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2018 - Spoiler alerts A brilliant, ground breaking eight part TV series from the US about New York’s black transgender community in the late 1980’s. The cast are predominantly genuine transgender folk, in a story centred around the House competitors in the strict, often brutal costume ball contest circuit. This involves dressing to impress in themed catwalk strut and pose contests for high cash and trophy awards. Competing teams are divided into houses, with the stories centred on the House Of Abundance, House Evangelista and later, the House Of Ferocity. As with 8-Mile style hip-hop confrontational contests, contestants trash-talk one another, the Em-cees are brutal in their put downs and judging is merciless. A stand out character is Em-cee Pray Tell, played by Billy Porter. Outside the contest arena, the characters struggle to find work, money, love and homes. Some characters are HIV positive, others are alienated from their families once their sexual secrets have been discovered. Angel Evangelista, not yet having undergone her final gender change operation, becomes a lover to a wealthy Trump Tower operative who only wants her until she undergoes her operation, when he ditches her, just as his wife discovers the affair and his own life is left in ruins. Much of the series plays riffs on the delusional-fantasy parody of the balls, with costumes often mimicking wealth and power (the TV series Dynasty is a theme for one ball), and the harsh blunt reality faced in the days between contests. Damon Richards is a homeless kid, dealing in drugs and taken in by the house Evangelista. Dance-busking in the streets, he is spotted by a ballet teacher for his raw talent, but his passion for the Balls, his drug dealing and unprotected sex activity endanger his potential break to real success. The series is flashy, colourful, dramatic, beautifully acted and the soundtrack is as fabulous as the ball gowns on display. Youtube – Trailer clip from the series Arthur Chappell