Gay TV, Movies, and Books

[Zombie]

I Kissed A Boy is a new UK TV dating show
with the tag line “the path to love is never straight”…

cos this time it’s just boys

gay boys 💕 
and boy do they like gossiping…  

 

Edited October 25, 2023 by drpaladin

[LJCC]

On 5/22/2023 at 7:35 AM, Zombie said:

I Kissed A Boy is a new UK TV dating show
with the tag line “the path to love is never straight”…

cos this time it’s just boys

gay boys 💕 
and boy do they like gossiping…  

 

I saw a commercial of this and I was like, they better not be daft about their gossips. This is like love island gay edition all over again.

[Mancunian]

I watched the first episode. I'll admit there a few good-looking guys on the show, most are as ordinary as anyone in the looks department. But they are so over the top and bitchy they give a false representation of gay men. It is typical sensationalist TV that shows gay men at there sex mad bitchy worst. It's not for me and I will not be watching any more of it. Sorry guys but that's my opinion.

[Zombie]

2 hours ago, Mancunian said:

most are as ordinary as anyone in the looks department

…which is a good thing, because this enabled an interesting conversation about body image and body shaming (with the guy second from the right - front) recounting a previous b/f saying “sorry mate, when you took your shirt off I just lost interest”. Body image is an issue in “gay culture” and it can get pretty unhealthy - shows like Love Island blatantly pander to it, if not downright feeding it. I’ve only seen the first two episodes so I don’t know how things will pan out

 

 

Edited May 25, 2023 by Zombie

[Ron]

Ho-hum.

[Page Scrawler]

Currently, my favorite gay story is the relationship between Jesper and Wylan on Netflix's Shadow and Bone series. Yes, it's only a watered-down representation of who they are in the original novels, but still one of the better relationships I've seen in a TV adaptation. 

 

[Krista]

I like Shadow and Bone, I liked season one better. The way Netflix cancels shows, unless the numbers were better than they appeared.. Shadow and Bone may be over. I thought the second season was slow paced... very slow paced and they tried to focus on too many minor story lines instead of moving the thing forward. Next season, if Netflix doesn't knee-jerk cancel the show, we're getting more into the Six of Crows story line too, it seems. 

--

A show I really fell in love with was Prisma on Amazon Prime. It took me three episodes to really get into it, but Amazon better renew it for a second season... or I'll... cancel my subscription.  

--

As for the original topic, I don't like dating shows of any kind. I've never found them to be more than hypocritical and shallow all around.

[LJCC]

On 5/26/2023 at 3:34 AM, Mancunian said:

I watched the first episode. I'll admit there a few good-looking guys on the show, most are as ordinary as anyone in the looks department. But they are so over the top and bitchy they give a false representation of gay men. It is typical sensationalist TV that shows gay men at there sex mad bitchy worst. It's not for me and I will not be watching any more of it. Sorry guys but that's my opinion.

 

I tried watching this American Reality gay TV show called Finding Prince Charming. Bloody hell, it was a cesspool of differing personalities all vying for this one guy's willy. They were like trying to go for a gay version of the bachelor but the majority are vapid, while some want to have a future as a D-list celebrity. It was hilarious and awkward at the same time. I had to rinse my eyes with mouthwash. But it was a fun watch I'd have to admit.

[wildone]

37 minutes ago, Krista said:

 

A show I really fell in love with was Prisma on Amazon Prime. It took me three episodes to really get into it, but Amazon better renew it for a second season... or I'll... cancel my subscription.  

No you won't  there is too many other shows on there that you watch  

[Krista]

23 hours ago, wildone said:

No you won't  there is too many other shows on there that you watch  

Nuh uh... Netflix yes, Amazon Prime, no. lol. And I was so excited about Prisma that I actually insisted that you watch it.. and they left it on a cliffhanger! It has to be renewed..  

--

I can't remember the name of the show, but it was a Gay Bachelor sort of show. But half the cast were straight and the Bachelor didn't know. They were competing for the Trip and prize money if selected. I thought it was disingenuous to have a groundbreaking gay dating show, only to have half the guys to choose from, not there for the right reasons.

He ended up choosing a gay man in the end, but the runner up was straight. It was crappy and when that twist was revealed I stopped watching and that has been the only dating reality show I've watched more than halfway through the season.  

[Zombie]

So the BBC’s just bought Love Victor and put it all online, following the movie (which I saw a while back).

Is it worth 14 hours of an adult life?  

[Krista]

5 hours ago, Zombie said:

So the BBC’s just bought Love Victor and put it all online, following the movie (which I saw a while back).

Is it worth 14 hours of an adult life?  

I didn't think so. I thought the characters were all boring and the writing extremely slow-paced and weak compared to the Film it is loosely based on. It also brings in Love, Simon characters in later to make some sort of attempt at combining the worlds? But they turned those characters into two "old" gays, even if they were still young men... who "knew how to be out and gay..." even though they've been out and gay all of a few months to a year themselves. It was just awkward. I 'hated' that it was on Hulu. I feel if a different streaming service took it from the start, the writers would have had more freedom. A lot of what the characters were involved in were just completely unnecessary. 

You may enjoy it though. If it is available to you, might as well give it an honest effort. lol 

Also, Prisma is renewed for a second season, so I'm happy about that.  

Edited October 10, 2023 by Krista

[Joie J.]

You can always try series like Smiley (2022) or Uncoupled (2022)....only if you have some free time and no intention to use them productively. 🙃

[Krista]

Liked Smiley, absolutely despised uncoupled. I would rate uncoupled as one of the worst gay themed shows I've ever watched.

 

[Zombie]

4 hours ago, Krista said:

Liked Smiley, absolutely despised uncoupled. I would rate uncoupled as one of the worst gay themed shows I've ever watched.

from what I’ve read Smiley is a Spanish production bought by Netflix while Uncoupled is a Netflix factory product - chalk + cheese 

[Zombie]

On 10/10/2023 at 2:50 AM, Krista said:

You may enjoy it though. If it is available to you, might as well give it an honest effort. lol 

Yeah, I did (finished it last night)

I’m not the target demographic, but there’s not exactly a surfeit of gay comedy dramas out there.. 

 

It’s not ground breaking or exceptional but it is entertaining, a ‘teen’ (supposedly ) comedy drama with some decent comedy lines and some ‘darker’ trope elements thrown in the mix

 

Sure it was a tad flakey in parts (padding to deliver the required runtime?) but the whole series hung on the character of Victor - and Michael Cimino, with his dazzlingly cute looks flawless skin heart-melting smile and fine acting, pulled it off  In fact he was pitch perfect.

 

 

 

[Ron]

Merli Sapere Aude (Netflix) has the bartender from Smiley playing another gay character, this time in a college setting. The series is quite good, according to me, and well worth the wasted time to watch it, especially if you don’t mind subtitles.

[Joie J.]

Have anyone seen this ☝️ HBO comedy-drama Looking? Heard praise for it but yet to watch, so I can't vouch for it.

 

[Joie J.]

Just now, Joie J. said:

Have anyone seen this ☝️ HBO comedy-drama Looking? Heard praise for it but yet to watch, so I can't vouch for it.

 

Sorry for the double links but can't edit it out!

And where do we talk about gay books and films? 

[Joie J.]

5 minutes ago, Joie J. said:

Have anyone seen this ☝️ HBO comedy-drama Looking? Heard praise for it but yet to watch, so I can't vouch for it.

 

Wrong video alert! Wrong video alert! 🚨🚨🚨

It's the trailer for the movie, not the series! Just Google it, the series is with the same name.

[Zombie]

20 minutes ago, Joie J. said:

Sorry for the double links but can't edit it out!

And where do we talk about gay books and films? 

good point - just checked the index and book+movie threads are well dead  

I’ve just asked a mod if the thread name can be updated  

[Krista]

I watched Merli most of the way through as well, it was... interesting, to say the least. lol. Smiley for the most part is better. I watched Young Royals season one, but couldn't really get into Season 2, I think if I sat down and really wanted to focus on subtitles, I would like it. Elite - if you like outlandish soap-style writing and characterizations, I've watched a few seasons of it as well. It is rather repetitive, and I'm not a fan of 'every' character being flawed to the point where you have a hard time wanting good things to happen to them. I imagine that being fun to write though.  

I couldn't get into Looking the series, I thought it was rather boring. 

I say all of this knowing that I am picky with what I read and watch. I always say I suck at watching television. After one or two seasons I lose complete interest. I have a track record of never finishing anything I tune in to watch. The few shows that I have watched all the way through have been: The Golden Girls, Big Bang Theory, Friends, Will and Grace, and Frasier.

[Joie J.]

7 hours ago, Krista said:

I watched Merli most of the way through

Yet to start but saw couple of clips on YouTube. Not half bad.

 

7 hours ago, Krista said:

Smiley for the most part is better.

Smiley is a one time watch, purely made for relaxation.

 

7 hours ago, Krista said:

I watched Young Royals season one, but couldn't really get into Season 2

YR season 1 is effective and season 2 is unnecessary. That whole season could have been skipped or better merged into two episodes!

 

8 hours ago, Krista said:

Elite - if you like outlandish soap-style writing and characterizations, I've watched a few seasons of it as well.

Elite is one of those shows were I can't bring myself to like just one single character! Forget about story; if I don't care for any of the characters, why would I want to know who dies and who kills?! I only watched Elite season 1 - episode 1 & 2 and I was done. 😑

8 hours ago, Krista said:

I couldn't get into Looking the series, I thought it was rather boring.

Same thoughts, so never started with the journey!

 

8 hours ago, Krista said:

I am picky

So am I. We are Picky-mons 😃

[Joie J.]

Heard good things for this one but couldn't watch it. Unavailable for streaming in my country ☹️

 

[W_L]

Well, I nearly got picked for MTV's "Next" as one of the dates (As hetero nerdy/dorky date for some random girl into the type) in high school, when it was cutting edge back in 2005. From my experience, the stuff you see is mostly fake. It would be best if you had personality quirks, excess attributes, and an uncommon "it" factor. Got called back for 3rd round but got cut. I got a few calls from TV producers, who saw my audition tape, I just ignored them.

Never had an interest in reality TV due to my passing experience with it. 

--------------

As for Gay relationships on TV shows, I need to binge Elite at some point, while Netflix's recent series The House of Usher paid lip service to LGBT relationships, most of them were toxic and deadly, except the gay District Attorney with a healthy marriage, kids, and grandkids (Heteronormative = safety and immunity from temptation). I was disappointed in season 2 of Netflix Special, I wished Ryan had found love, I understand the need for disabled gay guys to have independence and self-actualization, but it felt incomplete based on the story elements of him seeking love and companionship as someone with unique circumstances. (being gay and disabled, I identified with his plight in season 1 and wanted to follow his journey into season 2 for that reason)