12 of the best LGBTQ shows you can watch right now on Amazon Prime

These are all available to stream right now.

Amazon Prime are slowly catching up with Netflix to become one of the most reliable streaming services for content, with a range of original programming and first-run syndicated television shows that can’t be viewed elsewhere.

LGBTQ representation on our screens is at an all-time high (GLAAD found that the amount of queer characters has increased by over 100 to a new record), so in celebration, we’ve rounded up the best LGBTQ shows you can watch on the platform.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1996 – 2003)

Cast: Sarah Michelle Gellar, Alyson Hannigan, Nicholas Brendon, Anthony Stewart Head, Emma Caulfield, Charisma Carpenter, David Boreanaz, Amber Benson, Michelle Trachtenberg, James Marsters, Eliza Dushku

This iconic fantasy series stars Gellar as the titular character, a teenage girl endowed with supernatural abilities to fight vampires, demons and the forces of darkness. It is often referred to as one of the most influential dramas of all time and made history when it aired the first ever lesbian sex-scene on network television. We recently rounded up the queerest moments from the series, which you can view here.

Carnival Row (2019 – present)

Cast: Cara Delevingne, Orlando Bloom, David Gyasi, Tamzin Merchant, Andrew Gower, Karla Crome

Neo-noir series Carnival Row stars Delevingne as Vignette Stonemoss, a “pansexual fairy” who is forced to take refuge after humans invade her war-torn homeland. She begins a forbidden love-affair with detective Rycroft Philostrate (Bloom), and as they attempt to keep their romance a secret, a string of mysterious murders plague the city.

Dragula (2016 – present)

Cast: The Boulet Brothers

Horror-themed reality competition Dragula offers viewers with a spooky-twist on RuPaul’s Drag Race as the show searches for the World’s Next Drag Supermonster. For its third season, the show features drag king Landon Cider, which is the first time the art-form has been represented on reality television in the United States. It also features sickening queens such as Dollya Black, Evah Destruction, Louisianna Purchase, Maddelynn Hatter, Maxi Glamour, Priscilla Chambers, St. Lucia, Violencia Exclamation Point, and Yovska.

Fleabag (2016 – 2019)

Cast: Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Sian Clifford, Olivia Colman, Bill Paterson, Brett Gelman, Hugh Skinner, Hugh Dennis, Andrew Scott, Jenny Rainsford, Fiona Shaw

Created and written by Waller-Bridge – who also stars in the title role – the BBC series focuses on Fleabag, an angry, depressed and sex-crazy woman living in London. The show is notable for breaking “the fourth wall” on various occasions, where the protagonist speaks to the camera and addresses the audience. In the show’s second season, Fleabag came out as bisexual, receiving praise from fans for providing some much-needed bisexual representation on television. Earlier this year, the show received 11 Primetime Emmy Award nominations including Outstanding Comedy Series and Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series.

Glee (2009 – 2015)

Cast: Lea Michele, Dianna Agron, Chris Colfer, Jane Lynch, Matthew Morrison, Darren Criss, Harry Shum Jr, Chord Overstreet, Jacob Artist, Jayma Mays, Kevin McHale, Amber Riley, Naya Rivera, Heather Morris, Jenna Ushkowitz, Corey Monteith

Ryan Murphy’s musical teen series focuses on several students in the fictitious William McKinley High School glee club, as they navigate issues such as sexuality, race, gender identity, bulimia, pregnancy and school violence. In the first season, Kurt (Colfer) struggles with his sexuality and his feelings for Finn (Monteith) and in later years, becomes romantically involved with Blaine (Criss). They were later named “one of the most beloved TV couples of the millennium”. Rivera also received widespread praise for her portrayal as Santana, a popular, hard-as-nails cheerleader at McKinley who embarks on a friends-with-benefits-esque relationship with fellow cheerleader, Brittany (Morris). Glee was nominated for 19 Emmy Awards.

Grey’s Anatomy (2005 – present)

Cast: Ellen Pompeo, Sandra Oh, Katherine Heigl, Justin Chambers, Chandra Wilson, T.R. Knight, James Pickens Jr, Patrick Washington, Kate Walsh, Sara Ramirez, Eric Dane, Chyler Leigh, Kevin McKidd, Jessica Capshaw, Kim Raver, Jesse Williams, Jake Borelli, Chris Carmack, Sarah Drew, Alex Landi

Shonda Rimes’ medical drama tells the story of several surgical interns, residents, and attending physicians at the fictional Seattle Grace hospital. Since its debut, the show has been commended for its diversity; over the course of 15 seasons, we’ve been introduced to characters who are lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans, so pretty much the entire LGBT acronym, which many shows have failed to do. After 239 episodes over 11 seasons, fan-favourite character Callie (Ramirez) became the longest running queer character in television history.

Honest Men (2017 – present)

Cast: Tripp Ali, Donta Hensley, Gary Lavard, David K. Price, Devon Toran

Underrated drama Honest Men is seen through the eyes of four gay and bisexual men. It’s racy, erotic and has been described as “softcore porn”, but it’s rare to see a television series dedicated to queer men of colour and their experiences.

Modern Family (2009 – present)

Cast: Ed O’Neill, Sofia Vergara, Julie Bowen, Ty Burrell, Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Eric Stonestreet, Sarah Hyland, Ariel Winter, Nolan Gould, Rico Rodriguez, Aubrey Anderson-Emmons, Jeremy Maguire

Mockumentary sitcom Modern Family follows the lives of Jay Pritchett (O’Neill) and his extended family, all of whom live in the suburbs of Los Angeles. Stonestreet and Ferguson have received universal acclaim for their portrayal as gay couple Cameron Tucker and Mitchell Pritchett, both receiving Primetime Emmy Awards. It’s been on the air for over 10 years, spanning 232 episodes (so far), making it ABC’s longest-running sitcom in history.

Mozart in the Jungle (2014 – 2018)

Cast: Lola Kirke, Gael García Bernal, Bernadette Peters, Saffron Burrows, Malcom McDowell, Hannah Dunne, Peter Vack, Debra Monk, Gretchen Mol

Inspired by Mozart in the Jungle: Sex, Drugs, and Classical Music, this half-hour comedy stars Bernal as Rodrigo, the new conductor of the New York Symphony. Burrows plays bisexual philandering cellist Cynthia Taylor who forms a relationship with Mol’s character Nina Robertson. Despite its critical acclaim and devoted fanbase, the show was cancelled after four seasons last year.

Transparent (2014 – present)

Cast: Jeffrey Tambor, Amy Landecker, Jay Duplass, Judith Light, Gaby Hoffmann, Kathryn Hahn, Alexandra Billings, Trace Lysette

In Transparent, Tambor stars as Maura Pfefferman, a retired college professor of political science who finally opens up to her family about being trans. It became the first show produced from a streaming service to win the Golden Globe Award for Best Series. After Tambor was fired in 2017 after several sexual harassment claims were brought against him by various cast members, Amazon Prime cancelled the series and announced a feature-length finale titled Musicale Finale, which will be released on 27 September.

Ugly Betty (2006 – 2010)

Cast: America Ferrera, Vanessa Williams, Eric Mabius, Tony Plana, Ana Ortiz, Becki Newton, Michael Urie, Mark Indelicato, Ashley Jenson, Rebecca Romijn, Alan Dale, Judith Light

Ferrera stars as Betty Suarez in this fan-favourite sitcom, who despite her lack of fashion sense, lands a job at prestigious fashion magazine headed by the duplicitous Wilhemina Slater (Williams). The series features several queer characters, particularly Betty’s brother Justin (Indelicato), her bitchy co-worker Marc St. James (Urie) and her boss’ sister Alexis Meade (Romijn). It had a huge impact on popular culture and its cancellation in 2010 was met with uproar from fans; it’s been speculated ever since that the show will return for a film adaptation in the future.

Will & Grace (1998 – present)

Cast: Eric McCormack, Debra Messing, Megan Mullally, Sean Hayes, Shirley Robinson

Set in New York City, the show focuses on the relationship between Will Truman (McCormack) – who became one of the first and most well-known fictional gay men to enter into people’s homes – and his best friend Grace Adler (Messing). The show earned 18 Primetime Emmy Awards and 83 nominations and has been credited with helping and improving public opinion of the LGBTQ community; former Vice President Joe Biden once said the show “probably did more to educate the American public” on queer issues “than almost anything anybody has ever done so far”. It originally ran for eight seasons between 1998-2006, but returned in 2017 for two more seasons. The upcoming 11th season will be its last.

Related: 32 of the best LGBTQ shows you can watch right now on Netflix.

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