Every week, the GLAAD Wrap brings you LGBTQ-related entertainment news highlights, fresh stuff to watch out for, and fun diversions to help you kick off the weekend!
1) Today, the Netflix original film Dumplin’ will be released on the streaming service. Based on the novel of the same name by bisexual author Julie Murphy, the movie follows Willowdean, a plus-sized girl who enters a beauty pageant in Texas, and inspires a group of outcasts. The outcasts include lesbian Hannah played by queer and non-binary actor Bex Taylor-Klaus. Drag Race’s Ginger Minj, and several other drag queens, also star in the film as mentors to Willowdean. Dumplin’ also features original music from Dolly Parton, produced by Parton and out singer and songwriter Linda Perry. (who was just this morning nominated for the prestigious Producer Of The Year, Non-Classical category, for the 61st Annual Grammy Awards)
2) Finnish film A Moment in the Reeds was released on demand and on DVD on December 4. The debut of out director Mikko Makela, the film is a romance between a Finnish academic and a Syrian refugee set over one summer in Finland. The two leads, Janne Puustinen and Boodi Kabbani, are both out gay men, with Kabbani having fled Syria for Finland. For options of how to watch the film on demand, click here. You can watch the trailer below.
3) Focus Features, which recently released Boy Erased, will be distributing the film adaptation of out TV critic Michael Ausiello’s memoir Spoiler Alert: The Hero Dies. Starring out actor Jim Parsons, the film tells the story of Ausiello and his partner Kit Cowan and how their lives change after Kit is diagnosed with terminal cancer. The film will also delve into the two meeting and falling in love via flashback. Spoiler Alert: The Hero Dies will be directed by Michael Showalter with a screenplay by David Marshall Grant and relationship and sex advice columnist Dan Savage.
4) A teaser was released for Season 2 of Chilling Adventures of Sabrina on Netflix. The show includes pansexual fan favorite character Ambrose Spellman and Susie Putnam, who is portrayed by non-binary actor Lachlan Watson. Season 2 will premiere on April 5. In other TV news, The Good Place, with bisexual+ lead Eleanor, has been renewed for a fourth season. The upcoming second season of American Gods will premiere on March 10, bringing returning queer characters Salim and The Jinn back to screens.
5) Out bi Seattle-based singer Andie Case released a video for her new single “Mysterious” earlier this week. This is the first song she has written about having feelings for a woman since coming out as bi earlier this year. Case told Billboard, “I was always questioning if she was interested, but never knew if it was OK to make a move. This song really let’s all of that out, and is an opportunity to finally say what was on my mind.” Watch the video below.
6) Out bi artist Tove Lo released a new video for her single “Cycles” on Wednesday. Watch the video here and listen to her newest album Blue Lips [lady wood phase II] here. Acapella group Pentatonix, which features queer members Mitch Grassi and Scott Hoying, also released a new video this week for their song “Where are You Christmas?” off of their new Christmas album Christmas is Here, which is available to stream and download here. It was also recently announced that the group will be starring in their third NBC holiday special coming up on December 10, Pentatonix: A Not So Silent Night. Watch the music video below.
7) A trailer has been released for Relatable, the first stand up special from Ellen DeGeneres in fifteen years. The special brings Ellen back to the stage to talk about if she is still relatable to fans, as well as her series Ellen being cancelled after she came out as a lesbian. The special will be released on Netflix on December 18. In other comedy news, Comedy Central announced their 2019 lineup of stand-up specials, which includes out comedian, and recently named Daily Show correspondent, Jaboukie Young-White.
8) The nominees for the Writer’s Guild of America (WGA) Awards in the Television category were announced on Thursday. Some LGBTQ-inclusive highlights include Pose writers Steven Canals, Brad Falchuk, Todd Kubrak, Janet Mock, Ryan Murphy, and Our Lady J being nominated for Best New Series; The Handmaid’s Tale in Drama Series; GLOW and The Good Place in comedy series; Andi Mack in Childen’s Episodic, and The Assassination of Gianni Verscace: American Crime Story in Long Form: Adapted. For a full list of nominees, click here.
9) It was announced this week that the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) awards nominations will be announced by Crazy Rich Asians’ Awkwafina and Laverne Cox. Cox has previously won two SAG awards as part of the ensemble of Orange is the New Black. The SAG award nominees will be announced on December 12 at 10am ET/7am PT and will air live on Turner’s TNT, TBS and TruTV and the networks’ social pages as well as on SAGAwards.org.
10) Short documentary Out of the Shadows is currently raising funds to document the story of Joceyln, an immigrant transgender woman that attempts to lift herself out of poverty in New York City. Filmmaker Rafael Samanez says of the project on the Kickstarter Page, “the resilience, love, struggle, and perseverance of people fighting to just live in peace, with dignity and free from violence is the reason I chose to support our transgender family.” Click here to support the doc.
