THE VOICE OF CHICAGO'S GAY, LESBIAN, BI, TRANS AND QUEER COMMUNITY SINCE 1985

LGBTQ+ comedian Hannah Gadsby is bringing a new lineup of genderqueer comedians to Netflix, Out noted. Gender Agenda shines the spotlight on "seven emerging voices" from the comedy scene, including ALOK, Asha Ward, Chloe Petts, DeAnne Smith, Jes Tom, Krishna Istha, and Mx. Dahlia Belle. "The last time Netflix brought this many trans people together, it was for a protest—so progress," Gadsby says in the trailer. Gender Agenda is slated to debut on Netflix on March 5.

The video game Sonic X Shadow Generations was announced during PlayStation's latest State of Play showcase—and it somehow has been tagged as an LGBTQ+ game, per The Gamer. In fact, it's currently the game's most popular user-defined tag, above the "action" and "platformer" tags. With this tag, Sonic X Shadow Generations is now featured alongside titles such as Queer Quest, Touchstarved and others.

This Is Me…Now: A Love Story—a visual project starring Jennifer Lopez—will stream globally on Prime Video starting Feb. 16, per a press release. It also stars Derek Hough, Fat Joe, Jenifer Lewis, Sofia Vergara, Kim Petras, Keke Palmer, Trevor Noah, Neil DeGrasse Tyson and many others. However, there is also a documentary about "This Is Me," entitled The Greatest Love Story Never Told, that will debut on the streamer on Feb. 27. According to the release, "Directed by Jason Bergh, The Greatest Love Story Never Told follows Jennifer Lopez as she attempts her most daring project yet: independently producing a new album and cinematic original that explore her twenty-year journey to self-love." Also, Lopez announced a tour that will cover more than 30 cities across North America, kicking off in June and concluding at the end of August, NBC News noted.

The queer thriller Femme—starring Nathan Stewart-Jarrett and George MacKay—will open on March 22 in NYC and March 29 in LA, with a national expansion to follow, per a press release. The plot is described thusly: "With his performances as Aphrodite Banks, Jules (Nathan Stewart-Jarrett) has a place among London's celebrated drag artists. One night after a show, he steps out to get some cigarettes and is brutally attacked by a man (George MacKay), out with a gang of his friends. … Months later, he recognizes his attacker by chance in a gay sauna. Without make-up and wrapped only in a towel, Jules is able to approach the other man incognito and find out who he is. He begins an affair with the closeted Preston, with a plan to take his revenge." Femme has won three British Independent Film Awards. The trailer is at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eAWWRga6KFU.

Avi Federgreen is starting a new LGBTQ2S+ movie-distribution label, Pride Pictures, for North America at the European Film Market in Berlin, The Hollywood Reporter noted. The queer cinema releasing outfit, with Kirk Cooper as head of acquisitions, will kick off with two titles: Inari Niemi's Finnish feature Light Light Light and Dylan Rhys Howard's Canadian indie Eudaimonia. Pride Pictures will aim to bring queer cinema to North American audiences with no language or regional barriers.

The public television series POV has acquired Who I Am Not, the award-winning documentary executive-produced by Patricia Arquette that explores "what it means to be intersex in a binary world," Deadline noted. The film, directed by Tunde Skovran, will make its broadcast debut this summer as part of POV's 37th season on PBS. The film asks, "What makes a male, and what makes a female in a world dominated by the gender binary? Where do we draw the line, and does it really matter?," according to a synopsis.

Original Golden Girls writer Stan Zimmerman revealed in his new book, The Girls: From Golden to Gilmore, that he tried to bring back the Coco—the gay housekeeper played by Charles Levin who was in the Golden Girls' pilot episode, Out noted. "As great as Coco was—and he was very funny, and I love that there was a gay character—it wasn't really needed, and they were smart to let that go," Zimmerman said, according to People. Coco was displaced after the first episode to make room for Estelle Getty to join the cast full time as Sophia.

ABC has renewed the show Abbott Elementary for a fourth season, Variety noted. As a result of the Hollywood strikes, season three featured a five-month time jump and a major plot twist for Janine that allowed star Quinta Brunson to play her in a new way. The show also stars Lisa Ann Walter, Sheryl Lee Ralph, Chris Perfetti and Tyler James Williams, among others.

Marvel Studios unveiled the cast of its new Marvel Studios movie The Fantastic Four, which will now debut July 25, 2025, Deadline noted. Pedro Pascal will play Reed Richards (aka Mr. Fantastic), Vanessa Kirby is Sue Storm (aka the Invisible Woman), Joseph Quinn is Johnny Storm (aka the Human Torch) and Ebon Moss-Bachrach is Ben Grimm (aka the Thing). Created by Jack Kirby and Stan Lee in 1961, The Fantastic Four is a family of astronauts who after being exposed to cosmic rays during a space mission gain superhero powers.

Arrow star and LGBTQ+ ally Stephen Amell has been cast as the lead in the upcoming NBC drama pilot Suits L.A., Deadline noted. Suits L.A. centers on Ted Black (Amell), a former federal prosecutor from New York who has reinvented himself representing the most powerful clients in Los Angeles—and is a charismatic force of nature who puts his own needs above others. Suits: L.A. is not a reboot or revival but a brand extension of the original Suits, which has broken viewing records on Netflix (presumably because of the inclusion of then-actress Meghan Markle, according to media outlets).

Harvey Keitel (The Irishman), Rita Moreno (West Side Story; 80 for Brady), Roselyn Sanchez (Fantasy Island) and out actor Udo Kier (Hunters) will star in Theirs, an indie horror thriller going into production in Tulsa, Oklahoma this summer, per Deadline. The film centers on a mother who—after dealing with abusive men and a bitter divorce—finds hope for herself and her teenage daughter in a new home. However, they find their newfound freedom tested by secrets within its walls.

German trans pop singer Kim Petras dropped another set of completely raunchy bops—the sex-positive EP Slut Pop Miami—in time for Valentine's Day, a press release noted. The 12-song track list includes tunes such as "Banana Boat," "Cockblocker" and "Slut Pop Reprise." Petras is currently on the European leg of her Live Nation produced Feed The Beast World Tour.

On Jimmy Kimmel Live, Katy Perry said that this upcoming season of American Idol will be her last one as a judge, Variety noted. Perry said she was set to perform in this June's "Rock in Rio" festival but beyond that, she's ready to move on. "I love 'Idol' so much; it's connected me with the heart of America," she told Kimmel. "But I feel like I need to go out to feel that pulse of my own beat." Perry, Luke Bryan and Lionel Richie have been judges on the ABC incarnation of "Idol" since it moved there. But when asked if Bryan and Richie knew she was leaving, Perry admitted that they didn't.

The Directors Guild of America (DGA) held its 76th annual awards at the Beverly Hilton. Christopher Nolan took home the night's top honor for Oppenheimer while Celine Song took home the prize for first-time theatrical film for Past Lives. Also, Peter Hoar won for directing an episode of the HBO show The Last of Us while Christopher Storer won for helming an episode of The Bear. The DGA is a strong predictor of Oscar success historically, missing the eventual Best Director winner only eight times in 75 years.

Multiple Academy Award winner Meryl Streep will be returning for season four of the Hulu hit comedy series Only Murders in the Building, reprising her role of Loretta Durkin, Deadline noted. The Emmy-nominated comedy—starring Steve Martin, Martin Short and Selena Gomez—remains Hulu's most-watched comedy original ever, according to the streamer.

Oscar winner and 2024 Berlinale jury president Lupita Nyong'o (Black Panther; Us; 12 Years a Slave) and actress Chloe Grace Moretz (The Peripheral; the Carrie remake) are set to enter the ring for the UFC-based mixed martial arts drama Strawweight, per Variety. In the movie, Moretz is a young woman whose life is changed forever when she discovers her passion for the UFC, while Nyong'o is a former champion who is determined to reclaim her title by reinventing herself. UFC superstar and former strawweight division champion Rose Namajunas will be a fight consultant and an executive producer of the film.

Pearl Jam will release their 12th studio album, Dark Matter, on Monkeywrench Records/Republic Records on April 19 and launch a 35-date worldwide tour this May, a press release announced. Singer Eddie Vedder commented, "We're still looking for ways to communicate. We're at this time in our lives when you could do it or you could not do it, but we still care about putting something out there that is meaningful and we hopefully think is our best work. No hyperbole—I think this is our best work." Tracks include the title song, "Won't Tell" and "Wreckage," among others.

The Lionsgate film 5 Lbs. of Pressure will be In theaters, on digital and On Demand on March 8, per a press release. The plot's description is as follows: "Adam (Luke Evans), an ex-con back in his old neighborhood after serving a 16-year stretch for murder, walks a rocky path of forgiveness toward the son who grew up without him, while the bitter, volatile brother of the youth he killed looms in the background. Meanwhile, Mike (Rory Culkin), sick of doing the bidding of his drug-dealing uncle (Alex Pettyfer), is desperate to leave his sordid life behind. When Adam and Mike's paths converge, inescapable destiny will give way to violence…and a final, fleeting shot at redemption."

Out actor Jonathan Bennett (the original Mean Girls movie) made his Broadway debut recently, replacing Michael Urie as Sir Robin in the revival of Spamalot, a comedic spoof of the King Arthur legend based on the Monty Python film Monty Python and the Holy Grail, Playbill noted. "I've dreamt about this day since I was five years old," Bennett said. "My only dream in my whole life has been to be on Broadway." Bennett dropped out of college when he was 19 and moved to New York City, aiming to be on Broadway. However, within a year, his leading-man looks got him a role on the soap opera All My Children, so he put theater on hold for a while.

The year is still relatively new, but Out has published a list of LGBTQ+ couples who have already split in 2024. They include former NFL star Carl Nassib and Olympic swimmer Soren Dahl; singer Mary Lambert and Wyatt Paige Hermansen (after the latter "stepped out of the marriage," according to Lambert's Instagram post; drag personality Jinkx Monsoon and Michael Abbott; and (possibly) performer Sam Smith and Christian Cowan.

But on the flip side, Out also ran a list of couples who have gotten married or engaged this year. They include America's Got Talent alum Kameron Ross and Lio Botello; The Great British Bake Off's John Whaite and partner Paul Atkins; WWE superstar and Total Divas cast member Daria Berenato and partner Toni Cassano; and All the Queen's Men star Carter The Body and partner Nelli.

Grindr has started a new podcast/video series, Who's the A**hole?, that features RuPaul's Drag Race alum Katya as the main interviewer—and country-music star Orville Peck was the first special guest, Out noted. Peck talked about feeling starstruck upon meeting Brad Pitt iat a friend's birthday party in LA, adding, "When you see this man—I'm not joking—I just want him to hold me." Peck (who also said he's not currently on Grindr) also said, ""He's beautiful, and I would risk it all to have one night of bliss with him."

Former RuPaul's Drag Race finalist Kandy Muse shared disturbing X/Twitter posts about an incident that happened at a gay club, Out noted. In part, Muse wrote,"Last night, at the club, I was assaulted by a man that was groping me and clinging onto the back of my pants and wouldn't let go of me even [though] I told him to let go of me and NO multiple times." Later, she told Out, "I would like not to get the name of the bar. It's a club that I work at a lot, and security handled the situation very, very well."

After the success of the Netflix limited series Dahmer, Peacock has ordered a limited scripted series about notorious serial killer John Wayne Gacy, Variety noted. The series is inspired by the 2021 Peacock/NBC News Studios docuseries John Wayne Gacy: Devil in Disguise, with the scripted series sharing the same name.

On his "Paper Route" podcast, former NFL player Brandon Marshall claimed Taylor Swift had Kanye West removed from Super Bowl 2024 after the rapper allegedly bought seats right in front of her star-studded suite, Page Six noted. However, when telling the story, Marshall initially confused Swift with Katy Perry, who was not even at the game. West's rep told TMZ, "This is a completely fabricated rumor. It is not true."

Leah Remini was thrilled that people see a resemblance between her and a new Beyonce wax figure, according to EW. "I am screaming! And loving all the tweets! This perimenopausal woman will take any and all comparisons to the beautiful Beyoncé," Remini wrote on social media. UK-based Madame Tussauds Blackpool unveiled the wax Beyonce, as well as a new one of Lady Gaga, on its Instagram account.