Jon Kung gives us a taste, Lagoona Bloo has a new boy toy, & all the can’t-miss LGBTQ+ releases of the week

Stay in-the-know with Queerty's midweek pop culture catch-up.

Dec 8, 2023 - 19:00
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Jon Kung gives us a taste, Lagoona Bloo has a new boy toy, & all the can’t-miss LGBTQ+ releases of the week
Image Credits: Instagram @jonkung (left) | YouTube, “Toys,” Lagoona Bloo (center) | Colman Domingo, Getty Images (right)

Need a boost to get over Hump Day? The Hot Sheet is Queerty’s midweek pop culture catch-up, highlighting the entertainment stories everyone’s talking about, the ones you might’ve missed, and the notable LGBTQ+ film & TV releases in the days ahead. Here’s everything you need to stay in-the-know:

What To Watch

  • Body Shop — Now Available (VOD): Provocative Hong Kong filmmaker SCUD returns with this story of a ghost who possesses the bodies of cheating couples.
  • We Live Here: The Midwest — Now Available (Hulu): This doc welcomes us into the lives of queer families who have made homes for themselves between the coasts and outside of major cities.
  • The Sacrifice Game — Dec. 8 (Shudder): Olympian Gus Kenworthy co-stars in this holiday horror about a satanic cult that terrorizes an all-girls boarding school over winter break.
  • Culprits — Dec. 8 (Hulu): After pulling off a heist, a criminal (Nathan Stewart Jarrett) tries to settle down with his husband and kids—but his past comes back to haunt him in this twisty thriller series.
  • Our Son — Dec. 8 (Select Theaters): Billy Porter and Luke Evans stars as partners going their separate ways, now having to negotiate time with their 8-year old amid their divorce.
  • Christmas On Cherry Lane — Dec. 9 (Hallmark), Dec. 10 (Peacock): Jonathan Bennett and Vincent Rodriguez play partners in Hallmark’s latest LGBTQ+ friendly holiday offering.

Culture Catch-Up

THE FUTURE OF FILM: The Sundance Institute has just announced the lineup for the landmark 40th edition of its Sundance Film Festival, which will take over Park City, Utah from January 18-28—with a robust virtual component, too, so you can watch from the comfort of your own home! The program is an embarrassment of riches (with projects featuring LGBQT+ talent like Murray Bartlett, Justice Smith, Lío Mehiel, and more), offering up new indie cinema faves we’ll surely be talking about all of 2024 and beyond. [Sundance]

RU’S SWEET SIXTEEN: Cue up “Sissy That Walk” because there are 14 new queens making their entrance into the Werk Room for the 16th (!!!) season of RuPaul’s Drag Race, original recipe, which premieres January 5 with a twist-filled, two-part premiere. Get to know the stacked cast—featuring Kandy Muse’s drag daughter, Kornbread’s drag sister, and the series’ figst Taiwan and Mexico-born queens—in our favorite holiday tradition: the Meet The Queens interviews!

SEX SYMBOL: Out actor Colman Domingo is having a moment. The Rustin and The Color Purple star is opening up about his “heartthrob status,” and how he said “I love you” to his husband—who he met via Craigslist Missed Connections—on their very first date. [Read all about it on Queerty]

WHO’S HUNGRY?: Quickly becoming one of our favorite TikTok follows, “zaddy chef” Jon Kung is heating up the kitchen and dishing on his new book, identity, and his upcoming “OnlyFlans.” [Read all about it on INTO

ROASTED: After getting expelled from Congress, disgraced gay politician scammer George Santos has become even more of a laughing stock, especially on late-night TV, where every Jimmy from Fallon to Kimmel, John Oliver, and Bowen Yang have given him the send-off he deserves. [Read all about it on LGBTQNation]

DEVOUT DADDIES: The thought-provoking and uplifting documentary We Live Here: The Midwest premieres today on Hulu, and Queerty‘s got an exclusive peek with a clip spotlighting small-town Nebraska husbands and fathers, Mario and Monte, who kept their marriage a secret for five years, and are now struggling with living out and proud while remaining active members of their church community.

A BIG HEART: Beloved gay icon and ally Sophie Anderson has tragically died at the age of 36. Though she’ll always be remembered for her highly quotable work with Rebecca Jones (née More), here’s a touching tribute to her generous spirit. [Dazed]

BLUE CHRISTMAS: If you found yourself enthralled by May December scene-stealer Cory Michael Smith, check him out in this under-seen indie, 1985, a different kind of holiday movie about a closeted gay man who returns home after learning he’s living with AIDS. [Read all about it on Queerty]

ALWAYS TIME FOR KINDNESS: Drag Race All Star Mrs. Kasha Davis has put in tireless work to push her “agenda” of love and literacy through Drag Queen Story Hours and more. Now, Queerty can exclusively share that she’s teamed up with Jarrett Creative Group (husband-and-wife duo Seth Jarrett & Julie Insogna-Jarrett, seasoned unscripted TV producers who have projects in development at Oxygen, TLC, and A&E, to name a few) to bring her Imagination Station show to TV, a first-of-its-kind LGBTQ+ kids series that’s part Mr. Rogers Neighborhood, part Pee-wee’s Playhouse, part Mrs. Doubtfire, and 100% FABULOUS.

Image Credit: ‘Imagination Station With Mrs. Kasha Davis’

BREAK-OUT ROLES: British actor Nathan Stewart-Jarrett is having a big, gay year, with splashy queer roles in Hulu’s heist series Culprits and the award-winning drag thriller Femme, and he hopes to keep tackling roles that subvert stereotypes [Independent]

COUNTRY FAN: As awards season heats up, former Riverdale hottie Charles Melton is picking up early accolades for his breakthrough work in Todd Haynes’ riveting May December—and he has this queer film favorite to thank for inspiration. [Read all about it on INTO]

THE WHOLE PACKAGE: There’s a new stud on the magazine racks. A pictorial periodical with an emphasis on pectorals, the LA-based mag is dedicated to the most beautiful men in the world, and they’ve just dropped a special issue dedicated to fun-loving California boys everywhere.

The Final Hump

Miss Bloo has done it again! We here at Queerty adore NYC-based drag queen and rising pop princess Lagoona Bloo because she’s got a sickening mug, the voice of an angel, and she always delivers the goods. Case in point: Her latest single drop, “Toys,” a cheeky ode to self-love that’ll make you break a sweat, and another tantalizing taste of her debut studio album Underwater Bubble Pop, due out next year. In addition to English and Spanglish versions of the song, the queen has unveiled quite possibly the hottest lyric video we’ve ever scene, featuring Fire Island stunner Nick Adams in the flesh. Literally.

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