We love queer representation, but these storylines just weren’t great.
Look, we’re always here for the girls, the gays, and the theys, alright? We’re constantly pushing for more LGBTQ+ representation, celebrating the actors, projects, characters, and storylines that make our community feel seen and heard.
But we’re all bound to make mistakes along the way, right? While we would love if all queer characters and storylines were fantastic… that’s just isn’t possible, is it? We’re going to drive over a few bumpy roads sometimes. Some plotlines aren’t going to make perfect (or any) sense. Character arcs? For some of these fictional people, it’s all downhill from here.
As we write all the wonderful end-of-year listicles celebrating the best work from LGBTQ+ creatives throughout the year, it doesn’t hurt to check ourselves before we wreck ourselves. So here we are, highlighting the (thankfully) very few characters and storylines of 2023 that really just didn’t land, despite all the best efforts from everyone involved.
Scroll through to check out which LGBTQ+ characters and storylines we didn’t necessarily love from movies and TV shows released in 2023.
Creepy Alien — ‘Rebel Moon - Part One: A Child of Fire’
For one reason or another, Zack Snyder doesn’t have a very LGBTQ-inclusive filmography. Enter Rebel Moon - Part One: A Child of Fire, a sci-fi epic following Kora (Sofia Boutella) that is widely being compared to the Star Wars saga. In one particular scene, Kora is at a bar with Gunnar (Michiel Huisman) and a creepy alien man comes up to them propositioning Gunnar for sex. After Gunnar declines the offer, the alien still grabs Gunnar by the crotch, and Kora has to fight the alien to leave them alone.
Interestingly, Rebel Moon sets this same-sex groping moment as a comedic scene, making it all even worse. While some gay geeks love Snyder’s films, it’s pretty rare to see any representation of queer and/or trans characters in his movies. And for this creepy alien to be the one queer-presenting character in Snyder’s latest movie… it’s not great, or funny, or even transgressive. Let’s be real.
Bradley Jackson — ‘The Morning Show’ Season 3
Yes, The Morning Show is a campy and slightly ridiculous soap opera that costs millions and millions of dollars for Apple TV+. But it gets ratings, and it’s actually getting a few nominations for awards, too. So, people are watching this! In season two, Reese Witherspoon’s character Bradley Jackson reveals herself to be bisexual and even has a queer fling with a woman. Well, the third season completely shoved all of that under the rug and there’s barely any mention or acknowledgement at all that this woman literally came out as bisexual one season ago and had a significant story arc involving a same-sex relationship!
Farleigh — ‘Saltburn’
The character of Farleigh in Saltburn was brimming with potential, and actor Archie Madekwe did deliver a solid performance. But as a man of color who was related to the Cattons, there were plenty of storylines and angles that could’ve been explored about his dynamics with the wealthy family… none of which came to fruition. Quite the opposite, actually: Farleigh barely got any screen time, and even his exit from the movie felt anticlimactic.
Eileen — ‘Eileen’
Listen, Linda. Just listen up for a second. Eileen is a good, interesting, and twisted movie. Anne Hathaway’s performance as Rebecca is a tour de force. Thomasin McKenzie is also solidifying herself as one of the best actresses of her generation. But it’s 2023, folx, and we’re just getting kind of tired of these Oscar-baity movies about sapphic longing where nothing actually happens between the two queer women in the movie. Besides the heavily-advertised dancing scene between Eileen and Rebecca, and the fact that they do kiss each other (shocker!), the entire film is about Eileen longing for Rebecca. Thinking about Rebecca. Wanting to spend more time with Rebecca. We’ll say it again: while we did enjoy this movie, it’s really hard to praise it as an LGBTQ+ movie. Eileen and Rebecca have several fascinating things about them as characters, but their actual queer identities (and expected relationship) just doesn’t hit the mark.
Iván — ‘Élite’ Season 7
Iván (André Lamoglia) had a horrible and absolutely nonsensical storyline in the seventh season of Élite. Even though he was physically injured the entire season, Iván managed to accidentally get high and have sex with his mother, offered his entire fortune to a guy that delivered him pizza, and then became invested in a random relationship with that pizza delivery guy, Joel (Fernando Líndez), who had been dating Élite fan-favorite Omar (Omar Ayuso).
Joel — ‘Élite’ Season 7
Speaking of Joel, this character was introduced to Élite as the new gay-in-demand character following the departure of Patrick (Manu Ríos) in season six. But whereas Patrick brought some fun chaos to the series, Joel only created unnecessary issues for he and Omar after developing inexplicable romantic feelings for Iván.
Jaiyah — ‘Next Goal Wins’
It was really exciting to realize that Taika Waititi’s next film was based on a documentary about the American Samoa football team trying to qualify for the 2014 FIFA World Cup. Nonbinary actor Kaimana was cast in Next Goal Wins to play Jaiyah Saelua, a fa’afafine (third gender) soccer player who became the first nonbinary and trans woman to compete in a FIFA World Cup qualifier. However, as best described by The Playlist, the movie makes several mistakes in its portrayal of Jaiyah.
“Jaiyah initially baffles Thomas (Michael Fassbender as the white American coach sent to lead the team) with her gender identity of faʻafafine,” The Playlist’s Charles Bramesco writes. “He deadnames her to motivate her during practice. Then, after she knocks him out, she’s sent on the high road of apology to him for a reconciliatory heart-to-heart in which she smiles through an invasive inquiry about her genitals.”
Parker — ‘Glamorous’ Season 1
Our hopes for Netflix’s Glamorous couldn’t be higher. Kim Cattrall turned down And Just Like That... to launch this new show and play beauty mogul Madolyn Addison. We’re all rooting for Miss Benny (Marco Meija). We all love Zane Phillips (Chad), and Michael Hsu Rosen (Ben), and Ayesha Harris (Britt). The series’ biggest issue is that it never decides what it wants to be: is this The Devil Wears Prada? Is this a rom-com? Is this a queer, campy, and funny version of Succession between mother (Cattrall) and son (Phillips)?
But the toughest pill to swallow on the show comes from Parker, who’s supposed to be Marco’s “obvious love interest” before Marco actually falls for “the good guy” that is Ben. But despite Graham Parkhurst’s best efforts, the character of Parker really just doesn’t go anywhere. Throughout season one, we see several different versions of Parker from one moment to the next, but with little explanation or logic in between them.
Miranda Hobbes — ‘And Just Like That…’ Season 2
There’s no way around it: the And Just Like That... version of Miranda is such a wild departure from the character we came to know on Sex and the City that the only way to keep track that this is, in fact, the same person, is that we get to see Cynthia Nixon reprising the role. After getting a divorce from Steve, putting her career aspirations on pause, and moving to Los Angeles with Che Diaz (Sara Ramirez), season two quickly delivered the endgame we had been expecting all along. Miranda and Che don’t work as a couple. Miranda’s decision-making process was completely out of character, and the second season of And Just Like That... somehow managed to make her character arc even blurrier.
David Oppenheim — ‘Maestro’
Fresh off his spectacular performance as Hawkins on Fellow Travelers, we had extremely high hopes for Matt Bomer’s role in Maestro. But here’s the thing… Bomer is, um, barely in the film at all? While director Bradley Cooper seemingly wanted to focus the film on Leonard Bernstein’s career and marriage, more room should’ve been allowed for the movie to explore the protagonist’s main affair with a man – which was the core issue in his married life.