queer women have ‘the traitors’ in a chokehold. as they should.

Welcome to qtb what’s good #01, an overview of what I’ve been devouring on TV and film.

Nobody plays “The Traitors” like a lesbian, as Gabby Windey, Carolyn Wiger, and Chrishell Strause are proving. (Photo: Euan Cherry/Peacock)

Listen, if there are any perks to functional unemployment, I’ve got to say one of the biggest ones would clearly be the additional bandwidth to take in pop culture. A mid-Tuesday morning documentary? Sure! A Thursday afternoon Nosferatu matinee at the local theater? Say less! Staying up late on a “school night” to binge one (or two or three) more episodes of your TV fixation of the moment? Consider it done.

So I figured it’s my duty to share the wealth. Each month, I’ll be recapping the shows and movies I’ve been taking in and vibing with (or not) here, complete with brief reviews and my assessment of (a) how gay it is and (b) if it’s worth your time.

Hope you enjoy the read, and please let me know in the comments what I missed and what you’ve been enjoying as distraction from the horrors lately.

TV/streaming

The Traitors (Peacock)

How gay is it (scale of 1-10)? 10

Worth your time (scale of 1-10)? 10

Somehow I’ve barely mentioned this show in this newsletter, which is a very major omission. For the uninitiated, Traitors is essentially a reality TV all-stars showdown, all set in a remote Scottish castle and hosted by Alan Cumming. At the beginning of the show, a motley crew of reality stars show up at this castle, some of them are assigned the role of “traitor” and these traitors’ goal is to eliminate (or “murder”) everyone else at the castle so they can get closer to the show’s final cash prize of $25,000. Along the way, there are formidable challenges, eye-catching fashions, and plenty of backstabbing.

This season’s cast is stacked with reality icons including RuPaul’s Drag Race star Bob the Drag Queen, Real Housewives’ Dorinda Medley, Vanderpump Rules’ Tom Sandoval (who absolutely nobody takes seriously), and even Britney Spears’ ex-husband Sam Asghari. But the true breakout stars, as a recent story in them pointed out, are the cast’s trio of queer women: Chrishell Stause (Selling Sunset), Carolyn Wiger (Survivor), and Gabby Windey (The Bachelor, the last edition of this newsletter, this super cute Interview mag feature). These women are endlessly watchable and quotable, and I’m so grateful to see them all together running things in this wild show.

Honestly, we’re about halfway to Queering the Burbs morphing into a Windey fan newsletter now. I meannnnn:

gabby.windey

A post shared by @gabby.windey

The season 3 finale of Traitors doesn’t air for another few weeks, and there are only 12 episodes to the whole season, so you still have plenty of time to binge it if you haven’t jumped on the bandwagon yet. I can almost guarantee you won’t regret it.