The 14 Best Queer TV Shows of 2024
2024 was a mixed bag for Queer television.
We’ve lost several beloved Queer shows this year. Netflix’s nuanced teen drama Everything Now was cancelled, Pretty Little Liars: Summer School was abruptly slashed at Max, Freevee’s masterpiece High School expelled, and the fan-favorite Our Flag Means Death was tragically blown down. (I’m so sorry for those questionable puns.)
At a time when the TV landscape is looking increasingly bleak, it’s heartbreaking to see shows with characters of color and Queer characters consistently being the first to get axed. Even more troubling is the disproportionate cancellation of shows featuring Queer characters of color, Queer women, and trans and nonbinary people, removing the opportunity for intersectional representation on screen.
Nevertheless, Queer television persisted. Throughout the year, we saw authentic, joyful, and groundbreaking queer representations across genres, with queer creatives sharing their personal stories like never before.
The concept for this list was crafted by the amazing former Paste TV editor, Anna Govert (be sure to check out her newsletter here!). For a deeper look at how the Queer TV landscape has evolved, you can explore Paste’s 2022 and 2023 editions.
With that, here are 14 queer TV shows that helped shape and elevate the landscape this year.
14. Land of Women
Network: Apple TV+
Status: No renewal or cancellation announcement yet
Land of Women is twisty, easy to watch, fun, and lighthearted. The show features a trans lesbian lead character, Kate (played by Victoria Bazúa), with her transness playing an integral role in the overall narrative. It notably portrays her struggle to access hormones while living outside her home country, seamlessly weaving this authentic experience into the larger thriller dramedy. The series adds depth to Kate’s character while proving that intersectional Queer narratives can be essential to broader stories. With its light tone, Land of Women balances humor, thriller elements, and heartfelt moments, making it a perfect escape.
13. Pretty Little Liars: Summer School
Network: Max
Status: Cancelled
It’s a shame Pretty Little Liars: Summer School got cancelled just as the show became even more Queer. In this reboot, Noa’s bisexuality becomes central to the plot, adding a fresh layer to the drama. Silly and fun, Summer School was a teen drama that wisely didn’t take itself too seriously (take a shot every time they say “SpookySpaghetti”—it’s used so often, it stops sounding like real words). The show captures how Queerness can be seamlessly woven into genre television, embracing the lighthearted chaos and emotional yearning that often come with queer experiences.
12. Jerrod Carmichael Reality Show
Network: Max
Status: No renewal or cancellation announcement yet
There are many valid critical takes about this show. It’s undeniably uncomfortable to watch at times; Carmichael cheats on his boyfriend and makes troubling jokes about himself and others. He exposes the trauma surrounding the lack of acceptance from his family as a now-out gay man and painful childhood experiences. Throughout the eight-episode run, Carmichael challenges viewers to grapple with the ethics of revealing such raw, vulnerable moments of his life. The moments with his family are heartbreaking, sad, confusing, and complicated, offering a messy and authentic portrait of the journey toward reconciliation—or the lack of it. Reality Show isn’t concerned with whether his behavior is appropriate or morally justified, or even if it represents his “true” self. Instead, it forces us to consider what he hopes to convey by presenting an unfiltered, imperfect version of his reality. The show concludes with a much-needed moment of catharsis and connection, leaving little room to dispute the importance of its existence. I’m still not sure if I loved or hated it, but Reality Show often moved me, challenged me, and surprised me—and I think that’s what great storytelling does best.
11. Dead Hot
Network: Tubi
Status: No renewal or cancellation announcement yet
Dead Hot might just be the most chaotic TV show you’ve never seen—a queer mystery thriller that’s as slapstick and campy as it is thrilling, with plot twists that keep you on the edge of your seat. The show’s wild tone is anchored by the impressive comedic performances of Vivian Oparah and Bilal Hasna, who manage to navigate the absurdity while revealing deeper, more emotional layers tied to loss and grief. Their chemistry adds an unexpected depth, grounding the chaos with raw vulnerability. Dead Hot is an unpredictable ride, seamlessly blending humor, mystery, mess, and emotion in a truly unique way.
10. Heartstopper
Network: Netflix
Status: Renewed for Season 4
Heartstopper Season 3 had its ups and downs for me. Were cartoonish scribbles the best way to depict a character struggling with an eating disorder? Probably not. Is Isaac given very little screen time, reduced to aro-ace tropes of being frustrated at being left out? I’d argue yes. But Heartstopper is about love and acceptance, and as its characters grow and evolve, it sometimes feels tonally inconsistent, especially when they encounter serious struggles within the show’s infamous technicolor world of illustrated hearts. That said, instead of subjecting Queer youth (and all Queer people, really) to harmful portrayals of Queer struggle and suffering, Heartstopper offers a more radical vision, one where love, happiness, and joy take center stage. In a world where those moments can be all too rare, Heartstopper offers a welcome breath of fresh air.
9. The Boyfriend
Network: Netflix
Status: No renewal or cancellation announcement yet
Western reality TV is often defined by its messiness and drama, but The Boyfriend is a refreshing departure from that norm. This Japanese Queer dating show prioritizes community, trust, and relationship-building over conflict and sensationalism. Set in a country where same-sex marriage has yet to be legalized, the emotional depth of the series resonates even more strongly. The characters’ longing, yearning, and reflections on acceptance and love are made even more poignant by the political context. The Boyfriend is heartwarming, honest, earnest, and gentle, offering a new path for reality television that is sincere and touching rather than exploitative. Could a lesbian version, The Girlfriend, be next?
8. Couples Therapy
Network: Showtime
Status: No renewal or cancellation announcement yet
Watch on Paramount+ (with Showtime)
Since its debut, Couples Therapy has been the most raw and emotionally impactful show on television. In its fourth season, we are introduced to Casimar/Talulah and Alexis, a Queer couple each weighed down by their trauma, struggling to care for one another as they begin to explore their healing journeys. With such limited Two-Spirit representation on TV, seeing Casimar/Talulah, a Two-Spirit person, navigating his identity while the couple explores and unpacked their trauma felt significant. The show captures the messiness of love, care, and trauma, especially when those emotions are shared between two emotionally complex individuals. Watching the couple find moments of catharsis was not only healing but deeply powerful. Couples Therapy has always been an intense emotional experience, but this season, in particular, resonated on an even more profound level.
7. Hacks
Network: Max
Status: Renewed for Season 4
Hacks has always been fearless in challenging and evolving its protagonists, pushing them to adapt in exciting ways. In Season 3, we saw Jean Smart’s Deborah claw her way to the top, vying for a late-night hosting spot, while the season explored the magic and limits of creative partnership between its central characters. Do I still believe Ava and Deborah are secretly in love, despite nearly everyone in my life telling me I’m delusional? Well, yes! The show captures the deep, complex bond between Ava and Deborah, blurring the lines between friendship, mentorship, and something more, making their relationship feel undeniably intimate in its own right. The intimacy of a creative partnership and personal growth can often be more profound than romantic love, though, and Hacks understands this dynamic better than most. But regardless of where you stand on that duo, Hacks remains one of the funniest and smartest shows on TV, setting the stage for an even more exhilarating fourth season. If Season 3 was a jolt of electricity, I’m expecting Season 4 to light up the whole grid.
6. Somebody Somewhere
Network: Max
Status: Final season
Somebody Somewhere excels in portraying community care, emphasizing supportive, loving relationships outside the traditional family unit. Set in rural Kansas, often associated with conservative ideals and prejudice, the show focuses not on the harms of bias but on how individuals build resilient, nontraditional communities in the face of adversity. It demonstrates how Queer communities thrive even in oppressive spaces, offering liberation and care beyond conventional family structures. In the third and final season, As Sam’s friends become more involved in their romantic relationships, her growing loneliness adds a desolating layer to the show. It reflects the complexities of middle-aged life and the feeling of being stuck in a place and time while everyone around you is finding love, building families, and spreading their wings. Somebody Somewhere portrays how loneliness can develop even within supportive relationships, making it raw and relatable. The series leaves an enduring legacy, showing that connection, care, and liberation can flourish in unexpected places.
5. Interview With the Vampire
Network: AMC
Status: Renewed for Season 3
I knew this show had truly sunk its teeth into me when Daniel Hart’s captivating score showed up on my Spotify Wrapped. Interview With the Vampire is utterly engrossing. It strikes a perfect balance between theatrical and intimate, gory and melodramatic, yet often darkly funny and heartfelt. It’s a show that, against all odds, excels in a way that feels both unexpected and impressive. Though the series expanded in Season 2, it lost some of the racial and cultural specificity that made Louis’s Blackness and Queerness such a compelling focal point and crafted an exceptional first season. Louis’s experience as a Black gay man in early 20th-century America was the show’s most intriguing aspect, and perhaps that angle could have been further explored with a Black creative at the helm.
Nonetheless, the second season expertly delves into what it means to be alive (dead?), the pain of existence, and the messiness of love and human relationships. Oh, and just how lethal theater kids can be when they’re given a budget, a spotlight, and enough resources. Though Lestat’s journey will take center stage in Season 3, I’m holding space for Jacob Anderson’s Louis de Pointe du Lac in my Queer TV Hall of Fame.
4. We Are Lady Parts
Network: Peacock
Status: No renewal or cancellation announcement yet
We Are Lady Parts is bold and brash. In its second season, the show pushes its characters into deeper, more complex situations that recontextualize and expand its narrative. The season delves into the weight of fame, especially through Ayesha, the Queer band member, whose journey reflects the broader struggles of balancing personal identity and the burden of representation. One episode, in particular, left a lasting impact: “Funny Muslim Song.” In this penultimate episode, the show reaches new artistic heights, confronting issues of artistic integrity while exploring the suffocating pressures of capitalist and white supremacist culture that restrict, pigeonhole, and manipulate artists of color. I’m not sure where the show will go from here, but I’m excited to see how it continues to rock the boat in the best possible way.
3. The Secret of the River
Network: Netflix
Status: Limited series
This Spanish-language Netflix series is beautiful—not only for its breathtaking landscapes that fill nearly every shot but also for its portrayal of the evolution of friendship and identity over time. The first part of the series highlights the tender bond between Queer children despite societal pressures pulling them apart. The show expertly showcases the instinctive sacrifices often made during the coming-of-age process as a Queer person, especially when you’re still figuring out who you are and who you need the most. As the story unfolds, we see how identity and life experiences shape Sicarú and Erik, transforming their relationship. Notably, the show features several Muxe characters, individuals within the Zapotec Indigenous community, where Muxes—Zapotec transfemmes—have long identified as a third gender. A poignant and heartbreaking exploration of how societal pressures can break and reshape us, The Secret of the River paints a stunning portrait of human resilience.
2. Sort Of
Network: Max
Status: Final season
Sort Of‘s three-season run was special, honest, and vulnerable at every turn. Sabi (played by creator Bilal Baig) navigates a journey of self-identity and their search for community that feels gentle, tender, realistic, and often hilarious. The show consistently prioritizes the emotional development of its characters, tackling struggles that might be relegated to a B-plot in a lesser show but here are given the space to unfold over an entire season, allowing for deep, authentic exploration. In its final season, Sort Of delves into Sabi’s medical transition, offering an intimate look at what this new chapter means for them.
Most touching is Sabi’s relationship with their family—both biological and chosen—and how the show explores the meaning of community and family, even when it’s messy, confusing, and painful. It beautifully portrays how, despite the struggles, we can ultimately come back together, finding healing and understanding in each other. Unabashedly Queer at every turn, Sort Of is all about growth: growth in relationships, growth in self-identity, and the nonlinear nature of growth itself. It’s bittersweet to let go of Sabi, but their growth feels like a natural conclusion, even though in a way, it feels like it’s just beginning. Sort of.
1. Fantasmas
Network: Max
Status: No renewal or cancellation announcement yet
Fantasmas is the pinnacle of Queer television.
It’s political, with each sketch offering a quirky yet profound invitation to view our world differently. At its core, Fantasmas critiques the suffocating grip of capitalism, particularly through its exploration of “proof of existence” and the harm of demanding identity validation in today’s world. The show raises countless questions, rarely offering clear answers. Instead, it amplifies the most frustrating, oppressive, and confusing aspects of our reality, pushing them to their extremes and exposing the absurdity of it all—only to quickly pivot, throwing the viewer into Chester’s cab and taking them in a completely unexpected direction.
Fantasmas embodies Queerness as an act of radical nonconformity, a rejection of established norms and structures. It is original, perplexing, absurd, silly, surprising, and always thought-provoking. When I think about the future of Queer television, I’m certain that I want to see more shows like Fantasmas—ones that challenge conventions and embrace the unexpected.
Joshua Harris (he/him) is a lover of television, independent film, and his two dogs. His work has appeared in Awards Radar, mxdwnTELEVISION, and more. He is an African-American Film Critics Association (AAFCA) member.
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