The top 25 gay-coded, beefcake-heavy shows of the decade

I grew up in a working-class, Evangelical household where tv was the only permitted form of entertainment, so it was on all the time. I still watch an hour or two almost every day, mostly to check for gay texts or subtexts. That's a lot of tv programs. Most fade into oblivion, but some are memorable due to their intriguing premises, interesting settings, gay subtexts, or beefcake -- or all four. These are the top 25 gay-coded, beefcake-heavy shows of the last decade, premiering 2016 to 2025.

2016

The Crown. The life of Queen Elizabeth, with the glamour, glitz, and soap opera shenanigans of the royal family. No gay characters, but future Doctor Who Matt Smith plays Prince Philip.

Kim's Convenience. Korean-Canadian family in Toronto, with no gay characters after the first episode, but a lot of buddy-bonding and beefcake.

2017

Big Mouth. Middle schoolers negotiate puberty, with the help of individually-assigned hormone monsters and other supernatural beings. The gay guy eventually gets his own plotlines, coming out to his parents, dating the bi guy, and learning about sexting.

Britannia. Romans vs. Celts in 43 AD, with creepy Druids, some possible paranormal, muscular soldiers, and some gay subtexts.

2018

Disenchantment: A parody of Medieval fantasy. Disappointing in the first season: my review calls it "gay free." But showrunners often postpone the queer characters: they think all viewers are homophobic, and will run away screaming unless they become invested in the show before the queer characters show up. Later seasons become immensely gay-friendly.

The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina. The teen witch of Archie comics with dark comedy plotlines, a same-sex romance, and a lot of hunk. ranging from Ross Lynch as regular boyfriend Harvey to Moses Thiessen as the pizza delivery guy.

2019

The Other Two. A young teen achieves sudden fame, which disconcerts the Other Two, his sister and brother (who is gay). By the third season, they've all become successful, but there are still a lot of gay-romance plotlines and bare butts.

What We Do in the Shadows: Vampire roommates on Staten Island have more and more overtly gay plotlines as the series progresses. With out actor Harvey Guillén as their increasingly out assistant.

The Righteous Gemstones. An absurdly wealthy family of Southern televangelists negotiate threats. I'm not sure I should include this one since, in retrospect, it was a little annoying. Endless queer codes involving Gideon, Eli, and Pontius, with no resolution, just "crumbs." And it took forever for Kelvin and Keefe to become canon. They should have kissed at the end of Season 1.

But I spent two years arguing about, researching, and posting about the show. And I found some cute gay actors...who haven't posted on social media since the series ended, grr.

2020

Solar Opposites. Aliens crash-land on Earth, try to adjust to human life, become boyfriends and finally marry. Plus a spin-off episode with Kieran Culkin and Skyler Gisondo in a strong gay subtext human-alien romance.

Panchayat. Engineering grad Abhishek is talked into a civil service job in a remote village, where there are so many queer codes that I could swear they were deliberate. And he doesn't meet The Girl!

More after the break

Having finished School Spirits' nonsensical third season, we're running low on options for evening tv watching (my partner will only agree to watch the shows I review here if they get an A). So we're rewatching The Other Two (2019-2023), about a boy (Case Walker, left) who achieves sudden fame as a pop singer named ChaseDreams, to the dismay of his older brother and sister, struggling actor Carey (Drew Tarver) and failed dancer Brooke.

Left: Drew hooks up in the shower.

In Episode 1.10 (2019), ChaseDreams performs at MTV Video Music Awards. Outside, girl fans scream from behind a barricade -- wait, there's one boy, holding up a poster from Chase's song "My Brother's Gay, and That's Ok." He tries to get the attention of the gay brother, but Carey is too upset over his own crisis to notice.

A gay fan? Tell me more.

The cast list identifies him as a Superfan, played by 14-year old Elliott Fullam.

As of this writing, Elliott is 21. Was this an unusual guest spot, or does he play a lot of gay characters?

Time to do some research.

Elliott grew up in Budd Lake, New Jersey, a resort town about an hour's drive from Manhattan. His father, Justin, is an artist and punk rocker who runs the Little Punk People podcast along with his wife Diane.

Elliott began assisting at age nine, and soon was conducting interviews of his own, with punk celebrities Norman Reedus (The Walking Dead), Gaten Matarazzo (Stranger Things), Jay Mews (from Jay and Silent Bob), and Scott Ian of the band Anthrax. He drew 300,000 subscribers to the website.

This led him to some commercials, and a role in Instinct (2018). The title is a misdirection; it's about a crime novelist (Alan Cummings) who solves crimes. Elliott played the young version.

In Terrifier 2 (2022): Art the Evil Clown, killed at the end of the original, is resurrected and invades a Halloween party, to slice up some teenagers. Elliott plays the focus girl's little brother Jonathan, an Art the Clown superfan.

Art is resurrected again in Terrifier 3 (2024), and sets about harassing Jonathan, now a college student (no girlfriend: he might be gay). This time the hapless superfan is beheaded. Mason Mecartea (left), playing Jonathan's dorm mate, show his chest and butt while being eviscerated with a chainsaw.

More after the break. Caution: Explicit.

Luke Blumm: Femme boy survives the Nazis, a cult, and Maine, but not a homophobic Mom. With his twink physique and some co-star cocks

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Gemstones Episode 4.3: Keefe does stuff with the Devil, Vance is homophobic, and Kelvin is doomed. With a stunt cock and a nude Hamlet