10 Lesbian Movies & Shows on HBO Max to Watch This Summer

[00:00:00]Hey everyone, if you're here, it's because you have Max. You've got some free time this summer and you want to spend your vacation watching something that actually speaks to you. So, today I'm bringing you a selection of lesbian movies and shows you can find right now on Max. Fair warning, there's a little bit of everything here. Some classics that change the game, some much more recent releases, light comedies for when you just want to switch off completely, dramas that will absolutely get under your skin, and a biopic or two that'll introduce you to women you probably didn't know enough about. [music] So, get comfortable, grab something cold to drink, and let's get into it. First up is Am I Okay? and it's perfect if you're looking for a light, easy comedy to watch on the couch without putting yourself through anything emotionally intense. The main character is Lucy.

[00:00:50]She's in her early 30s. Her life is more or less together. And then she realizes she's never been able to connect with any guy because, simply put, she's a lesbian. Late [music] bloomer, sure, but better late than never. The tricky part is that coming out in your 30s hits different than coming out at 16. Lucy has to rearrange everything. Her self-image, other people's expectations of her, and most of all, her relationship with her best friend and roommate Jane, who has just announced she's moving to London. It's not a movie that's trying to change your life, [music] but it has this warmth to it that leaves you feeling good when it's over. the kind you put on without much enthusiasm and end up watching twice. If you're in the mood for something heavier, The Fallout has you covered.

[00:01:41]The story follows Vada, a teenager who witnesses a school shooting. From that moment on, everything in her life shifts. The way she sees the world, the way she connects with the people around her, the way she connects with herself.

[00:01:56]This is not an easy watch, and it doesn't try to be. It's about trauma, about how hard it is to keep going when something breaks you from the inside and nobody around you really knows how to help. The lesbian romance grows out of that process of reconnecting with life with something that feels real in the middle of all the chaos. [music] It's the kind of movie you need to watch slowly with room to breathe afterward, but it's absolutely worth it.

[00:02:24]Complete tonal shift now with Unpregant, a road trip comedy that goes down really easy. Veronica is 17, great grades, a boyfriend, a spot at her dream college.

[00:02:36]Her future is basically mapped out. Then a positive pregnancy test throws all of that into chaos. To make things worse, she lives in Missouri where she needs parental permission to get an abortion, which means the nearest clinic she can go to on her own is 1,500 m away. And who's the only person willing to drive her there? Bailey, her former best friend, someone she hasn't spoken to in years. What could be a really heavy story turns into a fun, chaotic, genuinely sweet road movie about two girls rediscovering each other. The lesbian content here is fairly low-key.

[00:03:15]Bailey is a lesbian and she's there, but it's not the main focus, [music] just setting expectations so you know what you're walking into. Now, we're going back to the 1920s with Bessie, the biopic of Bessie Smith, known as the Empress of the Blues, starring Queen Latifah. The film takes us to Bessie's early days before the fame, before the title, when she was still building her name through sheer talent, force of personality, and a whole lot of fighting for her place. Because Bessie Smith's life wasn't easy. Not as a black woman, and not as a bisexual artist in an era that made things difficult on every front. It's one of those movies that introduces you to a real person you probably didn't know well enough.

[00:04:01][music] And when it ends, you feel like you've actually learned something. Six Emmy nominations for a reason.

[00:04:09]And since we're on biopics, let's talk about Gia. [music] This one hurts.

[00:04:14]Angelina Jolie plays Gia Karangi. Widely considered the first supermodel of the 1980s. The film follows her meteoric rise, her personal life, her relationships, and her fall. It's a story about the price of fame, about the vulnerability hiding behind an image.

[00:04:33]The world turns into a legend. The lesbian romance is central to the story, and her relationship with Linda, played by Elizabeth Mitchell, is one of the most important parts of Gia's life on screen. [music] Don't put this one on when you need something to lift your mood. But do put it on because it's a movie that stays with you. From a classic to something much more recent, Love Lies Bleeding came out in 2024 and it absolutely delivers. This is a neon- noir thriller with a lesbian relationship at its core. Kristen Stewart plays Lou, a gym manager in a small New Mexico town with a complicated family and a life she's been trying to keep under control. Then a drifter named Jackie walks in and throws everything off balance. [music] It's dark, it's intense, it's visually striking, and it commits fully to its own weirdness in a way that's genuinely refreshing. If you liked films like Bound or A Simple Plan, this one is going to hit. It has [music] a 94% on Rotten Tomatoes, and honestly, it earns it. Now, let's rewind all the way back to 1985.

[00:05:44]Desert Hearts is a movie you need to know about, especially if you care about the history of lesbian cinema. It's a romantic drama set in Reno, Nevada, following a Colombia professor who travels there to finalize her divorce and ends up falling in love with a free-spirited local woman. What [music] makes this film so significant is the moment it represents. It was one of the first times lesbians could walk into a movie theater and actually see two women falling in love on screen without tragedy being the price of that love.

[00:06:16]It's a landmark, plain and simple. The chemistry between the two leads is electric. The cinematography is beautiful and even today it holds up in a way that a lot of films from that era simply don't. [music] If you haven't seen it, this is your sign. And if Desert Hearts opened the door, this next one is what walking through it looks like decades later.

[00:06:38]We're talking about Portrait of a Lady on Fire, a French film from 2019 and one of the most acclaimed lesbian love stories ever put on screen. [music] The story is set in 18th century Britany. A painter is hired to secretly create a portrait of a young woman who's about to be married off to a man she's never met.

[00:06:57][music] The portrait is meant to be sent to her future husband, but what was supposed to be a quiet, professional job turns into something neither woman expected. Every frame of this film feels intentional, almost like a painting itself. It's slow, it's quiet, and it gives the relationship room to breathe in a way that very few romance films manage. If you want a love story that lingers with you for days after watching it, [music] this is it. Next up is Irma Vep, an HBO miniseries from 2022 with more than enough queer content to earn its place on this list. It stars Alicia Vicander as Meera, an American movie star going through a rough patch in her career, who travels to France to play the lead role in a remake of a classic French silent film. What starts as a chaotic, complicated shoot [music] slowly turns into something stranger as the line between Meera and the character she's playing [music] starts to blur. As for the lesbian content, Meera is openly bisexual and her ex Lorie shows up partway through the series, and the chemistry between them is honestly the most charged thing in the whole show. On top of that, her assistant develops feelings for her, too. And the costume designer on set is a lesbian with her own subplot going on. So, this isn't a single love story. It's more like Meera navigating several women pulling at her at once. All wrapped up in that strange dreamlike meta cinema atmosphere the show is known for. Different, [music] weird, and worth your time if that sounds like your thing. And we're closing with one that might surprise you. Call me Miss Cleo. [music] If you're old enough, you probably remember the image, the woman with the Jamaican accent inviting you to call her psychic hotline on late night TV. That was Miss Cleo. And this documentary tells you the real story behind her. Yuri Del Harris was the woman who brought that character to life. And beyond the TV phenomenon, beyond the legal troubles that came later and all the scandals surrounding her, what I find most compelling about this story is that she was a black, openly lesbian woman trying to make her way in a world that wasn't making it easy on any of those fronts. It's a fascinating portrait of identity, fame, and how complicated it is to be yourself when the whole world would rather hold on to the character you created. And that's everything for today. 10 titles, different genres, different tones, but all with something in common. Women loving, discovering [music] themselves, fighting, or simply living their lives.

[00:09:35]If you've already seen any of these [music] and want to tell me what you thought, or if you know of one I missed, drop it in the comments. And if this video was helpful, you know what to do.

[00:09:46]Like and subscribe. [music] It always makes a difference. See you next time.

[00:09:52]Hey.