The Rainbow Age of Television: An Opinionated History of Queer TV
The ultimate deep dive into the revolution of queer TV
With the last decade's television boom across a multitude of platforms, producing hundreds of network and streaming series, American audiences are being treated to a cascade of shows that some have trumpeted as a second Golden Age. But something completely new is stirring, too--the Rainbow Age. For the first time in the history of American television, we have shows in which LGBTQIA+ characters have evolved from being an anomaly to being an almost given and celebrated presence on the small screen. But what more can queer TV do? Is each new queer character really breaking ground? And has the curse of the fictional dead lesbian finally been defeated?
The Rainbow Age of Television tackles these questions and more as author Shayna Maci Warner tracks the history and evolution of LGBTQIA+ icons across the televised ages and into the future of streaming--from the very first televised queer kiss (we think) to the shows that are making household names and heroes of queer characters today. Warner uses original interviews with queer TV icons such as Lilly Wachowski and Stephanie Beatriz along with detailed history to investigate the constraints under which queer people have been allowed to exist on American television. Surveying seventy-plus years of broadcasts, The Rainbow Age of Television explores why queer people are so invested in--and conflicted by--the kinds of storytelling that TV has to offer. Above all, it's a celebration of the LGBTQIA+ shows, their characters, and their creators that define this new age in television.
Author: Shayna Maci Warner
Publisher: Harry N. Abrams
Published: 08/27/2024
Pages: 304
Binding Type: Hardcover
Weight: 1.07lbs
Size: 9.21h x 6.34w x 1.09d
ISBN: 9781419762574
Review Citation(s):
Publishers Weekly 06/24/2024
Library Journal 07/01/2024 pg. 94
Kirkus Reviews 07/15/2024
About the Author
Shayna Maci Warner is a GLAAD Rising Star-awarded Brooklyn- based writer and film programmer who is obsessed with television. Their words on queer films, shows, and feelings have appeared in Paste magazine, The Film Stage, Women and Hollywood, and Autostraddle, among other publications, and they have contributed to festival programming at NewFest, Outfest, Tribeca, and Nitehawk Cinema. To argue with Shayna's opinions on hot evil lesbians, you can find them at www.criticallyqueer.com.