Smiley creator confirms the Spanish gay rom-com has been cancelled

This is news that certainly won’t leave anyone smiling. The creator of the Spanish gay rom-com, Smiley, has confirmed that the season won’t be getting a second season.

The series, which debuted on Netflix to positive reviews, charted the story of Alex (Carlos Cuevas) and Bruno (Miki Esparbê) as they meet by chance and explore their feelings for one another.

The sweet and endearing series was praised for the main characters’ chemistry, which positively cracked off the screen. It also led many viewers to compare it to Bros, Billy Eichner’s gay rom-com.

Speaking on SER Catalunya‘s Aquí Catalunya broadcast recently, Smiley creator Guillem Clau said fans wouldn’t be seeing anymore of Alex and Bruno.

The series, based on Clau’s play of the same name was nominated for Outstanding Spanish-Language Scripted Television Series at the 2023 GLAAD Media Awards.

Unfortunately Smiley is the latest in a depressingly long line of cancelled LGBTQ shows.

Netflix has also dropped series such as The Bastard Son and the Devil Himself, First Kill, Q-Force, and The Wilds. Other series featuring LGBTQ themes and/or characters include 1899, Uncoupled, Queer as Folk, and Gentleman Jack.

“The power of inclusive storytelling is more crucial than ever”

Those are 8 shows that aren’t coming back. 8 might not sound like a huge number, and if you’re not LGBTQ that is absolutely the case. The good news for you is there’s an almost endless amount of content catered to you. But for a community that hasn’t always been able to see itself represented on screen in an authentic and meaningful way, it’s actually a rather large number.

GLAAD’s annual Where We Are on TV report painted an even worse picture. It found that 54 LGBTQ-inclusive series have been cancelled. This means 140 LGBTQ+ characters are also gone. That’s 24% of all LGBTQ characters in programmes that premiered or expected to return between 1 June 2022, and 31 May 2023. 

GLAAD wrote in the report: “The power of inclusive storytelling is more crucial than ever.” As we see anti-LGBTQ rhetoric ramping up around the world leading to horrifying pieces of legislation as well as acts of violence, such a statement could not be further from the truth.

In such difficult times, people will turn to entertainment for comfort and relief from the challenges they face. How heartbreaking, after years of progress, that they won’t be able to see themselves represented as much.

Representation matters. It can make a fundamental difference sometimes. What a terrible shame we’re losing that.