With great weather, summer vacation and Pride events approaching, some of us are just trying to find ways to pass the time until the real excitement begins. If that’s you, we’ve got you covered with this list of LGBTQ2S+ movies, TV shows, and festivals airing this month to keep you busy. Again drag race to a gay man Nancy Drew spin-off – you don’t want to miss these great queer selections hitting streaming platforms in May.
Messiah/Complex
Online until May 22
Toronto’s Against the Grain Theater brings back its Handel rendition Messiah, streaming online through May 22. The queer and Indigenous version of the holiday classic was filmed across Canada and sung in Arabic, Dene, English, French, Inuktitut and Southern Tutchone, and accompanied by the Toronto Symphony Orchestra. Co-directed by Joel Ivany and Reneltta Arluk, the production includes soloists Jonathon Adams, Looee Arreak, Spencer Britten, Rihab Chaieb, Catherine Daniel, Deantha Edmunds, Leela Gilday, Miriam Khalil, Andrea Lett, Diyet van Lieshout, Julie Lumsden and Elliot Madore.
Inside Out 2SLGBTQ+ Toronto Film Festival
Online from May 26 to June 5
Toronto’s Inside Out Film Festival is launching its first-ever hybrid festival, with queer films presented online and in person across Ontario from May 26 to June 5. The full lineup for the festival has yet to be released, but keep your eyes peeled for some stellar queer films and filmmakers premiering later this month.
hacks (Season 2)
May 12 on HBO Max in the US and Crave in Canada
Jean Smart fans rejoice — “Hacks” is back! Credit: HBO Max
HBO’s acclaimed comedy series hacks returns for a second season, premiering on streaming services May 12. Last season, we saw aging comedian Deborah Vance (Jean Smart) trying to hold on to her waning legacy, and bisexual writer Ava Daniels (Hannah Einbinder) trying to rebound her promising career after a problematic tweet. In Season 2, the pair embark on a cross-country tour as they test the waters with Deborah’s final act. Laurie Metcalf, Margaret Cho and other stars will join the cast, so that’s a plus.
RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars 7
May 20 on Paramount+ in the US and Crave in Canada
We expect to see some familiar faces on All of RuPaul’s Drag Race Stars– but the new season which drops on May 20 has quite a twist. For the first time in its history, the eight competing queens are all previous winners of the show. This season, the winning queen receives $200,000, double the previous amount All stars. The competing queens of season 7 are: Monét X Change (All Stars 4 winner), Trinity the Tuck (All Stars 4 winner), Jaida Essence Hall (winner of season 12), Jinkx Monsoon (winner of season 5), Raja Gemini (winner of season 3), Shea Couleé (All stars 5 winner), La Vivienne (RuPaul’s Drag Race in the UK Season 1 winner) and Yvie Oddly (Season 11 winner).
The children in the room
May 13 on Amazon Prime
Scott Thompson and the Kids In The Hall return this month. Credit: Radio-Canada
After a long hiatus, the Canadian sketch comedy classic The children in the room returns to our screens on May 13. Twenty-seven years after the original series ended on CBC, the group is now heading to Amazon Prime for its new season. Openly gay actor Scott Thompson returns for the new season. We’ll have to see if he revives his iconic sketch character Buddy Cole.
Human Rights Watch Canada Film Festival
From May 26 to June 2 online and in person.
The Human Rights Watch Film Festival will feature a variety of screenings. Credit: Human Rights Watch Film Festival
The 19th Human Rights Watch Canada Film Festival is partnering for the third year with Hot Docs to screen human rights films across Canada from May 26 to June 2. One of the featured feature films is Walk for Dignity, directed by John Eames. The feature-length documentary follows a small group of courageous queer and trans activists in Tbilisi, Georgia, who attempt to lead the first Pride march in the country, where homosexuality remains heavily stigmatized.
Conversations with friends
May 15 on Hulu in the United States
Another Sally Rooney adaptation is heading to Hulu. Credit: Enda Bowe/Hulu
The new Hulu queer original series Conversations with friends, based on Sally Rooney’s 2017 debut novel, will be available from May 15. The Irish show follows Frances, a 21-year-old writer and spoken word performer. The college student, alongside her best friend-slash-ex-girlfriend Bobbi, stumbles into the life of a super-rich couple and finds herself in a web of foursome love.
Girls5Eva (Season 2)
may 5 on the peacock
The Grils5Eva crew is back, but will it be 4eva? Credit: IMDB
The Girl Group’s Iconic Comedy Series Girls 5 Eva returns to Peacock for a second season on May 5. Sara Bareilles, Busy Philipps, Renée Elise Goldsberry and Paula Pell play a hit girl group that was briefly popular in 2000. After a rapper samples their song, they get a second shot at fame. Pell, who is openly queer, stars as one of the band members Gloria – who since the band split has come out as a lesbian, divorced and became a dentist in New York.
The Savages (Season 2 premiere)
May 6 on Amazon Prime
A new group enters the fray of “The Wilds”. Credit: Amazon Prime
The second season of the girl-only fictional survival series The Savages premieres on Amazon Prime starting May 6. In the first season, a group of very different young women find themselves on a desert island after a plane crash. But what they didn’t know was that they were the subjects of a larger social experiment. In Season 2, we are introduced to a group of boys who become trapped on the island as part of the experiment as well. The diverse group of girls includes Toni, a proud queer Indigenous teenager, played by Maori actress Erana James.
Tom Swift
May 31 on The CW
“Tom Swift” is a spin-off of “Nancy Drew”. Credit: The CW
A Nancy Drew spin-off about a black and gay billionaire inventor? Yes please. Tom Swift, based on Edward Stratemeyer’s 1900s character is a new series on The CW premiering May 31. disappearance. In addition to mystery and sci-fi, the show also focuses on his story as a queer black man and his journey to self-acceptance.
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