Streamers and studios appear to be gearing up for Pride Month early this year, as May offers a feast of queer content in the form of groundbreaking reality series, stand-up specials and poignant art films.
Netflix is unleashing a torrent of programming, with a new Anna Nicole Smith documentary; two sapphic-minded comedy titles; a new “Queer Eye”; and even a messy, highly commercial dating show. And other streamers have taken note: Hulu, for example, might have the most appealingly chaotic new series of the month with “Drag Me to Dinner,” a competition show that pits a large swath of “RuPaul’s Drag Race” alum against each other in an effort to test various hosting skills — and, surely, comedy chops.
While there’s also lighthearted programming to be found at the theater, including the erotic and joyful “Will-o’-the Wisp,” the month’s cinematic offerings skew a bit more sobering. Still, they’re not to be missed — especially a title like “Monica,” which stars Trace Lysette opposite the iconic Patricia Clarkson in what is being billed as a step forward in transgender storytelling.
Who knows what the future of entertainment holds, with the effects of the Writers Guild of America writers strike already being felt and nominally sincere, Pride-branded content right around the corner. But at least in May it’s all rainbows and sunshine.
‘Queens of the Qing Dynasty’
Following up on her first feature, “Werewolf,” director Ashley McKenzie crafts a visually and auditorily compelling story about a disaffected teen and a hospital volunteer who bond over their genderqueer identities. In “Queens of the Qing Dynasty,” Ziyin Zheng plays An, a Chinese immigrant who offers a lifeline to the teenage Star, played by Sarah Walker, after they are hospitalized in a remote facility in Nova Scotia, Canada, following multiple suicide attempts.
“Queens of the Qing Dynasty” opens in U.S. theaters May 5.
‘Hannah Gadsby: Something Special’
At the beginning of their new Netflix stand-up special, Emmy- and Peabody Award-winning comedian Hannah Gadsby promises a packed Sydney Opera House: “This is going to be a feel-good show.” As the comedian well knows, that’s certainly not a given when attending one of their sets. In fact, Gadsby became a household name thanks to their sobering style of humor, which caught audiences off guard when their devastating special “Nanette” premiered in 2017. But in “Hannah Gadsby: Something Special,” the recently married comedian can’t help but spread cheer, as they talk about finding love with their longtime producer Jenney Shamash, why handball is the sluttiest sport and the dangers of joking about rescue dogs to a room full of lesbians.
“Hannah Gadsby: Something Special” premieres on Netflix on May 9.
‘RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars’
It’s officially that time of year: the time when the seasoned pros of “RuPaul’s Drag Race” return to show off their newly polished looks and hard-won wisdom in an effort to win the title of All Star. Season eight of “RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars” features an impressive lineup of fan favorites, from Miss Congeniality winners Heidi N Closet and LaLa Ri to lip-sync assassins Jessica Wild and Darienne Lake and category-defying Canadian queen Jimbo. With all of the queens bringing something truly unique to the catwalk — even if it’s an uncanny ability to charm the show’s sometimes frosty namesake, like in the case of Kandy Muse — only perhaps Michelle Visage can guess who will earn a place in RuPaul’s coveted Hall of Fame.
“RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars” season eight premieres on Paramount+ on May 12.
‘L’immensità’
“L’immensità,” a semi-autobiographical feature from Italian director Emanuele Crialese (“Respiro”), stars Penélope Cruz as a woman stuck in a dysfunctional marriage who begins to spiral — and then find herself — when her child (Luana Giuliani) comes out as transgender. Set in 1970s Rome, the retro feast for the eyes has Cruz struggling to navigate the changing city around her, in addition to her child’s desire to transition, in the type of poignant examination of motherhood that the actor has become known for through films like Pedro Almodóvar’s “Parallel Mothers” and “Volver.”
“L’immensità” opens in U.S. theaters May 12.
‘Monica’
In “Monica,” Trace Lysette (“Transparent”) stars opposite Patricia Clarkson and a strong, female-centric cast as an estranged daughter who reluctantly returns home to spend time with her dying mother before it’s too late. When Monica (Lysette) sees her family for the first time since she was a teenager, her mother, Eugenia (Clarkson), doesn’t recognize her due to some combination of illness and Monica’s long-ago transition. And yet, a deteriorating Eugenia increasingly comes to depend on her conflicted daughter. The title from Italian filmmaker Andrea Pallaoro, which earned highly positive reviews when it premiered at the Venice International Film Festival, is a quiet portrait of a difficult mother-daughter dynamic, a study on forgiveness and a big step forward in trans storytelling.
“Monica” opens in U.S. theaters May 12.
‘Queer Eye’
The Fab Five — Antoni Porowski, Bobby Berk, Jonathan Van Ness, Karamo Brown and Tan France — head to the Big Easy for the seventh season of their long-running “Queer Eye” reboot. With a fresh set of “hero” nominees, the perpetually positive lifestyle experts tackle food deserts, ableism and even a neglected frat house. And while there’s nothing especially new about the season — which, like the previous six, seems to believe firmly in the mantra “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” — it delivers a reliably heartwarming dose of group hugs, misty-eyed affirmations and lodging upgrades, courtesy of the hardest-working interior designer in the biz.
“Queer Eye” season seven premieres on Netflix on May 12.
‘Anna Nicole Smith: You Don’t Know Me’
A new documentary looks back on the media frenzy surrounding one of the 1990s’ most notorious blonde bombshells, Anna Nicole Smith, and the court case that lived in infamy for years after her premature death. In “Anna Nicole Smith: You Don’t Know Me,” director Ursula Macfarlane interviews close acquaintances of the model and personality who became most famous for her marriage to 89-year-old billionaire J. Howard Marshall and the highly televised legal battle over his fortune. In combination with archival footage, the accounts from Smith’s brother and her alleged former female lover paint a picture of a woman well aware of the power of fame and willing to go to extreme lengths to get it.
“Anna Nicole Smith: You Don’t Know Me” premieres on Netflix on May 16.
‘Queenmaker: Making of an It Girl’
Multimedia artist, producer and director Zackary Drucker explores the dizzying world of early-aughts “it” girls in a new documentary that revels in twists and reveals. At first, “Queenmaker: Making of an It Girl” appears to be a look back on the rise of modern socialites like Paris Hilton, Tinsley Mortimer and Olivia Palermo through the industry professionals who propped them up and the writers who made a career of cutting them down. But about halfway through, nostalgia gives way to something darker, as Drucker turns her attention to the founder of a defunct society blog called Park Avenue Peerage, whose life and gender expression would come to be shaped by celebrity worship.
“Queenmaker: Making of an It Girl” premieres on Hulu on May 17.
‘Wanda Sykes: I’m an Entertainer’
In her first stand-up special since the pre-pandemic era, comedian Wanda Sykes takes the stage to talk about the sadistic joys of lockdown, raising twins with her cigarette-smoking French wife and growing up in Virginia with the “mosquito man.” While there’s plenty to laugh about in the hourlong set, there’s more to take away. In “Wanda Sykes: I’m an Entertainer,” the nearly 60-year-old, (never more) self-assured comedian delves into Black Lives Matter, the tragedy of Ahmaud Arbery, police violence and white privilege.
“Wanda Sykes: I’m an Entertainer” premieres on Netflix on May 23.
‘The Ultimatum: Queer Love’
After years of queer audiences clamoring for their own messy dating show, Netflix has finally delivered. In “The Ultimatum: Queer Love,” the streamer adapts its partner-swapping show format for a group of female and nonbinary participants who are wrangled by host JoAnna Garcia Swisher. At the beginning of the series, five couples enter the dating show with one partner having issued a marriage ultimatum, in order to try out an interim relationship with two of the other participants, before deciding whether they’ll leave together, break up or stick with someone new. (Confused yet?) This, of course, stirs up plenty of drama, proving that even queer women can’t be friends with their exes when reality show producers are pulling the strings.
“The Ultimatum: Queer Love” season one premieres on Netflix on May 24.
‘Will-o’-the-Wisp’
Portuguese auteur João Pedro Rodrigues touches on subjects from colonialism to climate change in his bawdy new film, the aptly named “Will-o’-the-Wisp.” At the center of the musical romance set in 2069 is the fictional King Alfredo of Portugal, who as a young and directionless future monarch (Mauro Costa) signs up to be a volunteer fireman and then ignites a station romance with the much more capable and much less privileged Afonso (André Cabral). But romance among the ranks isn’t the only subversive thing happening in the firehouse, as the sci-fi film also features erotic ballet-dancing firefighters in its apocalyptic future.
“Will-o’-the-Wisp” opens in U.S. theaters May 26.
‘Drag Me to Dinner’
Judges Neil Patrick Harris, Bianca Del Rio and Haneefah Wood are joined by host Murray Hill, resident food expert David Burtka, and seemingly every queen to have ever appeared on “RuPaul’s Drag Race” for a new, over-the-top competition series on Hulu. In “Drag Me to Dinner,” two pairs of drag queens face off to throw the most sickening, themed dinner parties they can come up with. Whether it’s mother-daughter duos or pairings of best squirrel friends battling it out for the ultimate prize — a golden grater — the competition promises to be fierce.
“Drag Me to Dinner” season one premieres on Hulu on May 31.