For all the Disney lovers who are already signed up to Disney+, you will be familiar with the brand new content hub that you can access with your Disney+ subscription as of last month, called Star. Disney+ brands so far include classic Disney, Pixar, Marvel, Star Wars and National Geographic.
What differentiates Star is that it is access to a new ‘world of entertainment’ with a multitude of different genres of TV shows and films along with original content that isn’t your typical Disney and many are focused on an older audience.
Myself and Niamh have gone through the content to provide you with an edit of all the good stuff that has lesbian and/or bisexual WLW representation.
We did find that it was much harder to find content with lesbian representation on this platform vs an older streaming platform like Netflix, but hopefully, as more content gets put on the platform, it will be a lot more accessible. Hey, maybe we will be able to update this list!
So let’s get into it.. Six films and series you can watch right now on Star, that have WLW characters!
1. The Favourite (2018)
(2018)The Favourite, released in 2018, is a period drama set in the early 18th century, about Queen Anne who is in thrown (Olivia Colman) and her relationship with Lady Sarah Churchill (Rachel Weisz) and new servant Abigail Masham (Emma Stone).
The two have many somewhat sour but comedic exchanges, influenced by their rivalry to be with Queen Anne. Being loosely based on a true story, you are bound to love this if you enjoy contemporary, comedic and graceful adaptations of old English history.
If you are interested in reading more about The Favourite, you can read this guest article by Mary Harrord (originally published on The Conversation), looking into The Favourite and how it compares to other new popular culture texts that feature female queer identities.
2. Grey’s Anatomy (2005-)
(2018)Grey’s Anatomy is not just the longest-running medical drama, but features the longest-running LGBT character in television.
Dr. Callie Torres (played by Sarah Ramirez) has been in a total of 11 seasons and 239 episodes of Grey’s Anatomy, spanning from 2006 to 2016. Among these episodes includes a relationship with bisexual identifying Callie and Arizona Robbins.
Off-screen Ramirez similarly has an inspiring story, opening up to the Huffington post about their sexuality, coming out as non-binary. Overall this is a renowned and highly celebrated medical drama that lets you get to know all the characters over time, has attention-grabbing plots for each episode and the lesbian/bi representation you are looking for.
3. Buffy The Vampire Slayer (1997-2003)
(2017)For nostalgia’s sake we had to mention Buffy The Vampire Slayer. All seven series of Buffy The Vampire Slayer are available to stream on Star! This is a 90s comedic-action about Buffy Summer and her friends who protect their small Californian town from the likes of vampires and demons.
There are queer themes throughout the series but most recognisable is the relationship between Tara and Willow, which viewers absolutely loved when this show was first released.
*Spoiler alert*..the tragic ending to their relationship did leave Buffy fans in a divide when Tara was killed off by a stray bullet.. a particularly questionable and heartbreaking choice for the script when in the 90s, there was not as much lesbian representation as we can get now in pop-culture.
Nonetheless, we couldn’t leave Buffy out of this list, mainly because of the epic fanbase and the huge influence this relationship has had on modern-day queer characters in pop culture.
4. The Fosters (2013-2018)
via Wikipedia
The Fosters is an American family drama about the Foster family and their children. Stef who is a cop and Lena, a school vice-principal are a lesbian couple who raise a family of biological and fostered children.
The drama educates the audience and tackles tough but very real themes including school shootings, suicide and mental health.
Watch The Fosters if you are looking for a series to fall in love with, where you experience the drama and happiness, the highs and lows of life with this family living in California.
5. Kissing Jessica Stein (2002)
via entertainmentweekly.com
(2019)This 2001 rom-com is about Jessica Stein a 28-year-old single and successful journalist living in New York. Jessica discovers her sexuality as the movie develops and she begins a relationship with Helen, an art-gallery employee.
Reviewers have said this is a funny, warm-hearted but sensitive film about the real fluidity of sexuality and understanding your true self.
The movie originally started out as a play and is written by the two leads, and when you watch it you can tell it is a very personal piece and written with a somewhat non-traditional structure.
It has some very cute and funny moments and there is an especially lovely scene between Jessica and her mother. Some people have been disappointed by the ending, and this is not a traditional love story, as such. But it is a warm and funny exploration of female sexuality and definitely deserves a place on this list.
6. Glee(2009-2015)
via out.com
(2020)Let’s talk about Glee. I feel like you either fall in the category of being a major Glee fan (who of course prefers the Glee soundtrack of covers instead of the original versions) or you can’t think of anything worse than watching a series about a high-school show choir and their competitions.
Having watched Glee, I really love the comedic storyline and the characters that represent so many of us! Ultimately the show is amusing most of the time, but among the fun, the show tackles so many important issues that teenagers find themselves in including coming-out stories.
So if you can deal with the extravagant musical numbers and occasional unrealistic storyline, you will find yourself falling in love with all of the characters including Santana who is in a relationship with bisexual cheerleader Brittany.
If you enjoyed this list, then you should check out these other lists!