New gay

“Lurker”

There’ve been a lot of homoerotic thrillers in recent memory about men ingratiating themselves into the life of someone more beautiful and fortunate than they are: see the recent “Saltburn” for the most famous example.

Creator Benito Skinner was inspired heavily by his own life — and pop culture obsessions — while making the series, which follows a teen named Benny as he heads off to Yates College and grapples with his sexuality. One of them, though, wants to leave the country, which splits the movie into parallel directions, between the Vietnam War and the real-life horror story of 39 Vietnamese refugees found in a refrigerated truck in 2019.

While sapphics everywhere thank Sheridan Le Fanu for his service, Kat Dunn’s juicy Hungerstone expertly recasts Carmilla’s story from a much-needed female perspective.

“RuPaul’s Drag Race”

Seventeen seasons into making her-story, “RuPaul’s Drag Race” spent 2025 doing what it does best: turning queer joy into a global spectator sport. Frank and forthcoming about a common disconnect in the LGBTQ dating pool, “Sauna” is rich in atmosphere but more importantly the chemistry of the leads.

—AF

“Overcompensating”

“Overcompensating” has the raunchy content and snarky humor of a show that’s a little too-cool-for-school, but what makes the series great comes from a place that’s deeply earnest and personal. Over eight 11-minute episodes, the Adult Swim show crams buckets of plot and more plot twists than can be counted on both hands into the wild tale of a Spanish guinea pig entrepreneur and her rivalry with a butcher shop mogul for control over the rodent’s fate in Ecuador.

Francis Lawrence’s adaptation of Stephen King’s brutal novel approaches its dystopian death march with a kaleidoscopic sensitivity that’s attuned to the private fears, bonds, and longings of the young men facing extermination. Before long, however, Cherry must decide exactly how much she wants to risk for her new relationship—and her art.

“Heated Rivalry”

“Heated Rivalry” went viral because of its sex scenes, and although the scandalized reactions might be a bit hyperbolic, they mostly live up to the hype: the sweaty, noisy, and unbearably intimate moments where the show’s two main characters get undressed and get on top of each other are some of the hottest in recent TV memory.

Ira Sachs’ film takes script from a real conversation from December 1974 between Linda Rosenkrantz and photographer Peter Hujar, for an unpublished book Rosenkrantz was making about her friends in New York. In a year with great animated TV shows, it’s no surprise that the queer and weird “Women Wearing Shoulder Pads” went slightly under the radar, but it’s a work that can delight those who can get on its specific wavelength.

Navigating ovarian cancer alongside their partner, Megan Falley, Gibson anchors the project as a tender beacon of humor and romance, battling to accept their illness as part of the world’s beauty.

That attention crystallizes in Peter McVries (David Jonsson), a gay character delivered with exceptional warmth and clarity.

Season 17 arrived amid revived political hostility toward trans and gender-nonconforming people. Think “The Craft” filtered through “Buffy” reruns and contemporary young adult doom. —WC

“Wayward”

In the ever-expanding ocean of middling cult dramas, Netflix’s “Wayward” doesn’t really stand out.

Moore captured Aaron’s insouciance well — arriving with his pants unbuttoned, thinking he’s going to make easy money — only to be curled up in a bathtub after an unsettling sex act a few hours later.