I love San Diego Comic Con. Well… I loved it as a child. I loved going and seeing props from shows that you couldn’t see anywhere else’s, and I loved being there with my dad. It was relatively smaller back then. And I enjoy the modern Comic Con experience, with millions of people (okay, around 150,000) descending on San Diego to celebrate comics, cartoons, TV and more.
Make no mistakes, it’s a crush. For those of you who called ClexaCon “Line Con,” lemme tell you, it’s got nothing on the OG here. As I went back to my hotel at night, I saw people camping out in line for Hall H.
While my press pass doesn’t let me skip any lines, thankfully Hall H is mostly for mega events. Once in a while a great TV show will be in there, but for the most part, the shows I cover are not.
Queer TV is Niche, not Mega
This year, I spent most of the time in the Indigo Ballroom (for Adult Animation like The Legend of Vox Machina) and Ballroom 20 (for mid tier shows like Ghosts and Snowpiercer). This is not to say those shows do not have killer fan bases, but over in Hall H they have all the Marvel stuff and Doctor Who. The big stuff.
Queer content remains the smaller shows, the smaller groups, and the smaller venues. Sure, the Critical Role folks sold out Wembly for a live show, but that’s the actual play stuff. When you look at the animation, no matter how killer it is, it’s niche. Even The Simpsons remains in Ballroom 20.
When you look on it with that perspective, it’s clear that the Big Dogs are in the Big Rooms to draw money. They draw the big news sites. Little sites like us pick up the scraps. Normally that isn’t too terrible, but in our “post” COVID world, there are harder caps about how many people can be in the interview rooms, and generally the smaller print is left out, making it even harder to report on the queer news.
So Is There News?
There is! But it’s mostly about adult animation, which seems to be the “safest” place to have queer content at the moment. Both Hazbin Hotel and the aforementioned Legend of Vox Machina have notable queer characters, the former being basically filled with them.
For Vox Machina, a series based on their second campaign, The Mighty Nein, is being worked on. That series has a number of queer characters, from lesbian and bisexuals to non-binary representation. BeauSha Trash represent. There is some overlap of characters, but mostly it’s a new group in a new place on the same planet/universe.
Over in hell — I mean, on Hazbin, they have been greenlit for seasons 4 and 5! Executive Producer (and creator) Vivienne Medrano has a plan in place for how the story is going to go, where it will likely end, and basically she hopes for years of the Helliverse. Something to look forward to? Let’s just say that TV headed guy its important.
Why Not Wynonna
Not terribly long ago, we all learned that Wynonna Earp would be back with a 90-minute scripted special called Wynonna Earp: Vengence. It will air on Tubi.
I don’t know that I really can add all that much. The movie promises to be the show we love, with easter eggs all over, but also something that would be accessible to new fans. If you’re thinking “Does that mean … moar?” Possibly! The folks from Tubi who were at the event were a little surprised at the passion of the fans (so was the annoying guy on his phone behind me, but that’s a different story). The movie is going to show us what happens after Happily Ever After, and they lean into the feeling of found family and being imperfect.
Everything Else is Dribs and Drabs
On Ghosts our questionably queer Flower is back (she is the most unreliable narrator you’ll ever meet). Tracker? The lesbian handler (singular) will still be there in the background. One is leaving and maybe, maybe, we’ll get more? Robin Weigert, who co-starred as Teddi Bruin, is not in the second season, but they’re promising Abby McEnany (who plays Velma) will get more scenes.
The Anne Rice universe is being continually updated and ‘fixed’ to be more inclusive of the real population, so expect more casual queers there.
But is there a big new show with a queer lead?
Right. You know this answer.
This Is Not Comic Con’s Fault
Between the recent strikes and the state of AI and the hate that’s going on internationally, we just have fewer and fewer queer led shows. There is no Batwoman or even Tommy out there in 2024. Not even a comedy. It’s the same old same old on TV, and if they do break the mold, it’s Abbot Elementary, which is kind of the only modern comedy I can think of that is actually representative of the makeup of the real world.
The Cleaning Lady offed their bisexual, The Acolyte stopped short of making it clear those really are lesbian witch moms. In fact, fifteen or even ten years ago, I would have argued to add those moms because come on! But today? Would it kill you to show their room with one bed? Or an ‘I love you’ or even a kiss?
Don’t get me wrong, I think they’re lesbian witch moms. It’s just that I want more than hand holding and gentle looks. Maybe it’s that their life in the shadows extends to all things. Maybe it’s as much as they could get away with.
The answer, in the end, is that TV is failing us, as queers, with anything resembling new, good, shows.
I really hope that changes soon.
