Everything queer coming to streaming platforms in August

Don’t worry folks—the summer’s not over yet. There’s still plenty of time to use up your vacation days binge-watching movies on your couch. If you’re looking for some fresh flicks to keep you entertained this summer, we’ve got you covered. From The L Word reboot to a satirical animated comedy series set in a fictional town named Pussy Willow to L.A.’s Outfest, here’s a diverse list of LGBTQ2S+ movies, TV shows and film festivals coming to streaming platforms throughout the month of August. 

All About E 

Aug. 1 on Hulu in the U.S.

Australian indie feature film All About E from writer/director Louise Wadley will be available to watch on Hulu beginning Aug. 1. The 2015 film follows E (Mandahla Rose), a DJ at a popular club who loves the attention from her fans. But beneath the Lebanese-Australian DJ’s confident exterior, she struggles with being closeted about both her sexuality and ethnicity. After stumbling upon a large sum of cash, E and her gay best friend, Matt (Brett Rogers), make a run for it. Now, they’re on a journey to find sanctuary with E’s ex-girlfriend, Trish (Julia Billington).

Cherry Pop  

Aug. 1 on Hulu in the U.S. 

The 2017 U.S. comedy musical feature, Cherry Pop, directed by Assaad Yacoub, will be available on Hulu on Aug. 1. Zaza, played by RuPaul’s Drag Race Season 7 star Tempest DuJour, is a headliner of a weekly drag show called “Cherry Pop.” When Zaza refuses to come out of her dressing room, all hell breaks loose as a young newcomer, The Cherry, makes ready for his debut performance. The film also stars other Drag Race stars like Bob The Drag Queen, Detox, Mayhem Miller and Latrice Royale. 

Getting Go: The Go Doc Project

Aug. 1 on Hulu in the U.S. 

The 2013 film Getting Go: The Go Doc Project, directed by Cory Krueckeberg, is coming to Hulu on Aug. 1. The mockumentary follows Doc (Tanner Cohen), an average gay college student living in New York City. Doc is obsessed with a go-go dancer named Go (Matthew Camp), and one drunken night emails the dancer pretending he’s making a documentary about the NYC club scene, and asking if Go would be the subject of the film. When Go agrees, the fake film project becomes a reality as Doc follows Go through his daily routine and sees what life is like for him. 

The Girl King 

Aug. 1 on Hulu in the U.S. and currently on Amazon Prime

Canadian feature film The Girl King is a 2015 biopic about Kristina, Queen of Sweden. Directed by Mika Kaurismäki, the film tells the story of Kristina (Malin Buska), her repressed sexuality and her fight against conservative forces as she tries to modernize Sweden. Crowned queen at 16, the 17th-century monarch is remembered for helping bring an end to the Thirty Years War, as well as for her androgynous appearance and unconventional life. 

Liz in September 

Aug. 1 on Hulu in the U.S. 

Liz in September (Liz en Septiembre) is a 2014 Venezuelan lesbian romance directed by Fina Torres. Eva (Eloísa Maturén) is a traveller who experiences some car trouble and ends up spending time with a group of seven women in a hotel outside of town. Though she originally identifies as straight, Eva quickly realizes that all of the women are queer and develops a deep relationship with one of them, whose name is Liz (Patricia Velásquez). 

Pray Away 

Aug. 3 on Netflix

U.S. documentary Pray Away, directed by Kristine Stolakis, premieres on Netflix Aug. 3. The film follows survivors and former leaders of Exodus International, an evangelical gay conversion program. After it was founded by five evangelicals trying to escape “homosexual lifestyles” in the 1970s, the group rapidly grew to the largest gay conversion program in the world. Years later, former leaders and members came out as gay and recanted their support for the organization and its intentions. Through interviews, the film looks at the horrific abuse within the program, and the difficult journeys of those who managed to survive.

Princess Cyd 

Aug. 5 on Hulu in the U.S.

The 2017 drama by Stephen Cone comes to Hulu on Aug. 5. The movie follows a 16-year-old named Cyd (Jessie Pinnick), who gets sent away from her home in Columbia, South Carolina, to spend the summer in Chicago with her estranged aunt Miranda (Rebecca Spence), an author of religious fiction. Cyd is queer and dating a woman, and the pair spend a tumultuous summer learning to live together. 

Tales from Pussy Willow 

Aug. 6 on Revry 

The satirical sketch comedy series Tales from Pussy Willow from Kate Jessop premieres on Revry, the global LGBTQ2S+ streaming network, on Aug. 6. The series is set in the fictional town of Pussy Willow, and celebrates queer, feminist and absurdist concepts using real actors in short skits against animated backdrops to portray contemporary Britain. 

The L Word: Generation Q (Season 2 premiere)  

Aug. 8 on Showtime in the U.S and on Crave in Canada

The first episode of the new season of The L Word: Generation Q premieres Aug. 8, alongside the re-release of the entire first season. The original L Word first aired from 2004 to 2009 (and is also available to stream in its entirety). Its reboot, about a group of LGBTQ2S+ friends in Los Angeles, sees the return of three beloved L Word characters—Bette (Jennifer Beals), Alice (Leisha Hailey) and Shane (Katherine Moennig)—as the show dives deeper into Bette’s political career and Alice’s complicated home life.

Boy Meets Boy

Aug. 8 to 14 online at PrideArts film festival

German filmmaker Daniel Sanchez Lopez’s feature directorial debut Boy Meets Boy is streaming at the Chicago-based PrideArts film festival from Aug. 8 to 14. The 2021 film follows two young men (Matthew James Morrison and Alexandros Koutsoulis) who develop feelings for each other over a single day in Berlin. The modern queer love story explores the complexities of attraction and connection. Tickets for the film are available on their website. 

Brooklyn Nine-Nine (final season)

8 p.m. C.T. on Aug. 12 on NBC; streaming on CBC Gem in Canada

The eighth and final season of the American comedy series Brooklyn Nine-Nine is premiering on CBC Gem in Canada on Aug. 12. The series centres around the lives of a group of police officers at a fictional precinct in New York City. It stars Andy Samberg, Terry Crews, Melissa Fumero, Joe Lo Truglio, Dirk Blocker, Joel McKinnon Miller, Andre Braugher and Stephanie Beatriz, who plays an openly bisexual character. 

Vancouver Queer Film Festival 

Aug. 12 to 22 on their website

Out On Screen presents the 33rd annual Vancouver Queer Film Festival, which takes place virtually this year for B.C. residents from Aug. 12 to 22. The festival will be presented in a video-on-demand format, with a few small in-person events. One of the films being featured this year is Well Rounded, a local documentary directed by Shana Myara that brings fat queers to the front in a range of interviews—from artists to health professionals. The film is streaming from Aug. 19 to 21 and tickets are available on their website. 

L.A.’s Outfest 

August 13 to 22 on their website.

L.A.’s queer and trans film festival Outfest runs from Aug. 13 to 22 and showcases 165 films, most of which are streaming nationwide (some programs will stream internationally, too). There are also a number of in-person screenings at venues across the city. Outfest opens with Everybody’s Talking About Jamie, the Amazon film adaptation of the U.K. musical about a teen drag queen. The film stars Max Harwood and Lauren Patel, and is directed by Jonathan Butterell. Another premiere: Jeffrey Schwarz’s Boulevard! A Hollywood Story (Aug. 13), a feature doc on the forgotten tale of screen goddess Gloria Swanson and her failed attempts to make a musical about Sunset Boulevard (no, not Andrew Lloyd Webber’s) with a gay couple creative team. Among the many short films is Are You Still Watching? (Aug. 16), an animated fantasy film directed by Alex Cardy, Tali Polichtuk and Kitty Chrystal. Jamie is a 20-something non-binary person living in Melbourne who, during COVID-19 lockdowns, begins having sexual delusions involving their favourite queer characters. The fest closes with Fanny: The Right to Rock (Aug. 22.), a documentary on one of the first female rock bands to achieve mainstream success. Tickets are available on their website. 

Swan Song

On demand starting Aug. 13

The 2021 American comedy feature Swan Song stars acclaimed German actor Udo Kier as Pat, a retired gay hairdresser who escapes his small town Ohio nursing home after learning of his former client’s dying wish for him to style her final hairdo. Pat must juggle ghosts of his past as he plots his break for freedom. Xtra’s film writer Frank M. Miller called Swan Song a “lovely acknowledgment of the debt today’s LGBTQ2S+ people owe to earlier generations of gay men.” The film will be available to watch on demand starting Aug. 13.

Modern Love (Season 2)

Aug. 13 on Amazon Prime in the U.S. and CBC Gem in Canada

Co-produced by Amazon and the New York Times, Modern Love premieres its second season on Aug. 13 on Amazon Prime and CBC Gem. Each episode in this anthology is inspired by the Times’ “Modern Love” column, and looks at the complexity of love and its effects on human connection. The second season features an episode inspired by the essay “Am I Gay or Straight? Maybe This Fun Quiz Will Tell Me,” that centres around a woman in her late 20s and her journey to newfound queerness. 

The Leap 

Aug. 16 on Revry 

Two teen BFFs explore and discover their sexuality in Shanna Riker’s coming of age tale from 2019. Stuck in small town America, Mallory (Victoria Giamalvo) is the first to announce she is a lesbian, just as Wren (Claire Main) experiences her first love with Brad (Josh Bartosch). When boys and parties enter the picture, their lives and their friendship become a roller coaster of emotions. Scorned by their break up, Brad forces the two friends to make life-altering decisions.

Love, Victor (Season 2 finale) 

Aug. 20 on Hulu in the U.S. and Disney+ in Canada

The finale of the Hulu original series, Love, Victor—a TV spinoff of the 2018 film Love, Simon—  begins streaming on Aug. 20. The second season follows high school student Victor (Michael Cimino) as he navigates his new identity after coming out to his parents and ex-girlfriend while figuring out his new relationship with Benji (George Sear). Victor and Benji went through their fair share of issues this season and the finale leaves us with many questions about the state of their relationship.