Queerly Recommended

Kris returns from a road trip adventure that pitted her against all kinds of weather. Tara talks about conquering her public speaking fear and announces that she'll be attending GCLS for the first time this year. For all those planning to attend, you'll experience the first meet-up between our Queerly Recommended hosts. Shit's gonna get wild, friends.

Official Recommendations

From Kris: Joy Ride (2023)

This week, Kris recommends Joy Ride, a raunchy, sex-positive comedy about four Asian American friends reconnecting while travelling across China. Kris loved the relationships in this one and found a subplot about transitioning to be respectfully and lovingly handled.

From Tara: Limelight by Gun Brooke

Tara recommends Limelight by Gun Brooke, a sapphic romance set in a competitive singing reality TV show, with a contestant and one of the show's mentors falling for each other. Tara describes the setting as perfect for driving tension without requiring a third-act break up and she enjoyed the spin on ice queens, too.

Works/People Discussed

• QR 044 - Jonathan Van Ness Says "Tara 4 Congress!"
• Chicago Fire (NBC)
• Love on the Spectrum (ABC TV/Netflix)
• RuPaul's Drag Race, season 16 (MTV)
• Canada's Drag Race, season 4 (Crave)
• RuPaul's Drag Race: UK vs. the World, season 2 (BBC Three)
• Baldur's Gate 3 (Larian Studios)
• Fierce Overture by Gun Brooke
• Course of Action by Gun Brooke

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After recounting their holidays and discussing the vomiting strategies of families with small children, Kris and Tara start with their new year updates. The first? Kris's new book, Dreamer, is out. You can check it out here or wherever books are sold.

We've got some good recommendations this week, folks. Conversation starters, you might say.

Official Recommendations

From Kris: Good Grief (Netflix)

This week, Kris recommends Dan Levy's directorial debut, Good Grief, which recently premiered on Netflix. In addition to directing, Dan Levy writes and acts in this compelling (and sometimes frustrating) film about a man and his friends struggling to come to terms with their grief after his husband dies tragically.

Watch this movie with someone because it may not be a perfect movie, but it's a perfect movie to talk about. You'll thank us later.

From Tara: Magdalene Nox by Milena McKay

This week, Tara recommends Magdalene Nox by Milena McKay, the companion novel to one of Tara's all-time favourite romances, The Headmistress. Tara praises its heightened language and how that contributes to creating the vibe of a beautiful fairy tale about two women surrounded by others while still very much alone, as they find companionship in each other.

While The Headmistress was written as a standalone novel, Madalene Nox references it without always reproducing the content, making it a little more difficult to read by its own. This is great for you because you get to read both!

Works/People Discussed

Survivor, Season 45 (CBS)

Fool Me Once (Netflix)

Canada's Drag Race (Crave)

RuPaul's Drag Race, Season 16 (MTV)

Snack vs. Chef (Netflix)

Baldur's Gate 3 (Larian Studios)

The Beat Of Her Heart by Steren_Heart

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Queerly Recommended is three years old! According to physical development guidelines, this podcast should be able to a) ride a tricycle b) climb stairs and c) walk backwards or side to side. Two out of three ain't bad, and the less we say about emotional development, the better.

Speaking of new developments, Kris talks about her new book baby, Dreamer, which is out January 1st from Bold Strokes Books. Kris also has an interesting answer to the time old publishing question, "What comes first, the book or the book cover?"

Blow out the candles and make a wish. We hope it's for…. recommendations!!!

Official Recommendations

From Kris: Squid Game: The Challenge (Netflix)

This week, Kris really wanted to recommend another queer Christmas movie, but the selection out there didn't deliver. It's very possible a slate of Christmas films were delayed or cancelled due to the writer's strike.

So instead, Kris draws your attention to Squid Game: The Challenge (Netflix). It has a bunch of queer people in it, it's fun, and there are a lot of very hot, very tight bodies on display. And honestly, what's more Christmasy than that?

From Tara: A Flight to Love by Frankie Fyre

This week, Tara recommends the novella A Flight to Love by Frankie Fyre. She describes this as "zero-angst" and "utterly Hallmark". If you're up for a gentle read about exes rekindling their relationship (plus, some pretty hot airport sex) then check this one out this holiday season.

Works/People Discussed

• Tinsel by Kris Bryant
• Dreamer by Kris Bryant
• Leave the World Behind (2023)
• Elf (2003)
• Candy Cane Lane (2023)
• While You Were Sleeping (1995)
• Obliterated (Netflix)
• The Great Canadian Baking Show, season 7 (CBC Television)
• Baldur's Gate 3 (Larian Studios)
• Sea of Stars (Sabotage Studio)
• Heartstopper, Vol. 2 and 3 by Alice Oseman
• Bottoms (2023)
• Highlander (1983)

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It's the holiday season BAYbee! We're decking those halls. We're putting up the tree. Kris demands to know how big Tara's feet are, which leads to a measurement ON AIR. We've got bitches stealing Christmas, a bunch of thirsty suitors, and an oddly unprompted promotion for a Secret Santa website. Buckle up.

On a more serious note, this week Tara recommends (albeit not queerly) the short documentary film Apostate by Carmel Mikol, which both deals with and leads to a conversation about religious trauma, cults and a bunch of related bad stuff. If you're not down for that, the applicable content is between 31:00 - 40:16.

Official Recommendations

From Kris: The Holiday Sitter (2022)

A workaholic bachelor gets stuck with his sister's kids for the holiday season. What a bummer. He's not cut out for this. His solution involves hiring a guy who is into taking care of the kids…and his heart!

Kris describes this as perfectly gentle and the kind of Christmas movie where all the obstacles are believable but totally overcome. It's a warm hug of a film. Don't you deserve a warm hug?

From Tara: Make Her Wish Come True by A.L. Brooks

Tara's recommendation is a fauxmance leading to true romance at Christmas. A woman's kid writes a letter to Santa asking for another mom for Christmas. Turns out Santa thinks the proper present this year is an aspiring journalist who's looking for a story and open to fake dating to get it. And he's right!

Tara notes that despite it having fake dating deception in it, the deceit is dropped fairly early on. So, put down the stress ball, kiddies. It's time for some romance under the mistletoe.

Works/People Discussed

• elfster.com
• The Great British Baking Show (BBC One, BBC Two, Channel 4)
• RuPaul's Drag Race UK (BBC Three)
• Canada's Drag Race (Crave)
• The Bitch Who Stole Christmas (2021)
• Thirsty Suitors (Outerloop Games)
• Heartstopper by Alice Oseman
• A Carol for Karol by Ann Roberts
• Apostate
• Spider Man Pointing at Spider Man Meme

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Queerly Recommended is here to celebrate the resolution of the SAG-AFTRA strike — and also that we'll be covering queer holiday-themed content this year! Labor rights are of the utmost importance and we would have supported the strike as long as it took, but we're excited to bring you Christmas treats next month, too.

In addition to talking about the outcome of the strike (there's a lot of good here, but some troubling portents for the future), Kris talks about good vs bad queer kissing in films. Tara goes on to discuss the benefits of feeling uncomfortable.

Official Recommendations

From Kris: Red, White & Royal Blue (2023)

This week, Kris dives into the 2023 film Red, White & Royal Blue, the cinematic adaptation of Casey McQuiston's m/m novel of the same name. It's a high-powered romance featuring the son of the American president and a British prince. Kris wants you to know that the chemistry is hot, hot, hot, and the cast is out of this world.

From Tara: Flung Out of Space: Inspired by the Indecent Adventures of Patricia Highsmith, by Grace Ellis and Hannah Templer (Illustrator)

Tara recommends the graphic novel, Flung Out of Space: Inspired by the Indecent Adventures of Patricia Highsmith, by Grace Ellis and Hannah Templer (Illustrator). It's a fictionalized imagining of how Patricia Highsmith came to write The Price of Salt, aka Carol, and it doesn't shy away from Highsmith's flaws. This story invites us to hold two truths at the same time: The Price of Salt is a foundational text in the sapphic canon that saved an inestimable number of lives and Highsmith held awful views and exhibited ugly behaviors. This exploration of her life and times will leave you with a deeper appreciation of our history and can't be missed.

Works/People Discussed

• Justine Bateman Slams SAG-AFTRA Tentative Deal's AI Provisions (Hollywood Reporter)
• Black Mirror, Season 6, Episode 1: Joan is Awful (Netflix)
• Dame Judi Dench Masterfully Does A Shakespeare Sonnet (Graham Norton Show)
• The Great British Baking Show (BBC One, BBC Two, Channel 4)
• Chicago Fire (NBC)
• The Morning Show (Apple TV+)
• Alone (History)
• RuPaul's Drag Race UK (BBC Three)
• Dropout.tv
• Dimension 20: The Unsleeping City (Dropout TV)
• Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani (2023)

This week, Tara and Kris are back! They're also sleepy, busy, and full of recommendations.

Kris is our official correspondent from this year's Women's Week in Provincetown. Then, Kris accuses Tara of lying about her height and Tara insists she's not because that inch is REAL.

Kris explores the sweeter side of David Beckham. Tara talks about a comedian's dreams of ice skating and Whitney Houston. Both discuss how watching so many documentaries has changed them (for the better!). And then, as always… the recommendations.

Official Recommendations

From Kris: Back to Black (2020) and Reclaiming Amy (2021)

This week, Kris recommends two documentaries about Amy Winehouse, Back to Black (2020) and Reclaiming Amy (2021). Taken separately, they tell conflicting stories that silo Winehouse into images that those creating the documentaries most want to portray. But, the truth is in the cracks, in the similarities and differences between accounts.

From Tara: An Acquired Taste by Cheri Ritz (Bella Books)

This week, Tara recommends An Acquired Taste by Cheri Ritz, which she describes as the ultimate gentle, cozy, lovely, sapphic romance. Set in a reality competition cooking show, it follows two former acting rivals who are both competing for something different: bragging rights as Celebrity Cook Off Champion. Maybe they'll cook up some love too? (We'll see ourselves out...)

Works/People Discussed

• The Great British Baking Show (BBC One, BBC Two, Channel 4)
• The Great Canadian Baking Show (CBC Television)
• Beckham (2023) (Netflix)
• Survivor (CBS)
• Alone (History)
• Alone Australia (SBS)
• RuPaul's Drag Race UK (BBC Three)
• I Have Nothing (Crave Original)
• Baroness von Sketch Show (CBC Television)
• Handsome podcast

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Kris went to Women's Week and Tara got knocked over by a couple of vaccines, so no new episode this week.

We didn't want to leave you totally hanging, so we're rerunning one of our faves: last year's conversation with Melissa Brayden, popular author of sapphic romances. We may have recorded it for Valentine's Day, but this is a fun listen any time of year.

We're talking love this episode, people! Kris, Tara and Melissa compare their fave fictional couples, kisses, and romances that they love to reread. We also find out if Kris has a low bar for kissing in media (Melissa thinks so), Kris thinks out loud about Charlize Theron's mouth, and Tara recounts her Summer of Steel at the tender age of twelve.

Works/People Discussed

• Chapters: Interactive Stories – App
• Imagine Me & You (2005)
• Atomic Blonde (2017)
• Steven Universe (Cartoon Network)
• The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid
• Tricky Wisdom by Camryn Eyde
• And Playing the Role of Herself by K.E. Lane
• Wynonna Earp (Syfy)
• The Red Files and Under Your Skin by Lee Winter
• Star by Danielle Steel
• Paradise by Judith McNaught
• Too Close to Touch by Georgia Beers
• Letters Never Sent by Sandra Moran
• Turn Back Time by Radclyffe
• Fated Love by Radclyffe
• Rage of Angels by Sidney Sheldon
• Winter Jacket by Eliza Lentzski
• Leave Yesterday Behind (1978)
• Doctor Quinn, Medicine Woman (CBS)
• Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
• All that Matters by Susan X. Meagher
• Didn't Stay in Vegas by Chelsea M. Cameron
• Truth and Measure by Telanu

If you want to check out more from Melissa, you can find her on:

• Twitter: @MelissaBrayden
• Instagram: @mbraydenbooks
• Facebook @melissabrayden

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This week, Tara and Kris start by celebrating the conclusion of the WGA strike and sending support for SAG-AFTRA in their continued quest for an equitable deal.

Looking ahead, they wonder about the future of AI. Tara doesn't think it's as bleak as it sounds. Kris disagrees. Luckily we have opinions on survival reality shows to bring us together.

After getting deep into Alone Australia and Survivor, we hear more about RuPaul's Drag Race UK from Tara and then dive headlong into recommendations!

Official Recommendations

From Kris: Gaga: Five Foot Two (Netflix)

This week, Kris recommends the 2017 Netflix documentary, Gaga: Five Foot Two, which covers a year in the life of Lady Gaga as she works on her fifth studio release album, Joanne. It's a deeply vulnerable piece according to Kris, examining long standing pain conditions that the artist suffers from. It also details the 51st Super Bowl half-time show where Gaga gave her critically acclaimed appearance.

From Tara: Bingo Love by Tee Franklin (Author), Jenn St-Onge (Artist)

After comic creator Lawrence Lindell talked about it in our bonus episode with him, Tara picked up one of the books he suggested: Bingo Love. Spoiler: she fell in love with it.

Bingo Love is a second-chance romance between two Black women that starts in the 1960s when they meet and become instant best friends at their church's Sunday bingo. Separated once their relationship turns romantic and is discovered, they go on to marry men, have families, and then meet once more sixties at another Sunday bingo when they're in their 60's. It's a beautiful story about love, second chances, and honestly how many stories like this include Black women? We love to see it. Check it out.

Works/People Discussed

• If Books Could Kill (Podcast)
• "On the Dangers of Stochastic Parrots: Can Language Models Be Too Big?" By Emily M Bender, Timnit Gebru, Angelina McMillan-Major and Shmargaret Shmitchell
• Alone Australia (SBS)
• Survivor (CBS)
• https://www.tiktok.com/@208sportscards
• RuPaul's Drag Race UK (BBC)
• The Big Nailed It Baking Challenge (Netflix)
• Mimosa by Archie Bongiovanni
• Black Mirror, Series Three, Episode Four "San Junipero" (Channel Four/Netflix)

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This week, we start with a little update on the Hollywood strikes (still ongoing, no end in sight). This was recorded before Drew Barrymore and Bill Maher decided to go back on strike instead of scabbing, but that doesn't mean our assessment of Bill Maher being a colossal asshole was incorrect. Bill might be a stopped clock that's correct in this moment, but we're full digital at Queerly Recommended and we know an asshole when we see one.

We also talk about Kris's new work situation, which seems to include nothing but meetings. It's like that Lion King meme where Mufasa is saying everything the light touches belongs to Simba, except it's meetings. Everything the light touches is meetings.

You know what else the light touches? Recommendations.

Official Recommendations

From Kris: Glow Up, Season Five (Netflix) This isn't the first time that this reality make-up competition show has been queerly recommended (and we wouldn't be surprised if it's not the last, either). The Netflix show is a delight of diverse contestants, celebrations of art, and in Kris's words "a good introduction for seeing what a queer world actually looks like."

From Tara: Goodbye Volcano High by KO_OP (Playstation, PC) It's the senior year of high school, and young Fang has to decide what to do with the rest of their life. The Battle of the Bands is coming, but so are strange reports of a coming meteor. Did we mention that Fang and all her friends are dinosaurs? Tara described this game as a poignant, powerful reflection of our modern moment. Also, the music fucking slaps. Check it out.

Works/People Discussed

• Alone Australia (SBS)
• RuPaul's Drag Race Down Under (WOW Presents Plus)
• Alone (History Channel)
• The Bodyguard Affair by Anna Stone and Hildred Billings
• I Like to Watch with Trixie and Katya (Youtube)
• How to Become a Cult Leader (Netflix)

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Kris and Tara sit down with cartoonist Lawrence Lindell to talk about his upcoming graphic novel, Blackward (releases September 26th!).

As well as being a self-proclaimed introvert (hard same), Lawrence is an artist and educator, working in many disciplines like comics, music, illustration, and mixed media. His self-published graphic memoir, From Truth With Truth, was nominated for the Believer Book Awards, and the Dwayne McDuffie Award for Diversity in Comics in 2020.

Together, the three talk about Blackward, the choices that went into it, and what Lawrence is currently reading and recommending.

Lawrence recommends:

Bingo Love by Tee Franklin

When Hazel Johnson and Mari McCray met at church bingo in 1963, it was love at first sight. Forced apart by their families and society, Hazel and Mari both married young men and had families. Decades later, now in their mid-'60s, Hazel and Mari reunite again at a church bingo hall. Realizing their love for each other is still alive, what these grandmothers do next takes absolute strength and courage.

Mimosa by Archie Bongiovanni

Best friends and chosen family Chris, Elise, Jo, and Alex work hard to keep themselves afloat. Their regular brunches hold them together even as the rest of their lives threaten to fall apart. In an effort to avoid being the oldest gays at the party, the crew decides to put on a new queer event called Grind–specifically for homos in their dirty thirties.

Grind is a welcome distraction from their real problems: after a messy divorce, Chris adjusts to being a single parent while struggling to reconnect to their queer community. Elise is caught between feelings for her boss and the career of her dreams. Jo tries to navigate the murky boundaries of being a supportive friend and taking care of her own needs. And Alex is guarding a secret that might change his friendships forever.

While navigating exes at work, physical and mental exhaustion, and drinking way, way too much on weekdays, this chosen family proves that being messy doesn't always go away with age.

Rupert Kinnard

Rupert Kinnard is a long-time activist and American cartoonist who created the first ongoing gay/lesbian-identified African-American comic-strip characters: the Brown Bomber (a teenage superhero) and Diva Touché Flambé (his ageless lesbian partner).

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