Nearly Every Major TV Show Had A Queer Girl In It This Year And Here Are The Receipts To Prove It

I'm 100% here for it!

Is it just me, or have TV and movies this year been flooded with gay/bi/queer girls? I mean, not only did we get our first ever mainstream LGBTQ Christmas rom-com in the shape of Happiest Season, all year round queer female characters have been popping up in all manner of shows and movies!

NBC / Via giphy.com

To me it felt like whenever I was watching something, it was only a matter of time before one of the female cast turned out to be queer – and I loved it!

It's basically been a terrible year with one silver lining – more lesbian and bi characters on screen! Not convinced? Well, let me take you through all the TV and movie characters from 2020 that lowkey made it the wonderful year of queer it was!

VH1 / Via media1.tenor.com

(I'm only including shows that hit our screens this year, or continuing series with female characters who came out/experienced a same-sex relationship for the first time this year).

🚨Warning: MASSIVE spoilers ahead!🚨

Feel free to scroll past as appropriate!

1. Dani and Jamie in The Haunting of Bly Manor.

Netflix

Played by: Victoria Pedretti and Amelia Eve/Carla Gugino

Where to watch: Netflix

The compelling second season of The Haunting saga follows Dani, a young American au pair who moves into an Essex mansion with a creepy past. There she meets gardener Jamie, and the pair gradually fall for each other over the course of the series and it's sooooo cuuuuute.

2. Vanya Hargreeves in The Umbrella Academy.

Netflix

Played by: Elliot Page

Where to watch: Netflix

This addictive series follows a famous family of supernaturally able siblings. In the second season, all seven of them travel through time and get stuck in 1960s Dallas. There, Vanya befriends and eventually develops romantic feelings for her kind-hearted rescuer, Sissy.

3. Fabiola Torres in Never Have I Ever.

Netflix

Played by: Lee Rodriguez

Where to watch: Netflix

This amazing show revolves around the daily life of Devi Vishwakumar – an Indian-American high-schooler living in California – as well as her family and friends. Fabiola is Devi's super smart best friend, who spends much of the first season coming to terms with her sexuality.

4. Sydney and Dina in I Am Not Okay with This.

Netflix

Played by: Sofia Bryant and Sophia Lillis

Where to watch: Netflix

Sydney Novak hasn't felt quite right since her father passed away, and things are about to get worse. Slowly she realises she might have telekinetic abilities that frankly scare the hell out of her! She might also be gay, or at least, in love with her best friend Dina.

5. Mildred and Gwendolyn in Ratched.

Netflix

Played by: Sarah Paulson

Where to watch: Netflix

A prequel to the events of the 1962 novel One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, this thriller series focuses on the early nursing career of Mildred Ratched, an enterprising middle-aged woman who's coming to terms with the fact that she's a lesbian within an unforgiving mid-century American society.

6. Abby and Harper in Happiest Season.

Hulu/Sony Pictures Releasing/Entertainment One

Played by: Mackenzie Davis and Kristen Stewart

Where to watch: Amazon Prime Video

The first mainstream rom-com of its kind, this film follows orphan Abby and her girlfriend Harper whose family they both end up visiting for Christmas. But Harper isn't out... Oh dear, what a farce! This dramedy about self-acceptance and queer love may have divided audiences, but I'm here for the representation.

7. Riley in Happiest Season.

Hulu/Sony Pictures Releasing/Entertainment One

Played by: Aubrey Plaza

Where to watch: Amazon Prime Video

Riley is Harper's ex in the movie who ends up fraternizing a lot with Abby while Harper is off living the good ol' heteronormative life. It's cruel really, because queen Aubrey and Kristen have off-the-charts chemistry, but it's Harper and Abby who the film itself is focused on.

8. Mia Warren in Little Fires Everywhere.

Hulu

Played by: Kerry Washington

Where to watch: Hulu

This series, based on a 2017 novel by Celeste Ng, follows two mums from very different social and economic backgrounds living in Ohio in the late '90s. Enigmatic single mother Mia is bisexual, and it's revealed in episode six that she once had a relationship with her art professor Pauline, played by Anika Noni Rose.

9. Izzy Richardson in Little Fires Everywhere.

Hulu

Played by: Megan Stott

Where to watch: Hulu

Izzy is the daughter of Reese Witherspoon's character, Elena Richardson – the polar opposite of Mia in that she has the "perfect" nuclear family. Izzy could be considered the black sheep of the family, and her secret questioning of her sexuality intensifies when she becomes interested in her friend, April.

10. Rob Brooks in High Fidelity.

Hulu

Played by: Zoë Kravitz

Where to watch: Hulu

We follow Robyn "Rob", an unlucky-in-love music fan who owns her own record store in Brooklyn, New York. Rob dates men and women, and as the series goes on, tries to figure out what went wrong in all of her previous relationships. Interestingly, Zoë's mum Lisa Bonet appears in the 2000 film version!

11. Danielle and Rahne in The New Mutants.

20th Century Studios

Played by: Maisie Williams and Blu Hunt

Where to watch: Amazon Prime Video

This newest instalment in the X-Men film franchise sees Dani, the sole survivor of a terrible tornado that destroyed the reservation she grew up on, confined to a school for young superheroes. There she meets a Rahne, a diffident fellow mutant with whom she develops a really sweet romance.

12. Beth Harmon in The Queen's Gambit.

Netflix

Played by: Anya Taylor-Joy

Where to watch: Netflix

Set in '50s and '60s America, Beth is a tenacious chess prodigy who wants to be the world's greatest player. Mid-way through the series she begins using drugs and alcohol, and during this hazy period in her life, she hooks up with an alluring French model named Cleo.

13. Naomi Jones in I Hate Suzie.

Sky Atlantic

Played by: Leila Farzad

Where to watch: NOW TV

I Hate Suzie focuses on the life of a famous actor whose world is turned upside down when her nudes are leaked. Naomi is her no-nonsense childhood friend turned manager who identifies as bi. Her sexual conquests happen perfectly organically, and it's never made a big deal of whether they're male or female.

14. Nadine in The Broken Hearts Gallery.

Sony Pictures Releasing/Elevation Pictures

Played by: Phillipa Soo

Where to watch: Amazon Prime Video

This super uplifting film follows a young New York gallerist, Lucy, who specialises in collecting stuff from her past relationships. Everyone in this movie is great, and Lucy's best friends Amanda and Nadine are no exception. The latter is just this tall, beautiful, powerful, lesbian queen and it's so great to see!

15. Leah Mandelbaum in Unorthodox.

Netflix

Played by: Alex Reid

Where to watch: Netflix

This enthralling series follows a young Jewish woman who escapes the ultra-Orthodox Williamsburg community she grew up in and runs off to Berlin where her mother, Leah, lives. As it turns out, Leah also fled Williamsburg to live a non-religious life in Germany with her lesbian life partner!

16. Mary and Charlotte in Ammonite.

Lionsgate/Transmission Films

Played by: Kate Winslet and Saoirse Ronan

Where to watch: Amazon Prime Video

This movie adopts the lesbians without electricity trend that Portrait of a Lady on Fire helped create last year! We follow Mary, an acclaimed palaeontologist struggling to look after her ailing mother. When a wealthy tourist and his wife Charlotte arrive in town, Mary is hired to accompany Charlotte, who she soon develops feelings for.

17. Ellie and Aster in The Half of It.

Netflix

Played by: Leah Lewis and Alexxis Lemire

Where to watch: Netflix

This coming-of-age dramedy charts the complicated trajectory of Ellie Chu, a young queer girl who ends up assisting a high school jock in getting with a girl who she secretly also fancies. Things become even more confusing when the three are embroiled in a love triangle in which no one seems to be winning!

18. Hattie McDaniel in Hollywood.

Netflix

Played by: Queen Latifah

Where to watch: Netflix

Legendary silver-screen actor Hattie McDaniel, the first ever black person to win an Academy Award, pops up several times in Hollywood – Ryan Murphy's sentimental and revisionist ode to the Golden Age of Movies. It's suggested that she was in a relationship with fellow actor Tallulah Bankhead, a rumour that persisted IRL for years.

19. Bess and Jinju in Snowpiercer.

TNT

Played by: Mickey Sumner and Susan Park

Where to watch: Netflix, TNTDrama in the US and HBO Max from Jan 1.

So the whole world has frozen over and the only survivors live aboard a highly segregated high-speed train that goes round in a circle. Third-class security officer Bess in is in a secret relationship with second-class chef Jinju. They long to be together, but the feudal politics that govern the train don't make things easy for them.

20. Mae and George in Feel Good.

Channel 4

Played by: Mae Martin and Charlotte Ritchie

Where to watch: All4

Canadian stand-up comic Mae meets middle-class straight girl George at a comedy club and they hit it off. Mae is a recovering addict of which George is supportive, but George's reluctance to embrace her queer identity frustrates Mae. Their whirlwind romance will change both of their lives forever.

21. Raffi Musiker in Star Trek: Picard.

CBS All Access

Played by: Michelle Hurd

Where to watch: CBS All Access

One of the latest additions to the sprawling and iconic Star Trek franchise, Picard follows retired admiral Jean-Luc Picard and his crew as they deal with the fallout of the 2002 film Star Trek: Nemesis, in which numerous tragedies occurred. Raffi is Picard's former first officer. She is queer and has a dalliance with former Borg drone, Seven.

22. Millie Morris in Hunters.

Amazon Prime Video

Played by: Jerrika Hinton

Where to watch: Amazon Prime Video

Hunters is inspired by real events, specifically the activities of several Nazi hunters who lived and operated in New York in the '70s. Jerrika plays Millie, a determined FBI agent and closeted lesbian. Though her personal life is a secret, she leaves no stone unturned when it comes to her investigations.

23. Emma and Alyssa in The Prom.

Netflix

Played by: Jo Ellen Pellman and Ariana DeBose

Where to watch: Netflix (from 11 December).

Broadway actors Dee Dee and Barry go on the road in search of a project to revive their public images. They discover a PTA in Indiana has banned a high school student from attending prom with her girlfriend, and immediately pledge their support to both girls. This movie promises to deliver a feel-good story about young love and inclusivity.

24. Harley Quinn in Birds of Prey.

Warner Bros. Pictures

Played by: Margot Robbie

Where to watch: YouTube

A follow-up to the 2016 feature Suicide Squad, this movie chronicles the continuing adventures of Harley Quinn and her infamous team, the "Birds of Prey". Harley begins the movie by talking about how unlucky in love she is, and mentions that she has had male and female partners. In the DC comics, Harley Quinn is canonically queer, and has been involved with Poison Ivy.

25. Renee and Ellen in Birds of Prey.

Warner Bros. Pictures

Played by: Ali Wong and Rosie Perez

Where to watch: YouTube

Other queer characters in the movie include Detective Renee Montoya and her ex-girlfriend Gotham City district attorney Ellen Yee. Sadly, though Victor Zsasz and Black Mask have big gay energy, they are not explicitly queer in the movie.

26. Sterling Wesley in Teenage Bounty Hunters.

Netflix

Played by: Maddie Phillips

Where to watch: Netflix

When they're left a little strapped for cash, high school students and twins Sterling and Blair begin bounty hunting for money. Sterling is bisexual, and while she has a boyfriend in Luke, the simmering gay energy between Sterling and her former BFF turned arch-nemesis April is enough to grab any gay's attention!

27. Margaret Sloan-Hunter and Brenda Feigen in Mrs. America.

FX/Hulu

Played by: Bria Henderson and Ari Graynor

Where to watch: Hulu

A landmark series about a revolutionary time in politics and society, Mrs. America depicts an ensemble cast of real-life figures all bound together by the fight for women's rights in 1970s America. Margaret is a black lesbian feminist and one of the first editors of Ms. magazine, while Brenda is a queer activist, lawyer, and founder of the National Organization for Women (NOW).

28. Judy Hale in Dead To Me.

Netflix

Played by: Linda Cardellini

Where to watch: Netflix

The Netflix sensation follows the lives of two women – one whose husband has recently died and one who... well I can't tell you that part without spoiling it! In the second season, Judy, who was previously not out, begins dating Michelle. There's no coming out moment per se, Judy just happens to be dating a woman after having only been linked to men before. In the words of one Sue Sylvester: "outstanding!"

29. And finally a little bonus – we saw the first ever same-sex couple appear on Strictly Come Dancing this year!

BBC

Starring: Nicola Adams and Katya Jones

Where to watch: BBC iPlayer (although the pair are no longer in the competition).

Former Olympic boxer Nicola Adams swapped her gloves for tap shoes this year when she was added to the cast for Strictly's eighteenth season. But Britain's most successful female boxer of all time was forced to pull out when her dancing partner Katya contracted COVID-19. Still, it was groundbreaking moment in the show's history!

Have I missed anybody out? Please shout them out below!

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