While 2025 became an extremely challenging year for the queer community in real life, thanks to President Pedophile & Co., it only made us fight louder and harder for equality. As with many difficult periods in the past, we’ve always been able to turn to the arts to find comfort, inclusivity, and escapism. As the year closes out, GurlCulture is taking a look back at some of the most profound television series that have impacted pop culture, introduced us to new queer characters, and have helped keep us sane the past twelve months.
School Spirits shows there’s queer love in the afterlife
Cast: Peyton List, Kristian Ventura, Milo Manheim, Spencer MacPherson, Kiara Pichardo, Sarah Yarkin, Nick Pugliese, Rainbow Wedell
Where to stream: Paramount+, Netflix
Part Veronica Mars, part Dead Like Me, the first season of School Spirits mainly focused on the mysterious disappearance, and assumed death, of high school student Maddie Nears (List). Maddie is stuck in the afterlife and only able to interact with other students who previously died at their high school and communicate with her still-alive bestie Simon (Ventura). A supremely underrated supernatural teen drama, the series stepped up it’s game in season two, by expanding on the lives of the spirits who have befriended Maddie on her journey, including jock Wally (Manheim) who died in the 80s, Rhonda (Yarkin) a feminist student who was killed in the 60s, and Charley (Pugliese) a gay teen who died in the 90s.
A majority of season two sees the teen spirits work through the emotional baggage of their “scars,” basically reliving the memory of their untimely demises. For some, it means literally coming face-to-face with the people responsible for their deaths and for others it means confronting the uglier parts of themselves. For example, Wally, who has spent much of the afterlife being buddies with Charley, accepts responsibility and apologizes for his homophobia in his past life. There’s a beautiful scene between Manheim and Pugliese in which their characters simply acknowledge the love they have grown to have for one another.
The series also shows that life and love continue on, as the romance between Maddie and Wally heats up (thank you Milo!) and Charley finally finds the love he deserves in Yuri (Miles Elliot), a spirit from the 70s who accepts people as they are and enjoys making pottery. Rhonda also befriends Quinn (Ci Hang Ma), a female member of the school’s marching band who died in 2004, planting seeds for a possible relationship for the two in the near future. With season three set to return in next month, we can’t wait to see what’s next for our favorite spooks.
Intersectionality is at the forefront of Jay & Pamela
Cast: Jay Manuel, Pamela Chavez, and Cheddar
Where to stream: TLC, HBO Max
A reality television series based around a couple, each living with a rare brittle bone disease, Jay & Pamela documents their struggles and triumphs as they work towards finding their independence and, eventually, getting married. They are frequently accompanied by their devoted dog, Cheddar.
Jay is a transman who comes from a supportive family, which the couple starts off living with at the beginning of the series. His parents are overprotective but supportive as Jay explains his yearning to be more self-sufficient, helping to pave the way to being able to marry his love, Pamela. Pamela struggles with her estranged parents, who don’t approve of her relationship with Jay, but she’s able to count on her brother when she needs him.
The series does a wonderful job of showcasing the challenges of not only differently abled individuals, but also the resistance that queer relationships still experience to this day, particularly for people of color. Jay and Pamela themselves seem to really balance each other out when they each confront various types of adversity. The show is a celebration of their journey and their love that is not to be missed. The series has been renewed for a second season, though a release date has not yet been announced.
Little (and big) white lies abound in Overcompensating
Cast: Benito Skinner, Wally Baram, Mary Beth Barone, Adam DiMarco, Rish Shah, Holmes
Where to stream: Amazon Prime
Set in the earlier 00’s with the soundtrack to prove it, Overcompensating was created by actor and social media star Benito Skinner and is based on his real life coming out story during his college years. Skinner plays Benny, a former high school jock and overachiever who wrestles with coming out as gay to both himself and those around him. Benny joins his older sister Grace (Barone) at the fictional Yates University, where he meets future bff Carmen (Baram) and such colorful characters as Carmen’s free spirited roommate Hailee (Holmes) and potential crush Miles (Shah).
The series takes us back to a simpler time, when the perfect song from Britney or Charli was all it took to help us through any existential crisis. Each cast member is pitch perfect in this raunchy ensemble comedy, which takes a dramatic turn when the main characters start fabricating lies because they are too afraid to embrace their authentic selves. While there are lots of laughs, there’s even more heart, with audiences surely able to identify with at least one character’s college journey. The series has been renewed for a second season, which is slated to return in 2026.
Wayward dives into the psychological ramifications of “reform” schools
Cast: Mae Martin, Toni Collette, Sarah Gadon, Alyvia Alyn Lind, Sydney Topliffe
Where to stream: Netflix
Comedian and recording artist Mae Martin stars in, and is the creator of, Wayward, a psychological thriller set in a small town best known for it’s reform school. Martin plays Alex Dempsey, a trans man police officer who returns to his wife’s hometown to prepare for their child’s birth. Alex stumbles upon multiple suspicious actives surrounding the reform school and it’s enigmatic dean, Evelyn Wade (Collette), which lead him to make contact with two teenage girls who found themselves being held against their will in the school.
What follows is a lesson in suspense, reminiscent of both Rosemary’s Baby and The Faculty, with a queer twist. Martin is at their finest in the surprisingly dramatic role and keeps viewers invested in the emotional beats of the story. There’s a subtle nod to themes such as identity, family, friendship, and autonomy that are carefully woven into the main criminal investigation aspect of the series, which is loosely based on real events. While the show was a hit with critics, it unfortunately didn’t garner enough views to be renewed for a second season.
“Don’t ask, don’t tell” is key in Boots
Cast: Miles Heizer, Liam Oh, Cedrick Cooper, Dominic Goodman, Kieron Moore, Max Parker, Vera Farmiga
Where to stream: Netflix
This military dramedy is based on the book The Pink Marine by Greg Cope White, his own memoir about being gay in the military during the 90’s “don’t ask, don’t tell” era. The show follows a closeted teen (Heizer) in New Orleans who follows his straight best friend (Oh) into the Marine Corps. There, he meets a ragtag group of misfits who are also on similar journeys of identity and are put under the pressures of what it takes to make it through boot camp.
What could easily have become the gayer version of Troop Beverly Hills, evolves into a series about the sacrifices and camaraderie that come from giving your all to become someone who can protect their country as well as others. Various storylines point to the dangers of being gay in the military at the time, something that is timely today, unfortunately, in how the US government is now treating it’s transgender members. Despite the fact that the show drew national attention, was a hit with critics, and pulled in a significant audience, the series was unceremoniously cancelled after it’s first season.
Queer As Folk: Hockey Edition
Cast: Hudson Williams, Connor Storrie, Francois Arnaud, Robbie G.K., Sophie Nelisse, Ksenia Daniela Kharlamova
Where to stream: HBO Max
Heated Rivalry is perhaps the biggest breakout hit on this list, gaining praise from both queer and straight audiences, with it’s high tension relationships, star-crossed romance, and sex scenes so hot, they’ll melt your screen. Based on Rachel Reid’s Game Changer novel series, it follows rival hockey players Shane (Williams) from Canada and Ilya (Storrie) from Russia, as their chemistry on the ice spills over into their personal lives. They begin a love affair in 2008 that spans years, but as their careers get bigger, so does their secret of being together.
Not since the days of Brian Kinney and Noah Nicholson have we seen gay male sex scenes like these. While that is obviously the bigger draw for the show, it also use those scenes to help tell the story of what’s going on in the lives of the characters. Shane is someone who is a bit of a control freak and has most of his life managed by his parents, while Ilya is the more free spirited one, except when it comes to his family obligations back in Russia. The cast is superb in their delivery of such nuanced characters and emotional stakes, while the romance and, ahem, scenery has already the made the show a hit on Tik Tok. Fans can rejoice, as season two has already been greenlit, though no release date has been announced yet.
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