Every week, The GLAAD Wrap brings you LGBT-related entertainment news highlights, fresh stuff to watch out for, and fun diversions to help you kick off the weekend.
1) Lauren Cioffi's short documentary film A Mississippi Love Story chronicles the lives of a gay couple living in Mississippi (expected to be one of the last states to adopt marriage equality) and the couple's journey to get married in California. Check out the trailer below!
2) Out actor Ben Wishaw, recently seen as Q in Skyfall, has been cast as Freddie Mercury in the biopic about the Queen frontman. The film tells "a formative coming-of-age story … culminating in Queen headlining Live Aid in 1985." Reportedly, the film will not cover Mercury's struggle with AIDS, which ultimately led to his death in 1991. Working with former Queen band members, Dexter Fletcher will direct the film with Robert De Niro, Graham King and Jane Rosenthal producing. Production is expected to begin in 2014.
3)AFI's chosen top 10 TV shows for 2013, include several LGBT-inclusive series. The AFI Awards honors ten films and ten TV series "deemed culturally and artistically representative of the year's most significant achievements in the art of the moving image." Included on this year's TV list of honorees are The Good Wife, House of Cards, Game of Thrones, Masters of Sex, Orange is the New Black, and Scandal.
4) All-female country rock band Antigone Rising has a new holiday-themed single out. Out band member Kristen Ellis-Henderson was featured with her wife—new GLAAD president, Sarah Kate Ellis—on the cover of Time magazine's 2013 marriage equality cover. Antigone Rising's new single, titled "Santa, You Owe Me," is described as "lyrical sarcasm perfectly blended with shuffling rockabilly drums, ho-ho harmonies, and a fuzzy blues-rock guitar solo that belongs on the naughty list." "Santa, You Owe Me" is available for purchase on iTunes!
5) Kimberly Pierce, (the out director of films such as 2013's Carrie and Boys Don't Cry), has secured a first-look deal with ABC studios. Under this arrangement, Pierce will direct and produce projects for network and cable, as well as pilots alongside other producers for ABC. This marks Pierce's debut directing TV pilots, as her only other TV directing credit is for a single episode of The L Word.
6) Portlandia, the sketch-like comedy series based in Portland, Oregon, will return for its 10-episode fourth season in early 2014. Co-creators Fred Armisen and Carrie Brownstein will be joined this season by guest stars like k.d. lang, Dan Savage and Milk director Gus Van Sant. Look for new episodes of Portlandia on IFC starting Thursday, February 27 at 10:00pm ET/PT.
7) Fans of the popular web series Husbands, a comedy about a newlywed gay couple, are campaigning to get it picked up as a TV show. Created by Brad Bell and Jane Espenson, the critically acclaimed series currently lives on the digital network, CW Seed. Time magazine agrees Husbands is TV worthy, stating it "could genuinely hold their own with their TV-on-TV counterpart." To contribute to the fan campaign, visit the website here, and check out Husbands over at CW Seed!
8) The USA network has set its midseason line-up, which includes the return of Suits and White Collar, along with new comedy, Sirens.Suits, a lawyer drama in which Edward Darby (Conleth Hill) revealed last season he dated another man, will move to Thursdays, along with White Collar featuring out FBI agent, Diana Barrigan (Marsha Thomason). White Collar returns January 9, and Suits returns Thursday, March 6 at 9 PM, followed by Sirens, which will feature a gay EMT as a lead character.
10) The NBC comedy Sean Saves the World, which centers on out father Sean as he navigates parenting his 14-year-old daughter and managing his boss at work, is adding a potential boyfriend for Sean. The character is described as "a charming, thrill-seeking adventurer who Sean will do almost anything to impress," and will be played by Guy Pearce, who has been previously seen in Iron Man 3 and Priscilla Queen of the Desert. Pearce's character is expected to appear in the fifteenth episode airing sometime in 2014. In addition, Portia de Rossi will be guesting as Sean's "smart, high-powered ex-wife" in three episodes in early spring.
11) Writer-director Rainy Kerwin and producing partner Narmar Hanna need funding to finish their female-driven romantic comedy, The Wedding Invitation. The feature film tells the story of three women who "break all the rules in their attempt to get dates for the wedding of the year." In addition, The Wedding Invitation's lead cast and crew will be all women, and 5% of the film's net profits will go to 10 women's charities to help empower the next generation of women in entertainment. To learn more about the project, visit The Wedding Invitation's Indiegogo page, and check out their video below!