Television
New HBO miniseries ‘Gentleman Jack’ explores life of ‘first modern lesbian’
Compelling, finely wrought tale brought roaring to life with great acting, period detail
“Gentleman Jack,” now playing on HBO, is a fascinating portrait of Anne Lister, an English landowner often descried as “the first modern lesbian.” The splendid eight-part series, a co-production of HBO and BBC One, is a rollicking portrait of life in Regency England, a time of great social, political and economic upheaval.
Set in Halifax in 1832, the series opens when Anne Lister (the delightfully swaggering Suranna Jones) returns to the family manse after foreign travel and a collapsed affair with Vere Hobart (Jodhi May) who has decided to marry a man (something that has happened to Lister before).
Lister is a complex and captivating bundle of contradictions and Jones captures them all with rakish charm. Lister caries a walking stick and dresses all in black, with a voluminous skirt without petticoats, a corset and a fitted bodice, a long coat and a top hat. (The witty title sequence shows her getting dressed which is a great introduction to the character.)
She’s a shrewd businesswoman, personally collecting the rents from her tenant farmers and negotiating business deals directly. She’s fiercely protective of her tenants but also fiercely protective of her bottom line. She personally (and awkwardly) tends to a boy who is injured, but refuses to renew the lease of any farmer who’s not measuring up.
She’s confident in her sexuality, but discreet enough to avoid open scandal (even though the local gossips do warn that she’s “not to be trusted in the company of other women”).
But while she claims the right to run her own business and sexual affairs, she’s also rather reactionary. She’s upset when a tradesman dares to court her sister Marion (Gemma Whalen, who’s also playing Yara Greyjoy on HBO’s “Game of Thrones”) and she’s obsessed with restoring the faded ancestral home Shibden Hall to its former glory.
And that’s what sets the story in motion. Like any cash-poor landowner, Lister decides that she needs to find a rich wife. She sets her sights on Ann Walker (Sophie Rundle), a local heiress who’s been dazzled by Lister’s charisma for years.
Lister also discovers there’s coal on her property and enters into a nasty business rivalry with the brutal Christopher Rawson (Vincent Franklin).
Series creator and screenwriter Sally Wainwright introduces both of these plot lines with a light touch, delighting in Lister’s playful seduction of Walker and her tough negotiations with Rawson. But over the course of the five episodes available for review, Wainwright slowly ratchets up the tension. Rawson becomes violent when his ambitions are thwarted and Walker and Lister are caught in flagrante delicto by a nosy neighbor.
The acting is first rate. Jones is a marvel as Anne Lister, effortlessly capturing every contradictory facet of this remarkable character. Rundle is captivating as the heiress who has a few secrets of her own and Franklin makes a fine villain. Whalen turns in a full-bodied performance as Anne’s exasperated sister Marian; she makes the character warm and believable while providing some much-needed common sense and humor to the proceedings.
Veteran British actors Gemma Whalen and Timothy West turn in fine performances as Aunt Anne Lister and Jeremy Lister, aunt and father to Anne and Marian. Neither character is quite as befuddled as their young relatives think they are, and their finely tuned observations are often amusing and quite biting.
Wainwright’s script is solid, with dialogue that sounds natural yet quite appropriate for the period. The directing (by Wainwright, Sarah Harding and Jennifer Perrott) is generally assured and well paced, although it’s difficult to see how the final three episodes can keep increasing the tension while resolving the main plots and the many subplots. The cinematography is stunning, a virtual Valentine to the lush West Yorkshire countryside.
Wainwright and her talented colleagues also create a powerful sense of period, While there are some delightful modern flourishes (especially in the lively score by Murray Gold), the series has an authentic feel. Everything feels lived in and the period details underscore the fact that the past is indeed a foreign country, recognizable yet distinctly different.
This is especially true of discussions of Lister’s sexuality and gender non-conformity. Her same-sex desires and her unconventional clothing choices are freely discussed, but the script avoids the temptation to use modern terminology. For example, when discussing her romantic relationships with her family, Lister refers to her “companions.”
There’s also the delightful exchange where a young boy askes Lister, “Are you a man?” Flustered, Lister responds, “Well, that’s a question. So no, I am not a man. I’m a lady — woman. I’m a lady—woman. I’m a woman.”
The remarkable authenticity and detail of “Gentleman Jack” comes from Wainwright’s intimate knowledge of Lister’s diaries. Over the course of her life, Lister kept a four-million-word diary that recorded her daily life in astonishing detail. Much of the diary was written in a secret code that used algebraic symbols and letters of the Greek alphabet. Wainwright was granted extensive access to the diaries and learned how to decipher the code and more fully understand Lister’s rich inner life. Since then, Wainwright funded the restoration and digitization of the diary; excerpts can be found here.
“Gentleman Jack” is a rare and genuine treat. It’s a full-blooded, full-bodied period piece with and vibrant and authentic inner life that is fully relatable yet true to its own time. Led by creator Sally Wainwright and the vivacious Suranna Jones, the series is a rousing tale that is also a rich contribution to our understanding of how same-sex desire and gender nonconformity are expressed in different times and places.
Television
Charles Galin King brings cultural influences, style to ‘King of Drag’
First-ever drag king television competition series airs on Revry
When Charles Galin King made his big debut on the world’s first drag competition show, “King of Drag,” you knew you were taking in a star. He introduced himself as “a Mexican-American Indigenous Wixárika with Ch’ol blood person,” and you couldn’t help but take notice.
His cultural influences are apparent in his drag, serving distinct and memorable looks. He won fans over with his fabulous impression of Nosferatu on “The Dong Show” and connected with them through his honesty about his mental health struggles. After bringing the black plague to the prom, his time on the Revry series came to an end.
We caught up with Charles Galin King to talk about his experience on “King of Drag,” what he hopes to see in future seasons, and advice for new drag kings.
Tell us about your first time in drag.
Back in high school senior year, I decided to wear one of my dad’s black button-up short-sleeved shirts and made a beard and mustache on my face, and wore a fedora hat. I went out with one of my best friends to this day, Ruben, and we went to Hollywood and went to Jack and the Box. I needed the restroom and went to the women’s, and a guy coming out of the men’s said, “Not that one, this one.” And I felt validated in drag cause I was that convincing of a “man,” jajaaaja.
What made you decide to be a part of the inaugural season of ‘King of Drag’?
I wanted to try it cause I was looking at the application out of curiosity, and upon reading started feeling fear and nervousness. And said, “I should apply,” to my mother. Also, l will die one day, might as well go for it and see how it is. I knew I would be a part of the first trial and error cause it’s a first of its kind, so we all learned together what this show is and will be.
What do you hope to see differently in future seasons?
More kings on the King’s Court, and more BIPOC judges, and more lip sync songs.
What surprised you most about your experience on ‘King of Drag’?
I gained nine new siblings and felt a beautiful connection to myself in wanting to be a part of this community even more because of them. And due to being a beautifully diverse experience.
What do you cherish most about your filming experience?
I showed what drag means to me and what my drag is. And being able to say thank you to the cast, crew, tech, and owners of the studio where filming was at.
If you could do one thing over on ‘King of Drag,’ knowing what you know now, what would it be?
Have more money and be able to show my true fear of cutting out a fetus from me and showing myself dying.
Have you had any especially memorable fan interactions since the show began?
Yes, when people and fans would say thank you for sharing your story about accepting death and suicide. And them asking me what surprised me most about being on the show.
Do you hear from other kings about the representation the show offers?
Yes, very much. They feel seen and have been wanting this for such a long time, and it’s a breath of fresh air seeing us all work together. We still feel the hate from those who don’t understand our existence, though I have learned from my kings on the show that with every hate comment, there are ten love comments from the fans.
What do you want aspiring kings to know about the working life of a king?
Be prepared to be looked at by certain audiences with stares of confusion, and being on their phone when performing or being compared to other kings. Also, since we are still climbing to be accepted in this world, the majority of “Drag Race” fans still see us as non-existent and trash. Always focus on our drag king audience, for they understand us the most. Always have fun, for if I have fun, then the audience will have fun alongside me. SO many queens support us, and there are still queens who look down on us. Accept that and focus on your music, routines, lyrics, and feeling the vibes of what character you will put on stage.
If you can ask a co-star or Murray Hill one question at a season 1 reunion, what would it be?
What’s your favorite flavor of ice cream if you eat ice cream? And when can we hang out and look out to the sunset and high-five when it’s time to go home?
Stream the entire season of “King of Drag” now on Revry.com and follow Charles Galin King on social.
Sure, we know everybody’s talking about the Emmy nominations right now, but they aren’t the only TV awards in town.
On July 8, GALECA: The Society of LGBTQ Entertainment Critics announced the winners of its 17th Dorian TV Awards.
With more than 560 critics, journalists, and media icons making up its membership, GALECA is the second largest entertainment journalists’ group in the world, and they present their Dorian Awards – named in honor of Oscar Wilde, the celebrated queer writer who penned “The Picture of Dorian Gray” and who serves as something like the group’s patron saint – to honor the best in film, television, and theater at separate times during each year. Frequently, many Dorian nominees and winners presage similar honors from the more mainstream awards bodies, reminding the world that the informed LGBTQ perspective on all things entertainment definitely matters; at the same time, however, the Dorians also include several queer-centric categories that are unique to them, providing an opportunity to amplify the reach of more unsung and off-the-radar material which might otherwise be overlooked.
For this year’s TV awards – which, as always, honor both mainstream and queer-focused content across broadcast, cable, and streaming platforms – streaming giant Max scored big. Their new, genre-expanding hit “The Pitt” was awarded Best TV Drama, with veteran star Noah Wyle earning Best Leading TV Performance (Drama) for his role on the show. A parallel double victory was bestowed in the comedy categories, where Max triumphed once more with “Hacks” winning both Best TV Comedy and Best Lead Performance (Comedy) for star Jean Smart (both winning for the third year in a row), and her co-star, Hannah Einbinder, took the Best Supporting TV Performance (Comedy) win for a second time. “Hacks” also scored wins as Best LGBTQ TV Show and Best-Written TV Show (Comedy).
Smart also added an additional accolade to her ever-growing tally, winning GALECA’s TV Icon Award, an annual career achievement honor previously bestowed on the likes of Jennifer Coolidge, Christine Baranski and Carol Burnett. Other special accolades: nonbinary multi-hyphenate Cole Escola (creator-star of the outlandish Broadway smash “Oh, Mary!”) earned GALECA’s “Wilde Wit” Award, following in the footsteps of such past winners as Julio Torres, Wanda Sykes, Bowen Yang and John Oliver; and Ncuti Gatwa – the Rwandan-born Scottish actor who is the first Black and out queer performer to portray the title character in BBC’s long-running sci-fi hit “Doctor Who” – was named as LGBTQIA+ TV Trailblazer.
Other noteworthy wins: “Andor,” the boldly queer-inclusive (and anti-fascist) Disney Plus “Star Wars” spin-off about the rise of the galactic resistance against an authoritarian empire, was named as Best Genre TV Show; “Overcompensating,” the sexy-but-sweet collegiate comedy from viral internet star Benito Skinner and Amazon Prime Video, took the prize for Best Unsung TV Show; Peacock’s Alan Cumming-hosted “The Traitors” won double honors as both Best Reality Show and “Campiest” TV Show (the Dorians’ cheekiest prize); the HBO two-parter “Pee-wee as Himself” defeated all competitors to win as both Best TV Documentary and Best LGBTQ TV Documentary; and “Wicked” fans will be glad to hear that the movie’s stars Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo (the group’s LGBTQIA+ Film Trailblazer honoree earlier this year) came in on top of the TV Musical Performance category, beating out a highly competitive field that included Beyoncé and Kendrick Lamar, to win with a medley of tunes from “The Wizard of Oz” and its various descendents on ABC’s broadcast of the 97th Academy Awards.
“This year’s Dorian TV winners prove once again that queer folks have an especially keen eye for stellar TV, using our culture’s lens to elevate the bold, brilliant, and blissfully bonkers,” said Diane Anderson-Minshall, GALECA’s Executive Director. “From Hacks’ dazzling domination to Ncuti Gatwa’s historic trailblazing, we’re proud to celebrate a wildly entertaining spectrum of talent and storytelling.”
Added GALECA’s President, Walt Hickey, “The Dorian Awards this year illustrate more than anything the depth and quality of TV right now, especially when it comes to shows by and for LGBTQ+ people. This year’s crop of winners made us laugh, inspired us, and delivered some of the most intense and rewarding performances many of our members have ever seen.”
GALECA: The Society of LGBTQ Entertainment Critics and its Dorian Awards honor the best in film, television, and theater at separate times of the year. With over 560 members, GALECA. A nonprofit organization, GALECA also advocates for better pay, access, and respect for entertainment journalists (especially those most underrepresented), providing scholarships for LGBTQ journalism students and more.
2025 DORIAN TV AWARD WINNERS, FULL LIST
BEST TV DRAMA
Andor (Disney+)
The Last of Us (HBO)
The Pitt (Max)
Severance (Apple TV+)
The White Lotus (HBO)
BEST TV COMEDY
Abbott Elementary (ABC)
Hacks (Max)
The Rehearsal (HBO)
Somebody Somewhere (HBO)
The Studio (Apple TV+)
BEST LGBTQ TV SHOW
Agatha All Along (Disney+)
Hacks (Max)
Heartstopper (Netflix)
Overcompensating (Amazon Prime Video)
Somebody Somewhere (HBO)
Rebel Ridge (Netflix)
BEST WRITTEN TV SHOW
Andor (Disney+)
Hacks (Max)
The Pitt (Max)
Severance (Apple TV+)
The White Lotus (HBO)
BEST UNSUNG TV SHOW
English Teacher (FX on Hulu)
Evil (Paramount+)
Fantasmas (HBO)
Mid-Century Modern (Hulu)
Overcompensating (Amazon Prime Video)
BEST NON-ENGLISH LANGUAGE TV SHOW
Elite (Netflix)
My Brilliant Friend (HBO)
One Hundred Years of Solitude (Netflix)
Pachinko (Apple TV+)
Squid Game (Netflix)
Threesome (ViaPlay)
BEST LGBTQ NON-ENGLISH LANGUAGE TV SHOW
Becoming Karl Lagerfeld (Hulu)
The Boyfriend (Netflix)
Elite (Netflix)
The Secret of the River (Netflix)
Threesome (Viaplay)
When No One Sees Us (Max)
BEST TV PERFORMANCE – DRAMA
Colin Farrell, The Penguin (HBO)
Stephen Graham, Adolescence (Netflix)
Cooper Koch, Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story (Netflix)
Diego Luna, Andor (Disney+)
Cristin Milioti, The Penguin (HBO)
Pedro Pascal, The Last of Us (HBO)
Bella Ramsey, The Last of Us (HBO)
Adam Scott, Severance (Apple TV+)
Michelle Williams, Dying for Sex (FX on Hulu)
Noah Wyle, The Pitt (Max)
BEST SUPPORTING TV PERFORMANCE—DRAMA
Carrie Coon, The White Lotus (HBO)
Owen Cooper, Adolescence (Netflix)
Taylor Dearden, The Pitt (Max)
Erin Doherty, Adolescence (Netflix)
Walton Goggins, The White Lotus (HBO)
Katherine LaNasa, The Pitt (Max)
Genevieve O’Reilly, Andor (Disney+)
Parker Posey, The White Lotus (HBO)
Jenny Slate, Dying for Sex (FX on Hulu)
Tramell Tillman, Severance (Apple TV+)
BEST TV PERFORMANCE—COMEDY
Uzo Aduba, The Residence (Netflix)
Quinta Brunson, Abbott Elementary (ABC)
Ayo Edebiri, The Bear (FX on Hulu)
Bridget Everett, Somebody Somewhere (HBO)
Nathan Fielder, The Rehearsal (HBO)
Kathryn Hahn, Agatha All Along (Disney+)
Natasha Lyonne, Poker Face (Peacock)
Seth Rogen, The Studio (Apple TV+)
Benito Skinner, Overcompensating (Amazon Prime Video)
Jean Smart, Hacks (Max)
BEST SUPPORTING TV PERFORMANCE—COMEDY
Ike Barinholtz, The Studio (Apple TV+)
Colman Domingo, The Four Seasons (Netflix)
Hannah Einbinder, Hacks (Max)
Kathryn Hahn, The Studio (Apple TV+)
Jeff Hiller, Somebody Somewhere (HBO)
Holmes, Overcompensating (Amazon Prime Video)
Janelle James, Abbott Elementary (ABC)
Linda Lavin, Mid-Century Modern (Hulu)
Catherine O’Hara, The Studio (Apple TV+)
Meg Stalter, Hacks (Max)
BEST TV MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
Beyoncé, “Cowboy Carter” medley, Beyoncé Bowl (Ravens vs. Texans Halftime Show) (Netflix)
Doechii, “Catfish” / “Denial Is a River,” 67th Annual Grammy Awards (CBS)
Cynthia Erivo, Ariana Grande, “Oz Medley” (“The Wizard of Oz,” “The Wiz,” “Wicked”), 97th Academy Awards (ABC)
Kathryn Hahn, Patti LuPone, Ali Ahn, Sasheer Zamata, “The Ballad of the Witches’ Road,” Agatha All Along (Disney+)
Kendrick Lamar, “Squabble Up,” “Humble,” etc., Super Bowl LIX Halftime Show (Fox)
BEST TV DOCUMENTARY OR DOCUMENTARY SERIES
Deaf President Now! (Apple TV+)
Elizabeth Taylor: The Lost Tapes (Max)
Pee-wee as Himself (HBO)
The Rehearsal (HBO)
SNL50: Beyond Saturday Night (Peacock)
BEST LGBTQ TV DOCUMENTARY OR DOCUMENTARY SERIES
Disco: Soundtrack of a Revolution (PBS)
Fanatical: The Catfishing of Tegan and Sara (Hulu)
Outstanding: A Comedy Revolution (Netflix)
Pee-wee as Himself (HBO)
Queer Planet (Peacock)
BEST CURRENT AFFAIRS SHOW
The Daily Show (Comedy Central)
Everybody’s Live with John Mulaney (Netflix)
Hot Ones (YouTube)
Late Night with Seth Meyers (NBC)
Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (HBO)
BEST GENRE TV SHOW
Agatha All Along (Disney+)
Andor (Disney+)
Black Mirror (Netflix)
The Last of Us (HBO)
Severance (Apple TV+)
BEST ANIMATED SHOW
Big Mouth (Netflix)
Bob’s Burgers (Fox)
Harley Quinn (Max)
The Simpsons (Fox)
Star Trek: Lower Decks (Paramount+)
MOST VISUALLY STRIKING TV SHOW
Adolescence (Netflix)
Agatha All Along (Disney+)
Andor (Disney+)
Severance (Apple TV+)
The White Lotus (HBO)
BEST REALITY SHOW
The Amazing Race (CBS)
The Great British Baking Show (Netflix)
RuPaul’s Drag Race (MTV)
Top Chef (Bravo)
The Traitors (Peacock)
CAMPIEST TV SHOW
Doctor Odyssey (ABC)
Mid-Century Modern (Hulu)
Overcompensating (Amazon Prime)
RuPaul’s Drag Race (MTV)
The Traitors (Peacock)
WILDE WIT AWARD
Quinta Brunson
Alan Cumming
Hannah Einbinder
Cole Escola
Nathan Fielder
GALECA TV ICON AWARD
Gillian Anderson
Angela Bassett
Alan Cumming
Sarah Michelle Gellar
Jean Smart
GALECA LGBTQIA+ TV TRAILBLAZER AWARD
Jonathan Bailey
Greg Berlanti
Ncuti Gatwa
Bella Ramsey
Mike White
Television
How this Texas drag king reclaimed their identity
Chicano performance art serves as inspiration
Three out of ten drag kings who were cast for this first season of King of Drag self-identified as Latinx and after episode two, only one Latinx king remains in the running for the competition.
Buck Wylde, a king from Dallas, Texas delivered a performance that took inspiration from their Catholic upbringing and Catholic school days to put together this persona. During the episode, they shared that they like to “play with religion.”
Murray Hill responded by adding, “sometimes we can’t afford to go to therapy for the Catholic guilt, so we do drag.” Buck Wylde says their therapy and their church is drag.
Buck Wylde, cancer sign, goes by Trigger Mortis when they are outside of drag and present more on the femme side. Along with Big D—another drag king on the series—they are the only two who are more femme outside of their drag persona.
During this episode, Buck Wylde also spoke about the difficulty of performing drag in a red state. They live in conservative Dallas, so they still struggle to find large-scale acceptance and support in the midst of statewide legislation targeting the LGBTQ community in Texas.
“Sometimes it doesn’t feel [as] safe as [I] would like it to be. There’s protesters all the time and we don’t have as many spaces to perform as kings there,” they said in the interview.
Buck Wylde says that for them, the most important thing about drag, is that it is and always has been a protest.
Living in a conservative state is a challenge to them as a drag king, but they say that it’s important for them to stand their ground and not only bring that representation to these areas, but also intentionally keep it there.
“So many people leave Texas for their safety and mental health to go to Portland, LA, or Colorado Springs or you know, anywhere but here.”
During the episode, Buck Wylde also opened up about how their religious background and cultural heritage added an extra layer to their identity issues growing up where they did. Their family wanted them to assimilate and even prevented them from speaking Spanish and they say that through Buck, they are able to re-examine what it means to be a part of that culture.
Buck Wylde is a third generation Mexican-American and they say that though their Spanish is not fluent, they say they do prefer their horchata without (ICE).
“I kind of straddled different worlds there, because I was sort of assimilated but I still had my Mexican culture. I always felt like I wasn’t connected enough because of the assimilation and it was through drag that I was able to reclaim my culture.”
In the first round of competitions for the second episode, the kings broke up into three teams of three for an improv skit where they would have to mansplain a topic and whichever team did it the best—won the group Weenie Challenge.
The winning team included Buck Wylde, Alexander the Great and Henlo Bullfrog. Together they improvised a skit where they mansplained the Amelia Earhart story.
For the solo show, they dressed up as ‘The Devil’ for the improv solo challenge, cracking a joke about how they are dressed like the person currently living in The White House.
Dressed as the Devil, sporting a Zoot Suit for the final competition, Buck Wylde improvised a skit with food.
Buck Wylde says they felt the pressure to perform because along with the other nine kings who were cast, they are the first ten kings to make it to the mainstream and represent king culture.
“We call ourselves the first ten because whatever happens, we’re responsible for how the kings are viewed and how we move forward together, being the blueprint for what’s to come,” said Buck Wylde in an exclusive interview with Los Angeles Blade.
Back stage before the solo improv competition, Buck Wylde says they felt their drag persona “crumbling” away.
They felt like Buck had abandoned them prior to their big moments to prove to the judges that they should stay in the running for the competition. They went up against Perka $exxx, who gave a king-based Dave Chappell performance.
In the end, it was Perka $exxx who received a 4-1 vote from the judges.
Buck Wylde left the show with some advice for the kings and the audience: “No matter what life throws at you, always remember who the Buck you are.”
King of Drag is now available to stream on RevryTV, an LGBTQ streaming platform for queer movies, TV shows, music and more — all for free. New King of Drag episodes will premiere weekly on Sundays.
Gottmik and Violet Chachki are bringing drag excellence across the country with ‘The Knockout Tour’
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Cruising the high seas: from Italy to the U.S.
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