WATCH LIST: A Trans Indian American Reunites With Her Son in “Venus” and "Ozark" Returns
In Theaters
Gay favorite James Franco plays a crime boss in this sci-fi/drama/thriller mash-up about a Detroit teenager, Eli (Myles Truitt), who finds a futuristic weapon. It's executive-produced by Michael B. Jordan, who also makes a cameo (swoon!). (August 31, Lionsgate)
DVD/Blu-Ray/Video on Demand
Raised by his mother and stepfather, 14-year-old Ralph (Jamie Meyers) manages to track down his biological father, Sid (Debargo Sanyal), just as Sid is ready to come out as a transgender woman to her own Indian family. Adding more complication is Sid’s boyfriend, Daniel (Pierre-Yves Cardinal), who didn’t sign up for a son. Chaos, culture clash, and comedy ensue. (DVD, Wolfe)
Imagining Juliet Capulet of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet as a queer vampire, director Ronnie Kahlil’s Greece-set romance sees the heartbroken 800-year-old (Ella Kweku) finally find a new spark of love in a woman (Paige Emerson). (VOD, Gravitas Ventures)
The eventful life of Andre Leon Talley, trailblazing Vogue creative director/American editor-at-large, is revealed in this entertaining and deep documentary, from his youth in segregation-era North Carolina to years at the hottest fashion catwalk shows alongside Anna Wintour and other icons. (VOD, Magnolia)
TV/Streaming
This darkly comic Breaking Bad-esque series about a Chicago financial advisor, Marty Bryde (Jason Bateman), forced to launder money for a drug cartel in the Missouri sticks continues. Whether gay FBI agent Roy Petty (Jason Butler Harner) returns has been kept under wraps. (August 31, Netflix)
The cult black comedy about five vile individuals who run a pub saw Rob McElhenney’s Mac come out of the closet as gay last season. In the upcoming 13th season, which adds Mindy Kaling to the cast, expect a gratuitous shirtless scene for the now-ripped Mac (he showed off his body at L.A. Pride recently) in the season premiere, plus a fantastically choreographed interpretive dance to a Sigur Rós song when he decides to come out to his father (Gregory Scott Cummings). (September 5, FXX)
Netflix’s stand-up showcase series unleashes another batch of episodes, with hysterical 15-minute sets from out comedians Matteo Lane and Emma Willmann (both, incidentally, host a weekly podcast together, Inside the Closet). (August 31, Netflix)
On Netflix in September
The second season of hit comedy series Atypical drops September 7 with openly gay actor Nik Dodani back as Zahid, best friend and love advisor to autistic teenager Sam (Kier Gilchrist). Kieran Culkin of HBO’s Succession plays gay in Edgar Wright’s high-octane adaptation of Bryan Lee O’Malley’s graphic novel series, Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, available September 16. And binge Ryan Murphy’s American Horror Story: Cult starting September 18.
