The internet was abuzz with Oscars talk Monday morning, particularly after an explosive and unpredictable ceremony Sunday night. The 2022 Academy Awards saw the slap heard ‘round the world, alongside some truly ground-breaking moments for queer and trans folks (and you can check out our recap.)
And if your timeline is as clogged with Will Smith discourse as mine is, you might’ve missed out on the other happenings of queer and trans pop culture.
Do not worry though! That’s what “The Buzz” is for. Every week we bring you the highlights in LGBTQ2S+ culture, so you can sound cool at the watercooler.
Here’s what you missed this week.
→ If you left the Oscars craving the effortless mess of reality TV, I have great news for you. Netflix has already renewed its reality dating show The Ultimatum for a second season ahead of its series premiere later this week. And while the show’s first season features what I assume to be a cast of mostly annoying straight people, the second season will feature a cast of mostly queer women.
That’s right: we’re getting a literal U-Haul reality dating show. The news was buried in a boy-band-themed video announcement about all of Netflix’s upcoming reality dating affairs.
The concept of The Ultimatum: Marry or Move On is as convoluted as other Netflix reality love bingefests: Here, six couples on the verge of marriage are brought together by an ultimatum—one couple is ready to commit, and the other isn’t quite sure. Over several weeks they date amongst the other couples in the same situation to see what a future would look like with someone else. And to be honest, that mirrors the dating experience of a lot of queer folks I know.
The teaser for the (straight) first season first aired during the reunion episode of Netflix’s Love Is Blind Season 2.
Netflix producers have hinted at a desire to feature more queer cast members on dating shows. Chris Coelen, an executive producer on Love Is Blind and The Ultimatum, didn’t rule out telling queer stories on either show down the line.
“All kinds of people have all kinds of interesting stories. To be able to tell as many different kinds of stories as we can, I think is great and something to aspire to,” he said following the conclusion of Love Is Blind’s second season.
Now it looks like it’ll be a reality. And I’m already getting flashbacks to some of the iconic moments of queer dating reality TV history, including of course the peak example of the bisexual season of Are You The One?
Putting a bunch of queer women into a small space together and telling them to date each other and deciding if they want to get married is a recipe for absolute joy. And I cannot wait!
The second season of The Ultimatum is expected to drop later this year.
→ Jamie Lee Curtis says that not only will she be officiating her daughter Ruby’s wedding, she will be doing it in cosplay as a World of Warcraft character at Ruby’s request. We love to see a mom supporting her trans kid’s gamer identity.
→ Another queer superhero is coming to the CW! Tim Gabriel will play Green Lantern’s son Obsidian on Season 3 of DC’s Stargirl.
→ In need of a mood boost? Lizzo’s Watch Out for the Big Grrrls, a new (and super queer) reality dance competition show from the singer, is here. And it’s pure serotonin.
→ Multi-hyphenate podcaster, director and internet person Gaby Dunn has a new queer radio show fittingly called “The Week In Gay” which will premiere on Amp on April 13. Airing Wednesdays at 8 p.m PT, they will spin classic queer anthems and recap the week in queer news and history.
→ A new album is coming this summer from indie darling Soccer Mommy!
→ Comedian Cameron Esposito shared a mesage of support for queer youth, and reminded the world that being queer actually is one of the best things in the world.
→ At the iHeartRadio Music Awards last week, Jennifer Lopez shared the stage with 12 iconic drag queens (and Billy Porter!) who modeled some of her most iconic looks.
And of course, RuPaul’s Drag Race Season 14 queen Kerri Colby was there in the dress.
→ In an interview with People, High School Musical: The Musical: The Series star Joshua Bassett says he felt “liberated” by unintentionally coming out as queer last year.
“It showed me how silly it is to hide who you are to appease a small group of people. At what cost do you bury your heart and soul?” he said.
→ Remember that dog that was abandoned for being gay? He’s got a new home with a loving gay couple!
→ In a revealing interview with Entertainment Weekly, Vico Ortiz spoke about playing a non-binary pirate on the HBOMax series Our Flag Means Death, and the value of having multiple other non-binary voices in the writers’ room.
“When I first read the script, I cried,” they said. “In part, it’s because we had three non-binary writers in the writers’ room. So there’s already this space in which this character is being nurtured and taken care of. It’s not just like, ‘Oh, we’re going to hire a non-binary actor to do this. And then they’ll fend for themselves.’ There was already this space that’s created that people already are vouching for this character and their storyline. It felt incredible.”
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