HBO Max Celebrates Pride 2021 With New Shine On Page From Humans by Orientation!

Starting June 1st, HBO Max will celebrate Pride 2021 with the launch of the Shine On spotlight page!

The brand new spotlight page honors and recognizes HBO Max’s extensive library of LGBTQIA+ stories, characters, and creators. The page will feature exclusive access to concerts, never-before-seen clips, and interviews produced by Human by Orientation throughout the month.

Last year, Human by Orientation launched its first-ever Pride site with 15-events over 11 days.  This year, HBO Max kicks it up a notch with music performances from several artists including King Princess, VINCINT, Raveena, Soccer Mommy, and MUNA.  Additionally, the new spotlight page will feature queer comedy specials from Meg Stalter, Ashley Ray among others, exclusive behind-the-scenes conversations from HBO Max originals like “Hacks,” drag performances from the queens of “We’re Here,” artist spotlights, and more.

Shine On will also include several curated sets that showcase revolutionary series like “Veneno,” “It’s A Sin,” “We Are Who We Are,” “Equal,” “Euphoria” and “We’re Here,” compile historic documentaries like “Welcome to Chechnya,” “The Trans List,” “Wig,” “A Family Is a Family Is a Family,” and “Larry Kramer In Love & Anger,” and feature Trans and Non-Binary voices from “Legendary,” “Transhood,” “Lady and the Dale,” “Euphoria: Special 2,” “Hable Now,” “Todxs Nosotrxs,” to showcase new perspectives on behalf of the community.  Alongside these curations are HBO Max’s Guest Curator program, where exclusive playlists created by “We’re Here” stars Bob the Drag Queen, Eureka O’Hara, and Shangela Laquifa Wadley.  Their lists of their favorite movies and television series include must-see programs such as Miss Congeniality, Legendary, A Star Is Born, and The Color Purple.

The new Shine On spotlight page on HBO Max!

Throughout the 30 days of Pride month, Human By Orientation will also highlight 30 LGBTQIA+ and civil rights nonprofit partners—one per day all Pride month via the Human By Orientation social handles, so consumers can easily learn more and get involved. Organizations include the Ali Forney Center, Asian Pride Project, Center for Black Equity, LGBTQ Freedom Fund, Trans Lifeline, and more.

We got a chance to speak with Blaise Preau, the VP of Multicultural Marketing at WarnerMedia, and Whitney McGowan, the Senior Manager of Editorial Strategy – Communities at HBO Max, about the new Shine On page.  Check it out below!

The Knockturnal: What can we look forward to seeing from Human by Orientation for raising awareness for Pride this year?

Blaise Preau: Human By Orientation is once again offering a month-long virtual PRIDE celebration with short-form content series available in the Human By Orientation social feeds (@humanbyorientation on Instagram; @humanby_O on Twitter), HBO Max, and HBO Max’s YouTube. Celebrate PRIDE with exclusive live musical performances by King Princess and VINCINT, a queer comedy showcase headlined by Meg Stalter, and show-stopping drag performances by the queens of We’re Here. We also created an interview series called Queerness in Conversation, where HBO Max stars discuss their relationship with queerness and how they navigate those identities on and off-screen.

The Knockturnal: Can you talk about the support for the 30 LGBTQIA+ and civil rights nonprofit organizations and raising awareness for them?

Blaise Preau:  We partner with so many amazing nonprofits – some are household names and others may be new to you – what better way to feature all of them than highlighting one per day for the month! Every one of our partners is leading the fight for queer liberation. Each day we’ll feature an organization in Human By Orientation’s Instagram story to spread awareness of their work and provide resources to learn more and support their efforts.

The Knockturnal: How has the Pride site changed this year?

Blaise Preau: The biggest change – it’s no longer a site! Last year, we drove consumers to a website because HBO Max had launched only days before, and Human By Orientation hadn’t yet established itself on social media. This year, we’re able to offer our month-long Pride content series directly to audiences on Human By Orientation’s social feeds, HBO Max, and HBO Max’s YouTube. On HBO Max, our Pride content series will live as its own collection page called, “Your Pass to Pride 2021.” On HBO Max’s YouTube, we will upload new videos every day throughout the month on our “Human By Orientation PRIDE 2021” playlist. And on Human By Orientation social handles, we will promote our new content throughout the month, tease upcoming performances, and offer exclusive interviews with our Pride performers. Last year we had over 40,000 visitors from 113 countries – our hope is that by offering even more access points, the audience will only grow.

The Knockturnal: Can you talk about the Shine On curations and the Guest Curator program?

Whitney McGowan: With Shine On, we set out to make something that showed the diversity, joy, creativity, and resilience of the LGBTQ+ community. That’s essentially where each of our campaigns begin, with the community. We combined performance data, audience research, and a love for all things queer to hopefully create the perfect streaming experience for Pride 2021. It also doesn’t hurt that showcases the depth and breadth of our we have grown an incredible library of queer content from “Euphoria” to “It’s a Sin” to “Lupe.” the depth and breadth of the content made it all the easier. For our Guest Curator program, we knew from the very beginning that we wanted to bring together Bob the Drag Queen, Eureka O’Hara, and Shangela Laquifa Wadley (the stars of “We’re Here”), for their streaming recommendations. If you’ve watched the show you would know, they have impeccable taste!

The Knockturnal: What events from the Virtual Pride collection are you most looking forward to?

Blaise Preau: Personally, I can’t wait to share the VINCINT concert we recorded on a warehouse rooftop overlooking the LA skyline. Human By Orientation actually first partnered with VINCINT back in 2018 in Provincetown, and again at our SXSW activation 2019. It’s been amazing to watch his success up close, and we’re thrilled to see what summer 2021 holds for him. His energy is radiant, and his new single, “Higher” is giving me major SoTS vibes! …do people still say Song of The Summer?

The Knockturnal: Which show from the Shine On curations is your favorite?

Whitney McGowan: This is far too difficult to decide, but I can narrow it down to three. Veneno is a gift, I’ve never seen anything like it. Hacks is a new favorite because I love how all the queer characters in the series are given the space to be full characters, apart from their being queer. And finally, Pause with Sam Jay. Sam has a great way of getting to the heart of issues. I could watch her debate anything.

Check out the new Shine On spotlight page on HBO Max and check out below for the list of curated shows included on the page!

Unapologetically Queer

• Awkwafina is Nora From Queens
• Batwoman
• Betty (HBO)
• Euphoria (HBO)
• Euphoria: Special 1 (HBO)
• Euphoria: Special 2 (HBO)
• Genera+ion
• Gentleman Jack (HBO)
• Hacks
• Here and Now (HBO)
• I May Destroy You (HBO)
• It’s A Sin
• Legendary
• Looking (HBO)
• Looking: The Movie (HBO)
• Los Espookys (HBO)
• Search Party
• Steven Universe
• Todxs Nosotrxs(HBO)
• Trigonometry
• True Blood (HBO)
• Veneno
• We Are Who We Are (HBO)
• We’re Here (HBO)
• Years and Years (HBO)

Our Resilience

• A Family Is a Family Is a Family, 2010 (HBO)
• And the Band Played On, 1993 (HBO)
• Angels in America (HBO)
• Bessie, 2015 (HBO)
• Billie Jean King: Portrait of a Pioneer, 2006 (HBO)
• Equal
• Habla Men ‘14, 2014 (HBO)
• Larry Kramer in Love & Anger, 2015 (HBO)
• Mapplethorpe: Look at the Pictures, 2016 (HBO)
• Suited, 2016 (HBO)
• The Case Against 8, 2014 (HBO)
• The Normal Heart, 2014 (HBO)
• The Out List, 2013 (HBO)
• The Strange History of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, 2011 (HBO)
• The Times of Harvey Milk, 1984
• The Trans List, 2016 (HBO)
• Transhood, 2020 (HBO)
• Valentine Road, 2013 (HBO)
• Welcome to Chechnya, 2020 (HBO)
• When I Knew, 2008 (HBO)
• Wig, 2019 (HBO)

Trans and Non-Binary Voices

• Buzz (HBO)
• Equal
• Euphoria (HBO)
• Euphoria: Special 2 (HBO)
• Full Beat, 2018 (HBO)
• Habla Men ’14 (HBO)
• Habla Now, 2020 (HBO)
• Lady and the Dale (HBO)
• Legendary
• Lupe, 2021 (HBO)
• Suited (HBO)
• The Trans List (HBO)
• Todxs Nosotrxs (HBO)
• Transhood (HBO)
• Veneno
• We Are Who We Are (HBO)

Showstopping TV Characters

• Batwoman (Katy Kane and Sophie Moore)
• Betty (Honeybear) (HBO)
• Doctor Who (Bill Potts)
• Euphoria (Jules) (HBO)
• Game of Thrones (Yara Greyjoy) (HBO)
• Gentleman Jack (Anne Lister) (HBO)
• Girls (Elijah) (HBO)
• Harley Quinn (Harley & Poison Ivy)
• I May Destroy You (Kwame) (HBO)
• It’s a Sin (Ritchie)
• Mrs. Fletcher (Margo) (HBO)
• Search Party (Elliot)
• Six Feet Under (Keith Charles) (HBO)
• Steven Universe (Ruby & Sapphire)
• The O.C. (Alex Kelly)
• The Wire (Omar Little) (HBO)
• True Blood (Lafayette Reynolds) (HBO)
• We Are Who We Are (Harper) (HBO)

Our POC Voices

• Batwoman
• Bessie, 2015 (HBO)
• Betty (HBO)
• Carmen y Lola, 2018 (HBO)
• Charm City Kings
• David Makes Man
• Euphoria (HBO)
• Genera+ion (HBO)
• Happy Together
• I May Destroy You (HBO)
• It’s A Sin
• Lovecraft Country (HBO)
• Lupe (HBO)
• My Favorite Shapes by Julio Torres, 2019 (HBO)
• PAUSE with Sam Jay (HBO)
• Pretty Little Liars
• The Color Purple
• The Wire (HBO)
• Todxs Nosotrxs (HBO)
• True Blood (HBO)
• Veneno
• Vida Perfecta
• We Are Who We Are (HBO)

Super-Representation

• Adventure Time: Obsidian, 2020
• Batwoman
• Doom Patrol
• Freedom Fighters: The Ray, 2018
• Gen:Lock
• Harley Quinn
• Kill La Kill
• Kiznaiver
• OK K.O.
• Steven Universe
• Steven Universe: Future
• Watchmen (HBO)

Queer Creators

• A Room with a View, 1986 (James Ivory) (HBO)
• A Time to Kill, 1996 (Joel Schumacher)
• Bad Education, 2004 (Pedro Almodóvar)
• Banshee (Alan Ball)
• Batman & Robin, 1997 (Joel Schumacher)
• Batman Forever, 1995 (Joel Schumacher)
• Beauty and the Beast, 1947 (Jean Cocteau)
• Bessie (Dee Rees – Director, Writer) (HBO)
• Billy Elliott, 2000 (Stephen Daldry) (HBO)
• Black Orpheus, 1959 (Jean Cocteau)
• Broken Embraces (Pedro Almodóvar)
• Davis Makes Man (Tarell Alvin McCraney)
• Desert Hearts, 1985 (Donna Deitch)
• Full Beat, 2018 (Kase Pena – Director, Writer) (HBO)
• Hairspray, 1988 (John Waters)
• High Maintenance (Katja Blichfeld – Co-Creator) (HBO)
• I’m So Excited (Pedro Almodóvar)
• It’s a Sin (Russell T. Davies)
• J. Edgar, 2011 (Dustin Lance Black)
• Jubilee, 1979 (Derek Jarman)
• Larry Kramer In Love and Anger, 2015 (Jean Carlomusto – Director) (HBO)
• Looking (Andrew Haigh) (HBO)
• Los Espookys (Julio Torres, Ana Fabrega – Co-Creators) (HBO)
• Lost & Delirious (Lèa Pool)
• Mildred Pierce (Todd Haynes) (HBO)
• Olive Kitteridge (Lisa Cholodenko – Director) (HBO)
• Pepi, Luci, Bom Y Otras Chicas del Monton (Pedro Almodóvar)
• Sex and the City (Michael Patrick King) (HBO)
• Six Feet Under (Alan Ball) (HBO)
• Steven Universe (Rebecca Sugar)
• The Craft, 1996 (Andrew Fleming)
• The Human Voice (Pedro Almodóvar)
• The Laramie Project, 2002 (Moises Kaufman – Director, Writer) (HBO)
• The Normal Heart, 2014 (Ryan Murphy) (HBO)
• The Philadelphia Story, 1940 (George Cukor)
• Todxs Nosotrxs (Daniel Riberio, Vera Egito, Adelina Anthony – Directors) (HBO)
• True Blood (Alan Ball) (HBO)
• Volver (Pedro Almodóvar)

Laugh With Us

• 2 Dope Queens (HBO)
• At Home with Amy Sedaris
• Coastal Elites, 2020 (HBO)
• HBO Comedy Half Hour: Margaret Cho (HBO)
• Jerrod Carmichael 8, 2017 (HBO)
• Jerrod Carmichael Love at the Store, 2014 (HBO)
• Loiter Squad
• My Dad Wrote a Porno (HBO)
• My Favorite Shapes by Julio Torres, 2019 (HBO)
• Rosie O’Donnell: A Heartfelt Standup, 2015 (HBO)
• Tig Notaro: Boyish Girl Interrupted, 2015 (HBO)