Arts & Entertainment
SPRING ARTS 2020: Something old, something new on TV
‘Little Fires Everywhere,’ ‘Feel Good,’ ‘Lazy Susan’ among debuting queer series

The spring television season will be a chance for LGBT fans to say goodbye to some old favorites and to try out some interesting new broadcast and streaming movies and shows.
After 11 successful seasons, the ABC sitcom “Modern Family” is going off the air April 8. The extended eccentric Pritchett clan included gay attorney Mitchell (played by out actor Jesse Tyler Ferguson) and his husband Cam (Eric Stonestreet), a flamboyant teacher and football coach. A spin-off series is reportedly in the works, but it’s not clear whether or not Cam, Mitchell and their adopted daughter will be involved.
On April 9, the ground-breaking NBC series “Will & Grace” will shutter after 11 seasons (eight in its initial run and three in revival). Although some LGBT audiences objected to what they considered stereotypical characters, the series made huge strides in the representation of gay people on the small screen.
Other shows with significant LGBT characters that are scheduled to end this spring include “Empire” on Fox (May 12), ABC’s “How to Get Away with Murder” (May 14) and “Supernatural” on the CW (May 18).
The final episode of the award-winning comedy “Schitt’s Creek,” written by and starring out artist Daniel Levy, will air on Pop TV and the CBC on April 20. Netflix has not yet announced when it will air the final season of the popular show.
Netflix is also ending “GLOW” and “Dear White People” although final air dates have not yet been announced. ABC is shutting down “Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.” sometime this year.
Meanwhile, the spring television season is off to a horrific start with “Scream, Queen! My Nightmare on Elm Street.” The documentary examines the homoerotic overtones and homophobic reception of the 1985 thriller “Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy’s Revenge” and features out actor Mark Patton who starred in the controversial (and campy) horror classic. The movie has dropped on several streaming platforms and may get a theatrical release.
Also underway is the darkly comic “These Thems” which explores the intersectional issues facing marginalized communities. The show features queer, trans and nonbinary actors playing queer, trans and nonbinary roles and every crew member identifies as a member of a marginalized group.
PBS will run a 50-minute documentary March 27 about nationally renowned Chef Patrick O’Connell and his empire The Inn at Little Washington in small town Virginia. “The Inn at Little Washington: a Delicious New Documentary” follows the gay-owned Inn’s “quirky cast of characters on their journey to obtaining a third Michelin star.”
Over on Dekkoo (and other platforms), “Strange Hearts” examines the unexpectedly interconnected lives of three queer characters from wildly different backgrounds. Created by Kevin James Thornton, the web series premiered March 12.
Out writer and actor Lena Waithe joins the cast of “Westworld” when it returns to HBO for season three on HBO on March 15. Set at the intersection of the near future and the imagined past, the acclaimed series is set in a Wild West theme park where human-like androids fulfill the fantasies of the human guests.
On March 16, the six-episode mini-series “The Plot Against America” premieres on HBO. Based on the novel by Philip Roth and starring John Turturro, Zoe Kazan and Winona Ryder, the show depicts an alternative history where xenophobic populist Chares Lindbergh defeats Franklin D. Roosevelt in the 1940 presidential election and turns the United States towards fascism.
Freeform’s “Motherland: Fort Salem” also explores an alternative version of American history. Set in a present-day America where gender roles are flipped and witches ended their persecution by forming an elite fighting squad to protect the country, the 10-episode dramatic series follows three female recruits through basic training and deployment against a terrorist threat. Lesbian relationships are featured prominently.
Based on the best-selling novel by Celeste Ng, Hulu’s “Little Fires Everywhere” (March 18) follows the intertwined lives of Elena Richardson (Reese Witherspoon) and the enigmatic Mia Warren (Kerry Washington) who reveals dark family secrets.

Mae Martin is the creator and star of Netflix’s “Feel Good” (March 19). In this semi-autobiographical six-part series, Mae plays a stand-up comic and recovering addict gingerly entering into a new relationship with George (Charlotte Ritchie). The show is a touching and funny portrait of two young women navigating the modern-day landscape of love, addiction and sexuality while and trying to form a meaningful and lasting connection.
Academy Award winner Octavia Spencer stars in Netflix’s “Self Made,” a four-episode biographical mini-series inspired by the life of the famous African-American entrepreneur Madam C.J. Walker.Directed by Kasi Lemons (“Harriet”) and DeMarie Davis, the supporting cast includes Blair Underwood, Tiffany Haddish, Carmen Ejogo and Garrett Morris (March 20).
Two movies featuring LGBT talent are slated to start streaming on April 3. Written by and starring Sean Hayes (“Will & Grace”), “Lazy Susan” is about a spectacularly unmotivated women for whom doing nothing is absolutely exhausting. “Almost Love,” a popular offering from the queer festival circuit, is an ensemble comedy about romance in the smartphone era. Both movies may also get theatrical releases.
On the lighter side, HBO’s “We’re Here” is a six-part unscripted series that brings drag shows to small-town America. In each episode, renowned drag queens Bob the Drag Queen, Eureka O’Hara and Shangela Laquifa Wadley recruit small-town residents across America to participate in a one-night-only drag show. The famous performers will inspire and teach their own “drag daughters” to step outside their comfort zone for a night of no-holds-barred, full-on drag.
Also inspired by true events, the HBO movie “Bad Education” stars Hugh Jackman and Allison Janney as Long Island high school administrators who get caught up in an embezzlement scandal (April 25).
Out director Alice Wu helms “The Half of It” which premieres on Netflix May 1. In this intriguing gender-bending take on the well-known Cyrano story, a smart and introverted Chinese-American teen girl is befriended by a sweet but dimwitted football player in the hopes she will help him woo the most popular girl in school. The teen girl reluctantly agrees, but soon realizes she may have her own romantic feelings for the popular girl.
Also dropping on Netflix on May 1 is the latest series from gay media mogul Ryan Murphy. “Hollywood” exposes the divisions of race, gender and sexuality behind the camera during the Golden Age of Tinseltown. The cast includes out actors Holland Taylor, Jim Parsons and Joe Mantello as well as Mia Farrow, Dylan McDermott, Darren Criss and Patti LuPone.
Finally, HBO closes out its spring programming with a variety of shows that may be of interest to LGBT audiences.
Based on Crystal Moselle’s critically acclaimed feature “Skate Kitchen,” the six-episode half-hour series “Betty” debuts on May 1. The series follows a diverse group of young women navigating their lives through the predominantly male-oriented world of skateboarding, set against the backdrop of New York City. The group includes Kirt (Nina Moran) who is described as a lover (to the ladies) and a fighter (to the rest of the world).
The documentary “Natalie Wood: What Remains Behind” premieres on May 5. The limited series “The Third Day” stars Jude Law and Naomie Harris as visitors to a mysterious island off the British coast. Finally, written by David E. Kelley and directed by Susanne Bier, “The Undoing” stars Nicole Kidman as a successful New York therapist whose life begins to unravel.
And coming down the pike in early June — “RuPaul’s Drag Race: All Stars” season five starts June 5 exclusively on Showtime. Go figure.
And a sad note for daytime — Will and Sonny, the gay “Days of Our Lives” supercouple, are being written off the show. Their last shows will air in early September. Contacts for actors Fredde Smith and Chandler Masset were not renewed for the serial’s 56th season.
Iran and Egypt on Friday faced off during the World Cup’s “Pride Match” in Seattle.
Iran is among the handful of countries in which consensual same-sex sexual relations remain punishable by death. Discrimination and persecution based on sexual orientation and gender identity is commonplace in Egypt.
Friday’s match coincided with Pride weekend in Seattle. The Egyptian Football Association and the Football Federation Islamic Republic of Iran both objected to playing in the “Pride Match.”
Egypt and Iran tied 1-1.
FIFA, for its part, allowed Pride flags inside the stadium during the match.
“The FIFA World Cup 2026 is an inclusive event that welcomes people from all backgrounds,” a FIFA spokesperson told the Washington Blade in a statement. “Fans of all sexual orientations and gender identities are welcome at matches and events. General statements of human rights, including rainbow flags and other flags representing sexual orientation and gender identity, are permitted under the FIFA World Cup 2026™ Stadium Code of Conduct and may be displayed inside stadiums provided they are used in a manner consistent with the code.”
Human Rights Watch welcomed FIFA’s decision to allow Pride flags inside the stadium. Outright International, a global LGBTQ and intersex rights group, distributed Pride flags in Seattle on Friday, which was Pride Match Day.
“Visibility matters,” said Outright International Executive Director Maria Sjödin. “Pride is now being celebrated in more than 100 countries, including this weekend in Seattle. For many LGBTIQ people, seeing a Pride flag in public is a reminder that they are not alone, and that their rights and dignity are recognized.”
FIFA President Gianni Infantino earlier this year told Die Weltwoche, a Swiss magazine, that “there will be no ‘Pride Match’ at the (FIFA) World Cup.”
“There will be a FIFA World Cup match in Seattle, and on the same day, events organized by external organizations will be taking place in the city,” said Infantino. “But that has nothing to do with the match itself.”
Peter Tatchell, a long-time LGBTQ activist from the U.K. who is director of the Peter Tatchell Foundation, was among those who traveled to Seattle for Friday’s match. Tatchell accused FIFA of not vetting World Cup teams — specifically Iran, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Ghana, Senegal, Qatar, Tunisia, Morocco, Iraq, Uzbekistan, and Algeria — over whether they would allow gay players.
“FIFA is protecting LGBT+ visibility in the stands while failing to protect LGBT+ players on the pitch,” said Tatchell.
Photos
PHOTOS: Frederick Pride Parade
The second annual Frederick Pride Parade was held in the streets of downtown Frederick, Md. on Friday, June 26.
(Washington Blade photos by Michael Key)


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Theater
Carla Hall goes from ‘Top Chef’ to the stage
Solo show ‘Please Underestimate Me’ premieres at Olney
‘Please Underestimate Me’
Through July 12
Olney Theatre Center
at Mulitz-Gudelsky Theatre Lab
2001 Olney-Sandy Spring Rd.
Olney, Md.
$47-$101
Olneytheatre.org
Carla Hall gained celebrity status from Bravo TV’s “Top Chef.” She was funny and fun, and with her kooky signature catch phrase “Hooty hoo” and the southern-inspired recipes she lovingly cooked, Hall stood out in a kitchen crammed with contestants.
Now the D.C.-based Hall is taking revisiting her earliest love with the world premiere of her solo show “Please Underestimate Me,” currently running at Olney Theatre Center’s intimate and revamped Mulitz-Gudelsky Theatre Lab.
In the 90-minute piece (written by Hall, Lori Kaye, and Kaye’s partner Leslie Thomas; and directed by Lili-Anne Brown), Hall leads with food but quickly swerves into her personal and other aspects of her professional life. Built around an immersive fictional TV cooking show, her new play draws on experiences from her seven seasons (2011-2019) co-hosting cooking/chat show “The Chew”an ABC daytime proving ground, and her heady years on “Top Chef.” (2008, 2010).
Born and raised in Nashville, Hall wanted to attend Boston University to major in theater, but was rejected. Instead, she went to Howard University at her mother’s urging, where she ultimately majored in accounting. After graduating in 1986, she donned a bespoke business suit and briefly worked as a CPA for Price Waterhouse.
Business wasn’t for Hall. Tall and slender, she walked the runways in Paris for a while before ultimately finding her niche as a chef. Cooking seemed to come from her heart, something she learned from her grandmother who not incidentally bankrolled Hall’s way through culinary school.
Now she’s bringing the vibrancy and good humor that made her a “Top Chef” fan favorite and a popular TV host to the stage with “Please Underestimate Me.”
WASHINGTON BLADE: You seem a natural live performer. Were at all you nervous about doing this?
CARLA HALL: Anytime you step outside of what you’re known for you have to take a risk and make it happen. I’d been working on this the idea for seven years. I decided that I really wanted to do a variety show and really wanted to step back into my original love of theater.
I didn’t know what that looked like so I was asking a lot of people, actors and friends, about how to break into it. Can they see me as more than a chef? So, I told my agency to book me for voice overs, cameo roles. I got an acting coach and I was seeing a lot of single person shows. I literally embodied the thing that I wanted.
BLADE: Have you always been a vocal and public ally of the queer community?
HALL: For me, it’s natural. I came from the theater and dance world. I have a lot of gay and queer friends.
There’s something about people being gay and queer that goes with a need to be authentic to yourself. I think that’s why you find a lot of queer people in the arts. Dare to be you. Dare to be different, right? I like that.
BLADE: Long ago, I remember stopping by a Safeway in Wheaton to grab a sheet cake for a party. Your second or first episode of “Top Chef” had just aired. I wanted to yell “Hooty hoo” across the aisles, but was too shy.
CARLA HALL: My catering kitchen was near that Safeway.You should have yelled. I’d have given you a hug. I’ll hug almost anyone.
BLADE: Thanks. I think. You hear actors saying there’s nothing quite like TV fame because you’re invited into people’s living rooms. What were those days like when you started being recognized?
HALL: I like people. I tell Matthew [Matthew Lyons, Hall’s husband of 20 years], when fans say hello it’s my chance to get to learn about them. I owe them a lot; without them I wouldn’t be working.
BLADE: At Olney, Lauren M. Nichols’ surprise-filled set and Kelly Colburn’s projections of your personal snapshots from over the years are really wonderful.
HALL: It becomes really emotional. At the end of the show, I see 12-year-old me. I’m looking at that girl, and they did a put a little crown on my head, and I’m living her dream 50 years later.
BLADE: Is the pace hard?
HALL: Seven shows a week isn’t easy. I used to say “Top Chef” was my most grueling experience…well, that was before I did this.
BLADE: And is it gratifying?
HALL: At the end of the day, yes. Look, this play is filled with personal highs and lows and emotionally it’s exhausting. It’s also rewarding. Two weeks before the show started, I wasn’t sure I could do this.
BLADE: But of course, you are doing it. And you’re doing it so well.
HALL: A while back, I reached out to the executive producer of “The Chew” and thanked him for being the messenger of my lessons. Without those experiences I wouldn’t be here now doing “Please Underestimate Me.” My confidence has definitely grown. I’m a firm believer that everything that happens to you is for you.
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