“The Last of Us” (Season 1, HBO)
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How it’s queer: “The Last of Us” Episode 3, titled “Long, Long Time,” was a headline-making tearjerker that saw Nick Offerman and “White Lotus” Season 1 star Murray Bartlett playing survivalist farmers living as close to an idyllic life as they could muster in a world overrun by zombies — before tragedy inevitably strikes the dreamy couple’s protected compound. But the whole show is queer with nonbinary lead Bella Ramsey playing lesbian hero Ellie opposite Storm Reid as love interest Riley in Episode 7, “Left Behind.”
Why it’s exceptional: In a sci-fi world overwrought with suffering, “The Last of Us” is believably emotional without playing too much into queer cliche. HBO’s new hit makes LGBTQ characters an intrinsic part of its fabric throughout. But its most memorable episodes focus in on their homo-romances, giving us some classic horror beats through a lens that’s radically more inclusive. —AF
Read IndieWire’s Review of “The Last of Us” Season 1: “One of the best things a show can do is break the illusion that everything is a foregone conclusion. Sometimes you’re fortunate enough to enjoy storytelling that makes each choice feel like just one of a wave of possibilities. Watching Episode 3 of ‘The Last of Us’ for a second time, it’s hard not to be struck by that first meeting of Bill (Nick Offerman) and Frank (Murray Bartlett), when one single decision sets the events of the next 16 years in motion. After Frank falls in a makeshift trap Bill set up to snag would-be invaders, the gruff libertarian and self-described ‘survivalist’ decides to let in his first houseguest since at least the end of the world. That split-second choice turns out to be the thing that changes both of their lives.” —Steve Greene