Lil Nas X’s comeback, Grant Knoche bares all & all the best LGBTQ+ releases this week
Stay in-the-know with Queerty's midweek pop culture catch-up.
Mark
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 This Week
- 10 Kilos — Now Available (VOD): An incarcerated woman forms an unexpected bond with her transgender inmate in this indie true-crime survival thriller based on a best-selling memoir.
- Still Flipping Out — Now Streaming (Peacock): Longtime Bravo bad boy Jeff Lewis’s revival of his house-flipping reality series. Has he calmed down in the ensuing years, or is he still flipping mad?
- The Amazing Race, Season 39 — Sep. 30 (Paramount+): The globe-trotting reality series returns, this time with queer women’s soccer pros & former teammates Ali Krieger & Joanna Lohman.
- East Of Eden — Oct. 1 (Netflix): Florence Pugh, Christopher Abbott & Mike Faist star in this series adaptation of the classic John Steinbeck novel, with queer subtext that’s long been debated.
- Scorch Marks — Oct. 1 (Dekkoo): Brandon Shypkowski & Chris Salvatore play exes who discover they may be trapped together at the end of the world in Brendan Haley’s apocalyptic horror.
- April X — Oct. 2 (Select Theaters): Before Heated Rivalry turned him into a superstar, Connor Storrie filmed this indie sci-fi thriller about a young man searching for his lost twin sister.
- Moonlight, 10th Anniversary Re-Release — Oct. 2 (Select Theaters): This landmark Best Picture-winning drama about Black queerness & masculinity returns to theaters for this special anniversary.
- Teenage Sex & Death At Camp Miasma — Oct. 2 (Mubi): Hannah Einbinder & GIllian Anderson have a psychosexual love affair in Jane Schoebrun’s horror satire, now streaming for the first time.
- Tip Toe — Oct. 2 (Starz): Alan Cumming plays a man at war with his conservative neighbor in Queer As Folk creator Russell T Davies’ sobering new drama about the modern queer experience.
- Verity — Oct. 2 (Theaters): A young woman becomes a ghostwriter for a catatonic author in this lurid thriller featuring a kiss between Anne Hathaway & Dakota Johnson, which is a win for the gays!
Culture Catch-Up
MOVERS & SHAKERS: As buzz builds for Javier Ambrossi & Javier Calvo‘s gay historical epic La Bola Negra, the filmmaking duo have signed on to produce a new Spanish-language drama series for HBO Max about the secluded mountain village of Tor, home to a dark history and many unsolved mysteries. [Variety]
WORK OF ART: The ’26 MTV Video Madonna Music Awards opened with Madonna‘s performance of “Bring Your Love” & “Danceteria,” a star-studded spectacle for the ages. But there’s plenty more that went down, and we’ve got your recap of all the gayest moments, from that George Michael tribute & beyond. [Queerty]
MOTHER KNOWS BEST: It’s been a challenging year, but Lil Nas X is set to return with new single “World’s Greatest” out Oct. 1. In a moving video, the Grammy-winning artist revealed how the song was inspired by his late mother, playing a voice message saved for her where she reminds him, “Walk by faith, not by sight.”
SPIT TAKE: Queer comic Leo Reich‘s upcoming British series It Gets Worse went viral earlier this month thanks to a teaser clip featuring him getting very intimate with Andrew Scott in full-on dom-daddy mode, and now we have word the show will be streaming in the U.S. this November via Paramount+. [Variety]
THIS KISS: Is this the gayest NFL halftime show ever? During Sunday’s Ravens vs. Cowboys game, bi Brazilian artist Pedro Sampaio took the stage and then surprised fans by bringing out icon Ricky Martin to debut their new collab, “Pikito, Pikito,” with a flirty performance the climaxed with a kiss! [Outsports]
OUR HERO!: Queer pop queen Madison Rose is ready to unveil her Superpower, a companion short visual piece to her upcoming deluxe album Monochrome: The System Update, and if you’re in NYC, you can be there for the premiere screening & special live performance on Oct. 1 at Disco Sally’s. [RSVP Here!]
QUEER LENS: Bold as ever, Barbara Hammer‘s ’92 feature Nitrate Kisses is an experimental film showing footage of real queer couples making love while also exploring LGBTQ+ repression over the last century. Its must-see new 4K restoration will screen at the New York Film Festival this coming week. [More Info Here]
FRESHMAN CLASS: Netflix brought back classic coming-of-age sitcom A Different World and its revival is well worth a watch as it explores modern campus life at a historically Black college, especially because of its refreshing portrayal of out gay student Amir played by breakout star Jordan Aaron Hall. [Queerty]
TIME TO YEARN: Out filmmaker Georgia Oakley (Blue Jean) helms a gorgeous new adaptation of Jane Austen classic Sense & Sensibility with Daisy Edgar Jones & queer rising star Esmé Creed-Miles as the beloved Dashwood sisters, plus the iconic Fiona Shaw in a scene-stealing supporting role. In theaters Oct. 16.
BEYOND THE STAGE: The Breaking The Binary Theatre Festival returns to NYC from Oct. 5-11, with a stacked lineup including a variety show from the cast of Cats: The Jellicle Ball, Tony-winner Qween Jean‘s acting debut & a musical about the trans community’s relationship with the work of J.K. Rowling. [Info Here]
TEAM PLAYERS: Heated Rivalry‘s Jacob Tierney & Brendan Brady have launched the Irina Foundation, a nonprofit fighting for LGBTQ+ inclusion in sports & beyond. “We hope to channel the love people have for… Shane & Ilya into something that can make a meaningful difference in the real world.” [LGBTQNation]
TAKING OFF: Bi pop star Grant Knoche bares all in the vulnerable new track “Stripped,” which comes complete with a new video featuring the artist stripping it all off—naturally! The track’s been a favorite from his ’25 breakout album Good Luck Getting Over Me, so we’re thrilled to see ti get the visual treatment it deserves!
The Final Hump
From their very first single “West End Girls,” queer synth-pop duo Pet Shop Boys have always been ahead of their time, but for their next project, they’re looking to the past for inspiration. A man from the future is a new concept album all about Alan Turing, the gay mathematician who’s said to be the father of modern computer science and who’s cryptanalysis work helped the Allies win WWII. Made in collaboration with Turing biographer Andrew Hodges, the project uses new songs, spoken word and electronic & orchestral music to explore his life and legacy, including his trailblazing studies, the trial conviction for his relationship with another man, and the still mysterious circumstances around the poison apple that ended his life in 1954.
Featuring narration from Juliet Stevenson (Bend It Like Beckham) and orchestrations by Sven Helbig performed by the Manchester Camerata Octet, the album will premiere as a BBC Radio 6 Music world exclusive on October 4 before becoming widely available October 9. Check out a brief preview below:
Related
Unsimulated intimacy meets heart-pounding action in queer Mexican thriller On The Road
Coming to U.S. theaters this fall, ‘On The Road’ has already been selected as Mexico’s submission for Best International Feature Film at the Oscars.
