Joe Locke, who played a sweet gay teenager on the hugely popular “Heartstopper,” is starring in a film that couldn’t be further from that warm, positive series. “Black Church Bay,” from filmmaker Rhys Marc Jones in his feature debut, tells the story of a gay teenager (Locke) involved in an ambiguous and ultimately troubling relationship with his teacher, played by Tom Cullen, who starred in Andrew Haigh’s contemporary gay classic “Weekend.” It’s a dark mystery about age gaps, abuse of power, secrets and shame, with a slowly unraveling and unnerving plot. In film festival screenings it’s already shown Locke’s talents in a new light, and it’s definitely going to give queer audiences plenty to talk about. A UK release date is forthcoming, so keep this one on your to-see list when it hits North American arthouse theaters in the future.
The return of ‘Girls’
The girls of “Girls” are women now — technically they were adults the first time, but we didn’t make up that title — and they’re coming home to HBO in 2027. The hilarious, dramatic and often contentious series from creator Lena Dunham was a lightning rod for opinions, and queer audiences ate it up and then argued about it. Now a five-episode limited series, one that revisits the lives of the four mains — Dunham, Jemima Kirke, Zosia Mamet and Allison Williams — and their primary gay (Andrew Rannells), is set to roll early next year. We know that it all ended on a less-than-loving note with the four 20-somethings moving on in different directions, so it’ll be fascinating to watch how they find themselves once again in each other’s company. And at the moment there’s no Adam Driver in the cast mix, for unexplained reasons, but you never know what will happen. Stay tuned.
Andrew Rannells, Tituss Burgess and Lisa Rinna’s ‘Wonderful Life’
“It’s a Wonderful Life” with two gays and a Housewife is coming soon. Andrew Rannells, Tituss Burgess, Megan Hilty and “Real Housewives of Beverly Hills” alum Lisa Rinna will bring “It’s a Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play” to New York’s Broadhurst Theatre just in time for the holiday season. Staged as a mid-20th-century radio play, the cast will perform multiple characters in addition to their primary roles, with Rannells as George Bailey, Hilty as Mary, Rinna as Violet Bick, Burgess as Clarence the angel and Harry Hamlin as Mr. Potter. Adding to the atmosphere will be sound effects created on stage, the way it used to be in the days of live radio presentations. And sorry, it won’t actually be on the radio, so you’ll have to come to New York between Nov. 4 when previews begin, through its run to Jan. 3.
‘Bad Fairies’ flies with Cynthia Erivo, Jonathan Groff and Kylie Minogue
Animated musical-comedies are a dime a dozen, and one can usually find someone queer in the voice cast, but “Bad Fairies,” from Warner Bros./Locksmith, has more than just a title that suggests gayness — it’s got LGBTQ+ cred. Queer “Wicked” alum Cynthia Erivo leads the voice cast that also includes Jonathan Groff (“Hamilton”) and gay icon Kylie Minogue. Directed by Megan Nicole Dong (“Centaurworld”) and Olivier Staphylas (“How to Train Your Dragon”), with a script from comedian and author Deborah Frances-White, the film’s music comes from Tony winners Toby Marlow and Lucy Moss (“Six: The Musical”) and Isabella Summers of Florence + The Machine. The story involves a gang of rebellious fairies out to make magic and mischief, which could mean anything, but it almost certainly means it’ll be a movie for kids, their parents and animation nerds of all fairy-adjacent types. It hits theaters in May 2027.