L-R Bette Midler, Ben Platt, Judith Light in ‘The Politician’ The gloves come off, and the claws are out. Get ready for the spiciest and most iconic election battle in NYC history. Netflix’s The Politician returns June 19. Check out the trailer for Season 2 of Ryan Murphy’s The Politician, pitting Ben Platt against Judith Light and Bette Midler as he attempts his next run for office. The new season time jumps three years ahead from the end of Season One where our hero, Payton Hobart (Ben Platt), is now in his third year at Colombia University and has set his sights on unseating New York State Sen. Dede Standish (Judith Light), a longtime incumbent and currently serving as the Senate Majority Leader. Bette Midler is along for the ride as Standish’s no-nonsense Chief of Staff, Hadassah Gold, who promises her boss, “We’re destroying him – you’ll thank me later.”
Standish’s reelection was supposed to be easy until Hobart jumped in the race. All of this is part of Hobart’s master plan to eventually become president of the United States, a goal he’s held since he was seven-years-old. The series also stars Gwyneth Paltrow, Zoey Deutsch, Lucy Boynton, Laura Dreyfuss, Theo Germaine, David Corenswet, and Ryan Haddad. The always dependable Jackie Hoffman joins the cast for Season 2. The trailer moves at warp-speed dropping morsels of plot points including Hobart obtaining proof that Standish was in a throuple, campaigns bugging the other camps, and team members turning ‘double agents.’ And then there’s Midler demanding a staffer quickly purchase some “spicy lube.” The entire 8-episode season drops Friday, June 19, on Netflix. Judith Light in ‘The Politician’ (screen capture)
(image via Instagram) Netflix has dropped the trailer for the upcoming ‘Ben Platt Live From Radio City Music Hall‘ scheduled to debut on the streaming platform May 20. The concert (filmed on September 29, 2019) included tracks from the Tony Award winner’s debut solo album, Sing to Me Instead, as well as selections from a very personal songbook. In the trailer, Platt shares with the audience, “I’m a very anxious person, so I live very much in my head. I have a really hard time being present where I am, and one of the most special ways for me to do that is music.” “The greatest gift of music is it’s something that can really bring people together,” says the Dear Evan Hansen star. “It can help you see someone in a way that you don’t expect to, and see someone’s perspective.”
In this week’s podcast: • A former police officer will receive a settlement after being denied a job because he is HIV positive • Ohio teacher fired for having a husband • Small steps forward for LGBTQ rights in Morocco • The Trump administration is close to removing important anti-discrimination protections for LGBTQs from the Affordable Care Act • Ryan Murphy’s new Netflix series Hollywood is a progressive, pro-LGBTQ reimagining of post-World War II Tinseltown • New ‘good news’ podcast to help you sleep at night – UNSAD Podcast www.unsadpodcast.com All that and more in this episode of The Randy Report podcast
Check out the trailer for Ryan Murphy’s latest binge-worthy limited series for Netflix – Hollywood – a show he has called a “love letter to the Golden Age of Tinseltown.” The official synopsis reads, “Hollywood follows a group of aspiring actors and filmmakers in post-World War II Hollywood as they try to make it in Tinseltown — no matter the cost. Each character offers a unique glimpse behind the gilded curtain of Hollywood’s Golden Age, spotlighting the unfair systems and biases across race, gender and sexuality that continue to this day. “Provocative and incisive, Hollywood exposes and examines decades-old power dynamics, and what the entertainment landscape might look like if they had been dismantled.”
“With the present so fraught and the future uncertain, we turned to the past for direction, uncovering buried history to spin an aspirational tale of what ifs,” executive producer, writer and director Janet Mock said in a statement. “What if a band of outsiders were given a chance to tell their own story?” “What if the person with greenlight power was a woman? The screenwriter a black man? What if the heroine was a woman of color? The matinee idol openly gay? And what if they were all invited into the room where the decisions are made, entering fully and unapologetically themselves to leave victorious and vaunted, their place in history cemented?” Mock concluded saying, “Hollywood is a love letter to our little industry town where dreamers dwell, stars are born and magic transcends reality.” The new limited-series debuts on Netflix on May 1. L-R Darren Criss, Jeremy Pope, David Corenswet and Jake Picking in ‘Hollywood’
Karen and Barry Mason (screen capture) For more than 35 years, the Circus of Books bookstore was a place where Los Angeles LGBTQ people could socialize and celebrate themselves without judgment. Not just ‘a book store,’ the retail venue was a gay porn emporium run by a straight, mainstream Jewish couple – Barry and Karen Mason – whose three children attended religious schools and were unaware for a long time about the nature of their parents’ business. Executive produced by Ryan Murphy for Netflix, Circus of Books is now a new documentary set to drop on April 22. The project is the debut film from Rachel Mason, one of the children of the owners. In the newly-released trailer, which alternates between interview soundbites and clips from vintage gay porn, one of the Mason children shares, “We were just kept completely in the dark.” “If anyone asked what our parents did, the official answer was ‘We own a book store,’” added another. “In the 1980s, we were probably the biggest distributors of hard-core gay films in the United States, but I never felt free to let anybody know what we did,” says Karen in the trailer. (screen capture) The conflict was due to the family’s attendance at a “stuffy, conservative synagogue” and having a business that sold gay porn and sex paraphernalia to the LGBTQ community. According to press materials, the Masons didn’t set out to be gay activists, just “everyday entrepreneurs.” But then came the AIDS crisis and the Masons found they were losing employees to the epidemic. Phoning the parents of those employees, they realized how marginalized so many LGBTQ people were as many responded to the news with “I never want to see them again.” And so, the Masons became accidental activists recognizing the humanity in their customers. One former patron shares to the camera, “Circus of Books was my first glimpse into the fact that I wasn’t alone as a gay person.” Another: “This book store, it kept me out of harm’s way.” “I think what we did was small, human kindnesses in a very small way,” says Karen Mason in an interview clip. Check out the trailer below, and mark your calendar for the April 22 release of Circus of Books on Netflix.
Joe Exotic and friend (image via Netflix) Netflix has announced a new episode its wildly popular seven-episode docu-series, Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem and Madness. Joel McHale will host the postscript episode which is titled, “The Tiger King and I,” to be released on April 12. Deadline Hollywood reports the new installment will “feature brand-new interviews with Tiger King‘s John Reinke, Joshua Dial, John Finlay, Saff, Erik Cowie, Rick Kirkham, and Jeff and Lauren Lowe, who will talk about their experiences since last month’s release of the docuseries.” “It’s eye-opening and hopefully funny,” McHale said in announcing the followup. The show has become a pop culture phenomenon since its premiere on March 20, perhaps in part due to many folks staying home thanks to the coronavirus pandemic. In case you haven’t been following the unbelievable popularity of the docu-series, check out the mini-feature below that chronicles how and why the Netflix series came to be. McHale posted this quick video clip to the Netflix Twitter account announcing the additional episode.
The Tiger King and I — a Tiger King after show hosted by Joel McHale and featuring brand new interviews with John Reinke, Joshua Dial, John Finlay, Saff, Erik Cowie, Rick Kirkman, and Jeff and Lauren Lowe — will premiere April 12 pic.twitter.com/8fbbNdaiDA
Mike Yerxa (image via Instagram) Some news items you might have missed: • InstaHunks: Who else is baking during this coronavirus thing? Toronto hottie Mike Yerxa (above – serious beard goals!!!) shows his pride in his newly-baked banana bread. • The Hill: Twitter founder Jack Dorsey, whose net worth is estimated at $3.3 billion, announced Tuesday that he will donate $1 billion to the newly-founded Start Small Foundation to support “global COVID-19 relief” efforts. Dorsey ranks 168 on the Forbes 400 list, so there are 167 American billionaires with more money than him. Will they pony-up as well? • MSNBC: Donald Trump thinks mail-in voting is “horrible,” but he voted by mail in Florida’s election last month. “Because I’m allowed to.” In 2016, there were nearly 33 million absentee votes counted, according to the U.S. Election Assistance Commission. More than 600,000 military and other overseas voters cast ballots in 2016.
President Trump: "I think mail-in voting is horrible, it's corrupt."
Reporter: "You voted by mail in Florida's election last month, didn't you?"
• Washington Blade: At a press conference last Friday, Donald Trump was asked about the FDA easing its outdated blood donation rules for gay and bisexual men from a 12-month wait to 3-months. The Donald, who frames himself as ‘good for the gays’ admitted he didn’t know anything or have anything to do with the new guidelines. • Variety: Netflix is releasing an extra episode of the hit docu-series Tiger King next week, according to zoo owner Jeff Lowe from the show. “Netflix is adding one more episode,” said Lowe in a video posted on Twitter by Justin Turner of the Los Angeles Dodgers. “It will be on next week. They’re filming here tomorrow.” #ItsNotOver • NewNowNext: Lady Gaga and advocacy group Global Citizen teamed up to raise $35 million in the fight against the coronavirus pandemic, and will celebrate with a talent-filled TV special honoring health care workers on April 18, starting at 8pm EST. In the United States, it will be shown simultaneously on CBS, NBC, and ABC. The special will include appearances by Elton John, Lizzo, John Legend, Billie Eilish, Paul McCartney, Stevie Wonder, David Beckham, Alanis Morissette, Andrea Bocelli, Kacey Musgraves, Keith Urban, Maluma, Idris Elba, and more. • Talking Points Memo: Clad in gloves, a mask and full-length gown, Wisconsin Speaker Robin Vos (R) assured voters that it is “incredibly safe to go out” on Election Day despite the COVID-19 pandemic. Vos and his fellow Republicans were behind the push to keep Wisconsin’s elections as scheduled, in part, because there’s a state Supreme Court seat on the ballot and conservatives do better when fewer folks show up. Vos looks silly telling people “incredibly safe” wearing all his hospital gear…
The cast of ‘Schitt’s Creek’ (via Instagram) We haven’t seen the last of Schitt’s Creek just yet! Streaming giant Netflix has announced its first-ever comedy tour of North America – Schitt’s Creek: The Farewell Tour! Squee!!! The event will be a live, improvisational show featuring the stars of the hit sitcom. The comedy tour will also take part in Stand Out: An LGBTQ+ Celebration on May 1 at the Greek Theatre in Los Angeles. “Couldn’t say goodbye without saying thank you to all of you,” Dan Levy wrote on Instagram. Levy adds that tickets go on sale this Friday at 10 am local time. Twelve dates have been announced so far including Los Angeles, Phoenix, Washington DC, Orlando, Boston and more. Levy notes that more dates will be added to the tour schedule. Dan and Eugene Levy, Catherine O’Hara, Annie Murphy, Noah Reid, and Emily Hampshire are all scheduled to appear on the tour.
Sadly, I remember all too well covering the story of young Gabriel Fernandez’s death – a horrifying case of an 8-year-old boy who was murdered by his own mother and her sadistic boyfriend. According to many reports at the time, he was tortured over and over because the boyfriend believed Gabriel to be gay. Not only were the duo prosecuted for their crimes, but charges were brought against four social workers who had checked on Gabriel over months and months but appeared to have done nothing to help Gabriel. “Looking away when you have the power to make a difference – that is true evil.” Witness an unflinching look at the case that put the system on trial. On Netflix now.
Follow woofy Wes Dupee on Instagram here Some news items you might have missed: • InstaHunks: Gymbear Wes Dupee gets his food prep on (above). Readers – how many of you have a weekly food prep schedule? Do you get tired of the same food, or is it the convenience you like? • IOM Today: A gay man was beaten in a late-night encounter when an older man mistakenly thought he was flirting with him. The victim says he feels lucky he didn’t lose any teeth. • Netflix: The streaming giant’s latest queer comedy series, Feel Good, stars Mae Martin as herself, a Canadian comedian living in London, navigating a relationship with her new girlfriend, George and dealing with sobriety. Did I mention the awesome Lisa Kudrow plays Martin’s mother? #squeee! The six-episode first season of the dark comedy drops March 19 on Netflix.
• Media Matters: Rush Limbaugh told his listeners on Monday that Donald Trump personally told him to ‘never apologize’ for Rushbo’s anti-gay remarks about White House hopeful Pete Buttigieg. Last week, Limbaugh suggested Trump could have “fun” with Buttigieg kissing his husband on stage. He also wondered aloud how to explain Buttigieg kissing his husband to their children. • OUT: ‘Over-aggressive anti-spam settings’ temporarily prevented some users from logging into their accounts on the bear-centric dating app Growlr causing users to believe they had been suspended. #DontPokeTheBears • NBC News: Sen. Bernie Sanders has jumped out to a 12-point lead in the Democratic presidential contest after his victory in New Hampshire’s primary and his second-place finish in Iowa while former Vice President Joe Biden has seen his support drop by 11 points since his disappointing finishes in both contests, according to an NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll released Tuesday. The survey also shows former New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg gaining ground in the Democratic race in the past month. (graphic via NBC News)
