What happened to queer TV this year? We got canceled more often than J.K. Rowling

[Behind the Aegis]

2022 has been the year of Netflix’s Heartstopper, the US Queer As Folk reboot, and Hulu’s Conversations With Friends offering us authentic and original LGBTQ characters and narratives. But something is rotten in the state of Queerdom: this year has also seen a purge of queer TV, with Netflix, The CW and HBO, amongst others, unceremoniously canceling many LGBTQ shows, breaking the hearts of their most ardent devotees and prompting online outrage.

Two of the latest examples of these painful cancellations are BBC/HBO co-production Gentleman Jack and Netflix’s First Kill. In July, HBO announced that the lesbian period drama was axed. The following month, the supernatural, sapphic love story First Kill was canceled by Netflix.

Predictably, the shows’ dedicated fans were furious. Among them, Gentleman Jack fan Megan Troy appealed to HRC, America’s largest LGBTQ civil rights organization: “Thank you @HRC for finally being vocal about queer representation on TV! Can you help support the other queer shows that are also at risk for cancelation?” DIVA magazine editor Roxy Bourdillon penned a passionate letter praising Gentleman Jack and highlighting how “we have always been here, and we will always be, whether they like or not. This show saves lives. Now, it’s time to save Jack.”

Another fan, Georgia, shared her thoughts on Twitter: “If Gentleman Jack was a show about a historical mlm [man loves men] couple or a historical straight couple it would have been renewed for season after season. Society is so uncomfortable with the idea that a woman can be happy without a man that they choose to ignore any wlw [woman loves women] forms of media.”

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So much for "representation".

[LonePirate]

1. Check out Hacks and The Other Two both on HBO Max while you can.

Both feature great (and hilarious) LGBT representation. Both have two seasons with 8-10 half hour episodes each. Easy to binge.

[Behind the Aegis]

2. I enjoyed "Hacks".

[LonePirate]

3. Jean Smart is sensational in her Hacks role. I hope they make another season.

The Other Two is more of a screwball or absurdist comedy along the lines of 30 Rock. It’s more of an acquired taste than Hacks but there is some truly funny stuff in every episode.

[maxsolomon]

4. I watched every episode of Gentleman Jack.

I can say that ultimately, I found it unpleasant to watch (although the art direction and acting are fantastic). It was somehow both anxiety-producing (so much rushing about) and boring at the same time.

It had nothing to do with depictions of same-sex relationships. I also stopped watching, for one reason or another, Handmaid's Tale, Outlander, and for a season, Westworld.

Queer TV is cancelled for the same reason any TV is cancelled: not enough people watch it.

[AZSkiffyGeek]

5. I've seen a lot of new queer shows getting a lot of attention

The previously mentioned Heartstopper...
Fire Island
Our Flag Means Death
A League of Their Own
Even What We Do in the Shadows leaned hard with Nandor's search for a spouse and Guillermo coming out.

It sounds like this is more collateral damage from Discovery+ gutting HBOMax and the CW than specifically targeting queer shows.