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Husbands, Fathers, Saviors: These Are the Victims of the San Jose Mass Shooting

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San Jose Mass Shooting Victims
San Jose shooting victims tout

Published on PEOPLE.com on May 27, 2021; reporting by the PEOPLE Crime Staff

Nine people are confirmed dead and more are injured after a gunman opened fire at a light rail yard in San Jose, Calif., Wednesday morning, where the shooter allegedly worked.

At about 6:34 a.m., 911 operators received multiple alerts that shots had been fired at a facility operated by the Valley Transportation Authority, Santa Clara County’s public transportation system. Employees were gathered for a union meeting at the rail yard that morning, the Los Angeles Times reports.

When law enforcement arrived at the scene, the shooter — now identified as 57-year-old Sam Cassidy, the victims’ co-worker — took his own life, but the damage had already been done, marking another tragic mass shooting in recent months after a year with none.

san jose shooting
CREDIT: PHILIP PACHECO/GETTY

The nine victims who lost their lives, all males, have now been identified by the Santa Clara County Coroner’s Office. Initially, eight fatalities were reported, but the number grew to nine after a victim succumbed to his wounds Wednesday evening, the coroner’s office confirms to PEOPLE.

Below is a list of the nine victims and what PEOPLE has learned about them so far. This post will be updated as more information becomes available.

Taptejdeep Singh, 36

Taptejdeep Singh
Taptejdeep Singh | CREDIT: FACEBOOK

Relatives now grieving the death of 36-year-old VTA light rail operator Taptejdeep Singh have learned from co-workers that the married father-of-two, including a 1-year-old daughter, helped save lives Wednesday morning, taking quick action to warn others after gunfire rang out.

Singh, family members told The Mercury News, heard gunshots and ran from a secured office, where others had taken cover.

“He always thought about others,” his uncle, Sakhwant Dhillon, told the San Francisco Chronicle. “He told people, ‘be careful, hide.’ He was running around the building to save others’ lives.”

Singh’s cousin, Bagga Singh, said he was told his brother “put a lady in a control room to hide. He saved her and rushed down the stairway.”

His body, Bagga said, was found in that stairwell. “He should have saved his life, too. We lost a good person.”

A GoFundMe page has been posted by Singh’s family to help alleviate various financial stresses and set his small children up for future success.

Alex Ward Fritch, 49

Alex Fritch
Alex Fritch | CREDIT: FACEBOOK

Alex Fritch was “the life of the party” and always “the most interesting man in the room,” his wife, Terra, tells PEOPLE.

When Fritch, the final victim to die from Wednesday’s mass shooting, took his last breath on Wednesday evening, Terra was laying in a hospital bed beside him.

“The nurse came in because the ventilators started beeping,” says Terra. “And she said, ‘He knows you’re here. He’s crying.’ And at that moment, his heart stopped. … And I laid with him for as long as I could.”

Fritch had an unparalleled passion for everything he did, his wife says. He had a special fondness for tiki crawls, Star Wars and dirt bikes — something that he and Terra bonded over when they met. The two married at the courthouse six months after meeting.

“We were supposed to go to Hawaii in September and renew our wedding vows and have a wedding that we never got to have and the honeymoon we never got to have,” Terra says through tears. “He never got to go to Hawaii. He never got to see his 50th birthday. Our child’s graduating next week and he’s [not] going to see it.”

Fritch is survived by his wife and three children, ages 30, 18, and 16. He was the sole provider for his family, and a GoFundMe has been established to help support them financially.

Lars Kepler Lane, 63

Lars Kepler Lane
Lars Lane | CREDIT: ROB LANE

This Saturday, Lars Lane’s family planned to hold a barbecue to celebrate his 64th birthday.

“He was just amazing,” his wife of 22 years, Vicki Lane, tells PEOPLE. “He is a loving, loving husband and father. He’s loved by all.”

Lane, 63, was an overhead lineman who worked at Valley Transportation Authority since 1999. “He handled all the power for the light rails,” says Vicki.

He loved golfing, biking and barbecuing. He coached Little League baseball, was teaching his grandson to fix cars and always had a puzzle in progress.

“He is a handyman that could do anything. Either he could be a mechanic or a plumber,” his wife says. “He could build anything.” 

A GoFundMe campaign has been set up on Vicki’s behalf to help cover the costs of a funeral and memorial.

Abdolvahab Alaghmandan, 63

Abdolvahab Alaghmandan
Abdolvahab Alaghmandan | CREDIT: MEGAN STAKER

Abdi Alaghmandan, 63, a substation manager, worked for the Valley Transportation Authority for 20 years.

“He brought so much joy and laughter to our lives and he’s going to be missed so much,” his son’s girlfriend, Megan Staker, tells PEOPLE. “He’s just so amazing and I can’t believe he’s gone. He shouldn’t be gone.”

Alaghmandan moved to the U.S. with his wife and two sons in the 1990s from Tehran, Iran.

“He worked so hard for his family because he wanted them to have a good life,” Staker says. “He was such a selfless man, so generous and giving.”

Staker set up a GoFundMe for Alaghmandan to cover the costs of a memorial and help the family carry on without him.

Timothy Michael Romo, 49

tim romo
Tim Romo | CREDIT: GOFUNDME

Tim Romo was an overhead line worker at the Santa Clara Valley Transit Authority and had worked at the VTA for 20 years, KSBW reports. He is remembered for more than his role as a VTA supervisor, though.

“He will be truly and deeply missed,” his friend and neighbor, Mary Baldwin, 54, tells PEOPLE.

When Baldwin’s husband was out of town, Romo mowed her lawn. He fixed the brakes on the Baldwins’ car and helped tear out the flooring in their home.

“If my husband was hunting, Tim and his wife would check on me and make sure I was okay,” Baldwin says. “You couldn’t ask for better friends, neighbors. They’re like family.”

Romo had two dogs, Scooby and Lucky. He was a Raiders fan, loved college football and played darts.

“He will forever live in our hearts and be remembered as the funny, caring, selfless man that he was,” reads a GoFundMe page created to support Romo’s family. According to the fundraiser, he leaves behind his wife, five children, and two grandchildren.

Jose Dejesus Hernandez III, 35

Jose Dejesus Hernandez III
Jose Dejesus Hernandez III | CREDIT: FACEBOOK

Substation mechanic Jose Dejesus Hernandez III spent his life “worshipping the Lord and just helping people,” his ex-wife, Sarah, told NBC News.

“He was the most loving, romantic and giving man that I have ever known,” she said. “I’m at a loss for words.”

The pair were married 11 years and divorced only last August; she said her younger brother still looked up to her ex and they were “like best friends.”

“This isn’t about me,” Sarah wrote on Facebook, “it’s about his life and may he always be remembered for the amazing man, friend and son he was.”

Hernandez had worked for the VTA since 2012, and worked his way up from his start as a transit mechanic, the company said at a news conference Thursday.

Hernandez’s family has created a GoFundMe campaign to raise money for his memorial.

Michael Joseph Rudometkin, 40

Michael Rudometkin
Michael Rudometkin | CREDIT: FACEBOOK

According to San Jose City Councilman Raul Peralez, his close, childhood friend, Michael Rudometkin, was killed in Wednesday’s violence at the VTA.

“There are no words to describe the heartache we are feeling right now, especially for his family,” the councilman wrote in a post to Facebook, hours after the shooting. “Eight families are feeling this same sense of loss tonight and our entire community is mourning as well.”

Speaking to The New York Times, Rudometkin’s cousin, Christina Gonzalez, said he had attended a union meeting at the light rail facility that morning.

Rudometkin, she said, was “a very good person” who had “loved his job and just always stood up for everyone’s rights.”

Paul Delacruz Megia, 42

Paul Megia
Paul Delacruz Megia | CREDIT: FACEBOOK

Paul Megia, 42, spent his final moments trying to save his coworkers, his sister, Luci Megia, tells PEOPLE. “He’s a hero,” she says. “He didn’t have to do that, but he did.”

NBC News reports that Megia has worked for the VTA since 2003 — first as a bus operator trainee, and then as a light rail operator. He later held several supervisory positions, including his most recent role as an assistant superintendent in service management.

Megia loved wakeboarding, deep sea fishing and taking his kids hiking in Yosemite. He has three biological kids — ages 10, 13, and 22 — and a stepson, who is 10. This weekend, the family planned to go to Disneyland to celebrate his son’s eighth-grade graduation.

“Everyone’s heartbroken,” says Luci, who spoke to her brother every day. “Everyone felt like he was his best friend — that’s how he made people feel.”

“Paul was a wonderful husband & father who was full of love, jokes, energy for life and always up for new adventures. I treasure all our memories,” his wife, Nicole Yamada, said in a statement. “God took you too soon & I would do anything to have one last hug & goodbye. I will miss having my best friend by my side. I love you always.”

Megia’s loved ones have created a GoFundMe page to raise funds and support his children’s futures.

Adrian Balleza, 29

Adrian Balleza
Adrian Balleza | CREDIT: FACEBOOK

Adrian Balleza, a San Jose resident, was married with a 2-year-old son. Social media shows he worked as a light rail operator for the VTA, where his supervisor says he was always thinking of fun activities to organize for co-workers, reports The New York Times.

Phil Guzman, a friend of Balleza’s, wrote a tribute to him, saying that seeing Balleza was sometimes the highlight of his day.

“It was kinda like having a younger cousin around when you were there,” Guzman wrote on Facebook. “Adrian Balleza, my friend, I will truly miss talking trash with you. I miss you, my friend.”

The Times reports that in response to Balleza’s death, his wife, Heather, said, “The world needs more people like my husband, not one less. He was my night and day. The best father and husband … my forever angel.”

Balleza’s family launched a GoFundMe campaign to support Heather and his son following the tragedy.

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entertainment

How ‘It’s a Sin’ Finds Joy Amid a Harrowing Period of British History

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Published on Thrillist on March 8, 2021

The mastery of Channel 4’s It’s a Sin, which follows a group of friends navigating the early AIDS epidemic in 1980s London, is in its understanding that even the darkest periods in history are imbued with ambition and joy. That’s not to say that Russell T. Davies’ (Queer as Folk, Years and Years) newest drama series, now available to US audiences on HBO Max, diminishes the inescapable grief that plagued entire generations of queer people, but rather that in order to comprehend the full weight of the AIDS crisis, viewers would need to be privy to the thrilling moments that made life so precious.

In the show’s opening scenes, we’re introduced to three gay teens who each flee the nest to make a life for themselves in London. There, they find one another and soon move into a communal flat they dub the “Pink Palace,” which becomes something of a queer community hub where all are welcome. Over the course of five episodes and 10 years, residents of the Pink Palace find it increasingly difficult to ignore the fast-spreading virus that’s crept into their inner circle, oscillating between pop-filled nights to remember and abrupt visits to the hospital to hug another friend goodbye.

While every gay character on It’s a Sin finds something to live for in a decade when gay men’s lives were particularly fragile, it’s Roscoe Babatunde, played by television newcomer Omari Douglas, who most adamantly refuses to let the threat of HIV keep him from living the fearless and fabulous life he planned.

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“If you need to forward any mail, I’ll be staying at 23 Piss Off Avenue, London W-Fuck.” | CHANNEL 4

Roscoe’s story begins under the reign of his conservative Nigerian parents, who vehemently condemn his homosexuality and make plans to send him away to “heal.” With some seed money from his sister and not much of a choice, Roscoe packs a bag, says he’s leaving, and stamps off in the rain to the tune of “Feels Like I’m in Love” by Kelly Marie. The pivotal moment sets the stage for Roscoe’s no-fucks-given attitude that empowers him to push through the difficult years to come.

“He’s fiercely proud and fiercely out, and has the confidence and bravery to express that in this really bold and innovative way,” says Douglas over a Zoom call, noting that Roscoe’s character arc isn’t about finding himself—he already knows exactly who he is—but rather one of finding a balance between being himself and fulfilling his duties as a friend, brother, and son.

Toward the end of Episode 1, Roscoe lays his full personality on the table when he unapologetically arrives late to a job interview at the local queer bar, where he’s asked what he wants to do when he’s older. “You wait,” he replies. “Give me five, six years, I’ll be stinkin’ rich. Every single teacher I’ve had, I want to drive past them in my big shiny car, like, ‘Fuck you.'”

“Roscoe is ambitious and he wants to achieve things and he wants to hit the high life,” confirms Douglas. “He’s going to go out and get it by whatever means necessary, and he does.”

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“So, tell me. Mrs. Thatcher, does she drink tea or coffee?” | CHANNEL 4

When Roscoe has a run-in with a Member of Parliament, Arthur Garrison (Stephen Fry), he sees his ticket to obtaining status and begins sleeping with him in secret. He grows closer to the MP over time, bailing on the bar job he’s had for several years now and diving headfirst into a private world of wealth and power that even his friends aren’t privy to.

“Roscoe knows that some of what he’s doing is maybe a little bit questionable and he’s not going to share it with the group,” says Douglas, acknowledging that Roscoe is fully aware he doesn’t belong in Garrison’s world. Still, Roscoe needed to let himself get burned before returning to reality—and the core friends who truly care for him.

Thus is the mystery of Roscoe: How can someone who brings such vibrance to every room he enters manage to keep an invisible guard between himself and his friends? And where does his aggressive independence come from? Douglas sees Roscoe’s bravado as his shield, his independence a side-effect of his parents’ intolerance. “To be pushed out of your home by the people who bore you is the greatest kind of rejection, so he’s quite selective,” says Douglas. “You would be selective about the people that you let into your life.”

Roscoe has several friends, ones that he genuinely cherishes, but few understand the extent to which his strained family relationships still weigh on him. The person who got to know Roscoe the most intimately was Gregory (David Carlyle), affectionately known as Gloria, who becomes one of the show’s many casualties of AIDS.

“He trusted Gloria, and he disappeared,” says Douglas, leaving Roscoe even more hurt and shut off to his pain. As it often goes with people who are suffering, it became easier to maintain his strong front than to vulnerably open himself up and risk more judgment or, worse, abandonment.

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“How’s mom? How’s things?” | CHANNEL 4

On the surface, Roscoe’s story never quite comes full circle, but Davies drops just enough breadcrumbs to suggest that, even if it takes time, Roscoe might one day have a relationship with his parents again.

First, there’s Roscoe’s subtle support of his mother from afar. “I think Roscoe still understands his duty as a son and he still wants to repair that,” Douglas says, describing why Roscoe would anonymously leave an envelope of cash at his mother’s door after learning through the grapevine that she was struggling. “It’s his mom, you know, and no one wants to lose that.”

Then, there’s the dramatic, cliff-hanging scene in the final episode when he runs into his father in the AIDS ward of a hospital and is asked for forgiveness. We never hear if Roscoe is willing to give his father a second chance, but according to Douglas, his dad’s apology is certainly a bridge toward mending the relationship—as long as one condition is met.

“Roscoe knew who he was from the beginning and [his parents] wouldn’t let him [be] that, so he’s not going to compromise for the sake of welcoming them back into his life,” says Douglas, explaining that while Roscoe would be open to the idea of reconciliation, he would rather have no contact with his parents than be forced to tone down any part of himself for them.

Its a sin cast laughing
“La.” | CHANNEL 4

Roscoe Babatunde is just one piece of Davies’ narrative—one that’s perhaps not given as much weight as other characters—but the themes of Roscoe’s journey lend themselves to the greater picture of It’s a Sin. Much like the 1987 Pet Shop Boys song of the same name, it’s a story of spirited youth just trying to live, despite being told at every turn that their pursuit of happiness is shameful. And along the way, it becomes the story of not only battling an oppressive moral high ground, but battling a deadly illness that only validates the shame instilled in them as children.

“It’s kind of a retrospective on [Davies’] experiences,” says Douglas, describing how It’s a Sin captures the happy moments of being a queer 20-something in the ’80s, in addition to the hard moments. “Back in the ’80s when all of these [seminal works about AIDS] were coming out, I don’t think there was time to sit in the joy.”

Now that time has passed and progress has been made, Davies was able to adopt a tone for It’s a Sin that might have been irreverent at the time. The show features fun pop anthems from the era, steamy sex scenes, and moments of pure ecstasy—whether on the dancefloor or in the company of good friends—that humanize the characters. It’s hard for anyone to watch It’s a Sin and not see at least an element of themselves reflected in Ritchie, or Colin, or Roscoe.

“I’m glad that we can enjoy that stuff because it needs to be seen. We need to see what these people lost,” says Douglas. “People lost youth and innocence and all the things that they should’ve been able to enjoy.”

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new york

Is NYC Ready for the Return of Movie Theaters?

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RBLFMR/SHUTTERSTOCK

Published on Thrillist on February 22, 2021

Do you remember the last time you went to a movie theater? What did you see? The Photograph? The Call of the Wild? For me, it was Downhill, and I have regretted ending on that note every day for the past 12 months.

Even in a city where live entertainment prevails, New Yorkers love a good cinema moment, whether it’s having an intimate dinner outing at Nitehawk or getting the full IMAX experience at AMC Lincoln Square. Now, after nearly a year of relying on at-home theatrical releases, Governor Andrew Cuomo decided that NYC movie theaters can join the rest of the state and open their revolving doors once again.

Starting Saturday, March 5, local cineplexes can fill their theater rooms to 25% capacity.

Cuomo’s decision to partially reopen movie theaters in the Big Apple is a big win for the film industry. Some movies that were set to release last spring still haven’t come out because they are banking on hitting big in the box office. And in order to hit big in the box office, leading markets need to be in business.

The National Association of Theater Owners, which has been urging Cuomo to loosen restrictions for quite some time now, was quick to comment about the decision that was announced during a Monday news conference.

“New York City is a major market for moviegoing in the U.S.,” NATO said in a statement. “Reopening there gives confidence to film distributors in setting and holding their theatrical release dates, and is an important step in the recovery of the entire industry. We look forward to expanding the capacity from 25% to 50% in the very near future so that theatres can operate profitably.”

Still, the public is divided about whether or not it’s safe and worth it to spend an extended period of time in a poorly ventilated room, with many people on social media vowing not to risk infection at a movie theater until they’re fully vaccinated.

Cuomo hopes that setting strict guidelines for cinemas and moviegoers will prevent COVID-19 cases from rising as a result of the decision. Not only will movie theaters have to max out their seating at 25% capacity, but they can’t allow more than 50 people to be seated in a single theater, everyone visiting must wear masks, and theater rooms must have air filtration systems that provide for better ventilation.

Movie theaters aren’t the only thing set to return to NYC in the coming months. Indoor dining has now resumed, and reopening dates for family entertainment centers and amusement parks have been set for early spring.

Cinema owners have long touted that zero COVID-19 infections have been traced back to movie theaters, and they’ll need that stat to remain true if they want government officials and members of the public to buy into expanding seating capacity as time goes on.

So, is New York City ready for the return of movie theaters? I guess we’ll find out soon.

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travel

This Colorful Midwestern ‘Ghost Town’ Has Never Been More Alive

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The Phillips 66 Gas Station in Red Oak II, Missouri | NICK FOX/SHUTTERSTOCK

Published on Thrillist on October 27, 2020

THE MOST AWE-INSPIRING GHOST TOWN IN MISSOURI isn’t a ghost town at all. It checks most of the boxes, sure. It’s barely inhabited, positioned along Route 66, and contains its own cemetery—a rural fossil of another era—but it was never exactly abandoned. In fact, it’s still peaking.

Red Oak II sits northeast of Carthage, and describing it accurately requires effort. It’s an old-fashioned country settlement, an art installation, and a roadside attraction. It could be succinctly called an outdoor ghost town museum. Don’t worry, this will all make sense in a moment.

In 1974, artist Lowell Davis left his big-city job in Dallas to return to the bucolic southwestern Missouri landscape where he was raised. He and his first wife bought a rundown farm near Carthage for $18,000 with no expectation of what would happen next.

Davis was raised in the small community of Red Oak, about 20 miles east of the new farm. When he stopped by his childhood township to reminisce, he found it deserted, a victim of widespread 20th-century migrations to larger cities. And Red Oak wasn’t the only ghost town he came across. Many settlements along Route 66 had been abandoned while he was away, their buildings withering and stories fading into the countryside.

Unwilling to let history die, Davis began moving some of these marooned structures to his farm and restoring them—some from Red Oak, some from nearby. Using his cornfield as an unlikely canvas, Davis grew his collection. Soon, he realized he was onto something incredible.

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Lowell Davis’ early restorations included (from left to right) the Red Oak General Store, Phillips 66 Gas Station, Salem Church, Belle Starr House, and Grandpa Weber’s Blacksmith Shop. | PHOTO COURTESY OF RED OAK II

Davis’ farm slowly became its own miniature city, which he dubbed Red Oak II. Here, fragments of nearby ghost towns would be immortalized together in an ever-evolving collection.

“I don’t believe that an artist should be restricted to use only paint or clay. It can be anything including junk, wood, even an old building,” Davis wrote on the attraction’s website. “To me, Red Oak II is a combination of a painting and a sculpture, and it is just made from things that someone else threw away.”

Among the early additions to Red Oak II were particularly sentimental pieces of Davis’ youth: the Red Oak General Store—formerly run by his father, and where the young Davis learned to sculpt and paint—and Grandpa Weber’s Blacksmith Shop, where his own great-grandfather worked.

Today, Red Oak II is a full-blown faux town owned and operated by Davis, his wife, Rose, and a few neighbors. Encompassing 11 acres of land, the town itself has a population of 12.

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A building trucked over from the original Red Oak became a town hall for Red Oak II. | NICK FOX/SHUTTERSTOCK

One of the current part-owners is Larry Sernyk, who bought a stake in the project in 2004 after finding Davis through his art. Now a good friend of the Davises with a seasoned understanding of the founder’s philosophy, Sernyk has plans to keep growing Red Oak II—and a whole pasture to develop on should they ever run out of space.

Despite housing private residences, the Red Oak II grounds are open to the public from dawn till dusk. Some structures—like the General Store, Fort Hooker, and a cabin on the lake—can be toured inside and out, while others are admired solely from the outside. Once Sernyk, who currently lives out of state, retires at Red Oak II, he plans to furnish the train station as well.

Even buildings that are closed to the public are worth passing through to see. While Davis’ primary goal was to maintain the buildings’ integrity, he’s taken a few creative liberties.

“Red Oak II is trying to preserve the past, so [Davis] always tried to keep the character of the building as true as possible,” says Sernyk.

But Davis—who could not speak to Thrillist due to health reasons—believes that art happens when you break straight lines. Imperfections are welcome. So too are color changes, resulting in a bright landscape that’s equal parts rustic and refined.

“Those might not be the original colors, but they do add some character,” says Sernyk. “They make it into Lowell’s art.”

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Lowell Davis sitting on his property enjoying a smoke in 2015. | PHOTOS BRIANSCANTLEBURY/SHUTTERSTOCK

Davis’ other art, which includes handmade sculptures and smaller structures like a windmill and water tower, can be seen by touring the grounds on foot. In the next couple of years, one of the property owners plans to add a rideable train to the development so visitors can ride around the property via locomotive. He already acquired a railroad track from an amusement park.

“There’s places where they have living history, where people [re-enact] things from the era. We don’t really do that part,” Sernyk says. Red Oak II doesn’t need costumes or shows to paint a vivid picture of days gone by. Its history is its present. “I look at it as going back to the past.”

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Uncategorized

The Most Addicting ‘Drag Race’ Spin-Off to Date Is About to Crown a Winner, Bébé

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canada's drag race season 1 cast

Published on Thrillist on August 27, 2020

Before Canada’s Drag Race premiered in July, we feared it would lack a certain je ne sais quoi (i.e., drama) that its American cousin is known for. These are Canadian queens, after all. Imagine our surprise when we got a season full of feuding, tears, and online discourse about fans’ treatment of the judges and queens. One season alone produced four lip-sync assassins and infinite mentions of “mooseknuckles.” It’s been a rocky ride full of unusual twists and unforeseeable turns, but an end is near.

Now that the Top Three have been chosen, we gathered everything you need to know about next week’s finale, including how to watch it, what to expect, and who we think will become Canada’s first drag superstar.

Warning: This post contains spoilers for Canada’s Drag Race Season 1.

When and where can I watch the Canada’s Drag Race finale?

Canada’s inaugural drag superstar will be crowned on Thursday, September 3. The final episode begins at 9pm ET, and US viewers can stream it on WOW Presents Plus.

If you’re in Canada, stream the finale on Crave. If you’re not in the US or Canada, you still might be able to watch. Find out if Canada’s Drag Race is available where you’re at here.

Rita Baga in the Canada's Drag Race pageant
Rita Baga in the Miss Loose Jaw Pageant | COURTESY OF BELL MEDIA

Which three queens moved on to Canada’s first-ever finale?

Canada’s inaugural cast has dwindled from 12 to three as we gear up for the final challenge of the season. Still standing are Priyanka, Rita Baga, and Scarlett BoBo.

Scarlett BoBo was first to secure a place in the finale after winning the week’s Maxi Challenge, a winter-themed ball that forced her to conquer her fear of the sewing machine. Up until the runway, Scarlett was the underdog. Her win left three of the season’s frontrunners to fight for only two remaining spots in the finals.

Two of Priyanka’s winter ball looks slayed, but the messy bodysuit she made from scratch prevented her from getting the Maxi win. (A bold outfit choice for the week that Michelle Visage was guest judging.) Still, she got overall positive reviews and became the next queen to secure a place in the Top Three.

Jimbo and Rita Baga were left to battle it out for the last spot in the finale. They lip-synced “Closer” by Tegan and Sara in a naughty performance that, uh, definitely made things physical. Rita scissored her dress, Jimbo scissored Rita, and viewers reminisced on how things weren’t always so close between the two. In the end, the judges chose to keep Rita and send Jimbo home, neglecting to use a double shantay this entire season.

How will the final episode be structured?

Despite airing well into the COVID-19 pandemic, the Canada’s Drag Race finale was filmed last fall, meaning there won’t be a live virtual crowning like with RuPaul’s Drag Race Season 12.

Expect the finale structure to be more in line with Drag Race UK than the American version. We anticipate that the Top Three will be asked to write and record original verses for the RuPaul song “U Wear It Well.” If it falls completely in line with Drag Race UK, the top two queens will then lip-sync for the crown, determining who’s a runner-up and who’s a winner, baby.

Priyanka from Canada's Drag Race
Priyanka | COURTESY OF WORLD OF WONDER

Who is poised to snatch the crown?

If there’s one thing we’ve learned with Canada’s Drag Race, it’s that nobody knows what’s coming next… and not just because the judges’ critiques are all over the place. This season featured an all-star cast of queens, making it anyone’s guess who will land in the top and bottom each week.

For a majority of the season, Priyanka, Lemon, Jimbo, and Rita Baga were the frontrunners, with Scarlett BoBo trailing safely behind (as in, she was nothing but safe every single week). Now that Scarlett finally nabbed a Maxi Challenge win and outlasted Lemon and Jimbo, we’re left wondering if she’ll continue picking off her challengers. After all, she’s the only queen who hasn’t lip-synced yet, which has to count for something.

Rita Baga has three Maxi Challenge wins, the most of anyone this season, but she’s lip-synced the past two weeks, proving she’s not as untouchable as we once believed. We know she’s capable of pulling off a win, but if she doesn’t give the final competition everything she’s got, it may not be enough to impress the judges.

Priyanka’s journey has been somewhat shaky, but despite having as many Maxi Challenge wins under her belt as she has lip-syncs, she has a mostly glowing track record and a personality that makes up for her shortcomings. Remember also that Priyanka won the singing challenge in Episode 3. With Scarlett’s limited experience ranking high and Rita’s recent decline, it’s looking like Priyanka might walk away with the crown next week, as long as she doesn’t fuck it up.

So the winner gets a crown… what else?

You really didn’t pay attention to RuPaul’s little intro before each episode? On top of the crown, the winner will receive a year of hotel stays from Hilton and a cash prize of $100,000.

The cast of Canada's Drag Race Season 1 in the Werk Room
COURTESY OF BELL MEDIA

Will Canada’s Drag Race crown a Miss Congeniality? 

Sadly, no, but if there was one, we have some ideas of who it might be.

We can start by ruling out a few queens (no tea, no shade). Jimbo was a fan favorite with plenty of talents, but biting her tongue wasn’t one. Ilona Verley was both sensitive and fierce, but not the most unifying. Same story with Scarlett BoBo.
 
Sure Priyanka and Rita Baga threw their share of metaphorical punches, but their positive attitudes and sweet souls would make them strong contenders were they not already finalists. BOA and Lemon were famously feisty, but they had a handful of shining shoulder-to-cry-on moments; still, they may have gotten into one too many tiffs to earn the title.

If we had to guess, we’d say that the title comes down to Anastarzia Anaquway and Tynomi Banks. Tynomi, the lip-sync assassin whose reputation preceded her, was the season’s figurehead of drag success, and Anastarzia was the Bahamian pageant queen who assumed the role of mother. They struggled to find their footing in the competition before ultimately sashaying away, but in their short time on the show, the oldest queens of the season carried a gentleness that we can only assume translated to the workroom. Let’s just say it’s a tie. If RuPaul can do it, so can we.

Drag Race UK contestants
“Drag Race UK” | COURTESY OF BBC

How can I get my hands on more Drag Race content?

There is literally so much happening in the Drag Race franchise. In addition to Canada’s Drag Race, 2020 brought RuPaul’s Drag Race Season 12, All Stars Season 5, and new miniseries Secret Celebrity Drag Race.

WOW Presents Plus, World of Wonder’s streaming service for all things drag, houses the inaugural season of Drag Race UK, Season 2 of Drag Race Thailand, the BTS docuseries Werq The World, and other LGBTQ+ content. And if you’ve exhausted all those options, well, you have years and years of old Drag Race seasons to explore.

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travel

Underrated NYC Waterfronts You Should Be Visiting in All 5 Boroughs

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NYC is gorgeous. Period. Its skyscrapers, bridges, islands, and rivers are in leagues of their own, and for a so-called concrete jungle, there’s a shocking amount of green space where you can take it all in. Central Park and Prospect Park are the most obvious options for an outdoor day, but nothing beats a park along the water, where cool breezes and skyline views complete the experience.

With 520 miles of shore, the city has seemingly endless waterfronts to explore in every borough, yet people still fall back on spots like Brooklyn Bridge Park in DUMBO, and Riverside Park in the UWS, and Domino Park in Williamsburg — and don’t even get us started on the chaos that is Pier 45 in the West Village.

Luckily there are plenty of lesser-known NYC waterfront areas worthy of your attention. If you’re not adding these underappreciated — and, frankly, under-respected — waterfront parks to your destination rotation, it’s time to diversify your outdoor routine. And that’s the tea.

Biking through The Hills on Governors Island
The Hills | TIMOTHY SCHENCK

The Hills

Governors Island
The artificial hills on this artificial chunk of island are genuinely amazing. Spanning only 10 acres, the expertly engineered outdoor space makes for a remarkable day trip. Roam Discovery Hill, a 40-foot-tall mound with trees, shrubs, and a permanent art installation; climb Outlook Hill, a 70-foot-tall lookout spot with unbridled views of Lower Manhattan, the Statue of Liberty, and the Verrazzano Bridge; and ride NYC’s longest slide (57 feet long and three stories high!) on Slide Hill. When you’re ready to get off your feet, lie out on Grassy Hill, a slightly smaller hump with an equally breathtaking vantage point.

Jeffrey Gibson exhibit at Socrates Sculpture Park
Socrates Sculpture Park | SCOTT LYNCH

Socrates Sculpture Park

Astoria
Rotating art installations transform this ordinary neighborhood park into an alluring spectacle in Queens by the East River and near the north end of Roosevelt Island. Even without the sculptures, though, the one-block-long landfill-turned-green space is worthy of a visit. There’s a grove of trees, pockets of plants, and open lawn space that make circling the perimeter of the park a pleasant experience. Plus, it sits between a Costco and a miniature beach. Talk about range.

Hell Gate Wildflower Meadow & Picnic Area on Randall's Island
Hell Gate Wildflower Meadow | COURTESY OF THE RANDALL’S ISLAND PARK ALLIANCE

Hell Gate Wildflower Meadow & Picnic Area

Randall’s Island
You probably associate Randall’s and Wards Islands with athletic fields and music festivals, but you don’t need an event to make visiting worth your while. The island’s gardens dress up an already scenic chunk of land, and one of its best is the 14,000-square-foot meadow beside the Hell Gate Bridge that’s known for its several species of native Northeast plants. Look out at Astoria beyond the East River as you breathe in fresh oxygen, and think about all the sorry New Yorkers who will never experience such serenity.

WNYC Transmitter Park mural along the East River in Greenpoint
WNYC Transmitter Park | STEVEN OLDAK

WNYC Transmitter Park

Greenpoint
North Brooklyn knows it well, but to people who don’t frequent the area, the former radio transmitter site makes a stellar first impression as an urban oasis tucked behind an unsuspecting fence at the end of Greenpoint Avenue. Walk out on the dock to look out at Manhattan, claim a bench to read on, take a picture in front of the mural, or pop a squat on the ground along the East River shore. The space isn’t huge, but it’s big enough, and it fosters a neighborly feel that’ll make every fellow park-goer seem like an old friend.

Gantry Plaza State Park in Long Island City, Queens
Gantry Plaza State Park | JON BILOUS/SHUTTERSTOCK

Gantry Plaza State Park

Long Island City
Easily one of NYC’s best waterfronts, Gantry Plaza (and it’s neighbor, Hunter’s Point South) boasts unobstructed views of the Manhattan skyline — and plenty of spots to enjoy them, including benches of every shape and size, built-in lounge chairs that double as a lovers’ lane at dusk, and picnic tables beside the park restaurant. The famed Pepsi-Cola sign and restored gantries that read “Long Island” tastefully nod to the neighborhood’s industrial past. It’s a beautiful reading place, a romantic date spot, a calming breakup spot, and the perfect area for a grassy picnic, whether that’s in the mid-afternoon or after dark.

Sisyphus Stones at Fort Washington Park in Manhattan
Fort Washington Park | JOHN CURRY

Fort Washington Park

Washington Heights
The fun doesn’t stop where Riverside Park ends; just north is a whole new territory to explore. Of course, there are the usual sports fields typical of most hotspots along the Hudson River Greenway, but there are also some unique sights that only Fort Washington Park can offer. Beneath the George Washington Bridge rests Manhattan’s only surviving lighthouse, and the fan-favorite Sisyphus Stones by artist Uliks Gryka provide peaceful environs to meditate and look out at the scenic bluffs of the Palisades.

"Postcards" at Staten Island 9/11 Memorial along the North Shore Esplanade
North Shore Esplanade | MACIEJ BLEDOWSKI/SHUTTERSTOCK

North Shore Esplanade

St. George
You should know by now that Staten Island has beautiful beaches, but if you don’t want to venture too far down the island, there’s a plaza near the ferry with stellar views of the New York Harbor and One World Trade. The best lookout point is at the Staten Island 9/11 Memorial (aka “Postcards”), which was intentionally positioned to frame the piece of NYC’s skyline where the Twin Towers once stood. The North Shore Esplanade is a little more gray and a little less green than some other local waterfronts, but it’s no less serene.

Astoria Park lawn in front of the Triborough Bridge
Astoria Park | STEVEN OLDAK

Astoria Park

Astoria
This enormous waterfront area isn’t exactly Queens’ best-kept secret, but it is a place that other boroughs foolishly overlook. Astoria Park has everything you’d hope for in an NYC gathering place: wide-open lawns, skyline views, a track and field, fourteen tennis courts, bocce courts, basketball courts, a skatepark, a mixed-use path, the city’s largest swimming pool, public restrooms, and not one but two photogenic bridges — the Triborough and the Hell Gate. It spans nearly 60 acres along the East River in northern Astoria, leaving plenty of space for visitors to sprawl.

FDR Four Freedoms Park on Roosevelt Island
Four Freedoms Park | SBWORLDPHOTOGRAPHY/SHUTTERSTOCK

Four Freedoms Park

Roosevelt Island
Remember Roosevelt Island? You know, that mysterious sliver of land between Manhattan and Queens that you visited for like three minutes when you first moved to NYC because your coworker lied and told you that riding the aerial tram is a rite of passage? Well this state park, located at the base of Roosevelt Island, gives you a good reason to return. Honoring Franklin D. Roosevelt, the tree-lined lawn points to a granite memorial, and the often-photographed staircase at the park’s entrance doubles as a canvas for periodic political exhibits.

Pelham Bay Park

East Bronx
You thought Central Park was massive? Pelham Bay Park comes in at over three times the size of its Manhattan equivalent, making it NYC’s largest park. Its nearly 2,800 acres include just about everything you can imagine: hiking trails, barbecue areas, playgrounds, every type of athletic field/court/course/track, a historic mansion, a dog run, and 13 miles of shoreline primarily along the Eastchester and Pelham bays. Orchard Beach is the most notable waterfront area — and for good reason — but you don’t need sand to enjoy the area’s many waterways. Just about any of the park’s edges will tickle your fancy, but Hunter Island (which is actually a peninsula) steals the show.

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entertainment

The 10 Most Fun Board Games Made in the 21st Century

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Published on Thrillist on July 30, 2020

If you’ve ever said, “Board games? More like bored games!” you should probably close this tab and go back to arguing in r/runescape. Not that some board games aren’t boring. Anything that requires reading a 14-page instruction manual is off the table. And everyone’s spent too much hard time with Monopoly and other family-gaming-night classics to get hugely excited about playing those in adulthood. (Except Clue. Clue rules.)

You probably already know about great, modern classics like Settlers of Catan and Cranium. Here are 10 even more recent board games that every household should have in stock, boredom not included.

How to Rob a Bank

Number of players: 2-4
Play time: 30+ minutes
Who it’s for: Fans of Secret Hitler and Baby Driver
Why it’s great: It satisfies strategists by requiring cooperation, foresight, and friendly competition.
What it’s about: One person’s the bank, everyone else is a robber. Can the criminals successfully execute a heist without the bank interfering? Over the course of three rounds, the robbers have to get a certain number of money bags into the getaway car in order to win, all while dodging alarms, evading security guards, and trying not to get tackled. How to Rob a Bank won’t teach you applicable skills for the real world, but it will teach you that pitting people against one another can have costly consequences, and that’s perhaps a better lesson.
Buy it here

Machi Koro

Number of players: 2-4
Play time: 30 minutes
Who it’s for: Fans of Monopoly Deal and The Big Short
Why it’s great: For a brief moment, your hunger for power will be celebrated.
What it’s about: This popular Japanese game moves fast. Your goal is to turn the town of Machi Koro into the bustling metropolis of your dreams by establishing businesses, making profits, building landmarks, and stealing business from other players who have their own plans in mind. On each turn, you roll the dice and hope that it matches the number on one of the buildings you own. If it does, you can take the action on that building’s card, earn money, and invest in future structures. The first player to finish building all of their landmarks wins the game.
Buy it here

Carcassonne

Number of players: 2-5
Play time: 30-45 minutes
Who it’s for: Fans of Risk and Sid Meier’s Civilization
Why it’s great: Players can build off opponents’ work to steal their points, making it anyone’s game right up to the end.
What it’s about: Drawing inspiration from France’s fortified city Carcassonne, this game requires players to build a countryside, one tile at a time. As players place tiles, they create an elaborate map full of fields, rivers, roads, cities, and monasteries — the question now is who will stake claim of each feature as it’s completed. Carcassonne is anyone’s territory, and players will have to disrupt their opponents’ plans if they want to come out on top. May the most ruthless builder win.
Buy it here

Pandemic

Number of players: 2-4
Play time: 45 minutes
Who it’s for: Fans of Outbreak and Contagion
Why it’s great: Pandemic tosses you into a parallel world where humanity works together when problems come their way. Plus, you learn geography.
What it’s about: You don’t need a rulebook to tell you that the only way to stop a pandemic is by working together to minimize its spread. This cooperative strategy game removes competition from the equation — you either prevent a pandemic together by controlling outbreaks and building research stations, or you go down together if it takes over. After you’ve mastered the classic Pandemic game, move on to its spinoffs — the elaborate Pandemic Legacy seasons are a strategizer’s dream.
Buy it here

Splendor

Number of players: 2-4
Play time: 30 minutes
Who it’s for: Fans of Munchkin and The Merchant of Venice
Why it’s great: Splendor puts to bed every notion that games with nerdy backstories are only for nerds.
What it’s about: Somewhere between a card game and board game, Splendor is quick, competitive, and far simpler than it sounds. Let’s set the scene: You’re in the Renaissance, you lead a merchant guild, you have raw gems but you want nicer gems. Can you earn more prestige than the other merchants, or will their wealth put you to shame? To turn your gem tokens into coveted prestige points, you’ll need to buy development cards, collect bonuses, and earn a visit from a noble. The first merchant to garner 15 prestige points wins.
Buy it here

Betrayal at House on the Hill

Number of players: 3-6
Play time: 1 hour
Who it’s for: Fans of Crimson Peak, Clue, and Scooby Doo 
Why it’s great: Avalon Hill incorporates every classic horror trope into a game that’s wildly different with each play.
What it’s about: Build your own haunted house in this spooky tile game that never takes the same form twice. Players spend the first part of the game exploring the house — discovering new rooms, finding useful items, and stumbling upon omens, for better or worse. At a random point during the exploration someone will accidentally trigger the “haunt,” launching players into part two of the game when the eponymous betrayal occurs. At the start of the haunt, one player turns on the others, using newfound powers to try and take them out. Will the traitor successfully pick everyone off? It’s anybody’s guess at House on the Hill.
Buy it here

5 Second Rule

Number of players: 3+
Play time: 15-30 minutes
Who it’s for: Fans of Scattergories, Catch Phrase, and trivia
Why it’s great: It’s easy to learn, upbeat, and as clean or adult as players make it.
What it’s about: Name three components of a fun game. 5… 4… 3… 2… 1… Did you come up with them? If you quickly rattled off, for example, “a really short timer,” “an excuse to show off my creative little mind,” and “an opportunity for friendly debate,” you would get a point! In 5 Second Rule, you’ll get a prompt that begins with “Name 3…” and have five (very brief) seconds to spew off answers that make sense. If you can name them before the timer runs out, you get to keep the card. If you can’t think of three things in time, the next person in line has a chance to answer and steal your point. It’s a fast-paced game for all ages that requires virtually no setup. If you’re playing with adults, consider the raunchier uncensored version.
Buy it here

Azul

Number of players: 2-4
Play time: 30-40 minutes
Who it’s for: Fans of Sequence and coloring books
Why it’s great: It appeases gamers who value organization and structure.
What it’s about: For a few precious moments, pretend you’re a tile-laying artisan tasked with decorating the Royal Palace of Evora. Azul, short for the azulejos tiles you lay for a living. Players take turns moving tiles onto their player boards to create patterns on their wall. Patterns are built, backstabbing ensues, friendships are broken. At the end, scores are tallied, photos of the pretty patterns are taken, and you’re thrown back into your bleak reality where you’re not an artisan and you’ll probably never be invited to a royal palace.
Buy it here

Qwirkle

Number of players: 2-4
Play time: 30-45 minutes
Who it’s for: Fans of Scrabble and dominoes
Why it’s great: It’s not too hard for kids, not too boring for adults, and not too big of a commitment.
What it’s about: Qwirkle looks the handiwork of aliens, but once you decipher the tile patterns, you’ll find that this family-friendly game is not too difficult to get the hang of. The aim is to organize wooden tiles into rows and columns based on their color and shape. Adding a tile to the board earns you points, and if you create a line with all six colors or shapes in a row, you score a Qwirkle, which means six bonus points. The game ends when players run out of tiles.
Buy it here

Ticket to Ride

Number of players: 2-5
Play time: 30-60 minutes
Who it’s for: Fans of Settlers of Catan and any Around the World in 80 Days adaptation
Why it’s great: You can travel the continent and dominate the map in under an hour.
What it’s about: Inspired by Phileas Fogg’s 80-day journey around the world, a group of friends designs their own challenge: Who can visit the most North American cities in seven days, traveling only by train? The winner gets $1 million and — if you haven’t figured it out by now — you’re part of the squad. To travel from city to city, you’ll draw cards that can eventually be used to claim routes along the map. Whoever claims the most routes is poised to win, but Destination Tickets can interfere with players’ scores during the final tally. With so much cash at stake, you better hope your journey goes smoothly.
Buy it here

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entertainment

The 25 Best Episodes of ‘Schitt’s Creek,’ Ranked

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moira rose

Published on Thrillist on July 25, 2020

When a new Canadian sitcom starring Eugene Levy and Catherine O’Hara dropped back in 2015, we hoped for instant buzz. With comedy classics like Best in Show, A Mighty Wind, and For Your Consideration already under their belt, the Levy-O’Hara comedy duo had more than proved their talent and effortless, natural ability to play off of one another. Instead, Schitt’s Creek followed the path of other Canadian sleeper hits like Trailer Park Boys and Letterkenny, only rising to cult-favorite status partway through its six-season run on Pop TV. With the series wrapping up in April 2020 (and the first five seasons available on Netflix), it’s as good a time as any to reminisce.

Schitt’s Creek follows the high society Rose family’s fall from grace as their fortune evaporates from unwittingly investing in a Ponzi scheme. Kicked out of their mansion, the smug has-beens are forced to post up in a motel in Schitt’s Creek, a podunk town they once bought as a gag, until they get back on their feet. Levy and O’Hara play dynasty heads Johnny and Moira Rose, and while their chemistry was all but guaranteed, we weren’t prepared for how much of the spotlight they’d share with co-stars Dan Levy (son David Rose), Annie Murphy (daughter Alexis Rose), Sarah Levy (townie Twyla Sands), and Emily Hampshire (motel owner Stevie Budd) — or for how much talent we’d see from the Levy bloodline.

Between Alexis’s mysterious past life as an international socialite and the highly specific way she says “David”; David’s ridiculous wardrobe (great sweaters, though) and constantly pained facial expressions; Johnny’s expressive eyebrows and crisp suits; and Moira’s wigs and accent and inexplicably complicated vocabulary, the series mined chunks of comedic ore in every scene. That said, some moments were more memorable than others. These are our 25 favorite Schitt’s Creek episodes of all time, ranked from great to greatest.

25. “Roadkill”

Season 5, Episode 10
It’s a horrible, haunting experience to knock on a stranger’s door to tell them you ran over their cat. Moira and Johnny get a double dose of that terror when their attempt at doing the right thing backfires and they’re forced to console a sobbing grown woman instead of enjoying the spa day they had planned. The rest of the episode is equally uncomfortable to watch, as David realizes his old business partner is ripping off his shop and Ted proves to be terrible at talking dirty when he gets it on with Alexis in the Rose Apothecary bathroom (and breaks the sink in the process). The late-season episode masters the art of cringe by playing out real-life fears that everyone’s had.

24. “Merry Christmas, Johnny Rose”

Season 4, Episode 13
Holiday episodes are more often skippable detours rather than essential viewing, but Schitt’s Creek‘s sappy Christmas special succeeds at transporting the audience to a cozy, wintry December, even if you’re binging the show in mid-August. Johnny — who, ironically, is Jewish — wakes up on Christmas Eve and decides it’s time the Roses stop sulking during the holidays and suggests that they throw a big Christmas bash just like they used to (minus the mansion and celebrity guests and expensive champagne). The plan falls apart, and when Johnny gives up on the idea altogether and tromps off to the cafe to eat his feelings, Moira and the kids realize that they’ve let him down; they put their socialite skills to work and throw a truly adorable Christmas Eve party that leaves Johnny touched when he’s coaxed back. It’s not the kind of mansion party they’re accustomed to, it’s better — this time around, it’s about the people, not the panache.

23. “Town for Sale”

Season 1, Episode 13
Someone finally wants to buy Schitt’s Creek and the Roses immediately plan their return to New York City. But first: Ted proposes to Alexis, Alexis sleeps with Mutt, Stevie turns down David’s offer to flee with them, and, in general, everyone’s relationships turn messy. But all of this happens before the town’s sale is finalized, and moments before signing the paperwork, the potential buyer falls into a coma, ruining the Roses’ plan to get the hell outta town. Honestly, they got what they deserved.

22. “The Hike”

Season 5, Episode 13
Love presents itself in many ways. As Alexis prepares to escape to the Galapagos with Ted for six months, she starts feeling sentimental about leaving her family behind. As Johnny heads to the hospital for a potential heart attack, both Moira and Stevie, now his business partner in the motel, fall apart imagining life without him. And as Patrick proposes to David on a beautiful summit, their investment in one another is affirmed. It’s not the most exciting episode, but it’s an important one for showing that even the often frivolous Roses managed to form genuine human connections.

21. “New Car”

Season 3, Episode 3
Moira’s absurdist character acting reaches new heights when she borrows tragic plot points from her erstwhile daytime soap Sunrise Bay to earn pity from a car dealer and get a better price. Johnny’s mortified, but we know by now that nobody cares what he thinks. Stevie, meanwhile, is tasked with handling her great aunt’s affairs after her death, and she starts wondering if her life will amount to the same lonely fate. She’s given the deed to the motel — a responsibility she’s not sure she wants — and realizes she can’t run it on her own. Ted loses coolness points for getting headbutted by a goat but gains them back when Alexis, now working as his receptionist, learns that he has a secret girlfriend who booty calls him by calling the vet office and asking Ted to come “bathe her cat.” He’s hot shit now (buff Ted!) and he damn well knows it.

20. “Moire Rosé”

Season 6, Episode 7
Moira’s renewed fame from the Crows movie leads Herb of Herb Ertlinger Fruit Wines to give her another chance at representing his business after a failed attempt in Season 1. This time, he wants to name a wine after her and call it Moira Rosé. The only issue is, well, his fruit wines still suck, and after Moira and David get drunk sampling all the flavors looking for one that tastes decent, Herb gets pissed off again and the deal falls through. Alexis’s PR career also takes an interesting turn here as she gradually realizes that one of her new clients is a cult, but only after getting a bunch of her friends mixed up in it. The Roses may be on the come up, but they’re not quite done embarrassing themselves yet. And honestly? We love that.

19. “Family Dinner”

Season 2, Episode 2
Moira enlists the help of David to make enchiladas for dinner and prove that she knows how to cook, making for a riotous afternoon in Jocelyn’s kitchen. How does one “fold in cheese”? they wonder. What does burning smell like? Moira asks. There’s no way their cooking experiment was going to end well. And speaking of things not ending well, Johnny’s hunt for an office space results in the notoriously tight-fisted Bob trying to take advantage of him, Stevie aggravates David by claiming she’s already gotten over him, and Alexis wants to be with Mutt but can’t bring herself to call off her engagement with Ted (she really is a little bit single, even when she’s not).

18. “Turkey Shoot”

Season 1, Episode 7
Stevie is an actual icon for getting David to don full camouflage and go turkey huntin’. Despite feeling like “one of the Manson girls” after nailing a turkey in the neck, David proves himself capable of being one with nature — outside of just attending Coachella. David’s not the only one trying out a new look, though. Jocelyn takes Moira out for a spa day and they return with hideous identical haircuts… Moira’s predictably upset. One Rose thrives in this episode, though, and for that we rejoice: This is the day that Alexis meets and first falls for Ted, a man who she’ll be seeing plenty more of as the show unfolds.

17. “Housewarming”

Season 5, Episode 5
Bet you never expected to see Ted and David kiss! Neither did their significant others. At Patrick’s high school slumber party-themed housewarming bash, jealousy soars thanks to a drunken game of spin the bottle that makes the two men smooch. Of course it was harmless — Ted and David think it’s pretty funny, actually — but that doesn’t stop Alexis and Patrick from acting catty toward each other. Naturally there’s only one way to solve this: Alexis and Patrick have to kiss and make it even. So they do. And it means nothing. And they realize this is a non-issue. And they move on. With the kids out of the motel, Moira and Johnny offer to stay in and babysit Roland Jr., and despite their mild incompetence, they survive the night and prove to themselves that they at least kind of know how to be parents. The chaos never ends.

16. “The Throuple”

Season 3, Episode 2
David and Stevie have both been seeing Jake, the polyamorous bisexual man they met at Mutt’s barn party, and it’s starting to get weird. Jake kinda likes it though, and instead of choosing one of them to date more seriously, he proposes that they officially become a throuple. David and Stevie’s days of hooking up are behind them and they’re not down for the idea, ending their brief-but-exciting run with the hottie. Moira reluctantly invites Alexis to lunch after being accused of liking David more, and the two spend the morning realizing they don’t know how to talk to each other and panicking about how to fill an entire lunch with conversation. It… doesn’t go very well, sparking riveting dialogue like, “What is your favorite season?” “Awards.” 

15. “Love Letters”

Season 5, Episode 2
Moira’s first priority is herself, of course, but every now and then we’re reminded just how in love with Johnny she really is. One of these rare moments of sincerity happens in Season 5, when Moira spirals after finding naughty, handwritten letters between Johnny and a mystery woman. Letting jealousy get the best of her, she spreads word around town that Johnny has a mistress, tarnishing his name before he has a chance to explain what’s actually happening. (Hint: There isn’t actually another woman in Johnny’s life.) The most memorable characters in this episode, though, are David and Stevie, who get caught up in the funniest robbery in TV history. “Small problem: Our money isn’t for sale,” says David, moments before offering the masked man two tote bags of Rose Apothecary product instead.

14. “Don’t Worry It’s His Sister”

Season 1, Episode 3
Schitt’s Creek got off to a famously mediocre start, but the third episode ranks for its underrated comedic genius. When Johnny realizes that the town’s welcome sign appears to depict the founder of the town, Horace Schitt, boinking a woman from behind, he goes on a quest to convince the oblivious town council that they need to take it down. Unsurprisingly, Roland’s “solution” to the problem doesn’t exactly improve things. While Johnny’s dealing with the racy signage, David struggles to find work, Alexis falls for a townie, and Moira projects her insecurities on an unsuspecting group of schoolchildren — they’re themes that we’ll see again and again throughout the series, and this episode is arguably where the show really starts to pick up.

13. “Singles Week”

Season 4, Episode 12
The character development jumps out in “Singles Week.” Alexis manages to pull off the town’s biggest tourism event, taking her PR experience to the next level. Jocelyn and Moira bond when Jocelyn goes into labor and needs a ride to the hospital — the baby is later named “Roland Moira Schitt” in her honor. Ted realizes he never stopped loving Alexis, so he breaks up with his girlfriend, Heather, to follow his heart. Inspired by Ted and Alexis’s care for one another, David faces his fears of commitment and uses the L word with Patrick — for the first time in any relationship. By the end of the episode, there’s so much love and appreciation in the air, making it the perfect lead-in to a season finale.

12. “Carl’s Funeral”

Season 1, Episode 9
Who is Carl?! Why did he love Johnny so much!? Why would someone read an excerpt from Breaking Dawn at his funeral?! These are this episode’s most pressing questions as Johnny and Moira fall victim to a confusing chain of events that make them the main entertainment at a stranger’s memorial service. While they’re trying to figure out what the hell is going on, David and Stevie are frisking through a back-woods couple’s motel room getting high on their weed and drunk on their beers. One thing leads to another and BOOM! they’re making out. Their relationship is about to get messy and we’re along for the ride.

11. “Motel Review”

Season 3, Episode 8
Moira’s asked to watch the front desk of the motel for a little bit — harmless enough, right? — but quickly finds herself struggling to be friendly when a high-maintenance guest spews several obscure requests her way. She thinks she handled it how she was supposed to (“I manned that front desk with the vigor of a wartime radio operator.”) until a negative review hits the internet calling her out for her scary vibe and hostile attitude. (“Oh, that fussy little fucker… after niggling me with relentless demands…”) Luckily, she’s an actress, and after crafting a heartbreaking backstory she’s able to convince the guest to take down the review. Episodes that center around the motel tend to be a little dry, but “Motel Review” keeps the jokes coming and the energy high by putting the worst possible customer service representative in charge. Plus, this is when David and Patrick first meet, so, naturally it’s an important watch.

10. “Happy Anniversary”

Season 2, Episode 13
It took two seasons to get there, but the Roses finally learned to embrace their life in Schitt’s Creek. Johnny and Moira go out for a nice anniversary dinner where they run into old friends from their past and the Schitts, turning their romantic evening into an awkward triple-date affair. The friends from their old life are assholes over dinner, helping the Roses realize how lucky they are to have Roland and Jocelyn in their lives — even if they are borderline bumpkins. They tell the rich folks off and head to Mutt’s barn party, where Alexis and Ted are busy reconnecting, and a giddy David and delightfully stoned Stevie are fighting over the same boy’s attention. The episode closes with Moira telling her kids she l*ves them and all of our favorite characters dancing together to James Morrison’s “Precious Love.” Talk about a plot twist.

9. “Moira’s Nudes”

Season 2, Episode 9
Moira catches wind of a scandal involving nude photos of her leaked on the internet. Rather than panicking, she eagerly elicits help to track them down and bask in the fame. Sadly, she can’t find them, leading to a hilariously twisted spiral about the piece of herself that was lost along with the nudes from her youth. While Moira’s caught up trying to unbury her own skeletons, Johnny’s dealing with a crisis of his own that requires financial aid from a bitter David and moral support from Alexis (who really can’t offer much else). Somehow, David and Alexis have become the caretakers… who would’ve thought?

8. “Happy Ending”

Season 6, Episode 14
It’s a happy ending for the series, yes, but the title more likely refers to the happy ending that comes with David’s wedding-day massage. Schitt’s Creek wraps up with David and Patrick’s wedding, which, after a series of last-minute issues, turns out to be a beautiful gathering — and a perfect farewell party for Johnny and Moira who are skipping town the next morning. No series finale satisfies everyone, but “Happy Ending” succeeds at nodding to all our favorite things from seasons past: Moira says “bébé” one last time, the Jazzagals hark back to the show’s most sentimental moments with covers of “Precious Love” and “Simply the Best” at the wedding, and when Johnny and Moira make their final departure out of town, they catch a glimpse of Roland’s parting gift: the incestuous town welcome sign that showed the Schitt’s Creek founders now features the Rose family, giving a whole new meaning to the slogan, “Where everyone fits in.”

7. “Honeymoon”

Season 1, Episode 10
Somehow, Schitt’s Creek managed to describe pansexuality better than any other show, all without losing its humorous edge. After Stevie and David hook up, Stevie pries about his sexuality, implying that she thought he was gay. This prompts David to explain his preferences through a now-famous metaphor: “I do drink red wine, but I also drink white wine. And I’ve been known to sample the occasional rosé. And a couple summers back I tried a merlot that used to be a chardonnay. … I like the wine and not the label.” Johnny gets stoned with Roland that night and says that life would be easier for David if he just picked a lane. In a rare moment of thoughtfulness, Roland tells Johnny that, “When it comes to matters of the heart, we can’t tell our kids who to love.” Aside from low-key championing queer narratives, “Honeymoon” also features a horrifically awkward dinner party at Ted’s apartment that foreshadows the unraveling of Mutt and Twyla’s relationship.

6. “Life is a Cabaret”

Season 5, Episode 14
Stevie… STEVIE!!! The bulk of the Season 5 finale centers around David and Patrick revealing their engagement, but the real star here is Stevie. It’s opening night for the town production of Cabaret, and Stevie’s feeling a lot of emotions: nerves about the performance and bittersweet feelings about losing her best friend to Patrick. As she takes the stage for her big solo number, we watch her find her confidence and start to realize that beneath her rugged exterior lies a strong and talented woman who can weather any storm. The deadpan Stevie that we once knew is no more — she’s an expressive queen now and she’ll find a way to thrive, one emotional breakthrough at a time.

5. “Open Mic”

Season 4, Episode 6
If you didn’t cry during this episode, you’re frighteningly out of touch with your emotions and should maybe work on fixing that, love. “Open Mic” has all the sentiment and plot development of a season finale, a rare treat for a mid-season episode. Patrick suggests that he and David host an open mic night at the apothecary to bring more customers into the shop. David’s mortified by the idea, but when Patrick heads to the mic on the night of the event, something magical happens. “I want to dedicate this next song to a very special someone in my life, David Rose,” says Patrick, who’s played by real-life singer Noah Reid, before launching into the sweetest acoustic cover of Tina Turner’s “Simply the Best.” The crowd is shocked, and David and Moira are moved to tears realizing how lucky David is to have Patrick by his side. The rest of the episode is great too, but it’s these two minutes that rank “Open Mic” high on the list of best queer episodes in sitcom history and make it worth a watch (and a second, and a third). 

4. “Grad Night”

Season 3, Episode 13
David’s birthday and Alexis’s (high school) graduation day are derailed when everyone has scheduling conflicts that keep them from celebrating together. Patrick offers to take David out to a celebratory dinner in what turns out to be more than just a friend date. When Patrick drops David off at the motel afterward, they share a kiss — Patrick’s first romantic moment with another man. “I was getting a little scared that I was going to let you leave without us having done that,” admits Patrick before sending David off. Over at the high school, Alexis is bummed that nobody is there to cheer for her. Before the event’s over, though, Ted sneaks up and says he’s been taking photos, then Moira appears on stage with the Jazzagals for a dreamy surprise performance that brings Alexis to tears. The mother-daughter duo has come a long way since the time when they couldn’t even make conversation at lunch together.

3. “Wine and Roses”

Season 1, Episode 6
When Moira’s asked to be the spokesperson for Herb Ertlinger Fruit Wines, a hard-to-pronounce vintner with harder-to-stomach vino, she sees the gig as her chance to make a comeback. Her desperation to succeed paired with Johnny’s overbearing presence leads Moira to crack under pressure and bomb the commercial shoot. While she’s anxious at the winery, David’s dealing with his own anxiety back at the motel. He’s referred to the “doctor” in town, veterinarian Ted Mullens (his first appearance on the show), who tells him that he’s having a panic attack — something the Roses thought was made up by celebrities. Johnny and Alexis come to the rescue, finding ways to calm down Moira and David, in what goes down as one of the most memorable episodes of the entire series. You’ll remember the experience and you’ll remember the name: Herb Erfling ger. Burt Herngeif. Irv Herb-blinger. Bing Livehaanger. Liveling. Burt Herkurn. Ban-Bingo ling-fucker! 

2. “Start Spreading the News”

Season 6, Episode 13
Hope you like syrup, ’cause this episode’s heavy on the sap. After years of floundering to get back on their feet, the Roses finally did it. Everything’s falling into place: David with his marriage, Alexis with her PR career, Moira with her new TV gig, and Johnny with his budding motel empire. Sadly, their new opportunities mean they won’t be returning to NYC together — they’re all going in different directions. But before everything changes, David and Alexis have some things to figure out. After an emotional moment with Stevie, David decides to stay in Schitt’s Creek and buy Patrick their dream home; without any pettiness or passive aggression, Alexis and Twyla exchange gifts (and compliments) and make a pact that Twyla will visit New York. Humor sneaks its way into the plot, but “Start Spreading the News” ranks high more for its emotions than its jokes.

1. “Finding David”

Season 2, Episode 1
Season 1 had its share of low moments, but the second season returned with tighter wit and stronger storylines that raised the bar for everything to follow. David steals Roland’s truck and runs away after a dramatic letdown in the Season 1 finale, and the Season 2 opener picks up where it left off — with the Roses realizing they should probably look for him after a few days of radio silence. An investigation leads them to a farm where David has been not-so-peacefully living with an Amish family and pouting that nobody’s come chasing after him. On their way back to Schitt’s Creek, Moira lectures David about running off and utters one of her most underrated lines: “What you did was impulsive, capricious, and melodramatic… but it was also wrong.” These 20 minutes are a master class in character acting, executed flawlessly by the cast that we’ve come to adore. There’s truly no family like the Roses.

Categories
travel

These Mail-Order Diners Helped Define Roadside Eating. Now They’re Disappearing.

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Published on Thrillist on June 30, 2020

“I’LL GET A NUMBER FOUR WITH A SIDE OF BARBECUE SAUCE AND A CHOCOLATE SHAKE.” Take any highway exit, pull into the nearest diner, say these magic words, and you’ll get some recognizable combination of sandwiched meat and fried potatoes. 

Consider it American dialect, a customary language taught to children from the front seat of a car on family road trips. In the Land of Opportunity, roadside dining is all but defined by simplicity and familiarity. And that familiarity, like all things Americana, is completely manufactured.

Before Golden Arches and Double-Doubles, America’s appetite for burgers and fries was whetted by diners. And while diners were birthed in New England and popularized in Jersey, the forgotten hero of our nation’s culinary backstory is Wichita, Kansas — a burger-loving town that helped every corner of the nation get a taste. If the iconic diner experience feels codified and eerily similar — like you’re walking into the same building every time you stop off for a greasy-spoon breakfast — well, you might not be too far off. And you can probably thank Wichita for that, too.

Suzie Q Cafe is housed in an authentic Valentine building. | Larry Sallee

By the late 1930s, Wichita’s White Castle had made a dent in Midwest culture. Founded in 1921, it was the earliest known assembly-line fast-food chain where the experience was the same at each location. That included the look: White Castle locations were manufactured as ready-made buildings that were dropped off at new branches. Still, their reach had limits.

Enter Arthur Valentine, a local entrepreneur who specialized in prefabricated lunchrooms. Rather than feeding into the fast-food craze, Valentine focused on designing affordable diner buildings — fittingly called “Valentine diners” — that could be shipped anywhere and turned into small businesses. World War II delayed his growth, but by 1947, he had vertically integrated and was ready to soar.

“It didn’t really take a lot of money to get a diner started.”

Valentine wasn’t the first person to market mail-order diners, but at the time all of the prominent manufacturers were based on the East Coast and crafted large structures to serve dense populations. Valentine went smaller and wider with models like the eight-stool Aristocrat, nine-stool Nifty-Nine, 10-stool Master, and window-service-only Burger Bar, all of which appealed to any-sized populations. 

Valentine’s business largely catered to rural startups in budding towns west of the Mississippi that didn’t need a fancy setup, and his business was devoted to helping others achieve their own American Dream. 

“He always wanted to be his own businessman, his own boss, and that was the selling point for these diners,” says Blair Tarr, museum curator at the Kansas Historical Society. 

The smaller models could be operated with only one or two employees, and Valentine would even extend credit to buyers to get them on their feet. “This was one of the things that made it popular during the Depression years and after World War II: that it didn’t really take a lot of money to get a diner started.”

The Broadway Diner is still a popular meeting place in Columbia, Missouri. | Flickr/Heath Cajandig

It helped that Valentine hit his stride as the Great American Road Trip was being born. The growing US highway system welcomed the Automobile Age as people hit the pavement to escape the Dust Bowl and explore new areas because, well, that’s a thing they could suddenly do. Motorists quickly learned that long-distance travel requires some stops, and along middle-of-nowhere routes there wasn’t much to choose from.

Small Valentine diner models were perfect candidates to fill the void, with diners popping up in the ’40s and ’50s along stretches of highway. It’s an idyllic scene — a barren desert road made colorful by a series of identical diners spaced along the route — that made Route 66 hot enough to sing about and build an entire movie franchise around.

Valentines emerged as road trip cornerstones, but travelers weren’t their only clientele and empty desert towns weren’t their only locales. “A small diner became a meeting place for the community,” Tarr explains, noting that some were the only restaurants in their towns. “You could usually count in the morning the locals coming in and, if nothing else, having coffee and maybe some small breakfast and chewing the fat with the other locals.” 

As with many of the era’s nostalgic touchstones, though, the diner found itself eclipsed. Interstates meant cars zipping past small towns without stopping. Booming fast-food chains became the go-to pit stop. And while Valentine introduced a dozen different diner models, they couldn’t keep up with the changing times. 

“They make a go of it for a while, but at that time, the idea of having a 12-seat diner becomes unworkable,” Tarr says. “They keep trying to make adjustments for a larger market, but by 1974, the business is essentially over.”

The Suzie Q Cafe seats a maximum of 10 customers at once. | Courtesy of Suzie Q Cafe

In the decades that followed, Valentine diners began to vanish. But they’re not completely gone.

Suzie Q Cafe in Mason City, Iowa, belongs to a diminishing club of authentic Valentines. It’s a Little Chef, one of the smallest and most recognizable models that Valentine manufactured. This particular diner arrived in Mason City in the late ’40s; a few generations and several owners later, it’s a community staple known for its retro design and juicy Spic-N-Span pork tenderloin.

Tahmyrah Lytle and her business partner bought and remodeled Suzie Q last year. They were only open for three weeks before COVID-19 restrictions forced them to temporarily close, but Lytle is unwilling to let her diner meet the same fate of so many other Valentines.

“Being the steward of this piece of history, this living piece of history, and knowing that this is an artifact of the Great Depression [is so special],” says Lytle. “It’s like the manifestation of a dream from oh so long ago and I think that’s so romantic. ‘Valentine’ is very befitting.”

That heart-shaped dream lives on in a smattering of tight-knit communities beyond Mason City. Finding an authentic Valentine requires some sleuthing after many were replicated, abandoned, repurposed, or lost completely, but a handful are going strong, from Sugar Shack Diner in Rudyard, Montana, to The Lucky Dog Diner in Venice, Florida, and Dave’s Diner in Gardiner, Maine.

Dot’s Diner, another Little Chef model, now rests at The Shady Dell, a vintage trailer park and retro vacation spot in Bisbee, Arizona. The Broadway Diner, a Double Deluxe model in Columbia, Missouri, is a reminder of the college town’s history and home of the famous “Stretch,” a messy plate of hash browns layered with eggs, cheese, chili, green peppers, and onions. In Enid, Oklahoma, Lenox Drive In satisfies locals with classic burgers and cherry limeades from the window of a Burger Bar building. The model of Cindy’s Diner in Fort Wayne, Indiana, hasn’t been verified — perhaps it’s one of Valentine’s custom-built structures — but regardless, they proudly “serve the whole world, 15 at a time.” And Stacy’s Restaurant and Brint’s Diner carry on the history in Valentine’s home state, posted up in Junction City and Wichita, respectively.

These torchbearers — along with the countless retrofuturistic New American restaurants that emulate their kitsch — are a testament to Valentine’s legacy, one as important to roadside Americana as horn-rimmed glasses on a salty waitress. Arthur Valentine created a universal venue that helped burgers, fries, and shakes become mandatory road trip fare nationwide; now, his surviving diners are tasty time capsules of America’s post-war boom. And when you see one, it’s best you stop.

After all, any restaurant can pull inspiration from Valentines, but there’s just nothing like the real thing.

Categories
entertainment

26 Essential Queer Movies and TV Shows You Should Stream Right Now

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Published on Thrillist on June 25, 2020

Some of the best stories are queer. Inherently deeply complex and typically considerably more emotional than their cis-het counterparts, they go against everything the media raised us to believe about right and wrong. Since the early days of television, queer people have looked to movies and shows to find semblances of themselves on screen, and over the last few decades, Hollywood has taken great strides toward boosting LGBTQ+ representation and telling diverse stories. (That said, they could definitely take bigger steps.)

We’re living in an era with more queer content available than ever before, and so much of it deserves praise. Spanning nearly every genre, these are just 26 of the must-see LGBTQ+ movies, TV shows, and documentaries you can stream right now.

Listen to Kyler and activist, comedian, and general icon Margaret Cho talk about their favorite LGBTQ+ movies on Thrillist’s Best podcast.

Bessie (2015)

Bessie Smith helped define the Jazz Age as an openly bi blues singer who inspired generations of performers that followed. Nearly a century after the Empress of Blues’ rise to fame, Dee Rees’ made-for-TV biopic brought her journey to the screen. Queen Latifah plays the hell out of Smith, a fiery force backed by indisputable talent, and Mo’Nique (as mentor/frenemy Ma Rainey), Tika Sumpter (as lover Lucille), and Michael K. Williams (as husband/manager Jack) offer supporting performances that make the Emmy-winning film that much more deserving of attention. Bessie bares the barrier-breaking moments that elevated a tough, queer woman of color to stardom, and the tense situations that nearly brought her down.
Where to watch: HBO Max, HBO GO, Hulu, Amazon Prime

The Birdcage (1996)

Longtime partners Armand and Albert Goldman (Robin Williams and Nathan Lane) have built a fabulous life for themselves in South Beach, Florida. Armand owns The Birdcage, a popular drag club, and Albert — more famously known as the drag queen Starina — is the club’s biggest talent. Things get tricky when Armand’s grown son, Val (Dan Futterman), hastily proposes to the daughter of a prominent Republican senator (Gene Hackman). The families plan a dinner in South Beach to get acquainted, but there’s a catch — Val wants Armand to hide Albert away and pretend to be straight for the night. What could go wrong? The Birdcage reimagines the 1978 French comedy La Cage aux Folles and features additional performances by Christine Baranski and Dianne Wiest to tell a hilariously cringey tale of two polar-opposite families digging deep to find shared values.
Where to watch: Hulu, YouTube, Vudu; rent on Amazon Prime

Bonding (2019- )

Newly out Pete (Brendan Scannell) dreams of taking New York City’s comedy scene by storm. Dreams and reality are very different, though; Pete’s never actually performed in front of an audience and his job as a waiter can’t foot the bills alone. When he reconnects with his old BFF Tiff (Zoe Levin), a grad student by day and dominatrix by night, he’s offered a solution to his money problems — working as her assistant/bodyguard during her evening rendezvous. At first Pete’s squeamish at the thought of BDSM, but over time he’s able to find his own sexual liberation and confidence by exploring the kink community. Tiff and Pete — otherwise known as Mistress May and Master Carter — are the dead-faced antiheroes and model archetypes of the struggling millennial New Yorker.
Where to watch: Netflix

But I’m a Cheerleader (1999)

Natasha Lyonne, honorary queer of Orange Is the New Black and Russian Doll fame, cemented her place in lesbian canon more than two decades ago. Lyonne stars as Megan, a teen cheerleader with an athlete boyfriend who she doesn’t like kissing too much. When Megan’s parents suspect her of being lesbian — which comes as news to her — they ship her off to a no-nonsense conversion camp to set her straight. Under the leadership of disciplinarians Mary Brown (Cathy Moriarty) and “formerly gay” Mike (RuPaul), campers undergo a five-step program to “correct” their gender expression and “cure” their homosexuality. Throughout her stay, Megan grows dangerously close to rebellious camper Graham (Clea DuVall), challenging everything she thought she knew about love and sexuality. Years later, But I’m a Cheerleader holds up as the campy conversion therapy comedy that nobody asked for and everybody enjoyed.
Where to watch: Criterion Channel, Tubi, Vudu; rent on Amazon Prime

Carol (2015)

Todd Haynes’ story about lesbian love in the 1950s is a gorgeous film from start to finish, from the direction (every frame is as lush as a painting) to the awards-worthy performances (Rooney Mara as the gawky, vulnerable Therese and Cate Blanchett as the alluring, perfectly coiffed Carol). Carol is one of the most tender cinematic depictions ever of what it feels like to be in love — how the quality of light changes, how time slows, how every fleeting gesture takes on the deliberateness of sign language — and why two people would be willing to go against everything society expects of them in order to hold on to it. The film, based on Patricia Highsmith’s novel The Price of Salt, garnered both of its lead actresses Oscar nominations, among a handful of other awards, and their chemistry will have you feeling as if you’re just as wrapped up in their tumultuous relationship, too.
Where to watch: Kanopy; rent on Amazon Prime, Vudu

Circus of Books (2020)

When it comes to work-life balance, Karen and Barry Mason know best. For decades, the unassuming Orthodox Jewish couple quietly ran a gay bookstore and porn shop in Southern California, taking a front-row seat to the AIDS crisis and finding a soft spot for a community that once seemed foreign — all while raising three children who had no idea about their day job. In Circus of Books, their now-grown daughter, Rachel (who has since been clued in on the family business), documents the real story of Karen and Barry’s relationship, their secret business, and how working in a queer industry would help them come to terms with their own son’s sexuality down the road.
Where to watch: Netflix

The Death and Life of Marsha P. Johnson (2017)

When Marsha P. Johnson, the transgender activist hailed as the “Rosa Parks of the LGBT movement,” was found dead in the Hudson River in 1992, authorities ruled it a suicide despite a number of suspicious details. Twenty-five years later, many people still believe she was murdered, and in The Death and Life of Marsha P. Johnson, trans activist Victoria Cruz sets out to get some answers. Through her interviews with Johnson’s friends and family, plus archival footage of Johnson and fellow leaders like Sylvia Rivera, viewers are able to piece together the monumental life she lived — and make judgments about her untimely death. In an age where trans people of color still live in fear of being targeted, the documentary feels all-too apt and important.
Where to watch: Netflix

Disclosure (2020)

Most Americans say they don’t personally know a trans person. That means the media is largely responsible for shaping society’s understanding of the trans community, and for the most part, films and TV shows haven’t done an adequate job. Disclosure analyzes the history of trans representation in media and how those characters stack up to the lived experiences of actual trans people. Directed by Sam Feder, executive produced by Laverne Cox, and featuring in-depth interviews from trans filmmakers, actors, and activists like Candis Cayne, Chaz Bono, Mj Rodriguez, and Jamie Clayton, Disclosure shows that media may have come a long way with increasing trans representation, but there’s still plenty of work left to be done to demystify, deradicalize, and diversify trans portrayals. 
Where to watch: Netflix

Feel Good (2020)

Inspired by real experiences in comic Mae Martin’s life, Feel Good follows the turbulent relationship of Mae, an obsessive comedian who struggles with drug addiction, and George (Charlotte Ritchie), a charming school teacher who’s never dated a girl before. The British dramedy hits every emotion in a way that doesn’t always feel good, but does always feel human. George struggles with her friends’ microaggressions, Mae butts heads with her cruel mother (Lisa Kudrow), and the pressure of keeping George interested puts Mae’s sobriety to the test. Feel Good exposes the confusing jumble of euphoria and suffering that characterizes many queer relationships, using impeccable comedic timing and wit to soften the blow. 
Where to watch: Netflix

Holding the Man (2015)

Based on Timothy Conigrave’s 1995 memoir, Australian film Holding the Man pieces together the 15-year romance of Tim (Ryan Corr) and his longtime partner, John (Craig Scott), as they grow up together, navigate parental damnation, and confront their HIV diagnoses. Through the highs and lows of their relationship — distance, infidelity, arguments, and guilt — there’s always a tenderness beneath the surface of their interactions. Equal parts heartwarming and heartwrenching, Holding the Man strikes a sensitive chord and proves that some love is worth fighting for.
Where to watch: Netflix

How to Survive a Plague (2012)

A history of the AIDS epidemic through the mid-1990s is obviously one of the most gut-wrenching films of all time, but this Oscar-nominated documentary elicits as many tears of joy as tears of heartbreak because it chronicles a story of hope, determination, and ultimate victory. Comprised mostly of footage shot during the early years of the crisis, much of it by camerapeople who didn’t live to see the film, the quest of organizations ACT UP and TAG to find better treatment for HIV and AIDS is experienced up close and personal through director David France’s archival-vérité approach.
Where to watch: Amazon Prime

I Am Jonas (2018)

When a traumatic experience yanks his first gay lover away, quiet teen Jonas gives up on happiness. Eighteen years later he’s still reeling from the loss, looking for comfort in club nights and casual encounters, until a chance meeting forces him to confront the past and find closure. I Am Jonas straddles two timelines, showcasing the charm of Nicolas Bauwens and Félix Maritaud as young and grown Jonas. Originally released in France, it’s a coming-of-age picture that tackles grief and self-forgiveness in a way that few films dare to attempt, and fewer manage to accomplish.
Where to watch: Netflix

La Casa de las Flores (2018-2020)

Does drama follow the de la Moras, or do the de la Moras breed drama? Either way, their lives are dramatic. The upper-class family owns a flower shop and a cabaret, both named La Casa de las Flores (The House of Flowers), and when they’re not busy fighting over how to run the businesses, they’re busy covering up scandals to keep the de la Mora name untarnished. La Casa de las Flores helped popularize the millennial telenovela genre by incorporating LGBTQ+ characters and progressive values into the typical soap opera style. The dark dramedy challenges traditional Mexican morality and shuts down queerphobic viewpoints in a satirical and digestible way, and soapy as it may be, it’s hard to stop watching.
Where to watch: Netflix

London Spy (2015)

A gay British crime drama starring the winsome Ben Whishaw? Tom Rob Smith knows how to please. Danny Holt (Whishaw) thinks he’s finally found the one, only for his new lover, Alex (Edward Holcroft), to wind up dead a short time later. Danny learns that the man he fell for was an illusion, an identity manufactured to mask his true life as an MI6 spy. Hurt, confused, emboldened, and still in love, Danny dives into the world of espionage in order to get some answers. London Spy adds a needed slow-burn thriller to the queer television arsenal — one that can be watched from tame start to hair-raising finish in under five hours.
Where to watch: Netflix

Moonlight (2016)

Chronicling the boyhood years, teenage stretch, and muted adult life of Chiron, a black gay man making it in Miami, this triptych altarpiece is at once hyper-specific and cosmically universal. Director Barry Jenkins roots each moment in the last; Chiron’s desire for a lost lover can’t burn in a diner booth over a bottle of wine without his beachside identity crisis years prior, blurred and violent, or encounters from deeper in his past, when glimpses of his mother’s drug addiction, or the mentoring acts of her crack supplier, felt like secrets delivered in code. Panging colors, sounds, and the delicate movements of its perfect cast like the notes of a symphony, Moonlight is the real deal, a Best Picture-winning movie that will only grow and complicate as you wrestle with it.
Where to watch: Netflix

Pariah (2011)

Writer-director Dee Rees’ first feature film grapples with identity and belonging through a soul-stirring coming-of-age story set in Brooklyn, New York. Gifted 17-year-old Alike (Adepero Oduye) starts embracing her sexuality with the help of her friend Laura (Pernell Walker) and at the contempt of her mother, Audrey (Kim Wayans). Between the film’s title, which means “outcast,” and an opening quote by Audre Lorde — “Wherever the bird with no feet flew, she found trees with no limbs” — Rees offers a window into Alike’s conflicted mind. She feels alone, and she wants that to change. Alike’s private warfare samples from Rees’ own personal experiences, and Oduye’s tender embodiment of Alike elevated Pariah to its award-winning status praised by both GLAAD and NAACP.
Where to watch: Sundance Now; rent on Amazon Prime

Portrait of a Lady on Fire (2019)

Portrait of a Lady on Fire opens with the simple image of a hand drawing charcoal lines across a blank piece of paper. That’s how an artist begins her work: sketching out the outline and making preliminary judgments about what goes where. We soon learn the hand belongs to Marianne (Noémie Merlant), a French painter in the 18th century who falls in love with the young woman (Adèle Haenel) assigned to her as a subject. (In the early stages of the relationship, Marianne must keep her profession hidden on long walks with her object of obsession, giving the narrative an almost spy-movie like touch.) The fastidiousness of the early scenes helps establish the precise, exacting style of director Céline Sciamma, who tends to favor uncluttered compositions filled with lots of blank space, deliberate movements, and dramatic splashes of color. As the story builds to its inevitably tragic and bittersweet finale, the movie strikes a powerful emotional chord through an unflinching final scene. And yes, the flame-kissed title is very literal. 
Where to watch: Hulu

Pose (2018- )

With Paris Is Burning, the revolutionary 1990 documentary that peered into NYC’s drag ball culture, no longer on Netflix, Pose takes center stage as its worthwhile if not dramatized counterpart. Focusing on the queer ball communities as well as the upper-crust businessmen of New York in the 1980s, Pose was destined to be an important show from its debut, especially considering it features the largest regular cast of trans actors ever on TV. But the show from Ryan Murphy proved to be even more fabulous than anyone anticipated, thanks to nuanced storylines and incredible performances from talent like Janet Mock, Indya Moore, and Mj Rodriguez. It’s an ode to an overlooked community, keying in on the fictional House of Evangelista, but Pose is also a testament to resilience and one of the most joyful viewing experiences in recent TV memory. 
Where to watch: Netflix; rent on Amazon Prime

Scotty and the Secret History of Hollywood (2017)

Ryan Murphy’s Hollywood turned heads when it dropped on Netflix this spring, painting a captivating but exaggerated portrait of Hollywood after WWII — and the shady encounters that happened behind closed doors. Some of Murphy’s characters are pure fiction, but Ernie West (Dylan McDermott), the hunky pimp who conducted business out of a gas station, was based on the real-life Scotty Bowers. Matt Tyrnauer’s documentary Scotty and the Secret History of Hollywood chronicles Bowers’ decades of sex work in an equally intriguing and much closer-to-the-truth manner. Interviews with people, like actor Stephen Fry, former film executive Peter Bart, and Bowers himself before his death, shed light on the high demand for gay escorts particularly in a time that required discretion.
Where to watch: Starz; rent on Amazon Prime

Sex Education (2019- )

This British Netflix original centers around Otis (Asa Butterfield), an awkward teen who finds himself an unwitting sex therapist to his peers, thanks to the knowledge gleaned from being the son of an actual sex therapist, Jean (Gillian Anderson). He and his crush form a side hustle at their school that turns out to have a lot more clients — and bumps in the road — than they expected. As the high school student body struggles to navigate the traumas of young love, a number of queer scenarios rise to the surface. Otis’ best friend, Eric (Ncuti Gatwa), lights up the screen as an ebullient gay man on the quest for companionship and acceptance from his family, and an entire story arc on anal douching in Season 2 teaches viewers more about gay sex than any high school health course could ever dream. It’s funny, yet also takes its subject matter seriously, and plays like a sex-positive manifesto for teenagers everywhere. 
Where to watch: Netflix

She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018-2020)

Reimagining the ‘80s series She-Ra: Princess of Power with fewer gender stereotypes and more diverse characters, this adventure cartoon brings queer representation to a level that’s not often explored in family-friendly television. When teenage warrior Adora stumbles upon a magical sword, she gains the power to embody She-Ra, a princess tasked with defeating a malicious army intent on taking over the planet. Not only does the heroine herself rank on the Kinsey Scale, but several supporting characters help amplify the narrative that sexuality and gender are fluid, and there’s no right way to express yourself. Whether platonic, romantic, or familial, the relationships in She-Ra pack a ton of nuance, carefulness, and empathy.
Where to watch: Netflix

Special (2019- )

Ryan O’Connell writes, produces, and stars in Special, a short-form, semi-autobiographical series about a gay man with cerebral palsy ready to build a life for himself outside of his mother’s home. As he enters the workforce, considers dating, and finds a new place to live, Ryan gets a taste of independence, and all the challenges that come with. With support from his new friend Kim (Punam Patel), he makes it work, even if that means pushing his overprotective mom, Karen (Jessica Hecht), to the background. The concise first season leaves plenty of storyline to be written, but the little content online tells a bewitching tale of self-acceptance and bravery rarely seen on-screen.
Where to watch: Netflix

Steven Universe (2013-2019)

We’ve finally reached a time when multiple cartoons feature prominent LGBTQ+ themes, for which you can thank Steven Universe for wholly championing. The Cartoon Network series centers around Steven and the Crystal Gems, a group of guardians that fight off interstellar evil to protect the planet. The titular character and half-gem is the youngest in the group, surrounded by female protagonists and role models. A handful of the show’s characters are queer — gay, lesbian, pansexual, asexual, and nonbinary people are all represented through the rolodex of Gems and their fusions — and showrunner Rebecca Sugar confronts their sexualities and genders head-on, not through obscurities and metaphor. There’s a lesbian wedding, gender-neutral pronouns, and an intentional dismissal of gender stereotypes throughout. Steven Universe is technically geared toward young audiences, but plenty enjoyable for cartoon-lovers of all ages.
Where to watch: Hulu, HBO Max

Tangerine (2015)

Tangerine’s natural hook: Sean Baker shot the 2015 film on an iPhone, before anyone was shooting movies on Apple products. But it’s the portraits Baker captured through that lens are what make his film meaningful. Baker began picturing the story of two trans sex workers on a Christmas Eve odyssey across America when he met star Mya Taylor at an LGBTQ center in West Hollywood, where he said “her aura” made him realize he had to speak to her. In pairing Taylor and Kitana Kiki Rodriguez, Baker found a story of friendship shaped by extreme circumstances brought on by marginalization, doing so without leaning into exploitation, even as the plot veers into raucous directions every bit as thrilling as big-budget action set-pieces. Merry Christmas, bitch, indeed.
Where to watch: Hulu

We’re Here (2020- )

Remember Too Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar? Take that plot, sign on actually queer talent, tweak it for reality TV, and you’ve got We’re Here. HBO’s new show follows three Drag Race alums (Bob the Drag Queen, Eureka O’Hara, and Shangela Laquifa Wadley) on their mission to nurture queer leaders throughout small-town America. In each episode, the queens spend a week in a different conservative community, where they adopt a few locals as their “drag children” and prepare them for a one-night-only drag show. At a glance, We’re Here is a queer-led makeover show a la Netflix’s Queer Eye — an established queen takes a shy townsperson and puts them in drag for the first time to help them find their confidence — but makeup, wigs, and learning to walk in heels are far from the point. The drag transformation is simply a means to an end, with the end being a newly empowered queer community in every town that they visit.
Where to watch: HBO Max, HBO GO

Wig (2019)

Lady Bunny’s legendary drag festival, Wigstock, entertained the gay community every summer from 1984 till 2001, featuring top talent of the time and giving NYC queers a space to connect and express themselves. In 2018, Lady Bunny resurrected the iconic event to bridge the gap between her generation of drag and the modern drag community. Wig targets a younger audience in need of a history lesson; it reminisces on the “glory days” of drag — when Lady Bunny and RuPaul ruled the town and the Pyramid Club was the hottest place to be — and follows the journey to bring Wigstock back, including footage from the 2018 event itself, which was hosted by Neil Patrick Harris and featured drag stars new and old. 
Where to watch: HBO Max, HBO GO