Come and celebrate the best of queer television at Outfest’s second annual festival, The OutFronts.
Beginning Friday, June 3, The OutFronts officially kicks off virtually and online. The festival offers unique opportunities like free panel discussions with your favorite actors and premieres the hottest LGBTQ+ shows.
The in-person events will primarily take place at the Neuehouse Hollywood in Los Angeles. Meanwhile, anyone who can’t make it to the event can tune in virtually from the comfort of their homes.
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Here’s What to Expect at The OutFronts
The OutFronts will kick start with an in-person screening of the world premiere of Peacock’s Queer as Folk, a reimagining of the 1999 Channel 4 series created by Russell T Davies. After the premiere at the Ace Hotel Theatre, the creators and cast will chat about the show. The conversation will include Stephen Dunn (Creator/Executive Producer) and Jaclyn Moore (Executive Producer/Writer). Also joining is Devin Way, Fin Argus, Jesse James Keitel, CG, Johnny Sibilly, and Ryan O’Connell.
And that’s just the beginning! OutFronts will also host an exclusive preview of Hulu’s Love, Victor‘s final season, including a chat with the fantastic cast Saturday afternoon, followed by a firefighter takeover! Part of the cast of 9-1-1: Lone Star (including Ronen Rubinstein, Brian Michael Smith, Rafael Silva, and Tracie Thoms) will join real queer LA firefighters on stage to chat about the LGBTQ+ community and saving lives.
About The OutFronts
The OutFronts festival aims to highlight the groundbreaking LGBTQ+ representation on television. The festival also ensures that everyone can be there for the celebration.
“After a record-breaking inaugural year in which we saw nearly 70,000 participants and fans attend our digital event from as far as London, Brazil, and Des Moines, Iowa – we are excited to offer opportunities to come together in person and still provide the same high-level digital experience as last year,” Damien S. Navarro, Outfest’s executive director, said in a statement.
“It’s inspiring to know that one festival couldn’t possibly cover all the wonderful LGBTQIA+ stories being told on television today,” added Mike Dougherty, Outfest’s director of festival programming. “The OutFronts by no means represents an exhaustive account of all that is queer in TV, but they do gather a multitude of brilliantly talented queer artists and allies whose diversity of perspective and experience are on full display in these funny, entertaining, and emotional conversations. I can’t wait to share them with the world.”
Through the in-person events require a purchased ticket or RSVP, all panels and discussions will be free to view online. You can also find them via Outfest’s OutMuseum platform.
Check out the lineup below and go to theoutfronts.com to secure your spot.
Queer as Folk: The World Premiere (In-person)
World premiere screening of the new Peacock series, a vibrant reimagining of the groundbreaking British series created by Russell T. Davies, exploring a diverse group of friends in New Orleans whose lives are transformed in the aftermath of a tragedy. Post-show talkback with creator and cast.
Featured Talent: Stephen Dunn (Creator/Executive Producer), Jaclyn Moore (Executive Producer/Writer). Cast members: Devin Way, Fin Argus, Jesse James Keitel, CG, Johnny Sibilly, Ryan O’Connell
Love, Victor (In-person)
“Love, Victor’s” third and final season finds Victor going on a journey of self-discovery. Not only is Victor deciding who he wants to be with but also who he wants to be. With their post-high-school plans looming, Victor and his friends are faced with a new set of problems. They now must work through these problems to make the best choices for their futures. “Love, Victor’s” showrunner and young cast gather to talk about the impact of the show’s run. We will also find out what we might expect from season 3 and bid a farewell to the groundbreaking series. There will also be a sneak peek screening of season 3, episode 1!
Attending Talent: Brian Tanen (Showrunner), Michael Cimino, Anthony Turpel, Bebe Wood, George Sear, Isabella Ferreira, Ava Capri. Moderator: Tommy Dorfman.
Queer Firefighters: Onscreen and in Life (In-person)
There are a lot of queer firefighters on TV these days. Come join us at the OutFronts Firehouse, as your favorite queer firefighters on TV sit down with their real-life counterparts. There the group will get the chance to discuss being queer and saving lives.
Attending Talent: Ronen Rubinstein, Brian Michael Smith, Rafael Silva, Tracie Thoms.
Legendary (In-person)
Photograph by Barbara Nitke/HBO Max
LEGENDARY is groundbreaking competition series now in season 3 on HBO Max. The series has brought explosive ballroom battles into our homes and featured guest judges including Tiffany Haddish, Taraji P. Henson, and Dominique Jackson. At this special OutFronts event, LEGENDARY host and MC Dashaun Wesley will introduce some of LEGENDARY’s most iconic performers. There will be housemothers, fathers, and judges.
They will also be joined by the behind-the-scene magic-makers from Scout Productions. The group will take a talk-show-style look back at some of the most earth-shattering moments from the show’s history. They will also talk candidly about all the unfolding drama of the current season.
The full lineup of attending talent is to be announced.
High School Musical: The Musical: The Series (Virtual)
Season three of “High School Musical: The Musical: The Series” is set at Camp Shallow Lake, a family-owned sleepaway camp in California, as the Wildcats and their fellow campers are primed for an unforgettable summer ripe with romance, curfew-less nights, and a taste of the great outdoors. In advance of the series’ third season premiere, show creator Tim Federle and key cast members gather to discuss the show’s groundbreaking depiction of young gay romance. They will also talk about its first-ever gay love song and the impact this has had on a young, queer fanbase.
Featured Talent: Executive Producer Tim Federle, cast members Frankie Rodriguez, Joe Serafini, Julia Lester, Larry Saperstein, and Saylor Bell Curda, and series writer Ilana Wolpert.
Motherland: Fort Salem (Virtual)
Freeform’s addictive fantasy series, set in an alternate America where witches ended their persecution by cutting a deal with the government to fight for their country, garnered a huge queer following on the strength of its world-building, and its central queer couple. As the hugely popular series ends its run with season 3, the creator and cast gather to talk about the show’s complex emotional arc, its queerness, and its impact on its queer fans. They might also discuss a little of what’s in store for the final season.
Featured Talent: Eliot Laurence, Taylor Hickson, Ashley Nicole Williams, Jessica Sutton, Amalia Holm, Demetria McKinney. Moderated by Dana Piccoli
The 4400 (Virtual)
Ariana Jackson and Sunil Nayar’s reimagining of the sci-fi series has some of the most inventive queer storytelling in years. A group of historically marginalized people from throughout American history is suddenly transported to present-day Detroit. The show’s creators, cast, and incredibly queer writing team gather to discuss how they did it.
Featured Talent: Ariana Jackson, Sunil Nayar, Ireon Roach, T.L. Thompson, Jett Garrison, Shomari Kirkwood, Taylor Townsend, Bradley Estrin-Barks. Moderator: Shelli Nicole.
The Queer Pioneers (Virtual)
LGBTQIA+ representation on television is at an all-time high. However, many of us still remember when queer characters were little more than “very special episode” fodder. Things slowly began to change in the mid-‘90s and early 2000s when a handful of trailblazers made their mark. More than a punchline, more than a cameo, these were the first LGBTQ+ regular and/or recurring roles on TV. Often they were positioned as the token gay character on an otherwise “straight” show. In retrospect, the shows may not have always handled their storylines gracefully. Still, they made a difference to the queer audiences watching.
This retrospective Outfest panel will bring together a handful of actors who bravely stepped into these early queer roles. From across networks and genres, they will discuss their experiences, triumphs, and also challenges. They will also highlight how much the industry has changed for the better.
Featured Talent: Amber Benson (Buffy the Vampire Slayer), Wilson Cruz (My So-Called Life), Jane Sibbett (Friends). Moderated by Cameron Scheetz.
Tom Swift (Virtual)
Following the series premiere of The CW’s much-anticipated spin-off from the Nancy Drew universe, join the cast and producers of the show that features Tian Richards as the titular exceptionally brilliant inventor with unlimited resources and unimaginable wealth. The devilishly charming Tom Swift is a man who many men would kill to be, or be with. He is a man with the world in the palm of his hand. However, that world gets shaken to its core after the shocking disappearance of his father. This subsequently thrusts Tom into a breathtaking adventure full of mysterious conspiracies and unexplained phenomena.
Featured Talent: Cast members Tian Richards and Marquise Vilsón, producers Melinda Hsu Taylor, Noga Landau, and Cameron Johnson. Moderated by Ranard Caldwell.
Chucky (Virtual)
As season 2 of the horror series is being prepared, Child’s Play creator Don Mancini and the franchise’s major cast gather to talk about how Chucky’s legacy has led to one of the queerest shows on television, with relationships at once sweet, twisted, and bloody.
Featured Talent: Don Mancini, Jennifer Tilly, Brad Dourif, Fiona Dourif, Zackary Arthur, Bjorgvin Anarson. Moderated by Bryan Fuller (Creator: Hannibal, Pushing Daisies)
Harlem (Virtual)
Season one of the hit series introduced us to a close-knit friend group of women that included a queer and savvy tech entrepreneur, Tye, played perfectly by Jerrie Johnson. Johnson along with castmates Juani Feliz, Jonathan Burke, and supervising producer Travon Free, gather to discuss storylines in Harlem S1. This is also an unmissable moment.
Featured talent: Jerrie Johnson, Juani Feliz, Jonathan Burke, Travon Free (Season 1 Supervising Producer), moderated by Tre’vell Anderson.
Yellowjackets (Virtual)
Showtime’s unmissable smash hit traveled back and forth in time from the 1990s to the present day, to observe the Yellowjackets, a high school girls’ soccer team whose plane to the state championships crashed in the wilderness. The story of what they did to survive, and the consequences reverberating into the survivors’ present-day lives, formed into TV’s most electrifying thriller — it was also incredibly queer, too! The cast members who play the series’ indelible queer characters and one of the writers responsible for their arcs gather to talk about how queerness permeates the series. They will also discuss just what might be going on in Taissa’s basement!
Featured Talent: Tawny Cypress, Liv Hewson, Rukiya Bernard, writer, and Co-EP Ameni Rozsa. Moderator Michael Cuby.
RuPaul’s Drag Race (Virtual)
Dino-Ray Ramos is in conversation with two of the top five queens from “RuPaul’s Drag Race” Season 14, Angeria Paris VanMicheals and also Bosco. They will open up about their drag journeys on the series and what it was like being in the top 5 at the Las Vegas finale. They will also dish on their drag influences and inspirations, and their unique styles that they brought to RuPaul’s Drag Race cast.
The Wilds Season 2 (Virtual)
Last year’s OutFronts panel on The Wilds nearly broke the internet…so of course, we want more! Stars — and the series’ central queer characters that we lovingly ship as SHONI — Mia Healey and Erana James return, also joined by new cast member Miles Guitierrez-Riley, to talk the new directions of season two.
Our teenage girls are still stranded on a deserted island as part of a diabolical experiment. This season also ups the drama and keeps you guessing, with the introduction of more test subjects—another island of teenage boys—who must also fight for survival under the watchful eye of the experiment’s puppet master.
Featured Talent: Mia Healey, Erana James, Miles Guitierrez-Riley. Moderated by Dana Piccoli.
