These are Hulu’s best shows featuring LGBTQ+ characters, relationships, themes, and history, including Steve Universe, Pose, and Love, Victor.
The streaming service Hulu has a wide assortment of TV series featuring LGBTQ+ characters, themes, and stories. Hulu’s considerable TV library includes several historically important examples of early gay and lesbian representation as well as more modern series with a more developed understanding of queer identities. Viewers looking for shows that prominently feature LGBTQ+ relationships will almost certainly be able to find something that suits them.
Hulu is one of the oldest streaming services, having begun in 2007 as a collaboration between three of the major US TV networks as a way for viewers to watch recently-aired shows online. Today, it is primarily owned by the Walt Disney Company, which generally uses it for releasing material too adult for its Disney+ service, with a one-third stake by NBCUniversal. Hulu is often included in bundles with Disney+ and ESPN+, and has a cheaper ad-supported subscription tier, giving it a broad subscriber base.
In addition to frequently releasing original series and movies, Hulu has extensive back catalogs from networks like ABC to FX. The following list focuses on series where queer characters and relationships are the central focus, or series that have been historically important to LGBTQ+ representation.
First Day
The Australian series First Day is a coming-of-age story told from the perspective of a 12-year-old transgender girl starting at a new school. The lead role, Hannah Bradford, is played by Evie Macdonald, the first transgender actor to play a lead role in an Australian TV show. The series has received awards and critical praise for its treatment of themes relating to identity and trans rights, including a GLAAD Media Award. Licensed by Hulu, First Day concluded naturally after two short seasons that total eight half-hour episodes.
Steven Universe
Steven Universe is a cartoon series about the son of Crystal Gem Rose Quartz as he is raised by his mother’s friends and slowly awakens to his own powers. The show is deals with LGBTQ+ themes both overtly and symbolically as its narratives are often queer allegories and it includes explicitly LGBTQ+ characters. Steven Universe was created by Rebecca Sugar, a non-binary woman who uses she/they pronouns, and the full series is available to stream on Hulu.
Love, Victor
Love, Victor is a spin-off of the film Love, Simon, a movie based on the book Simon Vs. The Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli. Love, Victor is set in the same world as the movie and follows the eponymous Victor (Michael Cimino) as he moves to a new high school and faces a journey of self-discovery around his own sexuality and coming out. The series has received generally positive reviews and become one of Hulu’s most-watched original series. As well as detailing an LGBTQ+ story and focusing on queer characters, the Love, Victor TV series has also helped to highlight LGBTQ+ musical artists through its soundtrack.
Pose
One of several series on Hulu created by gay super-producer Ryan Murphy, Pose is about the New York City’s drag ball culture in the 1980s and 1990s with a focus on the African-American and Latino communities. The series features an ensemble cast including Evan Peters, Kate Mara, and James Van Der Beek. It received considerable acclaim and awards recognition during its three-season run, including star Michaele Jae Rodriguez who became the first-ever trans woman to be nominated for an Emmy for Lead Actress in a Drama.
Sailor Moon
Sailor Moon is famous as an anime series that features a group of teenage girls who gain magical powers to fight evil and has become the most recognizable series in the “magical girl” genre. The original series, which is distinct from the more recent reboot Sailor Moon Crystal, also contained multiple queer relationships which were edited out of the English version when Sailor Moon was first aired in North America in the 1990s. However, the version on Hulu is the new dub from Viz which is more faithful to the original including same-sex relationships, providing a great way to explore this nostalgic favorite or see the influential show for the first time.
Skins
The UK series Skins was a popular and frequently controversial teen drama that dealt with hot-button issues, including queer sexuality through multiple LGBTQ+ characters. The series ran for seven seasons by rotating out different generations of teenage characters. Skins received broadly positive reviews and its depiction of both lesbian and gay relationships have been praised by fans and writers such as Doctor Who showrunner Russell T. Davies.
American Crime Story: The Assassination of Gianni Versace
The second season of Ryan Murphy’s American Crime Story anthology series recounts the true story of the murder of openly gay fashion maven Gianni Versace by the spree killer Andrew Cunanan. The story then travels back in time to deal with Cunanan’s previous victims who were mostly gay men, as was Cunanan himself. It isn’t exactly a feel-good watch, but The Assassination of Gianni Versace is a dramatically compelling l0ok into gay life during the age of Don’t Ask Don’t Tell.
Adventure Time
Adventure Time was a pioneering series that led to a renaissance in American cartoons that appealed to both kids and adults. Although the series is largely about the humorous adventures of Finn the dog and Jake the human in a post-apocalyptic fantasy world, it also explores queer characters and storylines. While many of the LGBTQ+ aspects were only hinted at in the early seasons, including the relationship between Princess Bubblegum and Marceline the Vampire Queen, by the end of the show the creators had more free reign and were able to make things more explicit. Before working on Steven Universe, Rebecca Sugar had worked on some of the story and music for Adventure Time.
Modern Family
One of the most successful TV comedies of the 2010s, Modern Family is a mockumentary story about the sprawling Dunphy family, including married couple, Cam and Mitchell. The series ran for 11 seasons and received 22 Emmy Awards, with all 250 episodes available on Hulu. While it isn’t the most sophisticated show on this list, Modern Family could be a good pick for someone looking for a traditional family sitcom with LGBTQ+ representation.
RuPaul’s Drag Race
RuPaul’s Drag Race is a long-running reality series in which drag queens face off to see who is best at sashaying down the runway. The show has been credited with helping to bring mainstream popularity to drag performances, which have extensive and complex histories. Drag Race has also been controversial due to some of RuPaul’s past comments, exclusion of non-cis-male contestants, and a mixed feeling in the community regarding drag. However, more recent seasons have seen the inclusion of trans and non-binary contestants and the show has become a more positive and inclusive space.
Killing Eve
Killing Eve stars Sandra Oh as Eve, a British intelligence operative who becomes obsessed with Jodie Comer’s international assassin Villanelle. In turn, Villanelle finds herself fascinated by Eve. The two women become enmeshed in a cat-and-mouse relationship that blends romance and violence. Killing Eve received critical praise in its first three seasons; however, the final season received mixed responses as it ran afoul of the “burying your gays” trope. Regardless, the first 3 seasons tell a complete narrative, and Killing Eve season 4 can theoretically be ignored.
Glee
Glee is a teen drama set in a high school glee club that features a number of queer characters and relationships. The series included a number of musical numbers per episode and was a major hit that ran for six seasons. Glee was one of the early teen shows to feature LGBTQ+ relationships so prominently on network TV and helped to elevate creator Ryan Murphy’s star-status. Glee was a big, messy and sometimes problematic show, with its treatment of bisexuality and trans identities being groundbreaking but far from perfect. Still, Glee is worth checking out for the positive representation that does exist and for its place in LGBTQ+ representation history.
Will & Grace
Will & Grace is an NBC sitcom that centered on the friendship between a gay lawyer, Will, and a heterosexual interior designer, Grace. While the character of Will was sometimes criticized as stereotypical, the series was one of the first popular TV shows with a prominent gay character and helped familiarize many people with LGBTQ+ issues. Hulu includes all 8 original seasons but not the recent 3-season revival.
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