Pride 2026: A Q+ Celebration
June 22
The Rocky Horror Picture Show
There are cult classics, and then there’s The Rocky Horror Picture Show. Nearly fifty years after its release, the film remains one of the most influential queer movies ever made, a gloriously chaotic blend of science fiction, horror, comedy, music, and camp that somehow becomes even more fun the stranger it gets. What begins with an innocent young couple seeking help after their car breaks down quickly spirals into an unforgettable night at the castle of the flamboyant Dr. Frank-N-Furter (Tim Curry).
Inside that castle, conventional rules cease to exist. Through outrageous musical numbers, larger-than-life performances, and a celebration of sexual freedom and self-expression, the film gleefully challenges ideas about gender, desire, and respectability. Curry’s performance as Frank-N-Furter remains iconic, helping transform the character into one of queer cinema’s most enduring figures.
Of course, Rocky Horror is more than just a movie—it’s a phenomenon. Midnight screenings around the world have turned it into a communal experience where audiences dress up, shout callbacks at the screen, and celebrate the film together. For generations of LGBTQ+ viewers, it has served as both entertainment and a gateway into queer culture. Pride Month simply wouldn’t feel complete without paying tribute to the strange, joyful, and wonderfully unapologetic legacy of The Rocky Horror Picture Show.
Where to watch? The Rocky Horror Picture Show is available to stream on Disney+.
Genera+ion
Growing up has never been simple, but Genera+ion captures the particular chaos of being a teenager in a world where identity, sexuality, and self-expression are more visible—and more complicated—than ever before. Set in a Southern California high school, the series follows a diverse group of students as they navigate friendships, family expectations, romance, and the often messy process of figuring out who they are.
Rather than focusing on a single protagonist, the show weaves together multiple storylines, allowing different characters to explore questions about gender, sexuality, relationships, and belonging from their own perspectives. Some are confidently stepping into their identities, while others are still trying to understand what those identities even mean. The result is a portrait of queer adolescence that feels broad, varied, and refreshingly honest.
What made Genera+ion resonate with so many viewers was its willingness to embrace contradiction. Its characters are funny, frustrating, thoughtful, impulsive, and deeply human. Even though the series was short-lived, it remains one of the more authentic portrayals of Gen Z queer life on television, capturing both the freedom and uncertainty that come with growing up in a rapidly changing world.
Where to watch? Genera+ion is available to stream on HBO Max.
Idlewild by James Frankie Thomas
Set in a tiny arts-focused Quaker high school in lower Manhattan, Idlewild begins at a pivotal moment in American history. During a morning meeting, as students sit in contemplative silence, an airplane strikes the World Trade Center. In the months that follow, two teenage outcasts—Fay, who is sharp-tongued, aloof, and fascinated by gay men, and Nell, who is shy, sensitive, and increasingly fascinated by Fay—form an intense friendship that quickly becomes the center of both their worlds.
Together, they spend their days obsessively searching for queer subtext everywhere they look, navigating theater rehearsals, early internet fandom, AIM chats, antiwar protests, and the complicated social ecosystem of their unconventional school. Their fixation grows when they become intrigued by two sexually ambiguous boys they believe might belong in their unofficial “Invert Society.” As the four teenagers become entangled in one another’s lives, admiration, desire, insecurity, and projection begin to blur together, setting off a chain of decisions that none of them fully understand at the time.
Told from the perspective of Fay and Nell as adults looking back on that transformative period, Idlewild is funny, messy, heartbreaking, and painfully honest about the intensity of teenage friendship. Part queer coming-of-age story, part portrait of a specific post-9/11 moment, and part love letter to the strange corners of early internet culture, the novel explores how the people who know us best can also be the ones who hurt us most. It’s a deeply memorable story about identity, obsession, and the mistakes that continue to echo long after adolescence ends.
Where to buy? Idlewild is available to purchase at all reputable booksellers.
Happy Pride 2026! Follow us on X and Instagram for all queer stuff!
Featured Image: Images Courtesy of Netflix, HBO Max, Amazon MGM Studios, Focus Features, Getty Images, Disney+, Apple TV, Crave.
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