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From the sunny shores of Mexico to the verdant woods of Japan, Queer Planet takes viewers on a whirlwind tour of Mother Nature’s splendid diversity. Witness penguins pair off in pairs both straight and swooped, behold the bonobos’ liberated lifestyle, and meet other species living outside societal norms everywhere from Africa’s plains to underwater reefs just as vibrant.

Throughout its breezy 90 minutes, the documentary unpacks over 1,500 kinds known to engage in same-sex relations or eschew dull gender roles, from macaques to mountain sheep. Yet centuries of science dismissing such traits as ‘unnatural’ or ‘untoward’ means most remain unaware just how widespread queerness abounds in the wild. Director Ed Watkins aims to change that by letting the unvarnished facts shine through, conveyed with care, candor, and charm.

Joining him are experts passionate about propagating accurate perspectives, whether through flourishes of dry wit or sharp yet sensitive insights. Together, they...

“Queer Planet” may seem like the kind of Pride Month programming that gets trotted out every June — “Oooh, look at the cute lil’ gay penguins!” — but this new 90-minute documentary has a lot more on its mind.

“[That] most forms of life do not reproduce strictly heterosexually like we do, is quite a staggering thing to realize,” “Queer Planet” producer and director Ed Watkins told Indiewire. Also staggering is how centuries of research into same-sex behavior in the animal kingdom was hidden or ignored. What “Queer Planet” celebrates should not be news to anyone. But the doc is something of a revelation.

Ably aided by narration from Andrew Rannells that marks this as a very gay time indeed, “Queer Planet” is as smart as it is silly and as important as it is celebratory. Now streaming on Peacock, IndieWire spoke to Watkins over email about the filmmaking process, why he’s tough on Charles Darwin,...

Summer is no time for sadness, with new shows debuting throughout the season. With the official 2024 Emmys deadline now in the rearview, June is when the TV calendar resets, with new and returning shows now eligible for next year’s awards ceremony… but we’re getting ahead of ourselves.

June’s new TV lineup includes a handful of book adaptations, including Hulu’s “Queenie” starring Dionne Brown, Apple’s “Presumed Innocent” with Renate Reinsve and Jake Gyllenhaal as well as Eva Longoria-starrer “Land of Women,” and Prime Video’s “My Lady Jane,” based on the YA series The Lady Janies (and loosely on some Tudor history… very loosely). Shows like “Clipped” and “Becoming Karl Lagerfeld” stem from books about real people and events, while on the reality front there’s also Peacock’s “Queer Planet” and a docuseries about the Dallas Cowboys’ Cheerleader squad on Netflix. Disney+ expands the...

As we move into June, it is a great time to become a Peacock subscriber. Not only is NBCUniversal’s flagship streaming service home to great movies and buzzy originals, but it also offers tons of new and exclusive films and TV series throughout the month. In June, Peacock is also the home for a ton of Team USA Olympic Team qualifying events, WWE and Nxt premium live events including Clash at the Castle, PGA and Lga golf tour stops, Indycar, and much more. The NBCU streamer is also home to original and exclusive Peacock series, and the next-day streaming of shows from across the NBCU family of networks, it is a good time to sign up for either a Peacock Premium ($5.99) or Peacock Premium Plus ($11.99) plan. However, come July, those prices will increase by $2 per month.

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Peacock has announced the lineup of movies, TV shows, and live sports that will be available on the streaming service in June. The Peacock June 2024 schedule includes Monkey Man, Love Island USA Season 6, The Valley season finale, Olympic Trials, Pride Month programming, and more.

This month’s sizzling line-up takes us back to the hottest villa on TV to meet a new group of bombshells in Season 6 of Love Island USA (premiering exclusively on Peacock on June 11). Grab a glass of wine for an extended and uncensored version of the season finale of The Valley, premiering Wednesday, June 5, exclusively on Peacock.

The streaming service will also offer titles like The Continental (season one is streaming now), the first three John Wick movies, Gladiator, and a trio of films from The Bourne franchise arriving June 1. Plus, don’t miss WWE’s legendary Clash at the Castle: Scotland in Glasgow on June 15 live on Peacock.

“Queer Planet” is more than just gay penguins or bisexual lions, as the aptly-titled LGBTQ+ Peacock feature documentary trailer states.

The upcoming film is narrated by “Girls5eva” actor Andrew Rannells and is billed as a “first-of-its-kind nature documentary” that focuses solely on the queer creatures in the animal kingdom.

“We’ve all heard of gay penguins, but this film really opened my eyes to the full spectrum of LGBTQ+ behaviors across the natural world,” Rannells said in a press statement. “And what could be more natural than being who you are? I’m excited to be part of ‘Queer Planet,’ especially during Pride Month, and on Peacock, surely the most colorful and glamorous of all the streaming services.”

“Queer Planet” focuses on hidden LGBTQ+ communities among animals that have unconventional sexualities and genders. The film features scientists and experts such as author and naturalist Bradley Trevor Greive, ornithologist Dr. Martin Stervander,...

Asia Sales Update

Shows featuring Stephen Fry are popular in Asia as sales from Abacus Media Rights and Passion Distribution demonstrate.

Abacus has sold more than 70 hours of scripted and unscripted programming broadcasters across Asia, it was revealed at Singapore’s Asia TV Forum and Market.

Now TV in Hong Kong has acquired factual series “Stephen Fry: Willem and Frieda – Defying the Nazis”; “‘Tis the Season: The Holidays On Screen”; “The Trouble with Kanye”; “Bankrupt Billionaire”; “The Man Who Stole the Scream”; “Backyard Beats,” “The Ghost of Richard Harris”; and Seasons 1-5 of hit scripted series “Line of Duty.”

South Korea’s Kbs Media has picked up “Ningaloo Nyinggulu” from Artemis Productions.

In China, Bilibili, via Haining Jianguo TV and Film Media, has licensed “The Fire Within: A Requiem for Katia and Maurice Krafft,” directed by Werner Herzog. China’s Lean In Media has acquired factual titles “Yellowstone Supervolcano”; “Icemen:...