We watched hundreds of shows (so you didn't have to) and here's our discriminating guide to the best (and the rest)
December 12 2014 10:01 AM EST
May 26 2023 2:36 PM EST
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We watched hundreds of shows (so you didn't have to) and here's our discriminating guide to the best (and the rest)
Despite efforts to broaden LGBT visibility on mainstream TV series (thanks Shonda Rhimes!), there's still not a lot out there that represents the distinctive queer voice that separates us from the heteros, and when we do have movement in that area, it seems that the backlash often comes from within. Criticism from our own community about tentpole gay shows like Will & Grace, Queer as Folk and Lookingis evidence of that. However there is one place, in terms of entertainment, where queer voices are getting louder and louder, and that place is the realm of the web series.
Oh yes, the web series. A term that several years ago brought about images of plucky DIY creative independence for writers and directors now inspires exhausted eyerolls and images of out-of-work actors desperate to make a name for themselves. While that may be true, in terms of interesting LGBT entertainment there's a some real talent to be found online and something for everyone -- except the transgendered, that's a web series barrier we apparently have yet to cross.
So, lets say you are interested in finding an LGBT web series for you, but you don't know where to start? Well, we've done the work for you. Beginning with a comprehensive Google search that brought up 150 titles and a process of elimination based on a few different factors (e.g. episode quantity, amount of LGBT characters and years of release), I am presenting to you 28 scripted LGBT web-based shows that are only available online and have a cast that is predominately lesbian, gay, bisexual, and/or transgender. With only a few exceptions, everything listed here can be watched for free, has a minimum of one season that consists of six episodes and the most recent episode was published around 2012 or later. Also, to help you figure out if a show is a good fit for your tastes, I've included some ratings (from 1 to 3, 3 being the highest) that indicate the quality of the production (lighting, sound and sets), acting talent, diversity, eye candy and, lastly, camp level -- for those of you with an opinion on nelly queens and butch-y dykes.
C.Edwards is a New York-based writer and cartoonist and the creator of Abel Boddy, and the upcoming LGBT superhero tome Hard Corps Action Force. See more of his work here.
To kick off this comprehensive look at gay and lesbian web shows, I'll start with the shows that have racked up the most episodes and are currently still in production...
G&T (2012-current)
Created by Francesco D'Alessio and Matteo Rocchi
Official Website
Orientation: Gay Italians
Setting: Somewhere in Italy
TRT: 26 episodes (2 seasons) averaging 22mins
Premise: Italian cuties Giulio (Francesco D'Alessio) and Tommasso (Matteo Rocchi) are reunited five years after college and discover that there's something more to the one time drunken make-out session that originally ended their friendship. This is all complicated by the fact that one of them is gay and the other is "straight". The most visible of foreign web series, this is the only non-english production to make the list, and reading subtitles may or may not distract from trying to judge the quality of the performances.
Cast: Matteo Rocchi, Francesco D'Alessio, Valeria Tardivo, Moritz Ceste
The Horizon (2009-current)
Created by Adam Jones and Boaz Stark
Official Website
Orientation: Safe Sex Soap Opera
Setting: Sydney, Australia
TRT: 32 episodes (4 seasons) averaging 7.75mins
Premise:In the most popular gay web series in the world, country mouse Jake (Paul Layton) moves to Sydney to be with a guy he met on Manhunt and ends up with a broken heart and a drag queen roommate. The show gets a major facelift between seasons 1 and 2 and significant cast changes up through season 3; it is all for the best, as it leads to better costumes, sets, lighting and, most importantly, hotter guys.
Out With Dad (2010-current)
Created by Jason Leaver
Official Website
Orientation: Diary of a High School Lesbian
Setting: Toronto, Canada
TRT: 42 episodes (3 seasons) averaging 9mins
Premise: This PFLAG endorsed, award winning series features high school aged Rose (Kate Conway) dealing with coming out as a lesbian, while her father Nathan (Jonathan Robbins) deals with becoming the father of one. The After School Special of lesbian and gay webseries, it does have it's clever moments as it deals with all of the usual issues surrounding LGBT youth: coming out to family, first loves, bullying, etc.
Venice The Series (2009-current)
Created by Crystal Chappell and Kim Turrisi
Official Website
Orientation: Lesbian Soap Opera
Setting: Venice Beach, California
TRT: 48 episodes (4 seasons) averaging 15 mins
Premise: Gina (Crystal Chappell) is a strong, professional lesbian trying to balance relationships, family life and network of friends, each with drama of their own. If I learned anything from this experience, it's that lesbians love a serial, and this one is the ultimate. So much so, mainstream soap opera fans will probably see a lot of familiar faces between it's numerous shots of sunsets, billowy curtains and rippling tides.
Where the Bears Are (2012-current)
Created by Joe Dietl, Rick Copp and Ben Zook
Official Website
Orientation: Gay Bear Comedy Murder Mystery
Setting: Los Angeles, California
TRT: 71 Episodes (3 seasons) averaging 8mins + 2 holiday specials
Premise: A WeHo bear has been murdered and it's up to Reggie (Rick Copp), Wood (Joe Dietl) and Nelson (Ben Zook) to find the killer... lather and repeat. It's hard not to be won over by WATB's adorable cheesiness; everything from resources, scripts and talent is smartly applied, this show has what a lot of webseries do not: self-awareness. That and, apparently, a lock on every bear-ish actor on the West Coast.
In the terms of longevity and episode quantity, producing a independent series can come with a healthy dose of uncertainty so the term "short-lived" may be a bit of a misnomer for some of the shows below as any of them, in theory, could return with new episodes at any moment. However, there are some good examples of web shows that, so far, have not returned after their first season.
Derek and Cameron (2013-2014)
Created by Branden Blinn
YouTube Playlist
Orientation: VGL Gay Exceedingly Verbal Drama
Setting: West Coast-y
TRT: 5 episodes averaging 9mins
Premise: Derek (Thomas Adisi) was straight until he met Cameron (Brandon Crowder) and now nothing makes sense anymore in this "unconventional love story". Despite only having 5 sporadically released episodes, D&C, or as I like to refer to it "the choreopoem of gay webseries" (minus the choreo part) is a compelling exercise in existential angst; "Is it supposed to be this intense??" Cameron strains in one of their many exhausting conversations that would probably never happen in real life ever. No... I don't think so.
Easy Abby (2012-2013)
Created by Wendy Jo Carlton and Lisa Cordileone
YouTube Playlist
Orientation: Lesbian Dramedy
Setting: Chicago, Illinois
TRT: 13 episodes averaging 7mins
Premise: In this cray-cray world of monogamy and commitment what's a promiscuous lesbian like Abby (Lisa Cordileone) to do? It's surprising to see that the second season of this show failed to launch, considering it's better-than-average approach to the tale of a gay woman staying off the path towards lesbian bed death. A webseries can always make a comeback though, hopefully if this one does, it will be with better open titles.
The Hinterlands (2013-2014)
Created by Michelle Elliott and Danny Larsen
Official Website
Orientation: Musical Consternation
Setting: The middle of nowhere
TRT: 7 episodes averaging 8.5mins
Premise: Just when you thought gay teen angst could not be gayer, teen-ier or more angst-y, now it's being sung at you. It's a little like Glee, except no one is happy. Paul's (Connor Russell) closeted internal struggle is being agravated by local teen suicides, family life and a bully that he's in love with who's making his life miserable. So much to sing about, so little time.
The Outs (2012-2013)
Created by Adam Goldman
Official Website
Orientation: Precious Gay Drama
Setting: Brooklyn, New York
TRT: 6 episodes averaging 20mins + 1 holiday special
Premise: Jack (Hunter Canning) and Mitchell (Adam Goldman) navigate the rocky existence of being exes in this quiet slice-of-life tale of Brooklynite millennials. An online favorite that definitely helped change the game in terms of shows on the web, it has some genuinely good development, relatable characters and a script that is clever (sometimes a little too much).
The 3 Bits (2013)
Created by Margaret Singer and Max Freeman
Official Website
Orientation: Queer Comedy/Action
Setting: Brooklyn, New York
TRT: 9 episodes averaging 13mins
Premise: The lives of the Bits siblings run parallel in this quirky trans-genre family ensemble. Rather than using traditional episode numbers, the show is broken up into chapters showcasing each sibling. So, the edginess of Madison's (Erin Markey) mommy vlogs, the comedy around Henry's (Cole Escola) first orgy or the intrigue of Roman's (Margaret Singer) dealings in the lesbian underworld can all be consumed a la carte.
>>>NEXT: MORE SHORT-RUN, BUT GREAT WEB SERIES
The following are web shows that either recently ended their run after multiple seasons or, in the case of two of them, only produced one season but have unofficially declared that new episodes are forthcoming.
Bulk - The Series (2011-2014)
Created by D.R. Knott & J.Julian Christopher
Facebook Page
Orientation: Gay Bear Drama
Setting: Queens, New York
TRT: 16 episodes (2 seasons) averaging 6.5mins
Premise: After a long social hibernation, Leo (J.Julian Christopher) returns to the husky dating scene and has to deal with his self-loathing ex and a new fling with too many secrets. A sleeper of a show that ends right when it gets going, leaving you to wonder if its unexpected creative decisions were absolute genius or total misfires. Regardless, a must-see for its ample amounts of exposed bear flesh and NSFW sex scenes.
Hunting Season (2012-??)
Created by Jon Marcus
Official Website
Orientation: Gay Sex-Comedy
Setting: Manhattan, New York City
TRT: 8 episodes averaging 10mins
Premise: The horny musings of a Manhattan gay are explored as New York tabloid writer Alex (Ben Baur) documents his big city sexcapades in his secret blog The Great Cock Hunt. It's just like Sex and The City except with gay men so they don't feel bad about their overactive libidos. The pay version (via Vimeo) offers full frontal nudity. Murmurings on Twitter imply that the second season is expected any day now.
Hustling(2011-2014)
Created by Sebastian La Cause
Official Website
Orientation: Gay-for-Pay Tragic Dramedy
Setting: New York City
TRT: 27 episodes (3 seasons) averaging 14mins
Premise: Everyone is doing it for the money in this recently completed series about Ryan Crosby (Sebastian La Cause), who, after working for 20 years as a porn star/hustler is forced to take stock of his life when the money (and his youth) begins to run dry. Another example of a show that called it quits just when it started to get interesting, the acting was fairly solid and the production values, if not a little inconsistent, were enough to keep you coming back for more.
In the Moment (2010-2013)
Created by Dave O'Brien
Official Website
Orientation: Self-Help Forum Melodramatics
Setting: West Hollywood, California
TRT: 27 episodes averaging 5.25mins
Premise: The website describes this Melrose Place-y series as "an HIV prevention campaign of LA Gay & Lesbian Center and the City of West Hollywood" and boy, they are not kidding. Almost every line of dialogue is, seemingly, designed to teach you something about safe sex, addiction or body image. It's almost drinking game worthy, but... that seems like that would defeat the purpose.
Little Horribles (2013)
Created by Amy York Rubin
Official Website
Orientation: Lesbian Self-Indulgence
Setting: Los Angeles, California
TRT: 12 episodes that average 16.5mins
Premise: Amy eats her feelings and has awkward/relatable encounters with pretty much everyone she comes across. If Girls and Curb Your Enthusiasm had a love child that grew up to be a dyke, this is what she would look like. Despite those comparisons, it really stands on its own merits of strong performances and great twists on relatable, albeit sitcom-y, situations. According to YouTube, the show is on hiatus.
>>>NEXT: MORE AMBITIOUS (SMALLER BUDGET) SERIES
Shoestring budgets and questionable acting ability come hand-in-hand with indie productions, so it only seems fair that the more downmarket web series efforts get equal representation alongside their better-lit, better-produced brethren. This is especially true when you consider that these are usually the most ambitious.
My Gay Roommate (2012-current?)
Created by Noam Ash and Austin Bening
Facebook Page
Orientation: Gay Video Blog
Setting: Boston & New York
TRT: 11 episodes (3 seasons) averaging 6.5mins
Premise: Nick (Noam Ash) is a co-dependent, boundary-less homosexual who is video blogging his living situations with a series of heterosexual roommates. A winsome approach and frequent musical outbursts is a big part of this show's charm. The second season, titled Nick's Daily Routine, focuses on his relationship with his own co-dependent, boundary-less mother.
Steam Room Stories (2010-current)
Created by JC Calciano
Facebook Page
Orientation: Faux-Mo Social Commentary
Setting: Los Angeles, California
TRT: 100+ episodes averaging 3-4 mins
Premise: Post-workout hetero-flexibles sit around in a steam room and discuss the non-issues of the day. These semi-monthly vignettes feel more like an outlet for handsome L.A. actors who spend more time with their trainers than with their acting coaches (not that I'm complaining). Attempting to appeal to audiences that are interested in politics AND ogling naked bodies, the nude dudes take on controversial subjects like hypocrisy, stereotypes and body image... in the dumbest way possible.
Street Behavior (2013)
Created by RJ Veney
Official Website
Orientation: LGBT Urban Realness
Setting: New York City
TRT: 15 episodes (2 seasons) averaging 27mins
Premise: Created to fill a hole in LGBT representation in the media, this show leans more toward educating than entertaining. Beneath relentlessly angry characters arguing for relatively long running times, you'll find an unapologetic take on sex, drugs, homophobia and religion from a very specific POV of out-and-proud people of color.
Studville TV (2013)
Official Website
Orientation: Butch African-American Lesbians
Setting: Atlanta, GA
TRT: 18 episodes (2 seasons) averaging 20mins
Premise: The lives and loves of 4 African-American lesbian tops (i.e. "Studs") living in Atlanta, GA. It's another overzealous effort to represent a side of queer culture that is sorely missed in mainstream entertainment. However, some self-awareness would do this series well, as the performances and craft usually fail to meet the bar in telling a story of this magnitude. 20+ minute episodes with questionable lighting and scripts that could use some serious editing? That's ballsy.
Two Jasperjohns (2011 - 2013)
Created by Vinny Lopez
Official Website
Orientation: Gay Hipster Brother Bears
Setting: Bugrum Pike, Brooklyn
TRT: 16 episodes (3 seasons) averaging 5.5minutes
Premise: The Jasperjohns brothers culture clash through their co-habitual existence. With plots centering around subjects as mundance as dogsitting and absurdist as dating an actual grizzly bear, this series is a little too clever for it's own good. Each season introduces a new sibling which we're told would be 9 in total if the show is to continue. A high concept production that is almost a parody of a web series, and all that that implies.
>>>NEXT: Best of Gay & Lesbian Web Series to Premiere in 2014.
The Best of Gay & Lesbian Web Series to Premiere in 2014.
Besties (2014-current)
Created by Kevin DeBacker and Eric Brown
Official Website
Orientation: Gay Hipster Comedy
Setting: Brooklyn, New York
TRT: 4 episodes averaging 6.5mins
Premise: Gay-straight best friends, Kevin (Kevin DeBacker) and Eric (Eric Brown) try a hand at couples therapy and double dating. A deft comic duoship and quality execution helps save what's a potentially gimmick-y premise.
Dudes (2014-current)
Created by Andrew Pemberton-Fowler
Official Website
Orientation: Gay
Setting: Chicago, Illinois
TRT: 5 episodes
Premise: After breaking up with his longtime boyfriend, Tyler (Shaun Baer) moves in with his friends David (Ben Burke) and Miles (Brian Greer), an aging socialite and an impotent hustler. This is the only show on the list you'll have to pay to watch; the name implies some frat-type, douchebaggery is ahead, but it's actually just homosexual co-misery in the vein of Queer As Folk.
Go-Go Boy Interrupted (2014-current)
Created by Jimmy Fowlie
Official Website
Orientation: Gay Buffoonery
Setting: West Hollywood
TRT: 7 episodes averaging 3.5mins
Premise: After being fired for turning 30, WeHo go-go boy Danny (Jimmy Fowlie) realizes that 10 years of dancing on a box has left him with no professional skills and an ass crack full of dollar bills. The episodes are part of Fowlie's Groundlings Theater show of the same name, so it's unclear if this is intended to be a continuing series or a finite run of episodes.
Paragon School for Girls (2014-current)
Created by Jim Hansen
Official Website
Orientation: Magical Straight girls played by gay boys
Setting:
TRT: 6 episodes averaging 8 mins
Premise: Something evil is afoot as the students at Paragon, a school for girls with extraordinary powers, start to go missing and it's up to newcomer Violet (Michael K. Willett) and her classmates to solve the mystery. It's like, AHS:Coven if Charles Busch was playing all of the roles.
Actors: Tom Lenk, Ron Morehouse, Jeffrey Self, Michael J. Willett
Star Power: Drew Droege, Sam Pancake, Jack Plotnick, Brian Gattas
Camp Level: 3
Acting: 2
Production Value: 2
Diversity: 1.5
Eye Candy: 1
>>>NEXT: SHOWS OF NOTE
In the end, there were a few shows that fell outside the previous categories but needed to be acknowledged. So here are a few honorable mentions.
Drama Queenz (2009-2012)
Created by Dane Harrington Joseph and Kristen-Alexzander Griffith
Official Website
Orientation: Too Gay to Function
Setting: New York City
TRT: 24 episodes (3 seasons) averaging 12mins
Premise: It's dance ten, looks three as a trio of NYC Broadway hopefuls struggle through their queen-y, flamboyant co-existence of relationship, family and show business drama. Tailored for an audience of struggling performers DQz is most likely to hold the attention of other actors, singers and dancers. Those who stick around long enough will witness a much needed boost in production value in season three.
Husbands (2011-2013)
Created by Jane Espenson and Brad Bell
Official Website
Orientation: Marriage Equality Comedy
Setting: Los Angeles, California
TRT: 16 episodes (3 seasons) averaging 6.5mins
Premise:Cheeks (Brad Bell) and Brady (Sean Hemeon), a flamboyant actor and an out athlete respectively, wake up in Vegas as married men and scandalize the nation. Though co-creator Jane Espenson (Buffy the Vampire Slayer) doesn't care for the "web series" label, it is a series that's only available online. A mainstream favorite with a network TV pedigree, you won't find finer agenda writing starring two loveable stereotypes stumbling through the simplest of couple decisions.
Old Dogs & New Tricks (2011-2014)
Created by Leon Acord
Official Website
Orientation: Old Gays
Setting: West Hollywood, California
TRT: 22 episodes (3 seasons) averaging 8.75mins
Premise: Talent agent Nathan Adler (Leon Acord) turns fifty in the the most youth-obsessed city in the world. The show follows the sex lives of Adler and his three aging buddies and one can't help but feel middle aged gay men deserve something better than a West Coast SATC premise. It's also one of the few shows where the production values manage to get worse as it goes along, talk about not aging well...
Starting From... Now! (2014-current)
Created by Julie Kalceff
Official Website
Orientation: Lesbian DRAMA
Setting: Sydney, Australia
TRT: 18 episodes (3 seasons) averaging 8mins
Premise: Steph (Sarah de Possesse) arrives in Sydney in hopes of starting a new life and a new job and falls in love with her best friend's girlfriend. If serious lesbians having serious conversations about their serious relationships is your thing, jump on this one now.
So, in conclusion, we know that people will feel something was left out, slighted, or given too much attention. We can't make everyone happy. But just keep in mind, it took one man hundreds of hours to attempt this comprehensive list. Be gentle with your criticisms and support each other.
Oh, and of course: HAPPY VIEWING!