In 2022, we lost more sapphic shows on television than I can count. It’s one thing to “bury your gays,” but it’s another thing to bury their television shows altogether. Here’s a look at some of the queer television shows we’ll miss the most next year.
Courtesy of CW
Losing Batwoman this year was like a knife to the heart . . . and we didn’t even know it was coming. In 2020, Batwoman made history when it cast Javicia Leslie as the first Black, bisexual Batwoman. Earlier this year, Leslie told Tagg: “I think that everything that my character represents is a community that felt like they couldn’t be, and now that they’ve seen it, they can see that they can be it.”
Courtesy of CW
Watching this fan video of Sara Lance (Caity Lotz) and Ava Sharpe (Jes Macallan) at ClexaCon this year gave me all the feels and reminded me why I love Legends of Tomorrow so damn much: it’s the romance between Sara and Ave. After 110 episodes, the show came to an end in March, and like the other queer CW shows that were recently cancelled, we will miss it dearly.
Villanelle and Eve (BBC)
In April of this year, Killing Eve aired its last episode and angered queer fans across the globe when it killed Villanelle (Jodie Comer) just a few scenes after a long-awaited romantic encounter with Eve (Sandra Oh). There was no good excuse for using the “bury your gays” trope, and we will never forgive the writers for it.
Amazon Studios
The Wilds tells the story of a group of teenage girls stranded on a remote island, and if I’m being honest, it was sometimes difficult to watch because it was so gruesome. That being said, queer fans went crazy when two of the characters on the show got together, and trust me, it was worth sticking it out for their relationship.
Courtesy of HBOMax
The first time I heard about HBOMax, it was because my friends told me I needed to watch Gentleman Jack, and boy, were they right. Unfortunately, this extremely gay historical drama series about Anne Lister, who was called “the first modern lesbian,” was cancelled after two seasons. It will surely be missed by our community.
The cast of First Kill (Credit: Netflix)
Even though the reception to First Kill was overwhelmingly positive, Netflix cancelled the hit TV show and buried the chance at another season of this incredible lesbian vampire series. Like Romeo and Juliet, First Kill follows two feuding families, but this time, one is a vampire, and the other is a monster hunter set out to kill her. If you haven’t seen it yet, you will certainly fall in love with Juliette and Cal and the actresses that play them. I know I did!
Hick (Lily Rabe) and Eleanor (Gillian Anderson) in The First Lady (Showtime)
Despite the fact that the critics didn’t love it, I will absolutely stand by my opinion that The First Lady was one of the best TV shows of the year. Learning more about Betty Ford and Michelle Obama was great, but seeing the real-life relationship between Eleanor Roosevelt (Gillian Anderson) and Lorena Hickock was something else. What can I say? The First Lady turned me into an Eleanor Roosevelt stan.
Photo by Saaed Adyani for Netflix
Liz Feldman’s Dead to Me is one of those shows that was seemingly straight . . . until it wasn’t. And that was one of my favorite things about it – how there was no real “coming out” moment for its bisexual character – she just happened to date men and women. After three seasons and more twists than I can count, I will miss this gem of a show not just for its queerness, but also because of the way it explored grief, friendship, forgiveness, and love.
