Apple TV+ Cornered the Market on Lesbians in Sci-Fi

Or, otherworldy gay shows

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Apple TV+ is unique within the streaming landscape. Like Amazon Prime Video, they have another stream of revenue apart from video subscribers. Unlike Amazon, they have the smallest subscriber base out of all the big streamers. And yet, despite a relatively small subscriber base, their show Ted Lasso was the number one most-streamed original series in 2023. But what else does Apple TV+ spend their billions on? Science fiction. 

Those who actually subscribe to the service might be aware that Apple TV+ has built up an impressive catalog of sci-fi television over the last few years, part of a larger trend that some are calling a new golden age of science fiction. These shows have ambitious visions, hefty budgets, and dazzling visuals, though whether they have enough eyeballs on them to be profitable is another question entirely. For our purposes, there’s one more element of Apple TV+’s sci-fi lineup that deserves recognition: the lesbians. 

To be sure, science fiction is not the only genre on Apple TV+ to include queer women.¹ Season 3 of Ted Lasso featured a lesbian storyline, which would have been exciting if the season wasn’t such a major letdown. The Morning Show depicts a lesbian relationship, but one of its actresses has proven herself to be undeserving of our adoration. One of the titular sisters in Sharon Horgan’s Bad Sisters is a lesbian. (I have nothing negative to say about Bad Sisters – Sharon Horgan is a genius.)

But it’s in science fiction – a genre that often explores the theme of otherness but hasn’t included as many queer characters as it should – that Apple TV+’s cadre of lesbians and queer women really shine. The first of these series is For All Mankind, an incredibly ambitious, time-jumping show about the space race. It begins in 1969 in a world that looks a lot like ours apart from one huge difference: the Soviets beat the United States to the moon. This one event has a ripple effect that changes the course of history for decades to come. In an unprecedented move, each season takes place in a new decade as we follow the characters and track the consequences of their actions years down the line. The most recent season, Season 4, takes us to the early 2000s. 

Initially, For All Mankind seems like another show about men in space. Ed Baldwin (Joel Kinnaman) – an all-American boy with a wife and kid at home – is our entry point into this world. But as the show goes on, it’s the women who start taking center stage. The show’s cast of women is quite diverse, each with different goals and perspectives. Our lesbian heroine is Ellen Wilson, played by queer actor Jodi Balfour. Ellen is a reserved but determined young astronaut who goes on to do incredible things with her life. (I won’t spoil the specifics.) She also has a decades-long love affair with Pam (Meghan Leathers), a kindhearted bartender/poet. 

Ellen being gay in space.

Though the series tracks universe-shifting events and poses big questions about the nature of humanity, the focus remains on the interior lives of these characters. Okay, so the astronauts landed on Mars. But how does that change this one character’s relationship with their kid or the love of their life? Ellen is one such character, drawn with nuance and portrayed wonderfully by Balfour. Through Ellen, the show explores both the emotional cost of the closet and how queerness endures within stagnant government systems. 

Invasion, which concluded its second season last year, is a high-concept sci-fi series that, like For All Mankind, is driven by its characters. The series imagines what would happen to our world in the face of an alien invasion. Would people come together? Tear each other apart? How would the military respond differently than everyday citizens? Is humanity even worth fighting for? These questions are answered by a group of characters spread out across the world. Though they don’t know it, each character has an important and interconnected role to play in the fight against the alien invaders. 

One of these characters is Mitsuki Yamato (Shioli Kutsuna), a communications specialist and cryptologist who works for Japan’s space agency. At the start of the series, we learn that Mitsuki is in a secret relationship with one of Japan’s top astronauts, Hinata (Rinko Kikuchi). Hinata’s space shuttle is hit in the first wave of the alien attacks, prompting Mitsuki to go on an unauthorized mission to discover what really happened. 

In Season 2, Mitsuki is recruited by a group of scientists studying the aliens and their ship. She meets Maya Castillo (Naian González Norvind), a cognitive scientist tasked with keeping her sane. Mitsuki and Maya have an obvious connection, but Mitsuki can’t let go of what happened to Hinata, and the aliens torment her with Hinata’s memory. 

Maya trying to keep Mitsuki alive as she battles the aliens with her mind.

You don’t even see any aliens for the first few episodes of the show, so if you’re looking for all action, all the time, you’ll be disappointed. But if you’re in the market for otherworldy lesbian angst, here’s your ticket. Season 3 just started production, which means Apple is ready to invest another $200 million in this globe-trotting alien story. 

Monarch: Legacy of Monsters is by far the silliest show of the group, which makes sense considering its subject matter. A continuation of the MonsterVerse series, which began with the 2014 film Godzilla, the show looks at the origin of Monarch, the shadowy corporation featured in the films. The 1950s timeline follows Keiko (Mari Yamamoto), a Japanese scientist studying Godzilla and other monsters alongside two American men. The 2015 timeline takes place one year after a massive Godzilla attack and follows two half-siblings, Cate (Anna Sawai) and Kentaro (Ren Watabe), who are Keiko’s grandchildren. They’re joined by May (Kiersey Clemons), a mysterious hacker friend, and Lee Shaw (the great Kurt Russell), who founded Monarch alongside Keiko. (Shaw is played by Russell’s real-life son in the ‘50s timeline.)

Queer viewers of the show immediately picked up on something fruity between Cate and May, and in Episode 5, it’s revealed that Cate is a lesbian and had a girlfriend prior to G-Day (the Godzilla attack on San Fransisco). Cate, May, and Kentaro race across the world looking for the siblings’ father and trying to work out the mystery that is their family legacy. Cate and May, who have just met, become extremely close under these circumstances, though the precise nature of their relationship remains mostly unspoken. 

They two may never talk about their feelings but they are literally obsessed with hugging each other.

Fair warning: the writing on this show is quite goofy and occasionally nonsensical, but it’s a lot of fun if you can get past some absurdity. Cate and May gained a sapphic following right away, which isn’t surprising being that they’re two beautiful women falling for each other while running away from monsters. Unlike the previous MonsterVerse films, which were pure summer blockbusters, there is more of a focus on characters than monsters in Monarch. This could be a positive or a negative depending on what you’re looking for. Season 2 has yet to be announced, but if the writers know what’s good for them, they’ll ratchet up the gay level. 

Lesbian and queer viewers may not have enough power to make a show a hit all on their own (at least not since The L Word aired), but putting lesbians in your show is one way to guarantee a dedicated fan base. In that regard, Apple TV+ has found a winning formula.² Putting queer women in space or up against aliens and monsters is an obvious choice – it’s a shame the other streamers haven’t figured that out yet. 

1. Apple TV+’s Foundation (with Lee Pace!) has gay men in it.

2. Silo is another great Apple TV+ sci-fi show I would recommend. It has a side character who is definitely a lesbian and Rebecca Ferguson being a badass.