Giving Thanks to This Year's Lesbian Entertainment

It has been quite a year for me with SheWired, where I’ve had the most fortunate pleasure of writing about people, events and entertainment that I’m passionate about. And as everyone prepares for the big Thanksgiving holiday, consider this my turn at the pre-turkey table giving thanks for some of the stories of this past year that I’m most thankful for in the LGBT entertainment world.

10. Kristen Stewart. I don’t know what it is about her — except for how great she was in Into the Wild and as the very I-hope-she’s-gay daughter of Jodie Foster in Panic Room, but any sort of casting for the Twilight saga is news. So between New Moon’s cult appeal and our continued fascination and love of all things vampire and her wickedly anticipated turn as Joan Jett in The Runaways, all the buzz about anything and everything K-Stew more than satisfies our need for guilty-pleasure entertainment. So whether it’s as Joan Jett or Bella Swan, sign us up!

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9.  It ranked No. 1 on SheWired’s 10 Scary Movies to Make the Gay Girls Scream list this Halloween and we loved Jennifer’s Body despite its modest gross at the boxoffice. Because really, Megan Fox locking lips with Amanda Seyfreid in a Diablo Cody-penned film? Sold!

8. This next one a tad bitter sweet. I’m talking about the eleventh-hour renewal of Joss Whedon’s Dollhouse here. Fans of Whedon’s strong, ass-kicking series starring Eliza Dushku and her leather pants made Fox listen as the network surprisingly picked up the drama for a second season. And while Dushku has promised that the sci-fi drama will focus on homosexuality at some point this season, we’ll have to wait to find out until the show returns from its Fox-induced hiatus. Enjoy co-stars Dichen Lachman and Amy Acker, along with guest star Summer Glau while they last because Fox has already said there won’t be any late-inning comebacks this time.

7. Wanda Sykes. Just months after publicly coming out at a rally protesting California’s passage of Prop. 8, Sykes landed her own Saturday night talk show on Fox. On top of her weekly talk show, Sykes scored her very own HBO special in which she ridiculed everyone from politicians, her partner and newly born twins. Oh yeah, and she hosted the White House Correspondents Association Dinner in May during which she poked fun at the president. Well played, Wanda.

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6. Drew Barrymore can do no wrong. OK, she can — like when she played a copy editor who goes undercover in Never Been Kissed because really, no copy editor gets to do that! — but when it comes to her first time behind the camera as director, she hit it out of the park with Ellen Page and Alia Shawkat in Whip It. And if you haven’t found the time to check out a real roller derby match it’s even better than what Barrymore presented on screen.

5. June 2010. That’s how long we have to wait until Alan Ball’s vampire drama True Blood returns. As if the show wasn’t already appointment-viewing status, adding characters like Evan Rachel Wood’s lesbian vampire queen gives everyone an added reason to watch. Plus spoiler talk about Pam’s sexuality … June can’t come fast enough!

4. Good — and new — music from amazing lesbian performers. Brandi Carlile released “Give Up the Ghost,” her follow-up to the critically acclaimed and commercially successful “The Story,” and went out on tour. Plus after years of speculation and only those in her inner-circle knowing for sure, Carlile came out in an interview with the L.A. Times. … Lesbian twins Tegan and Sara also went on a five-month tour currently under way to support their new album, “Sainthood.”  … And the year’s best announcement for music-loving lesbians: Sarah McLachlan’s Lilith Fair will make its return in 2010 after more than 10 years, so there’s that to look forward to.

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3. I may not be thankful for the show ending, but I’m thankful that lesbians were finally the subjects of our very own hourlong show. Say what you will about the way The L Word ended, I’m thankful that Bette and Tina wound up together, someone finally found Lez Girls and my Sunday nights now belong to Sookie Stackhouse instead of that psycho Jenny Schecter.

2. TV’s No. 1 show is going gay in a big way with this year’s announcement that Ellen DeGeneres will be replacing Paula Abdul as a judge come January on American Idol.  Her talk show continues to win viewers and hearts across the country, and now our leading lesbian is stepping foot into primetime’s biggest spotlight. Wednesday night will truly be the new gay with Ellen on Idol and Jane Lynch on Glee.

1. If I were to pick SheWired’s woman of the year, it’d be Jane Lynch — at least when it comes to showbiz. From her role as Dorothy McWilliams, Julia Child’s gawky sister in Julie & Julia, opposite Meryl Streep to Sue Sylveser, the outspoken coach of the Cheerios on Fox’s freshman musical dramedy Glee, there’s nothing Lynch can’t do this year. She’s one to watch for come Emmy and Oscar time. And has anyone caught that Xbox commercial?

Leave a comment to let us know what lesbian entertainment from this year you are thankful for!

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