite indies of the year, this is the story of an Australian teen who falls for his bestie’s older brother during an eventful road trip.

Related:

It took a gay man to play a horny straight man this well

Watch for the pink wig if nothing else.

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What’s gay on the way to Max in August 2023

Spotlight: Bargain Block, Season 3 (August 24)

Our favorite “homo-renovators” are back! Real-life couple Keith Bynum (the renovation expert and designer) and Evan Thomas (the builder and carpenter) help restore the iconic and history-filled neighborhoods of Detroit, Michigan, one house at a time. Look, many gays have long had a soft-spot for home makeover shows like Trading Spaces and the HGTV classic House Hunters, so between Bargain Block and Trixie Motel, we’re really living in a golden age of queer-led restoration and renovation series. And we’re here for it!

Also Don’t Miss:

• A Nightmare On Elm Street 2: Freddy’s Revenge, 1984 (Aug. 1): Essentially the movie when it comes to discussions around the “horror genre as queer metaphor” trope.
• Kill Your Darlings, 2013 (Aug. 1): Daniel Radcliffe sheds his Harry Potter robe to play gay poet Allen Ginsberg in this dark drama about a real-life murder that unsettled the beat generation.
• Love Is Strange, 2014 (Aug. 1): Ira Sachs’ Passages is about to hit theaters, so it’s the perfect time to check out his romance about an older gay couple played by John Lithgow and Alfred Molina.
• Rap Sh!t, Season 2 (Aug. 10): Issa Rae produced this comedy about a female rap duo on the rise in Miami, co-starring queer performer Aida Osman.

Related:

From Tom Of Finland to Gentleman Jack, here are 5 great LGBTQ+ biopics to stream this weekend

From Allen Ginsberg to Bessie Smith, these excellent films tell the stories of history-making queer icons.

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The best and queerest on Hulu this August 2023

Spotlight: Only Murders In The Building, Season 3 (August 8)

You know we can’t resist a good whodunit! The starry New York crime caper returns, with its bumbling central trio (Steven Martin, Martin Short, and Selena Gomez) putting their heads together to solve the murder of a big-time Broadway star. Co-created by Martin and out filmmaker John Hoffman (Looking, Grace & Frankie), the third season looks to be its gayest yet, with plenty of room for razzle-dazzle on The Great White Way, plus plum supporting turns for Meryl Thee Streep, the hunky Jesse Williams, and queer Broadway vet Wesley Taylor.

Also Don’t Miss:

• D.E.B.S., 2005 (Aug. 1): This queer action-comedy about an all-female squad of superspies-in-training is a proper millennial camp classic.
• Labyrinth, 1986 (Aug. 1): David Bowie as a powerful, codpiece-wearing warlock in a fantasy puppet musical—what’s not to love?
• Reservation Dogs, Season 3 (Aug. 2): The Peabody Award-winning comedy about a group of Indigenous friends growing up in rural Oklahoma returns for a final season.
• How To Blow Up A Pipeline (Aug. 24): Lukas Gage is among the stars of this queer-inclusive, nail-biting eco-thriller.

Related:

We investigate queer comedy with John Hoffman, creator of ‘Only Murders in the Building’

Also, about that time Hoffman shaped a generation of Disney kids as the Mad Hatter…

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All the gay stuff on the way to Paramount+ in August 2023

Spotlight: RuPaul’s Drag Race Season 15 – Extended Edition (August 9)

Sure, MTV’s The Real Friends Of WeHo wasn’t everyone’s cup of tea—and that’s fine! It would’ve been easy enough to ignore, expect that someone decided to program it immediately after Drag Race. Fans were certain it was the reason why the competition’s typical 90-minute episodes were suddenly only an hour, severely limiting our time with its biggest-ever cast. Well, now you can watch Season 15 in all its glory, with “full length” episodes available for the first time. And, besides, who doesn’t want one more visit to the Sasha Colby Meet & Greet?

Also Don’t Miss:

• Kinky Boots, 2006 (Aug. 1): Before it was a Tony-winning musical, it was a movie (based on a true story) about a failing small-town shoe factory and the drag queen who gave it a makeover.
• Thelma & Louise, 1991 (Aug. 1): Between Geena Davis and Susan Sarandon’s intimate friendship and Brad Pitt at peak hotness, this crime movie had something for all the baby gays.
• The Chi, Season 6 (Aug. 2): Lean Waithe created this ensemble series about Chicago’s Southside, returning this season with its first-ever principal gay characters.

Related:

Sasha Colby is officially your favorite ‘Drag Race’ winner’s favorite ‘Drag Race’ winner

In our final Chop Shop interview of the season, we catch up with Sasha Colby, the winning queen whose entrance made her competition ask, “Should we go home?”

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Peacock’s upcoming LGBTQ+ releases this August 2023

Spotlight: Chris Fleming: Hell (August 18)

One of the most singular voices working in comedy today, the hilarious Chris Fleming is finally getting his own special on Peacock, one that blends stand-up, character work, music, sketches, and some really creepy looking puppets (naturally!). Perhaps best known for his suburban mom character Gayle, Hell provides a showcase for all that Fleming has to offer—like a modern Pee-wee’s Playhouse, but darker and queerer. As he jokes in the trailer, “This [show] is not for people with wives—this is for theater people who don’t get cast!”

Also Don’t Miss:

• For A Good Time, Call… 2012 (Aug. 1): Two frenemies begin a phone sex hotline operation In this underrated comedy, co-starring Justin Long as their gay bestie.
• Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World, 2010 (Aug. 1): This wildly inventive action-comedy is a like a video game come to life, with a killer cast including Kieran Culkin as a wily and witty gay sidekick.
• FIFA Women’s World Cup (Ongoing): Peacock’s your streaming home for this year’s World Cup, so tune in to watch gay icon Megan Rapinoe play her final season before retirement.

Related:

PHOTO: Sports stars Megan Rapinoe and Sue Bird’s engagement post melts hearts

Some good news to start the week!

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Here’s what’s queer coming to Tubi in August 2023

Spotlight: The Celluloid Closet, 1995 (August 1)

Based on the work of trailblazing LGBTQ+ activist and writer Vito Russo, this documentary remains one of the most essential works about queer representation in media. From early stereotypes to the Hays Code era up through the ’90s, luminaries—including Harvey Fierstein and Gore Vidal—take a thoughtful look at the history of queer cinema, the good, the bad, and the damaging. Though we’ve come along way since its mid-’90s release, it’s still a crucial time capsule at a time when attitudes toward queer artists in Hollywood were finally shifting.

Also Don’t Miss:

• The Birdcage, 1996 (Aug. 1): Still among the highest grossing gay films ever, we adore this riotous family comedy and are always down for a re-watch.
• Welcome To The Dollhouse, 1996 (Aug. 1): This pitch-black coming-of-age comedy stars Heather Matarazzo as middle schooler Dawn Wiener, an anti-hero for outcasts and weirdos everywhere.
• Touch Of Pink, 2004 (Aug. 1): A young gay man has to pretend his boyfriend is his roommate when his conservative Muslim mother comes to visit. Oh, and did we mention his imaginary friend is the ghost of Cary Grant?

Related:

Mama’s Boys: 6 films that explore the unique bonds between mothers and their gay sons

The unique mother-and-gay-son dynamic has inspired a thematic subgenre of queer cinema that includes terjerkers, raunchy comedies, and more.