7 Things That Are Everything This Week

Black Cat Anniversary

Before the Stonewall riots, there was an uprising against police brutality at another gay bar, the Black Cat in Los Angeles. As patrons were ringing in the New Year of 1967 at the Black Cat, undercover cops pulled guns, then beat and cuffed 14 people. Two men were arrested for kissing, and they had to register as sex offenders. A bartender suffered a ruptured spleen. A few weeks later, LGBT Angelenos and their allies organized several days of protests outside the bar, the first one taking place February 11. The raid also led to the founding of The Advocate, when two men took over the newsletter of a gay rights group called PRIDE (Personal Rights in Defense and Education) and turned it into a newsmagazine. The PRIDE name lives on in our sibling site. Los Angeles City Council member Mitch O'Farrell, whose district includes the Black Cat (now a restaurant as well as a bar), has organized a rally and party at the side for this Saturday, the 50th anniversary of the first protest. There will be several speakers, including Advocate editor in chief Lucas Grindley, plus music and dancing. The activities run from 8 p.m. to 2 a.m.; the Black Cat is located at 3909 W. Sunset Blvd. Find more details on Facebook.

People Like Us

Award-winning web series People Like Us is now available on all Here TV platforms, including Comcast, AT&T, and Amazon Prime (Here TV is owned by the same parent company as The Advocate). The series follows the lives of four gay men in Singapore ranging in age from 20 to 45, but with a focus on Joel, a 26-year-old looking for love. The show will draw you in with the juicy sexual and romantic encounters of these men, but will keep you tuned in with powerful and honest storylines regarding critical health issues and toxic gay male stereotypes.

Brown Girls

The most anticipated web series of 2017 arrives this month. Brown Girls follows best friends Leila and Patricia as they navigate Chicago, adulthood, and queerness in every sense of the word. In a country yanking itself back into the 1950s, Brown Girls keeps a fresh narrative on the beauty and chaos of being women of color and, in the case of the character Leila, a young woman recognizing her same-sex desires. Check out the hilarious trailer at BrownGirlsWebSeries.com.

59th Annual Grammy Awards

This night is being accurately billed as the big battle of Beyonce versus Adele. The two superstars arrive with oodles of nominations, and to be honest, the other music being honored is mostly forgettable. The Chainsmokers as Best New Artist? Justin Bieber's Purpose for Album of the Year? Seems like craven popularity-chasing when those mediocre acts get top billing and David Bowie is relegated to the rock categories. Oh, well -- we'll be tuning in to see the two aforementioned ladie, as well as a highly anticipated performance by Lady Gaga and Metallica. The show airs Sunday on CBS at 8 p.m. Eastern.

A United Kingdom

Following the critically acclaimed Loving comes another story of a history-making interracial love. A United Kingdom -- starring Gone Girl's Rosamund Pike and Selma's David Oyelowo -- tells the story of an African prince who falls in love with a London office worker in the 1940s. Their relationship would scandalize two continents and change perceptions on colonialism and apartheid. In limited release now.

Girls

Since 2012, Girls has served America a regular heaping of millennial angst, spiced with the controversies of Lena Dunham, the GBF of Andrew Rannells, and the abs of Adam Driver. This weekend, the journey of Hannah, Marnie, Jessa, Shoshanna, and their friends in New York City begins its final run in the sixth-season premiere. Will these girls survive the end of their 20s? Is there love and life beyond? Tune in Sundays on HBO to find out.

Doubt

CBS makes television history next week the premiere of Doubt, a legal drama that boasts the first transgender actress (Laverne Cox) portraying a trans series regular. Cox portrays a lawyer in a leading firm, which includes a defense attorney portrayed by Katherine Heigl who falls for one of her clients (Steven Pasquale). Created by a married couple, Tony Phelan and Joan Rater (Grey's Anatomy), the series also features the talents of Dule Hill, Dreama Walker, Elliott Gould, and Kobi Libii. Catch its premiere Wednesday, 10 p.m. Eastern on CBS.