What’s your essential piece of queer pop culture?

Schitt’s Creek holds a special place in the queer canon, and my heart, for its sweet, prejudice-free depiction of the relationship between David Rose (Dan Levy, who created the show with his father Eugene Levy) and the love of his life, Patrick Brewer (Noah Reid). It didn’t get there right away, though. In the early episodes, you can see the show wrestling a bit with how to depict David’s sexuality. There’s even a half-hearted attempt at a romantic storyline between him and Stevie (Emily Hampshire). And then, in episode 10 we get it spelled out, metaphorically at least, in their famous conversation about David’s wine preferences. “I like the wine and not the label,” he tells her. Having a pansexual character as one of the leads of a popular mainstream show is worth celebrating on its own, but it isn’t until David meets Patrick in season three that his full character arc comes into focus. Do they live in an idealized world of acceptance that doesn’t necessarily match reality? Yes. Do I enjoy indulging in a bit of fanciful escapism in wanting to see these two happy and thriving together? Also yes. [Cindy White]