10 Pride TV Picks, Jensen Ackles' New Series and My Coming Out (June Recap)

Also, so much love for 'The Diplomat,' Thai Netflix's 'Mad Unicorn' and classic LGBTQ+ 'Longtime Companion'

Pride month comes along every June as a reminder for the LGBTQ+ community to be out and proud but also to remember our past and honor those who came before us. As the community is being hit hard from all angles these days, it’s more important than ever to come together and continue to fight for our rights and to, simply, be ourselves. Here are some of the posts I did this month honoring Pride and beyond. Thanks for reading and if you aren’t a subscriber yet, please hit the button below (free or paid options).

As promised with last month’s post on how my early reading helped turn me into a writer at a young age, I wanted to continue that story about my coming out. Being a confused little kid in South Bend, Indiana didn’t make it easy but I don’t think I’d change anything since the pieces of my journey has brought me to where I am today. Plus, I was able to revisit so many of the 1980s TV hunks (Gregory Harrison! David Cassidy!) and some of the TV that became a safe place for me to feel less alone.

Besides TV being such a huge impact on me in the past and present, LGBTQ+ films have always been a haven to not just be entertained but also learn about important parts of history like the 1980s when the AIDS epidemic came into existence and impacted the community in a huge way. The 1989 film Longtime Companion is an excellent example of how that epidemic impacted a group of friends as the film starts in 1981 and goes through 1989. Here’s my look back on this fabulous film and my wish it was easier to find!

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I’ve talked to Jensen Ackles for years since the long running series Supernatural was a fan favorite and during my tenure at TV Guide Magazine, we’d always shoot the show’s covers during San Diego Comic Con. Supernatural has been done for five years and though he’s taking roles on other shows (The Boys, Big Sky) his new TV project on Amazon’s Prime Video has him front and center.

(l-r) Uli Latukefu, Jensen Ackles, Elliot Knight and Jessica Camacho in Countdown (Prime Video’s Elizabeth Morris)

His latest is Countdown on Amazon’s Prime Video. I had a good chat with Jensen for GoldDerby (including some video that you may find on social media) about the new role here. Then, for the Los Angeles Times, I chatted with Countdown showrunner Derek Haas (with a few quotes from Jensen and his co-star Jessica Camacho) to find out about making LA a major character in the show so you can read that story here.

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As I get more immersed in media in the APAC (Asia Pacific) Region, I found a terrific Netflix series, Mad Unicorn, that was not only shot in Thailand but is a full-on Thai production. I had the privilege to see episodes early but was also invited to the Bangkok premiere event where I was able to sit down and interview the director and writer for the 7-episode limited series. The good news? This show, whether you watch dubbed or with subtitles, is accessible to viewers all over the world, which is part of the point. Read the Variety piece on Mad Unicorn here.

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The Diplomat Rules: I’ve been a faithful watcher of the Debora Cahn political drama starring Keri Russell and some of the best actors working on TV now. So I was thrilled to talk with some of the cast for GoldDerby.com. First, Allison Janney adds another memorable role to her resume as Vice President Grace Penn. She’s only in the last two episodes of series’ second season but, after seeing that big finale reveal, she’ll definitely be a big part of season three. Read that interview here.

Allison Janney as Grace Penn in The Diplomat. (Netflix)

Always at the ready for U.S. diplomat Grace Wyler (Russell) is her deputy chief of mission Stuart Heyford (Ato Essandoh) who, besides the daily stress of the job, endured recovery from a bomb explosion, getting honeypotted by his ex and then being left out of the loop with a lot of went down in the show. I had a blast talking with Essandoh about it all so check out our chat here.

Ali Ahn and Ato Essandoh in The Diplomat (Netflix)

Finally, David Gyasi brings such poise and dignity to the role of UK Foreign Secretary Austin Dennison so it was interesting to talk to him about how Dennison doesn’t cross any moral lines (or tries not to) given the crazy world that show creator Debora Cahn has created. Read our chat here:

David Gyasi and Keri Russell in The Diplomat (Netflix)

I’ve been talking to Jensen Ackles for a long time since Supernatural was one of those shows that shot in Vancouver, Canada so I was one of many journalists who made an annual trek up there to press for the demon hunter show as well as all the others shooting up there (Arrow, The Flash, iZombie, Once Upon A Time among them). And once I was working at TV Guide Magazine, we’d do our annual cover shoot on the final day of San Diego Comic Con after the Supernatural panel. Jensen and his co-stars Jared Padalecki, Misha Collins and Alex Calvert were always so genuine and fun to hang out with during those shoots. So, Ackles taking on a new role in Prime Video’s Countdown had me talking to him for GoldDerby and, along with creator Derek Haas and co-star Jessica Camacho, for the Los Angeles Times. The show is an adrenaline crime drama with good guys chasing bad guys but Haas instilled more depth than I was expecting in the episodes I was able to preview. Countdown is airing now on Prime Video.

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Now….let us pray because the fifth season of The Chosen has arrived:

Speaking of The Chosen and The Last Supper, for Variety I talked to both creator Dallas Jenkins and production designer James Cunningham about how that historic meal was used in the show and the building of the actual table (and why it’s U-shaped). Read the story here.

Then, following the last three episodes of the fifth season dropping this past Sunday, I talked to Jenkins some more about what we see in the finale and also got a preview of the crucifixion, which we will see in Season 6 of The Chosen. Spoiler alert on this one - do not watch until you’ve watched through episode 8. Read the story here.

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