Tag Archives: TV Show

Be Still My Beating Heart – Ruby Rose Will Be Joining the Cast of Orange Is the New Black

You heard right, out Australian model and actress, Ruby Rose, will be joining the of cast of Orange is the New Black.

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In an interview with US Elle magazine, she confirmed that she will be joining the cast for the third season of the critically acclaimed prison drama.

Netflix have confirmed that Rose will portray Stella Carlin, “an inmate at Litchfield Federal Correctional Institution whose sarcastic sense of humor and captivating looks quickly draw the attention of some of Litchfield’s inmates.”

Grab this months US ELLE magazine for a sneaky insight into my new role on @oitnb … Here we go 2015 #stellaishere

Uma foto publicada por Ruby Rose (@rubyrose86) em

The out model sparked rumours June last year that she had auditioned for the show when she posted a photograph of herself on Instagram wearing the orange jumpsuit so often associated with prisons and with her wrists in handcuffs.

 

A photo posted by Ruby Rose (@rubyrose86) on

Doctor Who’s Michelle Gomez On Her Character’s New Gender

Airing in the family friendly times-lot of 8PM on a Saturday night, the most recent series of Doctor Who were never really expected to push the boundaries. There was a always a risk that pushing the queer boat out would alienate parents convinced that LGBT content is not ‘wholesome’ enough for their child.

Yet, against all odds, Doctor Who has been an unlikely source of queerness. Not only is John Barrowman’s Captain Jack Harkness ‘omnisexual’ (he has loved across all genders and species, apparently) but Madame Vastra and her wife Jenny are a same-gender married couple who are touted as fan favourites.

Recently, the show also did some good for trans viewers when it introduced Missy. Missy (formerly the Master) was always the male antagonist to the titular Doctor and now Michelle Gomez, the actress who plays her, has discussed what it means.

Michelle-Gomez-01

In an interview with Gay Times Magazine, Gomez explained,

“The thing is is that with casting me and having this face, you never really know whether I’m a man or a woman anyway. You just pop a bit of red lipstick on me and I’m sort of Paul O’Grady’s love child.

We still don’t know whether Missy is the Master or the Master is Missy or whether I actually do have an enormous… [looks down] or not. Maybe I am packing. We just don’t know do we, really? That’s something between my husband and I.”

Michelle Gomez

There’s no denying that Gomez’ words are offensive – equating gender with genitalia is incorrect – but they also highlight a concern about Missy’s portrayal.

During the interview, GT also asked Gomez if she anticipated the trans positive reaction to her character to which she replied “You mean did I know I was going to be the Master? [laughs]” seeming to sidestep the question altogether. Going off of this there is a possibility that Missy being female was never meant to be a big deal or was never meant to be seen as trans at all (rather, it was just meant to be a new step in the Master’s lifetime that just happened to be female).

That will be further disappointment to Doctor Who’s trans fans though as GT notes that the actress is “definitely tongue-in-cheek” maybe the smallest glimmer of hope remains.

Must Watch, Lost Girl Season 5 Promo Finally Out

While the announcement of Lost Girl’s end has come as a shock for its many fans, for those who have been watching the Canada-made series since its introduction in 2010, it’s not a completely bad thing either.

In the past four series Lost Girl has prided itself on unbridled sexuality, queer identity and sheer ass-kicking power from both the guys and the girls.

Sexualities in the show aren’t labelled – Bo is seen as bisexual as she feeds off of sexual energy to heal herself and she takes both male and female lovers, most notably the human doctor, Dr. Lauren Lewis and shape-shifting wolf, Dyson, but neither the character nor the show ever says ‘gay’ or ‘bisexual’ to describe themselves or anyone else.

It’s that in part that’s made it such a hit but admittedly, even with the popular Bo/Dyson/Lauren love triangle at its core and each episode weaving a tale of supernatural intrigue, the love for Lost Girl has waned a little.

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Lost-Girl-01

Season 1 was a popular introduction to the somewhat Buffy-esque show and it aired in 13 episodes, but in Season 2 there were 22 episodes and by Season 3 of Lost Girl came around, the show had lost a showrunner (series creator Michelle Lovretta) and the long season seen previously had seen Lost Girl lose a bit of its sheen. Emily Andras was showrunner for Season 3 and 4 but for many fans the plot seemed to grate or bore depending on their attention span. So it’s good that Season 5 will be the end then and it too has another new showrunner, with Andras leaving recently. When it airs the first of its final episodes this December we’ll be able to give a good send off to an iconic piece of queer media.

Lost Girl Faewell – Weirdest Moments

Doctor Who Introduces Trans Female Character

Despite being one of the longest television shows in history (having aired since 1963), Doctor Who has been unable to shake off its core problems. For example, the show has for a very long time come under fire for its treatment of women, as many feel that it’s unfair that a woman hasn’t been given the chance to be the lead as the Doctor. Always the bridesmaid, never the white, male and cisgendered bride, so to speak.

The show also does little in terms of queer characters. John Barrowman’s Captain Jack Harkness was decidedly queer, like the actor himself, and most recently Madame Vastra and her wife Jenny caused a small minority to file OFCOM complaints (yes, they were that disgruntled) when they two shared an incredibly chaste kiss in a Saturday DW episode.

Furthermore, the show has also hinted at the not so heterosexual identity of Clara Oswald (current companion, former Dalek in one episode) even appearing to make her flirt with another woman, but the show hasn’t really followed through.

It’s a contentious issue then; Doctor Who trying to keep up with the times but not alienating the tiny portion of its user base that it is (seemingly) ignorant and especially vocal. But, we took giant step forwards in queer representation last week when Doctor Who introduced a trans female character to the show.

For some time, a character called the Master has plagued the Doctor. The only other Time Lord in existence besides the titular character, the two have never got on. The Master has also always been male until last week when the Master showed up as female character, the ‘Mistress’, asking to be called ‘Missy’ for short.

But, as any rumbling in one of the biggest shows on the planet will do, we are now having to ask some important questions. Namely, does the Mistress count as ‘trans’ and does this mean that the titular Time Lord will be female at some point too?

Well to tackle the tricky topic of Time Lord labelling (try saying that ten times fast) the Mistress could be interpreted as a trans character because the literal meaning means to move from one gender to another. The Master was male, the Mistress is female and they are the same person albeit with a different gender identity, so naturally, trans is the label that everybody is prescribing.

However, Time Lords regenerate. They can change face, gender or race when they die – although we have only seen the main Time Lord as white and male – and this is how the BBC has kept the show running with new actors playing the Doctor for the past five decades.

Arguably, gender fluid would be a better label for the Mistress, assuming that she will transition back in a future regeneration or just acknowledging the fact that she can. And, even though she might not be trans (again, this is depending on your definition) the fact that the Beeb is demonstrating that changing your gender identity is perfectly normal is at least a good message to put out there.
As for the topic of a female Doctor, Doctor Who showrunner Stephen Moffat told Digital Spy that “It’s absolutely narratively possible [that the Doctor could be a woman] and when it’s the right decision, maybe we’ll do it. It didn’t feel right to me, right now. I didn’t feel enough people wanted it.”

Yes, after casting not one, or two but four white men as the role of the Doctor since 2005, Moffat says that not enough people are banging down his front door for a female Doctor. He probably sits in his living room with ear defenders on, then.

But still it does pave the way – or at least put an order in for the paving slabs – for a female Doctor to happen in the future. Whilst Moffat wasn’t listening, plenty of people were vocal enough when the new Doctor was announced that they wanted him to be of colour, a woman or maybe even both.

It’s a long shot then and if I was a betting woman I’d say that we’d see a more diverse protagonist in one more regen or two. Even that seems optimistic but without a TARDIS to hand, I suppose we’ll just have to wait and see.

Pretty Little Liars Christmas Special: Everything We Know So Far

Spoiler alert! The midseason finale of Pretty Little Liars was a big’un. Things are always dark in Rosewood aka the murder capital of the world but in that episode it really lived up to its (unofficial) nickname as fan favourite Mona Vanderwaal was killed off. We even saw her dead body; it was grim.

The liars also fell out with Ali in a big way as the queen of lies and deception began to plot against Emily, Spencer, Hanna and Aria despite the group previously being her best friends and it left us with a plethora of new questions and an intricate web of mystery.

What other secrets is Ali holding? Does she have the power do blackmail the liars? And has she been ‘A’ all along? Aaargh! So much has been left unanswered but we’ll be one step closer to a solution later this year when Pretty Little Liars returns for its Christmas special.

So what do we know so far? Like many of the Halloween specials before it, PLL’s Christmas themed episode is centred around one big party. The theme is ‘Winter Wonderland’ so we’re told and so the liars –plus Ali and her henchpeople – are suitably dressed in icy blue and white attire. I’m not quite sure how dresses are appropriate for Winter weather but it’s Pretty Little Liars so let’s just go with it.

Aria will also be dancing with her boyfriend, English teacher Ezra Fitz, but it won’t all be slow dances under the disco ball for Rosewood’s most famous, definitely illegal couple. The episode is called “How the ‘A’ Stole Christmas” so the infamous villain (or the villainous group) will be back to cause mischief like the Grinch, but with more black hoodies.

Furthermore, A’s plotting includes some Christmas-themed spooks. There’s no word yet on what they are yet but Mona Vanderwaal makes a return as the ghost of Christmas past, with Janel Parrish who plays the deceased teen explaining that she’s “going to be in the Christmas special as the ghost of Christmas past, present and future, and in the second half of the season there will be more Mona flashbacks”.

In a more festive holiday spirit though, the liars, along with Paige, Jenna, Lucas and Sydney, visit the Shady Days Nursing Home to sing some Christmas carols!

Even Ali celebrates the right way as the cunning teen gets her smooch on at the party with someone dressed like Santa Claus, according to Pretty Little Liars writer Bryan Holdman. It’s unclear just who is dressed up as Santa though (some fans are hoping that it’s Emily, despite her and Paige looking pretty loved up in the teaser photos) so that will be one of many big reveals when the episode airs in December.

Scandal’s Newest Cast Member Portia de Rossi Surprises Her Wife

Awwww, Scandal’s newest cast member Portia de Rossi surprised her wife (Ellen DeGeneres) by joining the entire cast of Scandal on the Ellen Show.

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“You stopped texting me!” said Ellen in response to Portia appearance. Well, now she knows why.

Watch the videos here…

Ellen played a special game with the cast of “Scandal,” in which they had to guess each other’s secrets! But first, Kerry Washington had a BIG secret to reveal!

Ellen them issued a dare to the cast of “Scandal,” with a big prize for the winner…

Pretty Little Liars’ Sasha Pieterse Discuss Emily and Alison’s Relationship

Life can be hard for the budding, young, gay lady when she’s crushing on a straight girl, not least when that straight girl also happens to be her best friend and it comes at a time when she’s trying to deal with her not-so-heterosexual feelings.

Feel sorry for Pretty Little Liars’ Emily Fields then, the gay teen in that analogy, as not only was she forced to acknowledge the fact that she was in totally-definitely-not-heterosexual love with her best friend, Alison DiLaurentis. Then Alison proceeded to disappear, presumed dead with no chance of returning alive, or returning Emily’s feelings. But then earlier this season on PLL, Alison came back, alive, well and hinting that she liked Emily back too.

But after several girlfriends and years of Emily trying to get over her would Alison and Emily, “Emison”, be able to kiss and make up? Sasha Pieterse, the actress who plays Ali has since explained.

Pieterse acknowledges that questions and alarm bells were sounded by viewers alike when Emison reunited, promptly making out when Alison stayed at Emily’s house explaining that she didn’t want to be alone.

“I don’t think the audience can tell if Ali is genuine or if she’s playing Emily to get close to her or if she just wants Emily’s protection. I wasn’t sure at the beginning of the season where they were going to go with it, and how the fans were going to react”.

Sasha Pieterse

But is it real or, as we have seen somewhat from Ali already since her return, is this another one of her dirty, mind-muddling tricks?

“I think Alison is so scared to show her real feelings that we never really know what’s true and what isn’t. I can’t tell you too much about that, but you will be able to see more. I think the writers do a really good job of finding that balance, and even though these characters live in a heightened reality, there’s still a trueness about being that age and not being sure what you’re feeling. Alison hasn’t really had an opportunity to figure out who she is. Emily has had such a journey with it and she’s grown into herself. You will see more of Alison figuring herself out, and I’m excited to see how the fans react.”

Sasha Pieterse

That Ali is just coming to terms with her feelings (and keep in mind that her time away means that she probably wasn’t able to explore her sexuality or date women – or anyone of any gender – the way Emily has) rings true to the character so with half a season of Pretty Little Liars still left to go there’s still chance yet for the popular couple.

Source: AfterEllen

Lost Girl Season 5 Will Be Its Last, Cast and Crew Announces

As it stands, the figures for LGBTQ characters in our media are improving. Across shows like Pretty Little Liars and The Fosters, we can see queer, female characters of various races whilst shows like Elementary and Orange is the New Black both feature trans women of colour in minor and recurring roles (respectively). This a long way away from The L Word’s insistence on mostly white faces and occasional transphobia while even Glee has gotten it wrong with its gay, male creator managing to offend queer ladies rather than understand queer female identities.

It’s also a 180 degree turn from ‘sweeps bisexuals’ in which characters (usually female) got same gender lovers for one episode before the love interests were sacrilegiously thrown aside and never mentioned again, all for the sake of slightly boosted ratings. Lost Girl never did that though, its protagonist Bo being a bold, bisexual beacon for us all to turn to. But now, as we gear up to its fifth season Lost Girl’s upcoming run of episodes will be its last.

While the announcement of Lost Girl’s end has come as a shock for its many fans, for those who have been watching the Canada-made series since its introduction in 2010, it’s not a completely bad thing either.

In the past four series Lost Girl has prided itself on unbridled sexuality, queer identity and sheer ass-kicking power from both the guys and the girls. Sexualities in the show aren’t labelled – Bo is seen as bisexual as she feeds off of sexual energy to heal herself and she takes both male and female lovers, most notably the human doctor, Dr. Lauren Lewis and shape-shifting wolf, Dyson, but neither the character nor the show ever says ‘gay’ or ‘bisexual’ to describe themselves or anyone else.

It’s that in part that’s made it such a hit but admittedly, even with the popular Bo/Dyson/Lauren love triangle at its core and each episode weaving a tale of supernatural intrigue, the love for Lost Girl has waned a little.

Season 1 was a popular introduction to the somewhat Buffy-esque show and it aired in 13 episodes, but in Season 2 there were 22 episodes and by Season 3 of Lost Girl came around, the show had lost a showrunner (series creator Michelle Lovretta) and the long season seen previously had seen Lost Girl lose a bit of its sheen. Emily Andras was showrunner for Season 3 and 4 but for many fans the plot seemed to grate or bore depending on their attention span. So it’s good that Season 5 will be the end then and it too has another new showrunner, with Andras leaving recently. When it airs the first of its final episodes this December we’ll be able to give a good send off to an iconic piece of queer media.

Channel 4 Talks Upcoming Gay Drama ‘Cucumber’

It doesn’t take a television analyst to see that the state of LGBT characters in the media isn’t quite where we want it to be. Often, non-heterosexual (or non-cisgendered) characters are shoehorned in with side plots and undeveloped storylines even at the best of times, which is why it’s so refreshing to see those who have broken away from heteronormativity get the spotlight.

UK television channel Channel 4 is often very good with that, previously airing iconic, queer-friendly shows like Skins across its network. Now, the channel is coming back with several gay dramas based around one another, the flagship of these being ‘Cucumber’.

Set to star Vincent Franklin as a gay male in his 40s who is attracted to a younger man, Cucumber will also feature Julie Hesmondhalgh (of Coronation Street fame) and comedian Rufus Hound. A gay drama, it will be interesting to see a gay male at the centre of attention this time round and Russell T. Davies, the creator of Queer As Folk, another iconic piece of queer media, is on board to helm the show which is incredibly hopeful indeed.

Cucumber will also have a companion show named Banana which will air on Channel 4’s sister channel E4 and will be aimed towards the younger demographic. There will also be an online portion of the project named Tofu which will explore stories of gay sex and will also feature contributions from the public.

All having potentially conservative-bothering storylines, characters and topics, Piers Wenger, Channel 4’s Head of Drama explains…

“In a drama looking at the details of people’s sex lives, whether gay or straight people, of course you are required to bust taboos or ask probing questions. There’s no doubt people will find it challenging but it’s asking intelligent questions in an original way.”

Piers Wenger, Channel 4’s Head of Drama

Meanwhile, Jay Hunt, Channel 4’s Chief Creative Officer noted that the shows are all “channel-defining” and that they likely wouldn’t broadcast on US television networks. Cucumber, Banana and Tofu will, however, air in the UK sometime in 2015.

Source:PinkNews

 

Chelsea Handler Comes Out to Ellen DeGeneres in the Shower

Filmed for the series finale of Chelsea Lately, the clip features Ellen demanding to know why she has never been invited onto Chelsea’s show as a guest previously.

Chelsea Handler Comes Out to Ellen DeGeneres in the ShowerEllen confronts Chelsea for never inviting her to be a guest on her show. Firing out accusations, the talk show queen quizzes if it has something to do with the fact that she is a lesbian.

Defending herself, Chelsea jokes that she’s also a lesbian and attempts to win Ellen over by complimenting her ‘current’ sitcom. This was a great way to end Chelsea Lately, although Ellen was a little overdressed.

 

The show celebrated it’s finale after seven years on the air and will be moving from the E! network to a new programe on Netflix. Several other  stars (Gwen Stefani, Miley Cyrus, Selena Gomez, Jennifer Aniston, Fergie, Tim Gunn and Sandra Bullock) showed up to the finale to perform a musical goodbye to the comedian.

Tabrett Bethell Discusses her Bisexual Role in Legend of the Seeker

Tabrett Bethell is best known for her role as Cara Mason on the TV series Legend of the Seeker.

What was interesting about this role, was Bethell character brought to the TV screen some much needed queer representation, and in particular a bi character at a time when there’s was not much queerness visible.

In the show Cara had two established love interests: Leo and Dahlia.

Bethell recently spoke to NYCastings Ilana Rapp about playing a bisexual and playing Cara Mason.

To be honest I didn’t ever think twice about this. Being intimate with male / females was part of the character and it didn’t ever feel like an unsafe environment to express this creatively through my character. I’m sure I was probably spoken to about this and had support if needed but the memory doesn’t register as I just didn’t ever feel I had a problem with this.

The juicier and darker my character got the more excited I got. BRING IT ON! And when I started to feel like I had a better understanding of Cara this process became rather thrilling. That’s what I love about being an actor – it gives you permission to do things you wouldn’t normally do.

And how exciting to play a character that gets to enjoy the best of both worlds, both sexes, how fun! My mother became a mad fan of the show. She would call me in tears when watching Cara being tortured and I’d be like “Mum, chill, it’s a TV show, it’s not real. I’m still here, unharmed.”

Tabrett Bethell

Read the full article here

New Superhero TV show ‘The Flash’ Features Gay Characters in First Season

Producer Greg Berlanti told Huffington Post that the series will debut in September and that there would be at least two gay characters.

Berlanti revealed that gay DC Comics character David Singh (played by actor Patrick Sabongui), will be a recurring role throughout the first season of the show.

He also announced another gay character, whose identity is not yet known, will appear during the season. The second character will also be be a guy who already exists in the DC universe.

Wentworth Miller has also joined the show, and will play Flash nemesis Leonard Snart aka Captain Cold.

The show is set to enjoy extensive crossovers with sister show Arrow, which itself introduced a lesbian relationship between Sara Lance (Caity Lotz), and assassin Nyssa Al Ghul (Katrina Law).

Here is a sneak peek of the new show

What Does Glee’s Final Season Mean for LGBT Characters on TV?

Flashback to early 2009 and you’d be met with a time before Lady Gaga covers by Broadway stalwarts were the pinnacle of the weekday TV line-up and before cheesy renditions of every middle-aged white American father’s favourite song, Don’t Stop Believing’, was used as the only means of justifying a character’s progression.

But then Summer 2009 rolled around and brought the pilot episode of Glee with it, hitting TV viewers with the force of a ton of bricks with all of the subtlety of those aforementioned building blocks dressed in a sequinned leotard performing a Madonna song because damn, Glee really can’t get enough of its blonde, Italian female pop icons.

Over the course of the instantly ordered 12 episodes that followed (television network FOX deeming the initial episode’s popularity that strong) Glee introduced a canon gay man and some only slightly trophy lesbian subtext so with an army strong fanbase being built up over the remainder of the season, the face of television would never be the same again.

Then season 2 of Glee crept in, still with the same lack of subtlety and still with the emotional force that would rip your heart to shreds like a lover with a vengeance before singing it back together with equally as painful (yet beautiful) covers of songs that fit the situation just right (look to season 2’s ‘Rumors’ episode – specifically the scene where Santana serenades Brittany with Fleetwood Mac’s ‘Songbird’ – for both).

Then over the course of that season and the ones that have thus far followed it brought with it a confusing collection of behaviours that were as far from the progressive attitude that it had helped usher in as Glee’s setting of Lima, Ohio are from the Hollywood lot in which Glee is filmed.

A really brief amount of example scenes are; a scene suggested that the struggles of a disabled female teen mom were any less valid than white, able bodied gay man, any scene that involved ‘Finchel’ the emotionally abusive coupling of Finn and Rachel, a scene where Finn actually drags Quinn (the aforementioned disabled teen) out of her wheelchair to prove a point.

Every scene in which Brittany and Santana were denied an on-screen kiss (they had to wait three entire seasons) and one key moment where fans of Brittany and Santana were ridiculed using in character dialogue. Did any of those things fill viewers with the titular glee? I should hope not.

In truth, Glee is a show that viewers have been waiting to get cancelled. With Ryan Murphy’s singing and dancing brainchild haemorrhaging viewers from the end of season 2, failing to stop the rot thanks to its reliance of both casual and overt racism, sexism, lesbiphobia and transphobia to boot, the stats show that too.

To answer the question I posed in the headline: that may as well have been rhetoric, because frankly, it really doesn’t matter. Yes, we’ll see an arbitrary numbers drop in the amount of LGBT characters because of those that Glee had offered us but the gaps will be filled by other, much better shows (see: The Fosters, Pretty Little Liars, Lost Girl, Orange is the New Black etc.) that take more care with presenting queer identities.

What Glee eventually became leading up to its sixth and final season was never like the incredibly progressive bubble that society tells us that we’re in and much like the ‘modern and accepting’ year of 2014, what we actually got was a progressive veneer and a promise that the world loves non-white, able-bodied, non-heterosexual identities when the prejudice still festers – itchy and infected – under the surface.

We shouldn’t have to settle for drive-through burgers of grease and gristle when the progressive prime steak is always going to be better; not now and not ever. So to answer my own question once again; I don’t care. Just give me something else to add to the pile of TV shows that delight me more than Glee ever did because God-knows this showtune hardened writer could use them.