As our time at the cottage comes to a close I feel like I’ve seen a ton of people online wondering what to watch next. So if your first ever gay show was Heated Rivalry and now you’re undoubtedly hooked and looking for what’s next, I got you. First just know that you’re likely not alone so I’m going to use this space to create a list of shows that I consider the best of the best when it comes to watching gay media.
Will continue to update this list over time as hopefully more gay shows come out. I also won’t break down every show on this list with additional commentary but there are some that I will.
I don’t really think there is a better place to start than with one of the greatest to ever do it, SKAM. If you weren’t on Tumblr or other social media back in the day you likely missed one of the coolest experiences in not only gay media, but all of television.
There are two key aspects that differentiated SKAM from other media at the time. The first being that one of the more unique watching experiences with SKAM was that they would drop clips throughout the week synced in real time to the characters’ actual lives – so if a character in the show was doing something at 3pm Tuesday, you would get to see the clip at 3pm Tuesday. This added an incredible amount of depth and connection to the characters’ lives that I am not sure other shows have captured. The second being that while the original version comes out of Norway with SKAM, the show concept was sold abroad to other countries.
There are rules and requirements for adapting the show into a new market, but each new remake adds their own flavor and cultural weight to the same story. So while the overall journey is the same, the beats of that journey can and often do change.
SKAM (2015 – 2017)
Country of origin: Norway
Seasons: 4, but the third season is the gay season
Brief synopsis: A groundbreaking web series following the daily lives of teenagers at Hartvig Nissen School in Oslo. Season 3 centers on Isak, a closeted teen who falls for the mysterious new student Even, exploring themes of sexuality, mental health, and first love through real-time social media storytelling.
WTFOCK (2018 – 2023)
Country of origin: Belgium
Seasons: 4, but the third season is the gay season
Brief Synopsis: The Belgian/Flemish remake of SKAM set in Antwerp. Season 3 follows Robbe, a quiet teenager grappling with his sexuality while navigating high school, who meets the free-spirited Sander, leading to an intense emotional journey of self-discovery.
SKAM France (2018 – 2023)
Country of origin: France
Seasons: 4, but the third season is the gay season
Brief synopsis: The French adaptation of SKAM set in Paris. Season 3 follows Lucas, a reserved teen hiding his sexuality from friends and family, whose life changes when he meets the enigmatic Eliott, a transfer student with secrets of his own.
SKAM Italia (2018 – ???)
Country of origin: Italy
Seasons: 4, but the second season is the gay season
Brief synopsis: The Italian version of SKAM set in Rome. Season 2 centers on Martino, a high schooler struggling with his identity and feelings for his friend Niccolò, exploring the complexities of coming out in a traditional environment.
After SKAM and all the remake iterations, I think the next most sensible and personal favorite recommendation is to stay in Europe but this time head to Sweden and check out royalty. Young Royals is my favorite show in this genre, and the one I recommend strongest. I would note that if you check it out, make sure you watch the original subbed version, live action dubbed is awful.
Young Royals (2021 – 2024)
Country of origin: Sweden
Seasons: 3
Brief synopsis: Prince Wilhelm of Sweden is sent to the prestigious boarding school Hillerska after a public scandal. There, he falls for fellow student Simon, a scholarship kid from outside the elite world, forcing Wilhelm to choose between duty and love.
Heartstopper (2022 – 2026)
Country of origin: United Kingdom
Seasons: 3 + a movie (2026)
Brief synopsis: Based on Alice Oseman’s graphic novels, the series follows Charlie, an openly gay teenager, and Nick, a popular rugby player, as they navigate friendship, feelings, and the realization that their bond might be something more.
Puls (2020)
Country of origin: Denmark
Seasons: 2
Brief synopsis: A coming-of-age drama following Samir, a closeted Muslim teenager in Denmark who develops feelings for his openly gay classmate Bastian while balancing cultural expectations with his authentic self.
The Invisible Boys (2024)
Country of origin: Australia
Seasons: 1 (mini-series)
Brief synopsis: Set in a small Australian coastal town in the 1990s, the film follows three teenagers – Charlie, Hammer, and Zeke – as they navigate the confusing terrain of adolescence, sexuality, and friendship in a community where being different can be dangerous.
Bara Sex (2024 – ???)
Country of origin: Denmark
Seasons: 2 fully out but a 3rd in production
Brief synopsis: A Danish youth drama exploring relationships and sexuality through multiple storylines. The series features Morten, who navigates his feelings for another boy while dealing with family pressures and the challenges of teen life in Copenhagen.
My next recommendation comes with the caveat that I can only in good conscience recommend the first two seasons, as the follow up seasons are such a departure from what made this show and these characters compelling to watch.
Rykter (2021 – 2025)
Country of origin: Norway
Seasons: 4, but can only recommend the first 2
Brief synopsis: A Norwegian teen drama following Erik, who is forced to move to a small island after a violent incident in his past. As he tries to start fresh and hide what happened, he becomes entangled in the lives and relationships of the local teens. The series explores how rumors spread and impact social standing in a close-knit community.
Heartbreak High (2022 – 2026)
Country of origin: Australia
Seasons: 2 fully out with a 3rd and final in production
Brief synopsis: A Netflix reboot of the classic Australian series set at Hartley High in Sydney. The show features diverse storylines including Darren, who explores his sexuality and gender identity, and Quinni, an autistic queer student navigating first love.
Love, Victor (2020 – 2022)
Country of origin: United States
Seasons: 3
Brief synopsis: Set within the same universe as the “Love, Simon,” movie, the series follows Victor, a new student at Creekwood High School struggling with his sexual orientation. He reaches out to Simon for guidance while navigating family, friends, and his first love.
The next show is similar to SKAM as Eyewitness is a remake of an already existing single season show. This is the American remake which I think balances the characters, pacing and overall story the best but feel free to look into the other versions of this show – each brings a little something different.
Eyewitness (2016)
Country of origin: United States
Seasons: 1 (mini-series)
Brief synopsis: Two teenage boys, Philip and Lukas, secretly hook up at a remote cabin and accidentally witness a triple homicide. Desperate to keep their relationship hidden, they refuse to tell anyone what they saw, even as the killer hunts them down.
The next show sadly only ran four episodes and although the time is brief with these characters, which, I think they deserved so much more time, it’s still a worthy experience with these wonderful and interesting characters. This show has shades of the American show Euphoria.
Solo (2024)
Country of origin: Norway
Seasons: 1 (four episodes only)
Brief synopsis: Set at Spark, a school for music, dance, and drama in Lillehammer, the series follows several students including Milo and Oskar as they navigate performances, relationships, heartbreak, and self-discovery during their formative teenage years.
A quick note about Drenge / Boys, search engines seem to mistake it with the 2014 movie Boys (Jongens) which is a great movie but a different project all together.
Drenge / Boys (2022)
Country of origin: Denmark
Seasons: 1
Brief synopsis: In the idyllic Danish town of Silkeborg, a group of tight-knit choir boys live a life of debauchery outside the church; their lives are upended when one of them is found dead in a lake, and a person close to the deceased starts suspecting foul play.
Boots became my favorite new gay show of 2025 only to be untimely canceled by Netflix after the first and only season. The show works as a single season but this world, and these characters were ripe for additional seasons.
Boots (2025)
Country of origin: United States
Seasons: 1
Brief synopsis: Set in 1990 when being gay in the military was illegal, closeted teenager Cameron Cope impulsively joins the U.S. Marine Corps with his best friend Ray. As they endure boot camp’s brutal training, Cameron navigates masculinity, brotherhood, and keeping his identity hidden.
De Klas van 2000 (2025)
Country of origin: Belgium
Seasons: 1
Brief synopsis: When Seb has to tell his teenage daughter Emma that he and her mother are separating, he decides to immediately come clean about a secret he has been carrying around for years: he is attracted to men. We see this story unfold through flashbacks to his own youth.
Elite (2018 – 2024)
Country of origin: Spain
Seasons: 8 seasons
Brief synopsis: When three working-class students receive scholarships to the exclusive Las Encinas prep school after their public school collapses, they clash with wealthy classmates in a pressure cooker of class tensions, romantic entanglements, and deadly secrets. The series features multiple prominent LGBTQ+ storylines, including Omar (a closeted Muslim teen who sells drugs to afford independence from his conservative family) and Ander (the school principal’s son and tennis star), whose relationship navigates coming out, family acceptance, and later a complicated dynamic with newcomer Patrick in later seasons.
Prisma (2022 – 2024)
Country of origin: Italy
Seasons: 2 (canceled before finished)
Brief synopsis: From the creators of SKAM Italia, this coming-of-age drama follows identical twin brothers Andrea and Marco – physically identical but living completely different lives – and their group of friends in the coastal town of Latina. Andrea explores their gender identity while dealing drugs; Marco battles depression while swimming competitively. The series examines gender fluidity, sexuality, self-perception, and the messy process of figuring out who you are. Both seasons are out, though the show was sadly cancelled after season two, the two seasons are worth watching despite an unsatisfying ending.
Oro Jaska (2024)
Seasons: 1 (mini-series)
Country of origin: Norway (Sámi language)
Brief synopsis: Set in Kárášjohka, a small Sámi community in northern Norway, the series follows two teenagers whose lives collide after a party. Elli Anne wakes up with bruises and fragmented memories, suspecting she was raped. Meanwhile, Issát, a snowmobile racer with dreams of going pro in the US, faces accusations while hiding his sexuality. As rumors spread through the tight-knit village, both must decide whether they dare to tell the truth.
Blur (2024 – ???)
Country of origin: Belgium
Seasons: 1
Brief synopsis: Tells the story of a close group of friends formed during high school. But what happens after their graduation? As their lives change, so do they, and so do the dynamics between them. Will they let go of old friendships or stick together.
Shameless (2011 – 2021)
Country of origin: United States
Seasons: 11
Brief synopsis: A comedy-drama following the dysfunctional Gallagher family on the South Side of Chicago as they navigate poverty, addiction, and chaos while fiercely looking out for each other.
Note: While the series as a whole isn’t LGBTQ+-focused, one of the main characters, Ian Gallagher, has a significant queer storyline that runs throughout the series and became a fan-favorite arc.
Interview with the Vampire (2022 – ???)
Country of origin: United States
Seasons: 2 (Season 3 coming in 2026)
Brief synopsis: A lavish reimagining of Anne Rice’s gothic novel, following the epic story of the vampire Louis de Pointe du Lac as he recounts his life to journalist Daniel Molloy. The series chronicles Louis’s transformation, his intense and tumultuous relationship with the vampire Lestat de Lioncourt, and their complicated journey through their decades together.
GAYDUCATION 