Caught in the Web: Streaming LGBT Series

Summer is fast approaching with its soaring temperatures and soothing beaches calling your name. To some, however, the siren call of one's air conditioning kicking into high gear is a more soothing refrain than the ocean's majestic roar.

So, what's a coach potato to do?

Summer is still traditionally the time when your shows are all said and done for the season. However, with the emergence of Netflix, Hulu and the like, there are an absolute wealth of shows to be discovered. And, gasp! You can even use your computer for more than logging on to PornHub... by checking out some web series that will catch you in their respective webs.

Boys and Girls in their 'Hoods

"The Outs" covers the ins and misadventures of exes Mitchell (played by show creator Adam Goldman) and Jack (Hunter Canning), navigating gay life in Brooklyn along with friend Oona (Sasha Winters). When the longtime boyfriends split up and are on the titular Outs - see what they did there - Jack is basically living the 2000 single by Peaches, trying to "F**k the Pain Away" via a series of hook ups. Meanwhile, Mitchell is trying his best to get back into the swing of things by dating, albeit unsuccessfully. This 20-something take on gay life in The Big Apple is sharply written has been called "the best TV series not on TV." The series began in 2012 and, through a Kickstarter campaign, is currently enjoying a second season on Vimeo.com.

On the opposite side of the country, and through the magic of YouTube, you can visit "BoysTown." The series has been likened to a hybrid of "Desperate Housewives" and "Sex & The City," as eight WeHo-based men find themselves in plenty of, ahem, sticky situations. Yes, that means there are some man-on-man shenanigans and nudity, so it sounds like it also has a dash of "Queer As Folk" to spice things up. "BoysTown" was originally aired on OUTtv in Canada, Belgium, Netherlands and Sweden.

Staying with the West Coast theme are the "Eastsiders" who reside in Silverlake. This dark comedy explores the not-so-funny aftereffects of infidelity when Cal (Kit Williamson) discovers that Thom (Van Hansis) has been keeping a boy on the side. Despite this revelation, the two attempt to keep their upside-down relationship from continuing in a downward spiral, as lies, substance abuse and double standards dictate its descent.
Fortunately, Cal's gal pal Kathy (Constance Wu) is always at the ready with advice and whiskey that she keeps in her purse. Available for streaming on Vimeo.com

"Capitol Hill" is peopled with some former "RuPaul's Drag Race" contestants Ben DeLaCreme, Jinx Monsoon and Robbie Turner, all of whom reside in Seattle's historic neighborhood. When Roses Smell (Waxie Moon) leaves Portland behind and heads to the Emerald City, it's not all lollipops and rainbows when she literally can't escape her past. And, speaking of the past, Capitol Hill draws from a wellspring of pop culture with nods to "Dallas," "Murder, She Wrote" and "Charlie's Angels." But TV references aside, the series does take on traditional gender roles. Check it out on YouTube.

Slices of Life

"The Gay and Wondrous Life of Caleb Gallo" stars Brian Jordan Alvarez as the titular character, who is better at giving advice than taking his own -- especially in the realm of his love life, which includes numerous men who fall under the "potential husband" umbrella, lots of FaceTime relationships and a one-way crush on a very straight man. Episodic topics, which are delivered with Alvarez's deadpan delivery, range from overcoming the gay generation gap to why the gender fluid set seem to score so many hot, straight guys.

"Go-Go Boy Interrupted," whose cast includes Jimmy Fowlie, tells the tale of West Hollywood go-go boy, Danny Carter (Fowlie) who is deemed over the hill at 30 for his given profession and is fired from his job. But you can't keep a good go-go boy down, as Danny tries his... um... hardest to regain his place in the West Hollywood echelon, including a stab at doing gay porn in
season two. Both shows are available on YouTube.

With a tagline of "Love is so gay," "The Benefits of Gusbandry" has to be pretty much that and as it stands, it pretty much is. By the way a "gusband" means "gay bff" and that's what Jackie (Brooke Totman) has in River (Kurt Conroyd). The two meet at Jackie's 40th birthday party, and what ensues is a comedic exercise in what it means to be a significant other. The series is doled out in bite-sized episodes, about 8 to 12 minutes, so to binge on it via YouTube is very doable.

"The Chanticleer" travels back in time to 1955, but this isn't your parent's "Back to the Future." Rather, it is a lesbian pulp novel incarnated into a series about Edie Chaucer (Annie Paul), who inherits a dive bar and gives it a makeover, pre-Stonewall style. Check it out at thechanticleer.tv.

Now For Something Completely Different

How about a LGBT web series for the whole family? "Sez Me" takes that tack by having kids interacting with the gay community on a (gasp), normal level (double gasp), as regular people. This one is sure to piss off One Million Moms! Good. The show is hosted by drag queen Charmin Ultra and takes on topics ranging to the special kid guest star's favorite color to more pertinent issues, like preferred gender pronouns. You can catch multiple episodes on sezme.me

"McTucky Fried High" is a cartoon that resembles "Aqua Teen Hunger Force" on Adult Swim in look, but that is where the comparisons stop. Set in an all-LGBT high school, it tells the very short episodic adventures of Henry Fry, Kevin Weiner, Sheri Soda and Shirley Cone, amongst others. Naturally, there
are topic-driven episodes that focus on a variety of issues you won't see on "Scooby-Doo." They include: Coming out, body image, bullying, race and much more. Check it out at mctuckyfriedhigh.com

Adrian De Berardinis is also known on the internet as "The Bear-Naked Chef," who specializes in cooking mostly authentic regional Italian dishes, preparing all of the meals on his web series in the buff. Well, he does wear an apron, but it doesn't cover his butt. You're welcome, as he is not too bad on the eyes. If you haven't already Googled him, head over to bearnakedchef.com.

There you have it, just a few examples of what can be watched with the simple click of a mouse and some time on the web. So, why are you still reading this? Happy viewing!

FOUR REASONS TO NETFLIX AND CHILL

"Orange is the New Black" returns to Netflix with its fourth season on Friday,
June 17. Since there were busloads of new prisoners arriving at Litchfield at the end of last season that means we will be seeing some new faces, including Jolene Purdy who has appeared in "Donnie Darko" and on "Glee."

What of the familiar faces we have grown to love over the past three seasons? Well, Piper (Taylor Schilling) will find herself in some hot water... The show is reportedly going to have a darker undertow this season and will explore the prison system in depth. SPOILER ALERT! Alex (Laura Prepon) is alive!

During season one of "The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt," we learned that the titular character (Ellie Kemper) is strong as hell. She starts life anew in New York City after being released from her time held in a bunker as a captive mole woman. So what is Kimmy up to these days? Well, she has a thing for wheels: Roller skates and becoming an Uber driver factor in this
season, as does a year-round Christmas store. It seems that love is in the air for Lillian (Carol Kane) as well, she gets a new/old beau (Fred Armisen). Titus (Tituss Burgess) is also building a relationship with construction worker Mikey (Mike Carlsen) and meanwhile, Jacqueline (Jane Krakowski) and her friend Mimi Kanassis (Amy Sedaris) attempt to climb the social ladder. Keep an eye out for cameos from Jeff Goldblum and Tina Fey. Binging, err, playing now on Netflix.

Let's face it, the late night talk show landscape just isn't the same without Chelsea Handler and her acerbic wit. She left the airwaves almost two years ago. Well, fear not, Handler is returning to form on Netflix with "Chelsea," to be filmed in front of a live studio audience. Following on the heels on her stand-up special "Uganda Be Kidding Me" and docu-series "Chelsea Does," the talk show will have a total of 90 episodes per year and will air on Wednesdays, Thursdays & Fridays starting on Wednesday, May 11. It's so hard to type and clap at the same time.

Everyone's favorite ladies, Lily Tomlin and Jane Fonda, are back as "Grace and Frankie" on Friday, May 6. Things pick up right where they left off, with Frankie having slept with her ex-husband Saul (Sam Waterston), as he prepares to tell his fianc� Robert (Martin Sheen). This dalliance will cause major ramifications this season, as will a new romance for Grace (Fonda), with silver fox Sam Elliott. There had been rumors of a possible "9 to 5" reunion by having Dolly Parton join her former co-stars. Alas, showrunner Marta Kauffman has nixed the idea for this season a said it's a possibility down the road. Stay tuned...