International Women’s Day 2024: WLW Media to Watch Out For

It’s once again International Women’s Day! Longtime readers will know that we try to highlight this day every year and have posted on a wide variety of topics, all of which spotlight women, whether they be real or fictional. Today also marks the release of the long-awaited (for me) Thai GL (girls love) 23.5. I know I talked about this in one of our webcasts last year, so I’ve been excited about this for a while. In honor of this premiere, here is a list of wlw media coming out in 2024.

23.5

Summary: Ongsa’s high school life will never be the same when she carelessly tells her cute and cheerful classmate Sun “sweet dreams” using the Instagram name Earth. Unfortunately, the masculine name leads Sun to believe she’s talking to a guy, but Ongsa doesn’t want to lose the opportunity to talk to her. She chooses to keep it a secret and go on talking to Sun as Earth.

First on the list is the reason for the list! This is the first ever GL from GMMTV (which has produced most of my recommended BL dramas). Previously, wlw couples were featured as side couples in BLs or QLs (queer love). They have yet to be a main pairing – at least in a GMMTV production – and 23.5 will have TWO. 23.5 stars Milk Pansa and Love Pattranite, who played the iconic Ink and Pa in Bad Buddy. There are a lot of high hopes for this series, as its release was repeatedly delayed because they were in negotiations to sell the series to Netflix (which is HUGE for a Thai show).

Reverse 4 You

Summary: Jattawa seems like an ordinary law student, but she has the ability to control time. Her younger sister Vivi has the ability to see the future. Lately, though, Vivi’s visions seem to be wrong. Therefore, she finds it easy to disbelieve her latest prediction that P’Four, her university senior with a bad reputation, is her future lover.

Yet another Thai GL drama, Reverse 4 You is hopefully one of the first in a long line of queer Thai shows that bring a little variety to the genre. Many QL stories out of Thailand are standard rom-coms or dramas. Reverse 4 You injecting a little bit of fantasy is a welcome change. The pilot trailer was filmed ages ago and fans got pretty attached quickly, but the full series doesn’t yet have a release date. Still, principal filming finished earlier this year and the show is currently in post, so we’re hopeful that “coming soon” actually means soon.

Pluto

Summary: Ai-oon is the disappointing twin of successful and beloved Ob-oom. They aren’t close. On Ob-oom’s wedding night, she takes Ai-oon aside and makes a request of her. Ob-oon and her husband Paul will be going away for their honeymoon and she’ll be leaving something important behind: a lover, May, she hasn’t broken up with—and she wants Ai-oon to do it for her. In the early morning following the wedding, Ai-oon learns that the newlyweds got into an accident. Paul has passed away and Ob-oom is in a coma. When Ai-oon decides to fullfil her sister’s request, she’s shocked to learn that May is both blind and a woman. She finds herself unprepared to complete the task.

Third and final Thai GL on the list, I swear. Pluto was one of the series revealed at GMMTV’s 2024 launch event all the way back in October. There was a lot of excitement when this was announced, because as previously mentioned, GMMTV does not have a lot of GL dramas. The series stars Namtan Tipnaree and Film Rachanun, both of whom starred in Last Twilight and are currently filming Ploy’s Yearbook. Filming on Pluto will finish when Ploy’s Yearbook ends, so it’s suspected that Pluto will release in the second half of the year.

Echoes of Dreams

Summary: A newly-out lesbian Filipino woman in her mid-20s, named Reyna, embarks on a journey to chase her dreams of becoming a successful DJ. Along the way, she dates different women through a dating app while facing various obstacles, from failed attempts at becoming a realtor to her aspirations as a web developer. Through determination, self-discovery, and the power of faith, Reyna learns to overcome adversity and finds her true calling and love.

The trailer for this film seems to exemplify the millennial and Gen Z experience of struggling to find yourself. Reyna’s varied job history reminds me of my own, though I didn’t have the dating life that she does.

Love Lies Bleeding

Summary: Gym manager Lou falls for Jackie, a bodybuilder who is passing through town en route to a competition in Las Vegas.

Yeah, I’m pretty sure that summary is lacking in a lot of details, but we’ll go with that for now. Love Lies Bleeding is getting a lot of attention as a romantic thriller and has been boiled down to “the lesbian body-builder mafia movie”. I’ve heard that it’s not for the faint of heart, but quite a lot of us here at The Geekiary are fans of Kristen Stewart, so obviously this was going to go on the list. This is another wlw title released on International Women’s Day – if you live in the United States.

Drive Away Dolls

Summary: This comedy caper follows Jamie, an uninhibited free spirit bemoaning yet another breakup with a girlfriend, and her demure friend Marian who desperately needs to loosen up. In search of a fresh start, the two embark on an impromptu road trip to Tallahassee, but things quickly go awry when they cross paths with a group of inept criminals along the way.

Written and directed by Ethan Coen (and Tricia Cooke), I feel like you can’t go wrong when your main character is named Jamie. The trailer gave me Thelma & Louise vibes, and you can’t go wrong with those either! I love a good road trip movie, and also I love it when an LGBTQ+ movie isn’t entirely about being LGBTQ+. I love that we’re starting to get queer movies that have, you know, actual plots.

Drift

Summary: Jacqueline (Cynthia Erivo), a young refugee, lands alone and penniless on a Greek island, where she tries first to survive and then to cope with her past. While gathering her strength, she begins a friendship with a rootless tour-guide (Alia Shawkat) and together they find the resilience to forge ahead.

This is one of those films that you can tell is just going to be emotionally devastating, both from the tone of the trailer and the song featured (also sung by star Erivo).

Chestnut

Summary: A recent graduate becomes entangled in a relationship with a man and a woman during her summer after college.

Chestnut is actually a 2023 film, but it hasn’t had a wide release yet. It’s been making the rounds at various festivals, primarily in the US and Denmark. It might come out this year, so we’re including it on this list. Starring Natalia Dwyer (Stranger Things) as Annie, this film is described as a coming-of-age story that explores Annie’s self-discovery as well as challenging traditional ideas of relationships and romance.

As usual, this is far from a comprehensive list! I didn’t even include returning media featuring wlw characters, such as shows like Arcane, Elite, and Hacks. But in a culture that seems to be continually canceling all the good wlw content, I thought it important to highlight that in particular.

Did I miss something that you’re excited about? Let us know in the comments!

Be sure to check out our past International Women’s Day posts.

Author: Jamie Sugah

Jamie has a BA in English with a focus in creative writing from The Ohio State University. She self-published her first novel, The Perils of Long Hair on a Windy Day, which is available through Amazon. She is currently an archivist and lives in New York City with her demon ninja vampire cat. She covers television, books, movies, anime, and conventions in the NYC area.

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