10 underrated queer tv shows to binge during Pride Month

Underrated queer show: Everything Sucks!

Platform: Netflix

Cast: Jahi Di’Allo Winston, Peyton Kennedy, Sydney Sweeney, Rio Mangini, Patch Darragh

Premise: This half-hour, coming-of-age comedies series focuses on a group of teenagers who proceed to make a movie together while dealing with such existential issues as sexuality, mental health, and growing up. A send-up of teen culture in the mid-1990s, the show is reminiscent of 1994’s My So-Called Life in its nuanced storytelling, depicting real-life issues against the mediocre backdrop of high school.

The heart of the series is the story of Peyton Kennedy’s Kate Messner, the only girl member of the school’s A/V Club, who is struggling to come to terms with her sexuality, dealing with the death of her mother, and being the teenage daughter of the high school principal. Kennedy gives a wonderful breakout performance in the role, easily delivering a dry wit in one scene and belting out a heartbreaking rendition of “Rocket Man” in another. Kate agrees to date a boy from the A/V club as rumors about her sexuality circulate the school, even though she pines over drama club ingenue Emaline (Sweeney). Hijinks ensue, of course.

It’s really a shame that Netflix gave up on the show so quickly (it was canceled less than two months after its premiere), as this teen dramedy is full of heart, humor, and pitch-perfect performances.