Groundbreaking and genre-defining LGBTQ+ TV dramas like Queer as Folk, The L Word, Pose, I May Destroy You, Looking and many more have been rightfully praised over the decades, but what about comedies? In honor of Pride Month, here are eight gay and gay-adjacent series that bring the funny.
Mid-Century Modern
(2025; Hulu)
TV critics were skeptical about a Golden Girls throwback sitcom with tiny sets and canned laughter (guilty), but Mid-Century Modern proved us wrong. The half-hour comedy centers on three older gay men (Nathan Lane, Nathan Lee Graham, and Matt Bomer) living together in Palm Springs, where wackiness does, indeed, ensue. While Bomer's comedy chops are no match for Lane's and Graham's, he more than makes up for it with his character's Mormon backstory. Mid-Century Modern's rapid-fire laughs don't obscure its found-family sentiment, the show's true heart.
Somebody Somewhere
(2022-2024; HBO Max)
The idea of found family runs through all of the series here, especially Somebody Somewhere. Fortysomething Sam (Bridget Everett) moves back home to Nowheresville, Kansas, to care for her dying sister, then ends up stuck there after she passes — so far, not so funny. The comedy is small and relatable, and the show's gay characters, like Sam's BFF Joel (Jeff Hiller), blend into the rural fabric as regular folk, not targets. Somebody Somewhere may be a red state fantasy, but it's a nice one to aspire to.
A League of Their Own
(2022; Prime Video)
The 1992 movie hinted at queerness, but the 2022 TV adaptation of A League of Their Own went all in on lesbian, bisexual and transmasculine characters, and even featured some who aren't white — such "woke" TV. Since it's 1943, the world is none too hospitable for any of them, certainly not the Rockford Peaches, a women's team daring to play the all-American game of pro baseball. Unfortunately, a home-run cast, including Broad City's Abbi Jacobson and The Good Place's D'Arcy Carden, and shutout reviews couldn't save the League.
Steven Universe
(2013-2020; Hulu)
It's been referred to as "the gayest kids' cartoon ever" for years by adults who were smart enough to watch it with (or without) their children, but Steven Universe is more than just that. Rebecca Sugar's five-season Cartoon Network series is fantastical and dazzling, but also rooted in the reality that loving relationships aren't tethered to gender or sexual orientation. The Crystal Gem aliens of Beach City split their time between everyday activities and saving Earth while half-human/half-Gem boy Steven Universe takes it all in. Oh, and it's also musical AF.
Harley Quinn
(2019-present; HBO Max)
Where Steven Universe was kid-friendly, DC Universe animated series Harley Quinn goes out of its way to be a raunchy, adults-only affair. After being dumped by the Joker, Harley (voiced with manic glee by Kaley Cuoco) sets out to rule the criminal underworld of Gotham City and assembles a crew that includes her bestie, Poison Ivy (Lake Bell, all measured cool). Harley and Ivy eventually become a power couple, "Harlivy," trading cute romantic asides and occasionally having city-shaking sex — literally. Harley Quinn also drops more F-bombs than Deadwood.
Los Espookys
(2019-2022; HBO Max)
The weird and wonderful Los Espookys, about a group of young friends who stage supernatural illusions for hire in a mysterious Latin American country, has a subliminal queer underbelly that's never fussed about. Andrés (show co-creator Julio Torres) is Los Espookys' most outwardly gay member, Úrsula (Cassandra Ciangherotti) prefers women, and her sister Tati (Ana Fabrega) marries Andrés' obviously non-straight ex ("No one likes men, but everybody needs a husband," she notes).
