What happened to queer TV this year? We got canceled more often than J.K. Rowling [View all]
2022 has been the year of Netflixs Heartstopper, the US Queer As Folk reboot, and Hulus 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 Netflixs 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, Americas 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, its 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".