15 TV shows LGBTQ people should binge in 2018

The Fosters (Netflix)

Many of the shows on this list focus more on gay men, but not The Fosters. This Freeform drama is about lesbian couple Lena and Stef Adams Foster, and their children, a mix of adopted, biological, and foster kids.

Over the course of the series (which is set to end after season 5), we follow Stef and Lena’s struggles to adopt Callie and Jude, their road to being an official married couple, and plenty more issues that families face. The Fosters also had storylines revolving around teen pregnancy and abortion, school shootings, mental health, and immigration.

What’s important about The Fosters is how it deals with the many difficult topics it has chosen to cover over the years. It’s not the kind of show that glosses over the dirty details, and it hasn’t been afraid to talk about controversial subjects. The school shooting episode, for example, was hard to watch, but in today’s society, it was vital.

Of course, Lena and Stef aren’t the only LGBTQ characters in the series. The youngest Adams Foster child, Jude, grows up over the series, and we get to watch his sexuality blossoming. Like most LGBTQ children, Jude is confused about how he feels about boys and girls, and we get to witness that confusion.

It’s one of the most realistic portrayals of a young boy questioning his sexuality that we’ve seen. Spoiler alert, his first kiss with a boy is possibly the youngest same-sex kiss in US television history. So that’s a pretty big deal.