Tag Archives: Empire

‘Empire’ Remember Tiana’s Bisexuality By Giving Her A Threesome With Rumer Willis & Hakeem In A Hot Tub

Rumer Willis is the newest star to have a stint on Empire, playing singer-songwriter Tory Ash – an addiction-riddled singer whose entire look on the show appears to parallel the life of Amy Winehouse.

Now, new stills from the hit drama show Willis character frolicking in a giant soapy bathtub with Tiana Brown (Serayah McNeill).

The ladies kiss and caressed each other in a hot tube, before Brown’s on-off boyfriend Hakeem Lyon (played by Bryshere Y. Gray) gets involved in the action.

Yet again, disappointing from a series that started out so strong and with positive queer visibility – especially with it’s handling with Jamal – it still leans on lusty lesbian stereotypes to boast ratings.

Which is super sad, considering the show was created by an out gay man (Lee Daniels) and showrunner Ilene Chaiken (creator of The L Word)

 

All Lesbian Or Bisexual Characters To Watch On Television This Month

This fall we have more queer women characters than ever before with more representation of women of color in pivotal roles. Network, cable and streaming staff are finding more ways to be inclusive of LGBTQ women. Here are 21 shows, new and returning that are giving gay and bi women some screen time.


1. Gotham

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In the third series of Gotham the bisexual murderesses, Barbara and Tabitha are up to their usual tricks and getting themselves into a love triangle again! This series is aired on Fox.  (Fox, Mondays 8/7c)


2. Shameless

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This comedy is one of the queerest shows on TV, and this season might be one of the queerest with the thriving polyamorous throuple of Veronica, Kevin and Svetlana alongside Ian seeing his boyfriend french kissing a woman in the season premiere. Three isn’t really a crowd on this show, and sexual orientation has little to do with how anyone is treated.  (Showtime, Sundays, 9/8c)


3. Scream Queens

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Pansexual Chanel #3 has her investigation head on after reports of a new red devil have her friends mildly concerned about their lives. last season ended with Chanel #3 finding a love interest inside the mental institution. (FX, Tuesdays, 9/8c)


4. The Walking Dead

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This long running show boasts a lesbian character Tara Chambler but they killed off her girlfriend, Denise, with an arrow to the eye last season. It will be interesting to see what is in store for her during season 7. (AMC, Sundays, 9/8c)


5. Easy

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This Netflix series is about love, sex and relationships in Chicago and is very queer inclusive. It will feature one episode based entirely on a lesbian couple and another about a couple who go onto tinder to seek a woman for a threesome and ends up spending the night with a woman they already know. (Netflix, available now)


6. Code Black

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In season 2, Dr. Malaya Pineda, who is one of a very few gay Indian characters on TV, lost her love last season and endured some professional setbacks as well. This season let’s hope things get a bit better for her.  (CBS, Wednesdays, 10/9c)


7. Empire

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Fox’s hit musical drama Empire boasted several queer women characters in the first two seasons, so we are sure to get some scenes involving a few of them and there may even be more queer women who pop up on occasion as well. (Fox, Wednesdays, 9/8c)


8. Younger

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Younger is now in season 3 and we will see the return of Maggie who had a brief affair with Lauren, who was against being labelled. Here’s hoping that there is another romance on the horizon for her during this season. (TVLand, Wednesdays, 10/9c)


9. Legends Of Tomorrow

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Sara Lance is a bisexual superhero character that is a force to be reckoned with! Last season she spent time with quite a few love interests so she is sure to enjoy some more encounters in season 2. (CW, Thursdays, 8/7c)


10. Mary And Jane

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Best friends Jordan and Paige are mainly focused on expanding their marijuana delivery service, but when they aren’t working, their relationships (and sexual fantasies) tend to be of the sexually fluid variety and both enjoy fantasies involving other women. Jordan even enjoyed being the attention of a hetro couple only to discover they were using her to spice things up for them at home. (MTV, Mondays 10/9c)


11. Supergirl

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The character Maggie Sawyer is a lesbian working for the National City Police Department and the exec. producer of the show has promised to keep her as gay as she is in the comic books. Supergirl can be seen on CW.  (CW, Mondays 8/7c)


12. Jane The Virgin

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Rosie and Luisa have an awful lot of chemistry between them both but as Rose married and then murdered Luisa’s father things are far than simple for them both. Season three premiers on 18th October. (CW, Mondays 9/8c)


13. The Mindy Project

Out comic Fortune Feimster is back full time in Season 5 and plays a nurse who is the gay sister of Jody. (Hulu, Tuesdays)


14. NCIS: New Orleans

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A new out lesbian character, Tammy Gregorio, is an FBI agent with a mysterious past. She is brashy, ballsy and outspoken so she is sure to ruffle some feathers along the way.  (CBS, Tuesdays, 10/9c)


15. American Housewife

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This new comedy stars a character called Angela who is back, gay and going through a divorce. Angela and her friends see themselves as the outcasts of the town, so naturally they use their differences as a fun way to scare off the racist homophobes attempting to move in next door. (ABC, Tuesdays 8:30/7:30c)


16. Queen Sugar

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This TV series, co-created by Oprah Winfrey, is about a black family trying to keep their family business going.  The character, Nova Bordelon, one of the family members, is a journalist, activist and weed dealer whose bisexuality is not a problem for her brother and sister. (OWN, Wednesdays, 10/9c)


17. Transparent

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Ali and Cherry Jones are still together at the beginning of Transparent‘s third season, so that’s something! And Sarah has finally accepted that she’s bisexual! (Amazon Prime)


18. Life In Pieces

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Dougie, another character played by Fortune Femister, comes out in season two and she gets to experience her first gay bar and gets into other hilarious situations that are sure to make us smile. (CBS, Thursdays 9:30/8:30c)


19. How To Get Away With Murder

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Annalise Keating is black and bisexual and she is as smart as she is mysterious, making her the kind of woman you both fear and fall head over heels for. Her on-again/off-again lover Eve is also set to appear in a few episodes this season so that should make interesting viewing again. (ABC, Thursdays, 10/9c)


20. Saturday Night Live

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Comedian Kate McKinnon is back again to deliver us some of the funniest sketches, impersonations and characters we have ever seen. (NBC, Saturdays, 11:30/10:30c)


21. Grey’s Anatomy

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Grey’s Anatomy lesbian MD Arizona Robbins is set for a new romance this season after losing her last love last season. So fingers crossed that this lady finds a love to make her smile. (ABC, Thursdays, 8/7c)


22. One Mississippi

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One Mississippi is a semi-autobiographical dark comedy about a lesbian who returns to Mississippi after the death of her mother. The lesbian, of course, is Tig Notaro. (Amazon Prime)

Ilene Chaiken Changes The Course Of Television Twice

Ilene Chaiken has done so much for bringing minority groups to the forefront of television. Firstly, she gives us The L Word, the first TV show that put lesbians lives and the lives of the LGBTQ community at the centre of the programme.

Then she gives us Empire, which is the first show to feature a majority cast of African Americans and their daily lives in the music and entertainment industry. The show is already into its third season.

Because Chaiken is a woman and an out lesbian, the fact she is at the head of these productions is a big achievement as Hollywood still struggles with diversity, in front of and behind the camera. Chaiken told Advocate Magazine:

Clearly, it’s still a boys’ club. As a gay person, there’s still is just an uphill road for us to hoe. We are underrepresented vastly, and we haven’t been represented in all of the ways in which we live in the world. I think it’s incremental, the progress that we see in that regard.”

TV is however outpacing film in regards to diversity, but this is not something that is happening everywhere. CBS got criticised in the summer for revealing an upcoming season of shows focusing on white, straight men. Chaiken believes a lot of this is also to do with the political situation in America at the moment.

 Look at where we are now. It’s this extraordinary political moment and these two countervailing trends of political culture. There’s this great leap forward and this hideous and appalling kind of slide backwards. There’s a real tension in our culture right now that’s still being reflected in the entertainment culture.”

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Chaiken is the lead in the writer’s room for Empire and she is a firm believer that her identities are her strengths in her job and she doesn’t see them as weaknesses. She went on to say:

The qualities that I ascribe to being a woman and to being gay are the things that I think make me good at my job. There are different ways of being a showrunner. And I like to think that I do it with a sense of inclusiveness, with a view to listening and welcoming the input of my colleagues and nurturing.”

When Chaiken led the writers room on The L Word she said that at first she was encouraged to hire writers who were straight and good at their craft but she quickly realized that writing experience was nowhere near real life experience and so she started hiring lesbian writers.

It just was so clear that in taking on this mission of doing the first show about lesbians in the history of mainstream television that lesbians had to tell those stories. We’re pulling back the curtain on our lives, and we’re the ones who know our lives.”

Chaiken also has some plans for the future and what is missing from TV right now. She says:

I’m just looking at the landscape, and I feel it’s time for another great gay show. There will be soon, I hope, and not necessarily a show about being gay, although I would welcome that, but also a show that simply is led by characters who are gay and are living their lives. In that way, we get to portray the nuances of our lives.”

This is good to hear and we will all be waiting to see what this amazing, talented and fearless showrunner will give us to enjoy next.

15 Most Annoying Lesbian Couples On TV

Lesbian relationships on television are generally love-hate. Whether we love one character and hate the other, we love the representation but hate both characters, or whatever the exact storyline is, it’s hard to find a lesbian couple we actually like and want to learn more about.

What is it that has us hating these women so deeply? Well, no two are exactly alike, but generally, they’re relationships we wouldn’t really want to see in our own lives: The women break each other’s hearts in such terrible ways and still stay together? WTF? No one wants to admit that happens in real life, so we don’t want to see it on TV, either.

How many of these couples make you angry, too?


Shane and Jenny (The L Word)

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Truly, The L Word brought us so many relationships to hate – but Shane and Jenny is one of the most universally hated ones. Realistically, we couldn’t picture Escape Artist Shane hooking up with someone with so many obvious attachment issues – ahem, Jenny – or crazy narcissistic Jenny just completely getting over the fact that Shane literally just hooked up with Jenny’s girlfriend.

No matter how much Jenny might be a clinger or a hypocrite, she wouldn’t forgive Shane that fast. And the only way that Shane would have been able to pick Jenny after everything that her friends constantly told her would be if she was still picturing Season One Jenny, the sweet and innocent one.

But Shane and Jenny barely even knew each other back then – Shane had to have been able to see the crazy hanging out.


Dawn Denbo and her lover Cindy (The L Word)

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It’s not too often that you can predict the catastrophe that is a particular relationship right from the onset. One of these rare examples is Dawn Denbo and her lover Cindy from She-Bar in The L Word. These two are obviously deranged from the very beginning – I mean, who wants to be constantly referred to as someone’s lover? Not only does this set a precedence of ownership, but it also implies that Cindy is only good for one thing – and Dawn isn’t the only one she’s getting it from.

Then again, Dawn isn’t exactly a peach either. Would I say she deserved to be cheated on? Probably not – but she definitely deserved to have some bad stuff happen to her.


Camilla and Mimi (Empire)

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This is a relationship that literally only exists to fulfill a possibility once marriage equality was legalized in the United States. Literally – this was confirmed by series co-creator Danny Strong. These two don’t love each other, and they belong to that portion of the (hypothetical) queer community that anti-equality advocates say will destroy the fabric of “traditional marriage” – and as such I’d like to formally reject them as representatives of lesbians and bisexual women.


Samantha and Maria (Sex and the City)

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Who would have ever pictured Samantha with a woman? Answer: No one, because the writers didn’t let us believe there was a chance. Then, suddenly, plot twist – she likes the ladies, too. To prove this, she ends up with a woman she has nothing in common with – no chemistry, even. We just don’t like that. And then when Maria has to basically turn crazy before they break up? Yeah, I don’t buy it – there wasn’t even anything there to start with.


Tammy and Sarah (Transparent)

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This is one that was pretty much doomed from the start, even if fans didn’t want to admit it right away. Realistically, if you leave your husband for your girlfriend, it’s probably not going to work out too great. When Tammy reveals her “true colors” and basically refuses to even acknowledge Sarah’s kids – hello, they’re part of your life now, too – Sarah gets out before things get too horrible. Of course, if Sarah had just left her husband before hooking up with someone else, maybe this whole situation could have been avoided. I guess we’ll never know, since the two both ended up bitter and single and alone.


Emily and Sara (Pretty Little Liars)

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Okay, so these two were never really a couple, but the writers let us think they were going to go there for just a little too long. (Shame on you for intentionally queerbaiting a seriously believable queer character, by the way – not nice!) Anyway, the writers let us think that Emily and Sara were actually going to become a thing – and then had Emily knock her upside the face. You go, Emily.


Emily and Paige (Pretty Little Liars)

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This is another one that had me yelling at the TV – but Em hadn’t learned yet. I mean, would you be able to form a relationship with someone who legit just tried to kill you a few episodes back? I couldn’t, but maybe that’s not a deal-breaker for our Emily. There are more than a few times when Paige royally screws up and I just wanted her to move away or get taken by A or something. Sigh. At least things finally ended – even if it did take just a little too long.


Adriana and Gia (90210)

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Maybe I’m just a little bitter about seeing someone “try out lesbianism” as a way to deal with their boy problems, but Adriana and Gia’s relationship was a mess of stuff we don’t want to deal with. It even spawned a music video – a terrible, terrible music video. Seriously, if you haven’t heard the song, take a listen and see how much angrier you are at the couple afterward.


Tess and Lou (Lip Service)

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It’s rough to be with someone who refuses to come out of the closet, and while it’s a completely respectable choice to stay in the closet, it’s not fair to force someone else back into the closet, essentially, to suit your own needs. It’s not her fault you’re not out of the closet, and it definitely wasn’t her choice. These two weren’t bad people, but they weren’t right for each other – no matter how cute they were together.


Nikki and Dutch (The Strain)

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I love Dutch so much – even if she is a bit wishy-washy in her relationships. But I’d rather see her with Fet than Nikki. Hello, Nikki completely abandoned you for a long time, and stole all your stuff. Why would you even consider getting back together?! Stick with Fet – he’s good for you, and he’ll actually step up and help save the friggin’ world. Nikki would rather fight with you than fight next to you. You deserve so much better!


Leslie and Clarice (Chicago Fire)

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Call me crazy, but the trope about an ex coming back pregnant and the two getting back together for this new family is… Strange. Maybe it actually happens, what do I know – but this couple showed why it’s probably not the best idea – at least not for everyone.


Willow and Kennedy (Buffy the Vampire Slayer)

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Lesbians aren’t just interchangeable – and the pairing of Willow and Kennedy definitely lacked the depth that Willow and Tara shared. This whole relationship seemed like an excuse for gratuitous onscreen canoodling, and it really didn’t feel like Willow gave a rat’s ass about Kennedy. (Not that she should have been in love with her or anything, but there should have been some chemistry somewhere.)


Jeri and Wendy (Jessica Jones)

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This couple basically exists to remind us that rich person + rich person does not automatically mean their relationship will be happy and successful and magical. In fact, these two are pretty messed up right from the start. This is what happens when you cheat on your wife – be the bigger person and break up before pursuing the side chick! Come on!


Dana and Tonya (The L Word)
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Tonya might just be the most horrible girlfriend on this entire list – I mean, she allocated Dana’s money to herself, and killed her cat. Who in their right mind would get engaged to someone like that?! You mess with animals, you get an immediate “no” from me, and how about a little autonomy in finances, too? If your woman wants to give you some money, she should feel free to do so without any pressure from you. Especially if you’ve already got your own decent paying job. Buh-bye, Tonya, we won’t miss you.

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Lindsay and Melanie (Queer as Folk)

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These two are basically the epitome of lesbian negative stereotypes – from their clothes, to their infidelity, to their man-hating ways (we’re looking at you, Melanie). It was one of the first lesbian relationships openly shown on TV, so we really wanted to like the couple. But it’s obvious that this show was written to cater the gay men and not the lesbians. It’s almost as if it’s denying the existence of lesbians in the Pittsburgh gay scene entirely.


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Ilene Chaiken’s ‘Empire’ Is Killing Off More Lesbians

SPOILER ALERT: Do not read ahead, if you have not watched the April 6 episode of Empire.

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Empire did its part to keep the Dead Lesbian Syndrome saga going this week by killing off Mimi Whiteman (Marisa Tomei) and her wife Camilla Marks-Whiteman (Naomi Campbell) – the new power lesbians of music.

Their demise joins a long list of lesbian / bisexual TV character who have met their end the past few weeks. The 100 killed off, just after she consummated her relationship with her female lover. AMC’s The Walking Dead also killed off, as did Syfy’s The Magicians, The Expanse, CBS medical drama Code Black and CW’s Jane the Virgin.

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Though the pattern of television deaths has become a recent trend, Empire showrunner (and creator of The L Word) Ilene Chaiken was quick to explain that the shocking double death does not fall into the same category.

I think that we aren’t a part of that phenomenon or conversation.”

Speaking about Campbell’s character (who had sex with a man, in the scene prior to her death), Chaiken explains:

I would say that Camilla is not a lesbian character. Camilla was, if anything, an opportunist, which is quite different from being a lesbian. If anything, the lesbians should wish for a character like Camilla to be killed off since she just preyed on a powerful lesbian in order to fulfill her heterosexual ambitions.”

Empire has always been a show inclusive of LGBTQ relationships, primarily with a series-long storyline revolving around one of the main characters Jamal Lyon (Jussie Smollett) publicly embracing his sexuality and becoming a role model for gay fans in the hip-hop community.

But the series has proven that everybody is fair game for beat downs, insults, getting shot, melodramatic tumbles down the stairs and on and on.

We also have to remember the show is currently working to regain its footing, and killing off characters (especially lesbians) keeps things lively.

Mimi and Camilla were prop characters, and it’s a shame they were wiped out as opposed to given more depth, more compelling backstory, more thought.

So, are there any plans to introduce a loving lesbian couple on Empire? Chaiken says.

No plans at the moment, but it’s always in my thoughts. I don’t know whether anybody else shares my wish for that, but I’m always looking for that story.”

Fall TV Introduces Several New Queer Women of Colour

For years, lesbian, bisexual and otherwise non-heterosexual women have lamented the lack of queer female representation on TV, begged, pleaded and prayed on their lucky Ellen TIME magazine covers that TV would feature storylines about women who love women.

But as the times have changed and Hollywood has begun to reflect the changing social attitudes towards non-heterosexual people, what they are now asking for is an increase in diversity in those characters, rather than just an increase in their numbers.

Specifically, TV viewers have asked for more queer women of colour, hoping that networks to do better to reflect the LGBT community as it exists in reality.

For reference, last year’s GLAAD ‘Where Are We On TV’ report noted that on broadcast, just 28 out of 65 (43%) regular or recurring LGBT characters were women and just 26% of 65 were LGBT people of colour. On cable, 44% of the 64 LGBT characters on cable networks were women and 34% of that 64 were people of colour.

Unfortunately, GLAAD doesn’t provide a specific breakdown of the amount of women of colour but looking at those statistics, even if all of those LGBT people of colour were women, we wouldn’t be looking at a very large group.

Those numbers are dismal then, but they are so last year. They are a thing of the past, truly, because as we move into the fall TV season of 2015, several new queer women of colour are now gracing our screens, either in brand new shows or as characters who have just come out (in some capacity) since their shows returned.

One of the most talked about examples of this is on How To Get Away With Murder on ABC. The show was already breaking ground as one of few shows to feature a black woman as the lead but in its season premiere, lawyer Annalise Keating reunited with her old college gal pal, and it was revealed that they used to date. They rekindled their relationship (though it was short lived as Eve, Annalise’s ex, returned to New York) and it was so great that we even labelled it one of our ‘need to watch’ shows.

Over on FOX, Empire became another one of our need to watch shows when it introduced lesbian billionaire Mimi Whiteman. No Mimi isn’t a woman of colour, but in the first episode of the show’s new season, Mimi did sleep with Anika, a character who had only previously had relationships with men on the show.

American Horror Story: Hotel, which airs on FX, may see you sleeping with the lights on for the rest of your born days but the relationship between The Countess (played by Lady Gaga) and Ramona’s (played by Angela Bassett) is a grand reason to watch.

In terms of completely new shows, the likes of Grandfathered and Rosewood (both on FOX) deliver on that front. Grandfathered stars John Stamos as your typical, womanising white guy, but the twist is that his past has caught up to him and that not only does this bachelor have a son, but he also has a granddaughter too. 

Kelly Jenrette plays a lesbian named Annelise and she’s also Jimmy’s co-worker. So far, things look okay for Annelise; we’re only two episodes in but reception to the show in general has been positive and she also has a budding friendship with Sara (Jimmy’s ex and the mother of his son), which is something.

And as for Rosewood, this procedural’s already on ‘cancellation watch’ due to a weak start, but you’ll be hoping it stays on the air for sweet couple Pippy (a woman of colour) and her fiancee Kathy, who work together in the pathology lab.

Admittedly not every show with a queer woman of colour is getting it right. Season 2B of Faking It on MTV began towards the end of September, and spent several episodes tiptoeing around Reagan’s frankly vomit-inducing biphobia and on Scream Queens, butch lesbian Sam is literally introduced as the ‘predatory lez’, with many saying that Ryan Murphy is relying on the very same trope he used to dehumanise Santana Lopez on Glee back in the day.

Thankfully though, most of the new queer women of colour, and the returning TV favourites (e.g those on Jane The Virgin, The Fosters and Grey’s Anatomy) have enough good in them to outweigh the few examples of bad.

It’s highly encouraging for the future as these shows not only bust the troubling stereotypes that a) queer people of colour don’t exist and that b) that many non-white ethnicities are homophobic but it also gives queer women of colour the same shot at great representation that queer white women have enjoyed for so many years.

 

5 TV Shows With Queer Women That You Need to Pay Attention to

Once upon a time, queer female representation was so bad, so cheese-sarnie-in-the-summer-sun rotten that just a handful of gay, bi and otherwise not-heterosexual ladies graced our TV screens.

But gone are the days where re-watching The L Word on Netflix is the only time we’ll see women-loving-women in the media as now, it seems like every show has a female/female relationship looking to find a place in our hearts.

As a result, the problem isn’t the quantity of queer women on TV, it’s the quality. Now that we have a choice, we have to ask ourselves which shows are worth our valuable viewership.

It would be impossible for you to watch every pilot of every show to figure that out, so to make life a whole lot easier for you, here’s a list of five TV shows which feature queer women that you need to pay attention to.


1. How to Get Away With Murder

A few weeks ago, Viola Davis made history becoming the first black woman ever to win the lead actress Emmy. Indeed, her incredible turn as no-nonsense lawyer Annalise Keating was already reason enough to watch How to Get Away With Murder but in the season two premiere of the show, Annalise’s old college friend Eve showed up.

Annalise and Eve aren’t a couple of regular, platonic gal pals, however, as they dated but Annalise left Eve for (Annalise’s now murdered husband) Sam.

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Unfortunately, Eve did head off back to New York at the end of episode two but with Eve and Annalise having rekindled their feelings (Eve says she’s still in love with Annalise, Annalise calls Eve the most beautiful thing that’s ever happened to her), there’s a lot of room for this relationship to grow.

With so few bisexual women in the media (and bisexual women of colour especially) Annalise is a brilliant rarity so if you haven’t started watching HTGAWM already, you should get on that right now.


2. Person Of Interest

Looking at Person Of Interest‘s description – a show about a tech whiz, a former soldier and their pals as they try to protect people from the world’s dangers as well as the government’s snooping – it sounds like an unlikely candidate for fantastic queer representation but you’d be surprised.

The show’s two supporting women, Samantha “Root” Groves and Sameen Shaw are part of the core group of ‘good guys’ who aim to protect the world and though the two characters are incredibly sarcastic and spend most of their time shooting bad guys’ kneecaps, they still find plenty of time to flirt.

In Person of Interest‘s fourth season (the one that most recently aired), their flirting finally came to a head when Shaw (played by former L Word cast member Sarah Shahi) kisses Root right before she risks her life to save Root and co. and gets shot in the process.

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Although Root spends the remainder of the season pining over Shaw/trying to find Shaw/talking about how much she misses Shaw, Shaw’s not dead and the two will be reunited in season five of the show.

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3. Jane The Virgin

Earlier this year, Jane The Virgin made a splash as its lead actress Gina Rodriguez won a Golden Globe for her role as Jane, a virgin who becomes pregnant after a doctor accidentally artificially inseminates her when she goes in for a routine check-up. Based on a telenovela, this show is anything but easy to follow, nor is it overly serious, but it is a lot of fun to watch.

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As for the queer content in Jane The Virgin, the doctor who inseminates Jane is a lesbian named Luisa. While there’s enough drama in Luisa’s life stemming from the fact that the sperm she inseminated Jane with belongs to her (as in Luisa’s) brother, on top of that Luisa has also been having an affair with Rose, who just happens to be the woman that her father is married to!

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After a good many plot twists later, Luisa ends up with an MMA fighter named Juicy Jordan and thankfully, Rose, Luisa, and Juicy will all be returning when Jane The Virgin season two premieres on October 12.


4. Empire

Empire is another fine example of a TV show. The show is all about the Lyon family (Lucious, his three sons Jamal, Andre and Hakeem and their just-out-of-jail mother, Cookie) and their record label and the trials and tribulations of both running the label and keeping their home, love and family lives in tact.

In addition to being a majority black show, Jamal is also gay. That was a big deal in season one (which features Jamal’s coming out) but in season two, there’s something for queer ladies as well.

Marisa Tomei is on board as lesbian billionaire Mimi Whiteman and in the season premiere we saw Mimi flirt with Cookie but ultimately Mimi went home with (Lucious’ ex) Anika.

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It’s unclear whether or not that flirtation between Mimi and Cookie will come to anything, or whether Anika and Mimi will get a part two as Mimi is only set to be in a few more episodes, but with The L Word co-creator Ilene Chaiken being Empire‘s showrunner, you know that there’s going to be some must-watch queer content here.


5. Transparent

Another award winner in this post is Transparent, the Amazon-only TV show that debuted on Amazon Instant Video last year. At this year’s Emmys, not only did the show take home two awards, but during her acceptance speech, its creator Jill Soloway stated that “we don’t have a trans tipping point, we have a trans civil rights problem”.

Indeed, the show which builds upon Soloway’s own experiences with her ‘Moppa’ stars Jeffrey Tambor as a trans woman who comes out to her three adult children – children who have only ever known her as their father.

Transparent is a must watch for Maura, as her story follows how she finds a place for herself in the trans community and how those around her handle her gender identity, but her daughter Sarah’s bisexuality is also a draw. Sarah is married to a man and they have children together, but she cheats on him, and eventually leaves him for her ex-girlfriend.
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Admittedly, Sarah and her siblings aren’t the most loveable bunch (they’re self-centred and selfish at best, and amusingly useless at best) but with just 10 episodes of the show having aired so far, it’s a fabulous dramedy and it won’t take you long to catch up before Transparent season two airs in December.

Empire Season 2 Premieres And Sadly The Lesbian Stereotypes Come Out To Play

Last night saw the return Empire for it’s second season, and boy did we have mixed feelings about it all.

The show has always had gay edge, with showrunner Ilene Chaiken (creator of The L Word) making sure that queer women got their due.

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And now we have Marisa Tomei playing Mimi Whiteman in the mix – a powerful woman whose money is their to help the family out of a jam.

Mimi’s a lesbian, and her sexuality is a central plot point, since Cookie seems to be courting her business entirely through flirtation.

The ploy is ridiculous. It shouldn’t take any canoodling to see that the record label is a good investment.

What’s more, it’s disappointing for a show as sensitive and dynamic about queerness as Empire has been with Jamal to lean on lusty lesbian stereotypes.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2QJGsWah3YM

Tomei has signed up for a multi-episode arc so hopefully this character will be defined a bit more.

But besides Tomei, we’ll also be meeting Freda (played by newcomer Bre-Z ), a young lesbian rapper who intrigues Luscious.

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Bre-Z recently told Okayplayer about her role:

Between (Jamal Lyon & Freda Gatz’s character), their sexuality is not who they are. And I feel like that goes for anybody. None of your sexual likenesses are displayed in public view whether you’re with a man or a woman or the same sex. What you do in your bedroom is your business. There’s no need to make a spectacle of it, but you do have to acknowledge that it exists and treat people accordingly, and not be hateful and not a bully or taunt people because they may not walk in the same shoes as you do.”

Bre-Z’s first track for Empire is out now, called “Same Song,” which she describes as “a song about that struggle of being a young black girl… trying to pursue our dreams. All of us tend to sing the same old song. Some people don’t see no way out of that, but you got to make a way. It’s a little piece of me. I love it!”

Bisexual pop star Tiana (Serayah McNeill) and queer DJ Chicken (AzMarie Livingston) are also back this season, and Serayah teased that her character, who is now a series regular, will show more of herself, although no word on if her girlfriend will make a reappearance.

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Seryah told CY Interview

We’ve seen Tiana for the crazy things she’s done. But this season I think there’s gonna be a lot more in-depth with Tiana and her feelings and maybe some more of where she comes from and just seeing her more I think will give people more of an insight on my character.”

We will wait to see how these other stories play out.

Ilene Chaiken Discusses Empire’s Queer Women, The L Word Reboot

One of the surprise breakout hits of the television season has been Empire. The TV show, created by filmmaker Lee Daniels, revolves around the Lyon family: their nefarious dad Lucious, three sons (Andre, Jamal and Hakeem) and the boys’ mother, Cookie Lyon who has just been released from prison after taking the fall for the dad’s crime.

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The show was praised by critics and fans alike not just for the way that it kept viewers on the edge of their seats, watching its power struggles, secrets and lies play out but also by the way that it embraced diversity.

The cast is predominantly African-American and one of its main characters – Jamal – also begins the show as a closeted gay man who struggles with the fact that his dad doesn’t accept his sexuality.

But Jamal isn’t the only one whose queerness is explored on the show as we also saw Tiana, the girlfriend of Hakeem, with her female love interest, India.

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Season two of Empire beings back Tiana but it also introduces another queer woman, a billionaire venture capitalist played by (Oscar-winning actress) Marisa Tomei. She has signed up for a multi-episode arc and Empire fans are eager to see how her character will get involved in the Lyon family drama and if she’ll be romantically involved with anyone too.

Speaking to After Ellen, Empire showrunner Ilene Chaiken says that

…she plays a really important role in the melodrama of Season 2. She’s a fabulous character. We’ve having loads of fun with her. But she also plays an important role in the soap, in the treachery, in the Cookie vs. Lucious and in the fate of Empire.”

And when quizzed on whether Tomei’s character is single, Chaiken gave a cryptic answer of “that remains to be seen”, though the show will make it clear that she’s gay as we learn her sexuality definitively in the season premiere. Chaiken wouldn’t say how that would be shown, but she did say that it’s “not subtle”.

Many Empire fans may also be hoping Tomei’s character gets together with Cookie Lyon. Chaiken says that the billionaire is a “womanizer” and that “she and Lucious might turn out to have similar taste in women”.

Then, when asked by AE on whether or not Cookie is interested in women, she notes that both she and Taraji P. Henson (who plays Cookie) maintain that although Lucious was the only man Cookie had ever been with, that didn’t mean that she was the only person she’d ever been with – after all, she had been in a women’s prison for 17 years.

As for Chaiken’s other show, The L Word, she also spoke to the publication about a possible reboot.

She says she would “love to [reboot the show], but we really need a compelling reason to do it” and that if it did come back “it would feature some of the original cast and a lot of new characters”.

 

Unfortunately, if it got greenlit, Chaiken says she wouldn’t be able to do it “right now” but that doesn’t rule it out completely forever.

So keep your fingers crossed for a return of the iconic talking, laughing, loving, breathing, and fighting group of queer women at some point in the future.

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Fox’s ‘Empire’ is Casting a Butch Female Rapper for Season 2

According to reports, the Empire’s producers are on the hunt for an actress to play the recurring, potentially breakout role of Betty Barz – a “moody, outspoken” teenage rapper who’ll be introduced in Season 2.

Betty, who’s also known as “Betty Gathers” and “The Queen O’ 16S” is described as African-American, “unapologetically butch,” and something of a hometown hero in her “Brownsville-Never-Ran-Never-Will, Brooklyn” neighbourhood.

Her undeniable talent has led to her winning “more rhyme battles and girls’ hearts than the best male vets on her block.”

We’re guessing “winning girls’ hearts” means the new character is a lesbian, but then again…

The character is set to be introduced in the season opener of the show titled “The Devils Are Here” and despite the fact that she’s “charismatic and witty with a street lean,” the artist’s road to fame with the titular entertainment company won’t be an easy one.

Co-created by out director Lee Daniels, the first season was lauded for shining a spotlight on a range of LGBT issues, among them child abuse, coming out, and homophobia in the world of hip-hop. But there’s always more ground to cover.

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The show already features AzMarie’s (America’s Next Top Model star, partner to Raven-Symoné), who plays character is Chicken – a masculine of centre, queer woman of colour.

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Chicken is best friends with Hakeem, played by Yazz the Greatest, heir apparent of the Empire throne. Chicken collaborates with Hakeem musically throughout the show and was the DJ for Hakeem’s premiere at the opening of New York’s City hottest nightclub, Leviticus, during the climax of Empire’s second episode. She is also set to be in season two.

Empire‘s Season 2 premiere is being written by executive producers Danny Strong and The L word’s Ilene Chaiken.

AzMarie Livingston Gets a Part on Ilene Chaiken’s New Project Empire

AzMarie Livingston is not a novice when it comes to acting. She her first acting role was in DTLA as Melanie Griffith‘s girlfriend.

Now she’s working on her next big acting break role on Fox’s upcoming hip hop drama ‘Empire’.

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With Out Academy Award nominee, director Lee Daniels (‘Precious’ and ‘The Butler’), Emmy Award winner Danny Strong leading, along with show-runner Ilene Chaiken behind the project, there is a strong LGBT essence to this project.

And it has been hinted that AzMarie will be playing someone queer. Her character is named ‘Chicken’.

Empire is described as “… a sexy and powerful new drama about the head of a music empire whose three sons and ex-wife all battle for his throne.”

The all-star cast includes Terrence Howard as the king of hip-hop, Taraji P. Henson, Jussie Smollett (playing Howard’s the gay son) and Gabourey Sidibe.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a96Cjx0vfFo

Empire won’t air until 2015, but we’re excited to see what this great team comes up with.