Pride Month begins June 1 and there are plenty of LGBTQ+ book-to-screen adaptations on the horizon. From returning favorites such as “Heartstopper” and “Bridgerton” to new projects based on books by Anne Rice, Casey McQuiston, Alexis Hall and Taylor Jenkins Reid, here’s what’s coming next.

Coming this summer

‘The Vampire Lestat’
June 7, AMC

The third season of the AMC series has been renamed “The Vampire Lestat,” though it appears to also take some inspiration from the third book in Anne Rice’s Vampire Chronicles, “The Queen of the Damned.” In that book, Lestat transforms himself into a glam rock star, revealing his nature and setting all the world’s vampires against him for telling the world about vampires. 

Louis (Jacob Anderson) is Lestat’s longtime companion and love interest in the AMC adaptation.

“The Vampire Lestat” comes to AMC on June 7, 2026. It also stars Eric Bogosian as Daniel.

‘Girls Like Girls’
June 19, in theaters

Actor and singer Hayley Kiyoko makes her directorial debut in an adaptation of her best-selling novel, “Girls Like Girls,” named for her 2015 song. 

Maya Da Costa plays Coley, the new girl in town who’s welcomed into a group of teenagers by Sonya, played by Myra Molloy. The two form a friendship that soon turns to something more despite Sonya seemingly being in a relationship with a boy.  The film also stars Zach Braff as Coley’s widower dad as well as Hunter Dillon, Remy Marthaller, Maya Ford and Alozie LaRose. 

“Girls Like Girls” is scheduled to hit theaters June 19. 

‘Heartstopper Forever’
July 17, Netflix

“Heartstopper Forever” picks up after the gang all took their relationships to the next level in Season 3. The film serves as the conclusion to Netflix’s adaptation of Alice Oseman’s graphic novels, as Nick and Charlie face major life changes that could test their relationship. Though an ensemble cast, the story focuses most on the relationship between sporty Nick (Kit Connor) and sensitive Charlie (Joe Locke). 

“The movie will be an exploration of time, memory, love, pain, the changing of the seasons, endings and beginnings, and the core element of ‘Heartstopper’: the ordinary magic of our everyday lives,” Oseman told Netflix Tudum.  

Awaiting release dates

‘Red, White & Royal Wedding’
Late 2026, Prime Video 

“Red, White & Royal Wedding,” the sequel to “Red, White & Royal Blue,” adapts the bonus chapter from the collector’s edition of Casey McQuiston’s novel. It focuses on the wedding of Bea, Prince Henry’s sister. Nicholas Galitzine stars as Prince Henry and Taylor Zakhar Perez as the president’s son, Alex. 

McQuiston, who is also the screenwriter for the film, will release an epistolary novella titled “Red White & Royal Blue: The Private Correspondence” on Dec. 1, following communication between the couple.

‘The Hunting Wives’ Season 2
TBA, Netflix

Season 2 of Netflix hit series “The Hunting Wives” has wrapped filming and star Dermot Mulroney said on podcast “The Tangle” that Season 3 is in the works. Season 1 was based on the 2021 novel of the same name by May Cobb. 

The soapy story follows Sophie O’Neil (Brittany Snow) who moves to a small town in Texas and becomes embroiled in the dramatic lives of the wealthy local ladies—plus a romance with Margo Banks (Malin Akerman). The release date for Season 2 has not been announced. 

‘Cry to Heaven’
TBA, theaters

Tom Ford has written, directed and produced an adaptation of Anne Rice’s 1982 novel “Cry to Heaven.” The film has an all-star cast including Nicholas Hoult, Aaron Taylor Johnson, Adele, Ciarán Hinds, George MacKay, Mark Strong, Colin Firth, Paul Bettany, Owen Cooper, Daniel Quinn-Toye, Hunter Schafer, Josephine Thiesen, Thandiwe Newton, Theodore Pellerin, Daryl McCormack, Cassian Bilton, Hauk Hannemann and Lux Pascal. Filming wrapped in late March. 

The story is set in 18th-century Italy, and follows “Italian castrati,” boys who were castrated so they would remain sopranos in adulthood, in the world of opera. The release date has not been announced.

Looking ahead to 2027

‘Heated Rivalry’ Season 2
April 2027 on Crave, HBO

The second season of “Heated Rivalry,” Jacob Tierney’s series based on the “Game Changers” books by Rachel Reid, is filming now. We are all waiting with bated breath for more of the romantic story of rival hockey players Shane Hollander (Hudson Williams) and Ilya Rozanov (Connie Storrie). Season 2 is expected to premiere in April 2027.

 “There will be more ‘Heated Rivalry’ on your TVs truly as soon as humanly possible,” creator Jacob Tierney told Gayle King on “CBS Mornings.”

‘Bridgerton’ Season 5
2027, Netflix

Netflix announced that “Bridgerton” Season 5 will focus on the relationship between Francesca (Hannah Dodd) and Michaela (Masali Baduza). In Season 4, Lord John Stirling (Victor Alli) died, leaving Francesca a widow and Michaela grieving the loss of her cousin and best friend.

Season 5 takes place two years after the loss. The love story is based on Julia Quinn’s sixth book in the “Bridgerton” series, “When He Was Wicked.” 

“I’ve said from the beginning that this show, in so many ways, is about allowing people to see themselves represented, allowing themselves to dream, and imagine themselves in these fantastical roles,” “Bridgerton” showrunner Jess Brownell said. “It never felt right to not be inclusive of queer love as well within that fantasy.”

In development

‘Boyfriend Material’

A24 has optioned the rights to adapt Alexis Hall’s queer contemporary romance “Boyfriend Material” into a television series, the author announced late April. Hall’s 2020 novel follows disaster-prone nepo-baby Luc O’Donnell, whose messy personal life becomes tabloid fodder. He agrees to a fake relationship with buttoned-up barrister Oliver Blackwood. 

What starts as PR damage control slowly turns into something real. “Boyfriend Material” is the first book in a trilogy, which includes “Husband Material” and “Father Material.”

‘The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo’

Netflix is adapting Taylor Jenkins Reid’s 2017 novel, “The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo.”  The fictional story follows legendary Hollywood star Evelyn Hugo as she gives her final interview to reporter Monique Grant. 

The glamorous Evelyn tells Monique about her mysterious background and each of her seven marriages. She also reveals that her one true love was actress Celia St. James.

‘The Guncle’

Steven Rowley’s “The Guncle” was acquired by Lionsgate in 2022 and additional works including “The Editor” and “Lily and the Octopus” have also been optioned. “The Guncle” follows retired sitcom star Patrick O’Hara, who has to take care of his young niece and nephew, Maisie and Grant, after their mother Sara, who was Patrick’s best friend, dies and her husband, Patrick’s brother Greg, faces a health crisis. 

Rowley released a sequel, “The Guncle Abroad,” in 2024.

About the writer

S. Lynn Bonanno is invested in nearly every book, show and film listed above—except “The Hunting Wives.” Is it worth it? Next on her TBR is Anne Rice’s “Cry to Heaven.” Her most anticipated adaptations are “The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo,” “The Guncle” and “Boyfriend Material,” three books she recommends. Happy Pride Month! And here’s to more great LGBTQ+ stories finding their way from page to screen.