Prime Video announced that the comedy series Clean Slate will debut all eight episodes on Thursday, Feb. 6, 2025, according to a press release. Starring four-time Emmy®-nominated actress Laverne Cox and legendary comedian George Wallace, the series Harry (Wallace), an old-school car wash owner in Alabama who has a lot of soul searching to do when the child he thought was a son returns after 17 years as a proud trans woman, Desiree (Cox). The show aims to universal themes of unconditional love. Cox, Wallace and Dan Ewen are the series’ creators and executive producers.
Out ran an article on the 10 best queer performances of 2024. Some of them included Jonathan Bailey and Cynthia Erivo in Wicked; Karla Sofía Gascón in the Netflix film Emilia Pérez; Justice Smith in I Saw the TV Glow; Julio Torres in Problemista; and (the top pick) Colman Domingo in Sing Sing. The article stated that “Sing Sing is a triumph of the human spirit buoyed by Domingo’s soaring heart” and that “Domingo is poised to get his second Oscar nomination.” He received his first nod last year for portraying the title civil-rights figure in Rustin.
On Dec. 18, gay NBA executive Rick Welts was introduced as the next CEO of the Dallas Mavericks, Gay City News noted. The development provides Welts (who has been with the Phoenix Suns and Golden State Warriors) yet another opportunity to lead an NBA franchise more than a decade after he came out as the league’s first out gay executive in 2011. The Mavericks are navigating a recent ownership change that occurred earlier this year, when now-former owner Mark Cuban sold his majority stake to the Adelson-Dumont group.
Out Australian actress/model Ruby Rose is mourning the passing of her father, Just Jared noted. Rose (Batwoman; Orange Is the New Black) posted on Instagram Stories, ““RIP Dad. You leave me. Alone. With so many complex emotions.” In a subsequent post, Rose provided details: “I am glad we reconnected a few years ago, not because you had changed all that much, not because it brought me all that much joy. It’s actually been very hard. You know that. You were very hard. I cut you off twice in that time lol. Once for a year. But our last emails were right before you died. Mine was a kind email and I’m glad.” Rose also revealed that her father Rose endured a chaotic childhood and suffered abuse while at St. Augustine’s Boys’ Orphanage and other boys’ homes across Melbourne, per The Daily Mail. She also criticized former Christian Brother William Houston, who is currently in jail after he was found guilty of sexually assaulting two boys at St. Augustine’s.
Netflix has ordered a second season of The Boyfriend, which is famously Japan’s very first same-sex reality show, per The Hollywood Reporter. The first season, which debuted July 9, won over viewers and critics both globally and in Japan, landing on Netflix’s weekly top-10 list of most-watched series for six consecutive weeks. The first season featured nine gay or bisexual men living together in a luxury house called “The Green Room.” There were no alliances or eliminations; the show’s goal was to simply have the participants find friendship—or love.
Kristin Chenoweth—who played Glinda in the original version of Wicked on Broadway—defended the new movie after the One Million Moms group called for a boycott of the film over its gay storylines, The Independent noted. The conservative group is asking parents to pledge to not see Jon M Chu’s mega-hit movie musical due to it “pushing the LGBTQ agenda on families, particularly children.” However, Chenoweth wrote on Instagram, “Everyone knows the ‘One Million Moms’ are a mere few hundred. Maybe. It’s called entertainment. Artistry. I am a Christian woman [who] originated the role of Glinda and all the silliness that these women spew [is] out of hate. No no no. I can’t help it: I try to love em anyways. For they don’t get it. For anyone who wants to see girl power, then go so WICKED—onstage or in a movie [theater].”
Aziza Barnes—a TV writer and poet known for their work on Snowfall and Teenage Bounty Hunter—died at age 32 by suicide, Deadline noted. “With heavy hearts, we regret to inform you of the passing of an undeniable and beloved artist, child, sibling, and friend Aziza ‘Z’ Barnes,” the family said in a statement. “Z has touched and inspired countless individuals both in their community and industry and will be deeply missed and endlessly loved by all who were fortunate to have experienced their presence and work.” Barnes (the winner of the 2020 Antonyo Award for Best Play, according to Harvard University’s Office of the Arts) discussed their queerness with publications like The Adroit Journal. Barnes also wrote an adaptation of Ibi Zoboi’s Pride (a Haitian-Dominican update to Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice) for HBO, Deadline noted.
Former Olympic track-and-field champion Marion Jones (who had to return her medals having being implicated in a doping investigation and check-counterfeiting scheme) recently reflected on various issues—including coming out, per Queerty. “I’m not gonna allow anybody to create my own narrative anymore. My story is my story,” Jones said. “For many years, I allowed my story to be rewritten and told for me. I’m not down with that anymore.” In July, Jones wished partner Adele happy birthday on Instagram, revealing her identity for the first time. Jones also said that she includes a message with each of her Instagram fitness videos because “I enjoy inspiring people with my journey. It’s not realistic that it’s always going to be pleasant.”
Actor Emma Dumont has adopted a new name in their personal life while keeping the name Emma for their professional one, coming out as “a transmasculine nonbinary person,” per Yahoo!, citing The Times. Best known for playing J. Robert Oppenheimer’s sister-in-law Jackie in Christopher Nolan’s 2024 film Oppenheimer, the star of the superhero series The Gifted shared the update on their Instagram account, listing amended pronouns “they/them” and a new name, Nick, in their bio. Fans have left supportive responses to Dumont’s Instagram post, with one commenter wishing the actor a “happy coming out.”
“Automatic”—a single involving a collaboration between out saxophonist Dave Koz and jazz guitarist Adam Hawley—claimed the No. 1 spot on Billboard’s Smooth Jazz Airplay chart after a quick 10-week climb to the top, a press release noted. The track is Koz’s 11th chart-topper while Hawley has several of his own. The Dave Koz & Friends Christmas Tour 2024 (which features Koz and Hawley, among others) concluded Dec. 23 in Modesto, California’s Gallo Center For The Arts.
The movie Sabbath Queen—a film 21 years in the making—is available to view On Demand, per a press release. Sabbath Queen, according to press notes, follows Amichai Lau-Lavie’s journey from radical drag queen (aka Rebbetzin Hadassah Gross) to influential rabbi of a God-optional, artist-driven New York synagogue. A description adds, “As the years pass, Lau-Lavie embraces a range of creative spiritual endeavors, including Storahtelling and Lab/Shul—until he shocks everyone with his decision to become a rabbi himself, studying in the Conservative tradition of Judaism. Sabbath Queen is witness to Lau-Lavie’s unfailing courage and grace, as he grapples with key questions of who we are and who we will be.”
Netflix will release Beyoncé’s recent NFL halftime show as its own special, The Wrap noted. The announcement didn’t come with a precise date of when the special would drop; however, the singer herself mysteriously teased the date of Jan. 14, 2025 during the performance. During the halftime show, the Grammy winner performed multiple songs from the album Cowboy Carter—and it was the first time they had been performed live. Among the songs performed were “16 Carriages,” “Blackbiird” and “Texas Hold ‘Em.” During “Texas,” Beyoncé’s oldest daughter, Blue Ivy, joined her on the field to do some line dancing; Shaboozey and Post Malone also appeared with Beyoncé during the show.
Ridley Scott’s Gladiator II—currently up for two Golden Globes—is now available on digital, per Deadline. Those who purchase the film on digital or 4K Ultra HD will have access to over 100 minutes of behind-the-scenes footage and interviews which canvas the exotic filming locations in Malta and Morocco. The sequel (starring Paul Mescal, Denzel Washington and Pedro Pascal) will also be available on digital as part of a two-movie collection with the original Gladiator and will arrive on 4K Ultra HD, in a 4K Ultra HD SteelBook, and on DVD on March 4, 2025.
NBC ran a piece that centered (partly) on why out country singer Orville Peck wears masks in public. Although the star once joked that he “just woke up one day and it was on my face,” Peck prefers to keep the story behind his face covering as a mystery. “The only reason I don’t talk about it in depth is not because I want to dodge any questions, but because I want people to have their own take on it,” he explained to GQ in 2020. “I don’t want to lay it out and pin it down. I just don’t think that’s important.” However, he told Rolling Stone earlier this year, “I’m revealing a little more and more each time. Not to get too deep about it, but it’s sort of a parallel with my songwriting and with just who I want to be as an artist and a person—which is to always be more vulnerable and reveal a bit more of myself through my music.”
Actor Jon Ebeling has accused Brian Jordan Alvarez of sexual assault and sexual harassment during the time the actors worked together on the 2016 web series The Gay and Wondrous Life of Caleb Gallo, Out noted. (Vulture originally reported the story.) Ebeling is claiming that Alvarez—currently starring in the FX comedy series English Teacher—performed oral sex on him without his consent while filming a sex scene for Caleb Gallo. Alvarez, through his spokesperson, has denied the allegations, saying his “interactions with Jon Ebeling were always entirely consensual—as numerous witnesses have attested.” The incident is reported to have taken place almost nine years ago, on Jan. 11, 2016; the California statute of limitations for adult victims of sexual assault is 10 years.
The 2024 revival of Gypsy, starring six-time Tony winner Audra McDonald, canceled its Dec. 23 evening performance at Broadway’s Majestic Theatre, Playbill noted. On social media, this notice was posted: “Due to multiple illnesses within the company, tonight’s performance is cancelled. Now that the production has opened, we are very quickly getting all our understudies up to speed. We apologize for the inconvenience.” McDonald had forewarned fans that illness was “racing through the Broadway community right now.” The Christmas Day production was also canceled for the same reason, according to Broadway World.
After making the Oscar shortlist of 15 finalists for Music (Original Song) at this year’s 97th Annual Academy Awards, the Motion Picture Academy disqualified the shortlisted song “Forbidden Road” from the Robbie Williams biopic Better Man, according to Deadline. According to reports, the song features some material from a previous song not written for Better Man. (There will be no substitution.) The song—written by Williams, Freddy Wexler and Sacha Skarbek—was recently nominated as Best Original Song: Motion Picture at the Golden Globes.
Chappell Roan playfully apologized after criticizing a past holiday-themed episode of Glee, according to Billboard. “This is the worst episode of Glee I’ve ever seen,” Roan said, holding back a laugh while the musical comedy’s season-three episode “Extraordinary Merry Christmas” played in the background. “I’m turning it off. I hate it,” she added, hitting pause on the remote. “Next.” In a subsequent video, she jokingly apologized to Glee fans while someone off-camera pointed a pair of scissors at her. Roan ended 2024 at No. 1 on Billboard‘s Top New Artists chart, marking a year of breakout success on both the Billboard 200 albums chart (with The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess) and the Billboard Hot 100 songs chart.
In celebration of its 40th anniversary, Re-Animator returns and, for the first time ever, it’s in a 4K UHD restoration approved by producer Brian Yuzna, a press release noted. Pre-orders were also launched on the Ignite Films website, where it will be exclusively available for the entire 40th anniversary year, until 2026. The cult film—which stars Jeffrey Combs, Barbara Crampton and Bruce Abbott—follows Herbert West, a brilliant yet unhinged medical student who creates a serum that reanimates the dead with horrifying consequences. The Ultimate Limited Edition Box Set includes a 4K UHD/Blu-ray combo; newly produced bonus features and legacy bonus features; a 150-page hardcover book featuring interviews with Combs, Crampton and others; and a limited-edition Dr. Hill Collector’s Bobblehead.
And there’s now even more fallout from the film It Ends With Us, as star Blake Lively has criticized director/co-star Justin Baldoni; his production company, Wayfarer Studios; and others on the domestic violence film for sexually harassing her and subsequently enacting “a coordinated effort to destroy her reputation,” per Deadline. Also, according to the complaint, Baldoni was urged to no longer make any mentions of “cast and crew’s genitalia” or inquire about Lively’s “weight” or her “dead father,” and there were requests to not add more sex scenes, oral sex or climaxing on camera “outside the scope” of the pre-approved script, Page Six noted. Baldoni, through his lawyer Bryan Freedman, calls the allegations “completely false, outrageous and intentionally salacious with an intent to publicly hurt and rehash a narrative in the media.” Later, Baldoni was dropped by his talent agency, WWE, and one of his former publicists has sued him as well. Also, one of his Man Enough podcast’s co-hosts, Liz Plank, has left the platform, EW noted.