I’ve always been a lover of darker love and murderous intentions. So when you tell me there’s options out there that aren’t just Fifty Shades Of Gray coded I get excited. Even better when they represent a community I’m a part of. So here’s some lgbtq shows I hyperfixate on and I think you would too. 

Our Flag Means Death (TV-MA)

This action comedy is packed chaotically with pirates, love, betrayal and tall tales. In Our Flag Means Death, we see The Gentleman Pirate Stede Bonnet played by Rhys Darby and the famous Blackbeard played by Taika Watiti. These two hit it off when Stede is being hung by the Spanish for being a pirate. Ah yes, the classic love story of murderous intentions. Forbidden love, as I call it, and it’s riveting. 

This is definitely a good show to watch if you like threatening humor. Or if you’re here for the LGBTQ characters and cast. This show  reflects a lot more comfort with exploring gender and presentation, especially when you have mean, all-bark-no-bite characters like Izzy, played by Con O’Neil, dressed in drag makeup and singing “La Vie En Rose.” 

I think the beauty of this show is in its bittersweet moments that can also be laughed at as just people being silly. You have everyone falling asleep peacefully while “High On A Rocky Ledge” by Moondog plays. Then the next day they commit war crimes. Sounds about right for a boat full of pirates. 

Watch Our Flag Means Death if you want to giggle, say “WHAT?” really loudly, and have some melancholy cries. It’s filmed very well with back and forth shots being a common thing and it’s always visually appealing. 

Hannibal (NC-17)

Of course I’m going to talk about murder husbands or work wives that love to eat human flesh. Why wouldn’t I? If you like true crime, horror, mystery or suspense, you’ll definitely love Hannibal. To start off, the music and score by Brian Reitzells is in itself bone-chilling. It has the classic dark synth and string instruments that every older horror movie has. The music is compelling you to keep watching, because if you don’t, some mysterious cryptid will show up at your window at night. 

Hannibal Lector, a cannibal psychiatrist played by Mads Mikkelsen, is fascinated by the mind of former homicide detective Will Graham, played by Hugh Dancy. The two tend to walk around each other with hatred, silent love and high tension. 

In this show it should be noted that there isn’t any visible physical love, but it’s through other love languages that it’s shown. For example, through murdering folks for each other, but also serious manipulation and other traumatic aspects. Whether forcing your murder husband to eat someone’s ear or being his psychiatrist while he plans on shooting you, it’s hard love all around. So if you are queasy or easily upset by these types of things, it’s definitely not a show for you. However, if you are okay with or love the gore and used to watch some random detective television show like Blue Bloods, then I highly recommend Hannibal. 

This show is meant for fans of true crime, drama and anyone who liked Silence of the Lambs. 

What We Do In The Shadows (R)

Do you like darker fantasy like vampires, ghosts, werewolves that sort of thing? Do you also like comedy and The Office? If so, What We Do In The Shadows might be perfect for you. It has similar structure as The Office as well as reality TV shows, since it is about vampires just trying to live there everyday lives in New York City. For example, two characters will be arguing with each other about who broke something and then the camera will pan to another character farther away who is the real culprit. Then it will be topped off with mockumentary-style interviews. This show is super LGBTQ-friendly, as it mentions relations with lesbians and shows some agender-genderfluid characters partying it up. 

With themes of the show there’s lots of darker humor and gothic undertones, but then there’s Colin Robinson, played by Mark Proksch, our energy office vampire who loves to talk about paper clips for more than 30 minutes at a time. Or one of our vampires, human familiar Guillermo de la Cruz played by Harvey Guillen, just a nice little human in a sweater. 

Join these creatures of the night in their everyday lives: sometimes it’s shooing werewolves from pissing on your front lawn; other times it’s being cursed by a magic hat. Whatever the day brings this fanged family is ready and you should be too. This show is perfect for lovers of Bram Stoker’s Dracula, Reality TV, dark humor and, of course, cool capes. 

Good Omens (TV-MA)

Based on the novel by Neil Gaiman and Terry Prachet, the characters in this humorous fantasy show take many forms: angels, demons, witches, witch hunters, humans just trying to get by and of course nightingales. 

Crowley, a Queen fan demon played by David Tennant, struts in to help birth the antichrist, while our book-loving angel Azirphale, played by Michael Sheen, senses demonic schemes at play. This is how the show starts, throwing you into a soundtrack of rock and classical music, complete opposites which reflects the differences in the main characters’ personalities. This is a great show to watch if you like to freak out over little details, and it’s definitely a show you’ll have to watch multiple times to get them. Nonetheless it’s a beautiful, well put together show that I personally hyperfixate on often. Getting a long term enemies to lovers show, especially one written by Neil Gaiman, who is well known for his darker works of art books, is really a gift. It really puts two and two together like interlocking hands. 

Good Omens is also a very good show if you have lots of experience with or are knowledgeable about religion, specifically Christianity. I think the show displays a complex view of religion. Faith in media is more eye-catching to me, being that I come from a religious background. So when you see a demon and angel go through religious trauma, it’s like an “it’s not just me” feeling. The representation helps you feel like you can talk about this topic, while also being able to love and participate in faith. Gaiman and Prachet did a great job of incorporating that, while also giving LGBTQ-friendly love. Nowadays it’s very difficult to find LGBTQ-friendly and religious shows, but they’ve provided one, a homeship. (A fictional character ship in which someone values one ship the most over other ships, often seen as a reference in fandoms or on sites such as Tumblr, Reddit or Ao3.)

To mention homeship, it is my personal homeship. I’ll always fly back to it like English teachers flocking to Romeo and Juliet or Hamlet. Not to mention the music is all older material, most of it coming from the ‘70s and earlier. We see a lot of history in this show as well, and knowing what Gaiman has written about history and mythology, I fully trust his ability to conduct that. 

Good Omens is a show meant for the poets, hopeless romantics, history buffs and gay fantasy lovers.