Golden Girls, Queer as Folk Panels

A new Los Angeles-based event will celebrate LGBTQ+ Pride and pop-culture milestones next month.

The producers of L.A’s Infinity Festival, which celebrates the intersection of technology and entertainment, have teamed up with The Hollywood Partnership and the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce to present Pride LIVE! Hollywood, a monthlong celebration of “LGBTQ+ creativity in media and entertainment.”

The lineup will feature a tribute to Norman Lear’s pioneering television work, anniversary celebrations of TV series The Golden Girls and Queer as Folk, documentary premieres, film screenings, panels, parties, interactive events and presentations of disco-era films, along with participation by stars and creatives. Events will take place at venues in and around Los Angeles, including the W Hollywood, the Montalbán Theater, LA Explained, Emerson College, Amoeba Music, the Aster and Lemon Grove, Whisky Hotel Hollywood, NeueHouse Hollywood and more.

Organizers explained that with more than 150,000 people attending the annual L.A. Pride Parade and Village, which Christopher Street West produces, Hollywood now hosts one of the largest Pride celebrations in the world. To that end, the district’s creative community felt the time was right to expand the celebration with a new monthlong entertainment event. 

“We’re thrilled to see Pride LIVE! bring this kind of creative, high-caliber programming to Hollywood,” said Kathleen Rawson, president and CEO of The Hollywood Partnership. “It honors both Hollywood’s legacy as an entertainment capital and its rich LGBTQ+ history, while reflecting the energy and diversity that make the district so vibrant today. Since the L.A. Pride Parade returned to Hollywood Boulevard in 2022, our neighborhood has proudly become the center of Pride in Los Angeles, and Pride LIVE! is the next powerful step in that evolution.” 

Added Jerry Neuman, chairman of the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce: “Pride LIVE! Hollywood will transform the city with compelling programming and reclaim Hollywood’s legacy as a cultural epicenter. Running throughout June, the festival shines a spotlight on the voices and stories that continue to shape the LGBTQ+ community.” 

Infinity Festival co-founders Mark Lieber and Adam Newman of said in a joint statement: “With Pride LIVE! Hollywood, we’re offering something deeper — programming that not only celebrates current LGBTQ+ culture, but places it within the broader context of entertainment, history, and social change. By reframing landmark TV, film, and literature through a modern lens, we’re opening space for connection, conversation, and reflection on how far we’ve come — and where we’re headed. Plus, a charitable component will allow the good work of Pride LIVE! to continue long after June ends.” 

The event will be curated and hosted by New York Times bestselling author Jim Colucci (Golden Girls Forever) and writer-performer Frank DeCaro (The Daily Show and Sirius XM OutQ), with The Hollywood Reporter as presenting media sponsor. Along with Lieber and Newman, Colucci and DeCaro, Pride LIVE! co-founders include Brian Folb, a longtime Hollywood community influencer and CEO of Hollywood Offices, and production veteran Jeroen Hallaert. 

“Pride LIVE! Hollywood isn’t just a festival, it’s a movement,” Colucci and DeCaro said in a joint statement. “It’s a celebration of Hollywood as a global beacon of creativity, pride and progress. From comedy to culture, disco balls to discussion panels, this is where the past, present and future of LGBTQ+ pop culture meet.” 

Tickets can be purchased at www.pridelivehollywood.com. A full lineup, with the official descriptions, follows. 

Television Tributes 

Opening Night Event, produced in conjunction with the Norman Lear Center at USC Annenberg, honoring Lear’s pioneering contributions to LGBTQ+ visibility on television. The evening showcases such classics as All in the Family, The Jeffersons, Maude, and Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman, and newer programs such as the One Day at a Time reboot and Clean Slate, plus a celebrity panel discussion and a special personal introduction from Lyn Lear. 

A celebration of the 25th anniversary of Queer as Folk, the groundbreaking Showtime series, featuring a reunion of cast members Scott Lowell, Robert Gant, Michelle Clunie, Peter Paige and Sharon Gless, and creators Ron Cowen and Daniel Lipman. 

A 40th anniversary salute to The Golden Girls with writers, guest stars, and behind-the- scenes talents who made the show a classic whose following is ever-growing, particularly among the LGBTQ+ community. Panelists include writers Rick Copp, Stan Zimmerman and James Berg, production associate and writer Isabel Omero, and more TBA. 

Literary Spotlights 

LGBTQ+ authors roundtable featuring Bruce Vilanch (It Seemed Like a Bad Idea at the Time), Curtis Chin (Everything I Learned, I Learned in a Chinese Restaurant), Rasheed Newson (My Government Means to Kill Me), Alonso Duralde (Hollywood Pride) and others TBA. Moderated by Frank DeCaro (Disco: Music, Movies, and Mania Under the Mirror Ball). 

Film Events 

The Los Angeles Premiere of A Big Gay Hairy Hit! Where the Bears Are: The Documentary. This hilarious and touching film tells the story of three gay “bears,” all working in Hollywood, who grew tired of having their gay-themed ideas rejected by the mainstream, so they self-produced their own web series which became a worldwide hit, with over 70 million views online. The documentary examines ageism, body-shaming, sex-positivity, the creative process and how friendship and community can create something beloved all over the world. Creators and cast in attendance. 

Disco Night Fever: A salute to disco movies including the classic Saturday Night Fever, introduced by DeCaro with a talk-back to follow featuring director John Badham and star Donna Pescow, followed by a Disco party on an iconic Hollywood rooftop. Another event will feature the camp-tastic Village People origin movie, Can’t Stop the Music, featuring a discussion with original scriptwriter Bruce Vilanch. More titles and talent to be announced. 

Salute to LGBTQ+ pioneering producer Steven J. Wolfe with a screening of his groundbreaking film, Relax… It’s Just Sex, with Jennifer Tilly, Wolfe and other cast members in attendance. Directed by P.J. Castellaneta, Relax explores the complexities of a diverse group of friends in Los Angeles, blending humor with poignant moments. Featuring a diverse ensemble cast of stellar actors including Tilly, Mitchell Anderson, Lori Petty, Cynda Williams, TC Carson, Seymour Cassel, Serena Scott Thomas, Susan Tyrell and Paul Winfield, the award-winning film has not screened publicly since its initial theatrical release in 1999. 

The World According to Allee Willis, an engaging documentary about the multi-talented Hollywood songwriter — whose hits include “September,” “Boogie Wonderland,” and the Friends theme — and a discussion with Willis’s friends, Prudence Fenton, Julie Brown, producer Nicolas Cole and director Alexis Manya Spraic, along with other talent TBA. 

Screening of independent film The Grotto, written and directed by Joanna Gleason and starring Betsy Brandt, Dan Bucatinsky, Jonathan del Arco, Steve Kazee, Susan Sullivan and more. Followed by a panel with producers and cast TBA. 

The Los Angeles premiere of Unicorns, co-directed by BAFTA-nominated Sally El Hosaini (The Swimmers) and BIFA-winning filmmaker/actor James Krishna Floyd. This cross-cultural romance, about a single father who works as an auto mechanic and a British Indian drag queen, stars Ben Hardy (Bohemian Rhapsody) and Jason Patel. The film is courtesy of Cohen Media Group and is opening theatrically on July 18. It is preceded by the new coming-of-age short Barbie Boy by filmmaker Remi Gabriel, making its Los Angeles premiere directly from Frameline Film Festival. 

Interactive Events 

Frank DeCaro and Kristen Carroll lead a guided tour of the sidewalk stars honoring a panoply of LGBTQ+ pop culture heroes along Hollywood’s Walk of Fame.

Concerts at Amoeba Music

TBA 

Schedule & Locations

Pride LIVE! runs Wednesdays through Sundays, June 11–29, in various Hollywood venues, including a special kickoff celebration on June 11. Events will take place at such storied Hollywood locations as The Hollywood Offices at 6464 and 6565 Sunset Blvd., Cinelounge Theater, W Hollywood, Amoeba Music, The Montalbán Theater and LA Explained, The Aster and Lemon Grove, The Whisky Hotel and Emerson College, with more to be announced.