Content Warning: Alcohol, swearing, occasional sexual innuendo

Recommended by Helen Staab, LICSW she/her

The Big Brunch is a cooking competition show that includes a lot of heart. The contestants are all talented chefs who have a particular passion or story to tell with their food. There are multiple queer contestants who talk about the role that their identities play in their professional life. The show highlights the individual stories of each contestant, making the feedback the judges give more meaningful than the average cooking show.

Content Warnings: Alcohol Use, Physical Abuse and Sexual Assault

Reviewer: Elle (she/they), clinical intern at SAYFTEE

I love this show because it is hysterical, honest, and is full of dynamic characters who grow throughout the show, just like we grow and learn throughout our lives. The whole premise of the show calls out a very real downfall of our current society: a lack of comprehensive and gender affirming sex education, as well as the general shame and guilt that is perpetuated about sexual activity in general. The show goes against the ‘norms’ in many ways, and is creative, colorful and full of cringe-worthy moments that make it hard not to laugh.

Content Warning: transphobic remarks, trans bathroom/locker room discrimination, verbal arguments, physical fighting, teen drinking

Reccomended by: Haeden Peaslee, LMHC (they/them)

Anything’s Possible is a new movie directed by Billy Porter following high schooler Kelsa as she navigates her senior year of high school, friendships, and a crush. There is a nice balance of sweet and difficult moments as the movie progresses and I am always here for coming of age stories with trans leads!

Content Warnings: Anti-gay and anti-trans bullying with implied physical violence

Suggested by: Helen Staab, LICSW (she/her)

Many of my young clients knew about these graphic novels long before the television series, but it was new to me! The main thing I appreciated about this story about identity and coming out is that many of the usual tropes of tragedy and heartbreak were absent. The television series is true to the text in most aspects, and fans can access all of the graphic novels for free on Webtoon.

Target audience: Middle School and up
Content Warnings: Some themes of consent to be navigated, homophobia from peers at school

Clinician Haeden Peaslee, LMHC (they/them) shares
"What if A Midsummer Night’s Dream was a gay high school themed musical?

What if you had magic that could make everyone gay?

A great re-imagining of the chaos in the original play, to fulfilling the wishes of an openly gay student feeling isolated in his world. "

Target audience: Middle school and up
Content Warnings: Themes of homophobia, heterosexism, PTSD, military, veterans (the mom of the family is a veteran dealing with PTSD), suicidal thoughts, addiction, and 1-2 episodes include themes around guns.

Recommended by: Haeden Peaslee, LMHC (they/them)

One Day at a Time is a remake of the original TV sitcom following a multi-generational Cuban-American family. Penelope, the mom, is a veteran dealing with her experiences of depression and PTSD. Elena, the daughter, is coming out as a lesbian and introducing her non-binary partner to her family as well as dealing with the ways her dad is unsupportive. The show also includes Elena’s younger brother Alex, their grandmother Lydia, the landlord Schneider and Penelope’s boss Leslie. I started watching this show because I knew it was going to have a little bit of non-binary representation and themes around mental health, but also enjoyed all the other funny and difficult moments it shares.

Boy Meets Girl

Recommended by clinician Haeden Peaslee, LMHC (they/them)

Target audience: Teens and up
Content Warnings: Transphobia, physical fighting

Boy Meets Girl follows main character Ricky (played by actress Michelle Hendley) as she navigates being a young trans woman in Kentucky, while dreaming of leaving to New York to pursue fashion. This movie follows coming of age tropes including romance and the mistakes Ricky makes in pursuit of something bigger in her life.

Content Warnings: Violence (Guns), Gore, Sexually Explicit Content

Reviewer: Elle (she/they) is the clinical intern at SAYFTEE. Elle is queer and non binary, and is in their final year of pursuing a Master of Social Work degree at Boston College.

I love this show because it has multiple queer characters who are more than just their queer identity. It is an action packed science fiction show that takes place in various countries around the world. The show highlights what it means to be human and that there is more that connects us than separates us. For me, it evokes empathy, wonder, and adventure.

Content Warning: Substance Abuse, Sexual Trauma and Violence

Reviewer: Elle (she/they) is the clinical intern at SAYFTEE. Elle is queer and non binary, and is in their final year of pursuing a Master of Social Work degree at Boston College.

Feel Good is an inherently raw and vulnerable look into the life of a queer stand up comedian who struggles with substance abuse and falling in love fast. This show is funny, unpredictable, and dark, and paints a beautiful picture of how messy life can be sometimes. I truly enjoyed how the show weaves multiple themes together rather seamlessly such as the impact of addiction, exploration of gender identity, complicated family relations, and what it is like to fall in love. It is especially valuable to me that the show is semi-autobiographical and stars Mae Martin as themselves.

Reviewer: Haeden Peaslee (they/them/theirs), LMHC at SAYFTEE

This movie follows Indian teen Laila as she moves to NYC to attend college. The movie follows the intersections of disability and sexuality as Laila navigates crushes on folks of different genders and dating with cerebral palsy. I wish this movie had done better re:hiring disabled actors to play disabled characters and, I really appreciate that it took steps at highlighting the coming of age experience of discovering more about one’s sexuality while navigating disability and how the world can often infantilize disabled folks and leave out discussions around sexuality development.

Target Audience: 15+ per Common Sense Media
Content Warnings: Strong language, comedic and dramatized violence, alcohol

Recommended by Helen Staab, LICSW she/her

Our Flag Means Death is an unexpectedly warm pirate parody comedy based very loosely on real life pirates Stede Bonnet and Blackbeard. Queer characters are seamlessly present throughout, including gender expansive identities.