This book explores the experiences of queer female and genderqueer fans  through interviews and an original documentary. Inspired by fan reactions to the death of a popular lesbian character on the television series The 100 (2014–2020), the book focuses on the fans' experiences with the "Bury Your Gays" trope and seeks to illustrate the enduring impact of these fi ctional deaths on contemporary viewers.

The book draws on queer theory to frame the experiences of queer female and genderqueer fans as experiences of queer time: as deviations from heteronormative life timelines, as anachronistic backward turns, and as queer melancholia. By exploring the "backward" feelings and experiences of fans, this book illustrates how the pain and abjection of the queer past are still with us in the present, challenging simplistic narratives of progress and highlighting the continuing marginalisation of the queer community onscreen and in the wider political context.