What better way to celebrate Pride Month than with a hilarious history lesson on how queer people have shaped the world? Per a press release provided to The Root, Discovery+ is set to premiere variety show The Book of Queer on Thursday, June 2. Dominique Jackson (Pose) and Alex Newell (Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist) join actor/singer Leslie Jordan (Will & Grace), host/comedian Ross Mathews (RuPaul’s Drag Race), and comedian/actress Margaret Cho (The Flight Attendant) as narrators.
“To celebrate the LGBTQ+ community, we are setting the historical record straight and introducing The Book of Queer right at the top of Pride Month. We couldn’t be any more excited to have Margaret Cho, Leslie Jordan, Dominique Jackson, Alex Newell, Ross Matthews as well as an impressive and talented group of historians, actors and musicians spilling the tea alongside us,” Howard Lee, president of TLC Streaming and Network Originals, said in a statement.
The five-episode series features fun reenactments about notable queer personalities and their impact on history. Contributors adding context to the stories include journalist LZ Granderson (ABC News/ESPN), author Blair Imani and Jenn Jackson, assistant professor at Syracuse University in the Department of Political Science.
With homophobic “Don’t Say Gay” laws sweeping the country, it’s never been more important to celebrate the LGBTQ+ community. As fun as this show is, it’s ridiculous that it’s necessary to remind the world how essential queer people are to history. And all the politicians behind those bills need to know that you can’t wish a community out of existence. Pretending it didn’t happen doesn’t actually work.
Among the famous Black figures celebrated in the show are civil rights leader Bayard Rustin, blues legend Ma Rainey, Stonewall activist Marsha P. Johnson, singer Josephine Baker and former MLB player Glenn Burke. Considering there are five episodes, it would be a nice if there were a couple more personalities included, but at the same time it’s good to see Black queer people getting the recognition they’ve long deserved during Pride Month.
The Book of Queer premieres Thursday, June 2 on Discovery+.