Honestly steamy: What shows have the most authentic gay sex scenes?

Hollywood used to bury its gays in bad storylines, sex-less relationships, and untimely deaths. From Buffy the Vampire Slayer to The 100, LGBTQIA+ characters often didn’t stand a chance of surviving to the end of any TV show. Then, Queer As Folk happened and gay sex scenes have never been the same.

Originally named Queer As F-ck, Queer As Folk was unafraid to show LGBTQIA+ characters falling in love and then falling into bed. It ran in the U.K. from 1999 to 2000, then traveled the pond to run in the U.S. from 2000 to 2005. Its influence on gay sex scenes, however, has spanned the decades.

Queer As Folk showed the hilarious, the steamy, and the awkward in-between. While the U.K. version was more explicit, audiences can see the influence of both in how gay sex scenes are depicted in newer shows. Here are some steamy examples:

Spartacus

In 1960, Spartacus shied away from any queer implications between their characters. The scene in which Crassus (Laurence Olivier) flirts with Antoninus (Tony Curtis) was left on the cutting room floor. In 2010, the TV series adaptation decided to leave homophobia behind and put gay sex scenes at the forefront.

The New Zealand series follows Spartacus through his life in and escape from enslavement. His story sparks a rebellion among fellow gladiators and the series ends with them finally finding freedom from captivity.

Among them are Nasir (Pana Hema Taylor) & Agron (Dan Feuerriegel). Nasir & Agron quickly became a fan-favorite couple as they found love with each other. When they weren’t fighting for their lives, they were falling into each other. Ironically, their honest depiction of queer love in itself was a rebellion against the classic story of standing in one’s truth.

HTGAWM

Among the murder, mayhem, and mystery, there was love. How to Get Away with Murder followed the often chaotic story of Annalise Keating (Viola Davis). Keating is a ruthless lawyer with hidden layers leading a classroom of unlucky accomplices.

Oliver Hampton (Conrad Ricamora) & Connor Walsh (Jack Falahee) didn’t have the most honest relationship. Walsh made Hampton think he was recovering from drug abuse when he was actually reeling from accidentally becoming a murder accomplice. Normal couple stuff, right?

However, even the lies between them couldn’t stop them from creating some of the steamier on-screen love scenes. Ricamora & Falahee had serious chemistry and it showed. Too bad their hot gay sex scenes couldn’t save them from the trauma of Annalise.

Sense8

No list about authentic gay scenes is complete without a reference to Sense8. The now-canceled show was fearless in its depiction of love, healthy relationships, and human connections. Sometimes, this meant using the emotional characters to drive the story. Other times, it translated into a huge orgy between the main characters. 

In a show full of dynamic relationships, the one between Lito Rodriguez (Miguel Ángel Silvestre) & Hernando Fuentes (Alfonso Herrera) managed to stand out. Rodriguez lit up whenever Fuentes was around and, in turn, they lit up the screen.

Fans fell in love with the show’s honest depiction of their love & their lovemaking. Sense8 never shied away from letting its characters get down & dirty – even when they decided to have a threesome with their friend Daniela Velázquez (Eréndira Ibarra).

9-1-1: Lone Star

2020 was a rough year. The pandemic started and it seemed to be downhill from there. Then the Fox channel decided to gift the world with 9-1-1: Lone Star. The newest series does something nearly impossible: find queer love stories in the Texas outback.

After much trauma, Owen Strand (Rob Lowe) takes his son, T.K. (Ronen Rubinstein) down to Texas to start their lives over. While Owen rebuilds his life, T.K. finds love in Carlos Reyes (Rafael L. Silva). 

For a channel notorious for conservative beliefs, 9-1-1: Lone Star doesn’t shy away from gay sex scenes. T.K. & Carlos get to be a couple honestly sharing their love, no matter the time or place. Nothing says hot like sex in a house going up in flames.

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What shows do you think have the hottest gay sex scenes? Do you agree with our list, or did we forget your favorite couples? Let us know in the comments below!