Amazon Prime Video It has become one of the most popular streaming services and boasts a library of original and licensed TV shows, including many featuring LGBTQ + characters, relationships, and themes. Queer characters and creators have played a crucial role in the growth of Amazon streaming, with series like Transparent generating early hype for service. For those with an Amazon Prime subscription looking for queer content to celebrate Pride or any other occasion, Prime Video has a lot to offer.
Queer characters were once rare in film and television, and when they did appear, they were often defined by their sexuality or limited to a single “special episode.” It was only in the 1990s and 2000s that gay and lesbian characters began to appear regularly on television. The rise of streaming services like Amazon Prime or Netflix has created more opportunities for queer creators to tell their own stories. Today, many shows have members of the LGBTQ + community behind and in front of the cameras, resulting in more honest and inclusive representations of queer life.
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While there are several Amazon Prime series that feature LGBTQ + characters, some of the shows are more notable than others. The series highlighted below are those that focus on queer culture and themes or in which queer characters play a central role. Although many of these titles are recent, there are also some groundbreaking old shows that were important for their portrayal of characters and queer lives. All of the following series are available on Amazon Prime Video in the US as of June 2021.
Banana fish
Banana fish It was an anime adaptation of one of the most popular “boys’ love” or BL manga and involved the Japanese journalist Eiji Okumura being dragged into the underworld of New York by the enigmatic Ash Lynx. While the central relationship was not explicitly sexual, it was generally interpreted as homoerotic, and there were frank discussions about homosexuality that broke taboo when the original comic was published. 24 years after its conclusion, Banana fish it was eventually turned into an anime to fan praise. A crime thriller with a lot of anguish and melodrama, Banana fish It was a great gateway for anyone looking to explore the world of BL and yaoi anime and manga.
Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Buffy the Vampire SlayerWillow and Tara were one of the first lesbian couples to have a recurring role on a television show. The series as a whole, which features teenagers growing up while battling supernatural forces of evil, has been praised for its feminist themes and detailed characterizations. The misconduct allegations against creator Joss Whedon have clouded Buffylegacy, but the show remained enormously influential and innovative.
Danger and eggs
Danger and eggs was a family-oriented animated series that has largely gone unnoticed. The show was co-created by trans woman Shadi Petosky, who commonly described it as starring a “Genderless Lesbian Girl And Her Giant Big Gamete Friend. ” Danger and eggs the single season featured a non-binary character and an ending set at a Pride festival celebrating the chosen family. It could appeal to fans of friendly queer kiddie cartoons like Steven Universe.
The fosters
The Freeform drama series The fosters now airing on Amazon Prime. The series focused on a lesbian couple and the teenage children they raise and adopt, including a son who eventually comes out as gay. The fosters It had all the soapy appeal of a teenage drama but with a very different kind of family at its core. The series received praise and critical acclaim from GLAAD and other organizations for its portrayal of a blended and queer family.
Joy
Joy was an extraordinarily popular and controversial series throughout its six seasons that ultimately helped launch Ryan Murphy to mega-producer status. The teen series was about a high school glee club and detailed the troubled love lives and personal struggles of its members at home. The story was told as a musical through a cappella arrangements of popular songs. Joy broke ground with multiple LGBTQ + characters and relationships.
The word I
The controversial Showtime series The word I introduced lesbian culture to much of America through relationship-driven drama. Reception for the show was mixed from both critics and the LGBTQ + community. Still, characters like Katherine Moennig’s Shane McCutcheon became iconic, and the series is an important part of the history of LGBTQ + representation. It was recently revived as a derivative, Generation Q. Viewers may need a Showtime subscription to view later seasons.
Mr robot
Mr robot had an immediate impact when its first season was released as a twisted techno-thriller about a group of hackers seeking to take down society, starring big names like Rami Malek and Christian Slater. The series was also one of the first to feature a recurring trans character on broadcast television through BD Wong’s Whiterose, a mysterious hacker living a double life as a Chinese government agent. Wong won numerous awards for his performance, as did the series as a whole.
One Mississippi
One Mississippi was the personal project of Tig Notaro, whose Army of the dead Appearance was a recent breakout role. The series was semi-autobiographical and dealt with her lesbian relationships alongside themes such as family trauma and Notaro’s real-life battle with cancer. Notary co-created One Mississippi with Diablo Cody and starred alongside Noah Harpster, John Rothman and Stephanie Allynne. The series ran for two seasons of six episodes each.
RuPaul’s Drag Race
One of the hottest reality competition shows out there, RuPaul’s Drag Race has brought drag culture to the American mainstream while offering many iconic looks and dramatic moments in the process. The series pits a group of male transvestites against each other each season, culminating in competitions such as Endurance raceMusical numbers of the famous group. Some seasons are available on Amazon Prime, providing a sample for anyone wanting to watch the popular show.
Queer as Folk
Queer as Folk was another historically significant LGBTQ + show, debuting in the UK in 1999 when it was a rare detailed account of the lives of gay men. The story takes place in the gay town of Manchester and has a largely comic tone, with characters destined to be gay archetypes. Amazon has both seasons of the British series and the first season of the American adaptation, which aired on Showtime. The UK series helped launch the careers of actors like The wire Y game of Thrones‘Aiden Gillen and Sons of AnarchyCharlie Hunnam.
Transparent
Transparent was the story of a trans woman who makes the transition late in life and her adult children struggling with their own lives and relationships. The series was one of the first Amazon Prime Video original series to become popular and received critical acclaim for its writing and depiction of multiple queer relationships and gender identities. Transparent It ended in confusion amid fan backlash and accusations against star Jeffrey Tambor, but it was still a crucial series to introduce trans people to the American mainstream.
A very English scandal
This British miniseries of ex Doctor who Showrunner Russell T. Davies is based on a real-life court case and political scandal in 1970s England. Liberal party leader Jeremy Thorpe’s (Hugh Grant) gay affairs are beginning to emerge into the public domain, and he’s willing to do whatever he can to keep them a secret. A very English scandal sheds light on the dark history of homophobia in Britain, as well as featuring the proud and shameless Norman Scott, played by Ben Whishaw.
In addition to these series, there are several television shows on Amazon Prime Video that feature LGBTQ + characters in supporting roles, such as The expansion Y Boys. Not all of these shows are perfect, but the growing diversity of representations of queer lives means that the odds of people being represented are much higher than a decade ago.
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