What better way to cool off during a heatwave than with a good series? From the genesis of an iconic blonde to a toxic male friendship, here are seven queer stories to savor in the shade.
The weather is nice, it’s (too) hot, in short, summer is here. At nap time or during long evenings, it’s the right moment to binge episodes! Romance, fashion, drama, violence, friendships more or less happy… Here are the series not to miss this summer.
Elle
Before Harvard and the candy-pink suit, Elle Woods, the protagonist of the cult 2000s film Legally Blonde, was already a tornado refusing to choose between intelligence and ultra-feminine aesthetics. Created by Laura Kittrell and Caroline Dries, this prequel follows Elle as a teenager, propelled from Beverly Hills of the 1990s into a Seattle high school, an environment far more grunge and woke. If American actress Lexi Minetree reprises Reese Witherspoon’s mannerisms with aplomb, the pleasant surprise is Liz, her new lesbian best friend, embodied by Gabrielle Policano. A funny and well-placed “Lizbian,” who takes on a spiritual guide role for the young blonde seeking inclusion.
>> Elle, streaming on Prime Video.
The Law of the Strongest, season 3
In this final season, the plus-size stylist Mavis Beaumont wants to grow her brand, keep dressing all the misfits of New York, and fully live her relationship with the handsome Italian Luca. The series preserves its romantic comedy tone to address inclusion in the fierce and hypocritical world of fashion. Around the heroine circles a chosen family including drag queen Peppermint, RuPaul’s Drag Race finalist, who runs the queer bar CC’s, the group’s HQ. The season also features several celebrities playing, to varying degrees, their own roles: Alex Newell, the non-binary breakout from Glee who became a Broadway star, Becca Blackwell, a trans artist who performs on the New York alternative scene, Mila Jam, a Black trans singer and activist, and Jonathan Van Ness, non-binary figure from Queer Eye. Plus, a detour to Paris Fashion Week where rapper Maureen is seen along with representatives of the local drag scene… Rarely has a series treated fat, Black, and trans bodies with as much joy.
>> The Law of the Strongest, streaming on Netflix.
The Hawk
Former golf champion convinced that one last tournament will save his legacy and erase his debts, Lonnie Hawkins, nicknamed “The Hawk,” refuses to hang up the club despite a tired body, an ex-wife fed up, and a son who has become his main rival. Co-created and played by Will Ferrell, star of the zany comedies Ricky Bobby and Step Brothers, this sports series follows a pairing as mismatched as it is delightful: Lonnie and Sam, an improvised caddie who knows absolutely nothing about the game, portrayed by the hilarious Fortune Feimster who plays a butch lesbian among pastel polos and men obsessed with performance. A bromance as funny as it is touching.
>> The Hawk, streaming on Netflix.
Off Campus
After Heated Rivalry, it’s hard to care about a hockey romance with straight players, but Off Campus hides beautiful surprises. At Briar University, Hannah, a music student, agrees to give lessons to the team captain Garrett, in exchange for a fake date meant to make her crush jealous. Adapted from Elle Kennedy’s novels, the series relies on classic college romance tropes: abs, locker-room scenes, emotional dramas. While the books already featured a secondary gay character, the real plus of the series is Jules, absent from the original story. Adelphe, non-binary and deliciously nosy about Logan, this intentionally sarcastic character adds a certain flair to the series.
>> Off Campus, streaming on Prime Video.
Soulmate
At 20, Ryu is the star of his university ice hockey team in Japan. Tormented by guilt after a tragedy, Ryu leaves Japan for Berlin where he meets Johan, a battered Korean boxer, who saves his life. The series follows these two men for ten years across Berlin, Seoul, and Tokyo. Far from the saccharine conventions associated with boys’ love, Soulmate favors silences, glances, and missed dates. In this delicate melodrama, modesty provokes as much as it frustrates, as desire remains buried beneath the unspoken.
>> Soulmate, streaming on Netflix.
Half Man
Raised as brothers after their mothers moved in together, Ruben and Niall grow up in a relationship as intimate as it is toxic. When Ruben resurfaces at Niall’s wedding after years of absence, an explosion of violence brings back three decades of trauma, emotional dependence, and impossible desire. Created by Richard Gadd, known for My Little Reindeer, this Scottish tragedy pits him against Jamie Bell (Billy Elliot) and keenly dissects internalized homophobia, shame, and the injunctions of a masculinity that cuts men off from their emotions. A shock.
>> Half Man, streaming on HBO Max.
After the Party
During a family party, Penny publicly accuses her husband Phil of having sexually assaulted a teenage friend of their daughter. No one believes her, but Phil, who proclaims his innocence, goes to live in Scotland, while Penny finds herself ostracized by her family and their small community. Five years later, he returns to New Zealand and moves in with their daughter and grandson, welcomed as if nothing happened. The question of guilt resurfaces and no one knows where the truth lies anymore. Did Penny reveal a crime or ruin an innocent life? A family drama and taut psychological thriller, After the Party muddies certainties and amplifies doubts, questions family loyalties and the notion of respectability. New Zealand actress Robyn Malcolm is especially convincing in a role as a complex, abrasive heroine. By her side, trans actor Elz Carrad plays Tom, a police officer and family ally, a small role with magnetic presence. An intense and intelligent series that’s impossible to stop watching.
>> After the Party, streaming on Arte.tv.
