The most unmissable LGBTQ+ TV coming this autumn, from Sex Education to Doctor Who

Despite the UK’s late summer heatwave, it’s almost time to swap daylight for darkness, shorts for sweaters, and boozy pub lunches for lounging on the sofa watching the best new LGBTQ+ TV shows.

Despite the ongoing Hollywood actors’ strike, there’s still a fair bit of great TV coming your way this fall. There’s the queerest season of Doctor Who yet, the most star-studded American Horror Story cast list in a while, more gay zombies and about a dozen series of Drag Race – plus loads more.

Here are the best bits of queer TV coming to your screens this autumn – happy streaming!

RuPaul’s Drag Race UK series five (BBC Three, TBC)

Start your engines, the RuPaul’s Drag Race universe has several franchises landing on our TV sets this autumn. Drag Race Germany, Drag Race Mexico, Drag Race Brasil and Drag Race Philippines are airing now on WOW Presents, while Drag Race UK series five is rumoured to begin on BBC Three, BBC iPlayer and WOW Presents before September is out.

Plus, Canada’s Drag Race season four and Drag Race Italia season three are both set to premiere at some point this autumn. Buckle up.

The Wheel of Time season two (Prime Video, 1 September)

Until recently, queer fantasy was hard to come by. Now, we’ve (finally!) got a queer Jaskier in The Witcher, Will Byers in Stranger Things, and Bean and Mora in Disenchantment, to name but a few.

Plus, Rosamund Pike is back as the sapphic Aes Sedai member Moiraine Damodred in The Wheel of Time.

The mystical drama series is back for season two, and alongside Moiraine and her lover Siuan Sanche, fans can expect big queer comebacks from favourites Alanna Mosvani, and Alanna’s warders Maksim and Ihvon.

Selling the OC (Netflix, 8 September)

The sexed-up Selling Sunset spin-off debuted on Netflix last year, following the Oppenheim Group’s young real estate bloodhounds as they navigate their personal and professional lives in California’s Orange County.

Bisexual realtor Sean Palmieri doubled up as a delightful dose of LGBTQ+ representation, and the season’s certified heartthrob. He’s back for season two.

The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon (AMC, 10 September – US only)

As The Last of Us proved, LGBTQ+ people still exist during a zombie apocalypse. The Walking Dead franchise isn’t afraid of a little queer visibility, either – from Tara to Aaron, Jesus to Kelly.

The most recent spin-off, The Walking Dead: Darly Dixon, is confirmed to continue this trend. When lead Daryl (Norman Reedus) washes ashore in France mid-apocalypse, he meets a new rabble of survivors – including Drag Race France’s inaugral winner, Paloma, who will play drag star Coco. 

The Great British Bake Off (Channel 4/Netflix, 26 September)

The Great British Bake Off hasn’t only produced a plethora of worthy star bakers over the years: it’s also birthed several LGBTQ+ TV personalities that live on in our TV screens and in our queer hearts.

Strictly Come Dancing finalist John Whaite, for one. Michael Chakraverty. Season 10 winner David Atherton. Last year alone had Sandro Framhouse and Janusz Domagala for goodness sake. The Great British Bake Off is deliciously queer.

It’s out on 26 September on Channel 4 in the UK and Netflix in the US.

The Morning Show (Apple TV+, 13 September)

In season two of drama series The Morning Show, which follows the behind-the-scenes workings of a morning news programme in Manhattan, news anchors Bradley (Reese Witherspoon) and Laura (Julianna Margulies) hit it off, kissed, and started a relationship.

The Morning Show wasn’t a series that people expected to go gay, but it did. Season three could promise more sapphic newsroom scenes.

Strictly Come Dancing (BBC, 16 September)

Come for the dazzling moves, stay because queer Everybody’s Talking About Jamie icon Layton Williams is on this year’s line-up. Here’s hoping he gets paired with Strictly Come Dancing gay professional Johannes Radebe. 

Neighbours (Amazon Freevee, 18 September)

Shortly after Australian soap Neighbours came to an emotional end in August 2022, it was confirmed to be getting a reboot. The fan favourites – Toadie, Karl, Susan et al. are all making a comeback, as are queer characters Chloe, Elly and Mackenzie.

Neighbours has a long history of championing LGBTQ+ representation – from Chris to Asher – and the reboot will likely do the same.

Married At First Sight UK (Channel 4, 18 September)

For the very first time, the upcoming season of Married At First Sight UK will feature a trans bride in “blonde bombshell” Ella, from Weston-Super-Mare. Fans are already living for the representation.

American Horror Story: Delicate (FX/Disney+, 20 September)

Ryan Murphy’s beloved horror anthology is part of TV history at this point. It’s now on its 12th season with American Horror Story: Delicate, and this one has fans raving more than usual.

Pansexual model Cara Delevingne is in a lead role as Meg, alongside fellow protagonists Kim Kardashian and Emma Roberts. Trans Pose star Michaela Jaé Rodriguez also features, as does queer American Horror Story mainstay Denis O’Hare.

Sex Education (Netflix, 21 September)

The fourth and final season of the raunchy and raucous queer Sex Education will hopefully answer an abundance of fan questions.

Who is the father of sex therapist Jean Milburn’s (Gillian Anderson) baby? Will Eric (Ncuti Gatwa) and Adam (Connor Swindells) reconcile? How will Otis and Maeve cope now that she’s in the US? Expect an epic, 80-minute conclusion and plenty of sex.

Gen V (Prime Video, 29 September)

The spin-off of Prime Video’s critically-acclaimed black comedy The Boys (which is in turn based on the 2006 comic), Gen Z follows the lives of a group of teen superheroes as they’re trained up at the Godolkin University School of Crimefighting.

The Boys had several queer characters and plots – Queen Maeve, that gay sex act that goes terribly, terribly wrong in season three’s opening episode – so Gen Z will likely follow suit. Actor Derek Luh will play Jordan Li, a gender-shifter, so that’s a good start.

Everything Now (Netflix, 5 October)

Everything Now, a new British, LGBTQ+ coming-of-age drama follows sapphic 16-year-old Mia, played by the lead of new horror film Talk To Me Sophie Wilde, as she navigates her return to school after being hospitalised with an eating disorder.

She’s welcomed back into a life of parties, drink, drugs and sex, while her queer friendship group try to keep her together. Acting legend Stephen Fry also stars.

Our Flag Means Death (Max, 5 October – US only)

The world’s best gay pirates are back, as Yes, Man’s Rhys Darby and Jojo Rabbit’s Taika Waititi reunite as Stede and Blackbeard in Our Flag Means Death. Fans will remember that season one ended with Stede leaving, and then attempting to return to, his true love Blackbeard – but the latter is having none of it. Cue rage, revenge, and queer chaos on the seven seas.

No UK release date has been confirmed.

Big Brother UK (ITV, 8 October)

A swift look back at the history of Channel 4’s/Channel 5’s/ITV’s Big Brother reveals that yes, this is the queerest social experiment-cum-reality TV series of all time.

In 2004, Nadia Almada became the first and only trans woman to win the show, while RuPaul’s Drag Race star Courtney Act was the show’s first drag winner in 2018. You can bet the reboot will include some LGBTQ+ people to root for.

Living For The Dead (Hulu, 18 October)

Put simply, Living For The Dead is a gay ghost-hunting docu-series. Five queer influencers, Alex Le May, Juju Bae, Ken Boggle, Logan Taylor, and Roz Hernandez, will explore haunted locations and “help the living by healing the dead”.

It’s made by the creators of Queer Eye, and narrated and produced by bisexual Twilight babe Kristen Stewart. Quite frankly, it sounds insane – and perfect.

Elite (Netflix, 20 October)

From Heartstopper to Sex Education, queer as f**k schools are thriving. Spanish teen drama series Elite has been going for five years now, with season seven on the way, and that school playground isn’t getting any less gay.

While the show’s biggest queer star Manu Rios shocked fans earlier this year by bowing out of his role as Patrick ahead of the upcoming season, other LGBTQ+ fan favourites – like Patrick’s boyfriend Iván (André Lamoglia) – will be spicing up the drama. Plus, bisexual Brazilian pop icon Anitta is joining the cast. Ai Papai indeed.

Fellow Travellers (Paramount+/Showtime, 27/28 October)

Forbidden love is on the cards for Matt Bomer and Jonathan Bailey in new queer political drama Fellow Travellers. The series tracks political official Hawkins Fuller (Bomer) and the religious Tim Laughlin (Bailey) through three decades, as they navigate their hidden romance, and the sociopolitcal events unfolding around them.

It’s out on 27 October on Paramount+ with Showtime in the US, and on 28 October on Paramount+ in the UK.

A Murder at the End of the World (FX/Hulu/Disney+, 14 November)

One for the murder mystery gays, this new mini series will follow amateur detective Darby Heart (Emma Corrin) as she’s invited to stay at a lavish, reclusive retreat owned by a billionaire called Andy (Clive Owen). She’s joined by several other guests, one of whom ends up dead shortly after their arrival. Dramatic.

While it remains to be seen how queer A Murder at the End of the World will be, it’s helmed by queer legends including the non-binary Corrin, Brazilian star Alice Braga, and bisexual Broadway actor Raúl Esparza. Plus, Triangle of Sadness’s Harris Dickinson is in it, and he’s got form for playing gay – so that’s hopeful.

A Murder at the End of the World will be coming to Disney+ in the UK, with a release date TBC.

Doctor Who (BBC, November)

Ahead of the 14th season dropping in 2024, helmed by gay TV pioneer Russell T Davies, Doctor Who will drop three 60th anniversary specials in November. While David Tennant and Catherine Tate will return, the specials are also thought to introduce our first queer, Black Doctor in the form of Sex Education star Ncuti Gatwa.

The LGBTQ+ talent in the new series will be endless, though: there’s Drag Race two-time winner Jinkx Monsoon, Heartstopper’s Yasmin Finney and How I Met Your Mother’s Neil Patrick Harris. Plus, two trans newcomers: Mary Malone and Pete McHale. It sounds queer as f**k.

The Traitors (BBC, TBC)

While The Traitors Australia and The Traitors US have kept us fed this year, we’re in need of more Claudia Winkleman in our lives. The Traitors UK, the OG Traitors series, is back this autumn.

After last year’s inaugural season gave us queer icons Andrea and Theo, as well as gorgeous allies in Amanda, Hannah and Maddy, the second season will undoubtedly be just as LGBTQ+ friendly.