'The Whe Lot' Gay Sex Scene Explaed by Mike Whe - Variety

Contents:

• FROM THE 'EVIL QUEEN' TO THE 'SAD LBIAN,' 'WHE LOT' ED MANY GAY TROP. WHY DIDN'T RAISE ANY RED FLAGS FOR SOME FANS?
• MIKE WHE AND ‘THE WHE LOT’ STARS BREAK DOWN THAT JAW-DROPPG TWIST: I WANT TO ‘MAKE GAY SEX TRANSGRSIVE AGA’
• THUNR WAIV RUDY GAY, PER REPORT, CLEARG WAY FOR JACK WHE
• ‘THE WHE LOT’ SEASON FALE: ‘THE GAYS, THEY’RE TRYG TO MURR ME!’
• THUNR CUTTG RUDY GAY CLEARS WAY FOR JACK WHE SIGNG
• THE WHE LOT SEASON TWO: FANS LEFT UTTER SHOCK BY UNEXPECTED GAY SEX SCENE
• WHE LOT STAR JAKE LACY WAS “THRILLED” TO PLAY A TOTAL ASSHOLETV’S MOST STABLE BOYIEND DIGS TO HIS REPUGNANT NEW HBO CHARACTER, HIS ROLE BEG THE RIRDOS, AND ALMOST BEG ST PROMISG YOUNG WOMAN.BY JOANNA ROBSONJULY 12, 2021FACEBOOKTWTEREMAILSAVE STORYPHOTOGRAPH BY JOHN JAYSAVE THIS STORYSAVESAVE THIS STORYSAVETHERE’S A FAIAR FACE MIKE WHE’S BUZZY NEW HBO DRAMEDY THE WHE LOT THAT MAY LULL DIENC TO A FALSE SENSE OF SECURY. IT’S JAKE LACY, WHO’S GOT A LONG HISTORY OF PLAYG THE SWEET, STABLE LOVE TERT OPPOSE PLITED, MSY FEMALE PROTAGONISTS THE OFFICE, OBV CHILD, GIRLS, HIGH FILY, AND MORE. HE’S SO FAMO FOR PLAYG NICE GUYS THAT VULTURE MA A LIST ABOUT . BUT ALMOST IMMEDIATELY THE WHE LOT, ’S APPARENT THAT THIS LACY CHARACTER IS DIFFERENT. HE’S WEARG BRIGHT PK AT BRO SHORTS, BUT NOT HIS TRAMARK LACY GR. AS IF THAT WEREN’T ENOUGH OF A RED FLAG, HIS BSQUE, UNSG LIVERY OF AN EARLY LE—“NO OFFENSE? LEAVE ME THE FUCK ALONE”—SHOULD LET YOU KNOW THAT WHE’S SHOW WILL MAKE YOU RETHK YOUR FAVORE ONSCREEN GOOD GUY. IN WHE LOT, LACY IS PLAYG SHANE PATTON, ONE OF SEVERAL WELL-HEELED VATNERS AT THE TULAR, EXCLIVE RORT HAWAII. SHANE IS ON HIS HONEYMOON WH HIS LOVELY BRI RACHEL (ALEXANDRA DADDAR)—BUT LIKE MOST OF THE PRIVILEGED GUTS AT THIS LUXUR HOTEL, SHANE IS EXTREMELY UNHAPPY WH HIS LOT LIFE. HIS BIG PROBLEM? THE HOTEL HAS BOOKED HIM TO A SLIGHTLY LS PALATIAL SUE THAN THE ONE HIS MOTHER PROMISED HIM. SHANE HAS SEVERAL OBNOX ANGL, ALL OF WHICH LACY ATTACKS WH GTO. THE ACTOR SPOKE WH VANY FAIR ABOUT UPENDG THE NICE GUY TROPE, WHAT WAS LIKE TO FILM WHE LOT DURG THE PANMIC, AND ABOUT AARON SORK’S UPG FILM BEG THE RIRDOS, STARRG NILE KIDMAN AND JAVIER BARM AS LUCILLE BALL AND DI ARNAZ. VANY FAIR: WHEN HIGH FILY WAS RELEASED, YOU DISCSED YOUR HISTORY OF PLAYG NICE GUY BOYIENDS AND SAID YOU WERE HOPG TO PLAY CHARACTERS WHO WERE A LTLE MORE TERTG—LS LIKE “JT WALLPAPER,” I THK IS HOW YOU PUT . JAKE LACY: AS I HEAR THAT BACK I’M LIKE, “DON’T SAY THAT STUFF, JAKE. DON’T SAY ‘JT WALLPAPER’ TO PEOPLE. COME ON, MAN.”WELL, I THK HIGH FILY DID FULFILL THAT PROMPT. BUT WHE LOT IS OBVLY SOMETHG VERY DIFFERENT. HOW TENTNAL WAS THAT CHOICE FOR YOU? WERE YOU LOOKG TO BLOW UP YOUR NICE GUY PERSONA?  I WAS THRILLED THAT WAS DIFFERENT, BUT WAS NOT AS SPECIFIC AS “I WILL NO LONGER DO STABLE BOYIEND ROL.” MY HISTORY DOG SUPPORTIVE, STABLE GUYS LENDS SELF TO SHANE WHE LOT, BEE HE THKS HE IS THAT GUY. HE THKS HE’S THIS TCH. YOU HAVE THAT PERSON ALSO BEHAVG AS A PETULANT CHILD. I LIKE THAT DICHOTOMY MORE THAN JT A PERSON WHO LOOKS LIKE A VILLA, BEG A VILLA. THAT HAS S PLACE. IT’S ALSO FUN TO HAVE SOMEONE THAT SEEMS AFFABLE TO BE A LTLE GROSS. YOU JT WANNA BE LIKE, BUDDY, LET GO WH THE ROOM. YOU HAVE EVERYTHG ELSE. DID YOU HAPPEN TO SEE PROMISG YOUNG WOMAN? IT’S A PARA OF STABLE, NICE GUY BOYIEND ACTORS. I WAS LIKE, WHERE’S JAKE LACY? HONTLY, WAS A SCHLG THG. I WAS SHOOTG HIGH FILY AT THE TIME. I REALLY WANTED TO BE A PART OF . I DID SEE , AND LOVED WHAT THEY DID. BUT, Y—NICE GUY GO BAD, E ON! I READ AN TERVIEW WH EMERALD FENNELL WHERE SHE SAID SHE WANTED TO ST THE FAIAR FAC, PARTICULARLY OM TV. AUDIENC ARE A LTLE MORE VULNERABLE TO THOSE PEOPLE BEG GROSS BEE YOU’VE VED TO YOUR HOME. TO THEN HAVE THAT FACE BE THE SG FACE OF SEXUAL ASSLT IS REALLY UNNERVG. WERE THEY LOOKG AT YOU FOR THE ROLE THAT BO BURNHAM PLAYED OR A DIFFERENT ONE?NO, NO. A DIFFERENT ONE. SHANE WHE LOT IS A SIAR BA AND SWCH. WE GET BAD VIB OFF HIM IMMEDIATELY, BUT BEE OF YOUR BACKGROUND AND BEE THERE ARE THE MOMENTS WHERE HE THKS HE’S JT GOG TO PROVI FOR HER, I KEPT ROOTG FOR HIM TO FIGURE OUT. HE’S NOT PARTICULARLY PALATABLE AND ISN’T PARTICULARLY GENERO, BUT HE’S NOT A LIAR AND HE’S NOT GASLIGHTG ANYONE—WHICH MAK EVEN MORE PLITED FOR ME TO UNRSTAND HOW I FEEL ABOUT THE PEOPLE AND THEIR PLACE THE WORLD. I SEE HOW THEY GOT THERE, BUT DON’T MEAN I LIKE WHAT IS. SHANE’S RELATNSHIP TO , HE WANTS TO HAVE SEX WH HIS WIFE. THERE IS NO PROBLEM WH THAT. BUT IF THAT’S ALL THERE IS AND ’S EXCLIVELY FOR YOU AND NOT THE OTHER PERSON, THEN STARTS TO BE A PROBLEM. MOST POPULARTHE 25 BT SHOWS ON NETFLIX TO WATCH RIGHT NOWBY TARA ARIANOWELE TO SALTBURN’S TWISTED GOTHIC TALEBY REBEC FORDWH MATRO, LEONARD BERNSTE’S LEGACY AND LOV FALLY H THE BIG SCREENBY REBEC FORDI WAS READG AN OLD TERVIEW MIKE WHE GAVE ABOUT WHY HE WAS SO FASCATED WH REALY TELEVISN. HE SAID SOMETHG ABOUT HOW THE JUICIT VERSN OF THE GENRE, THERE’S JT A TREMENDO LACK OF SELF-AWARENS. WATCHG WHE LOT, SO MANY OF THE CHARACTERS ARE FECTED WH THAT LACK OF SELF-AWARENS. THE BT OF WHE LOT IS WHEN PEOPLE ARE GOG ABOUT THEIR LIV, AND THEY DON’T KNOW THEY’RE BEG AWFUL. I WISH I HAD BEEN MORE KEYED- ON THAT. AS A VIEWER, WHAT I LIKE VOYRISM IS A PERSON WHO HAS NO CLUE HOW TERRIBLE THEY ARE. WHETHER ’S A MOVIE OR ON THE STREET. IF YOU WERE THE LOBBY OF A HOTEL AND OVERHEARD YOUR CHARACTER, SHANE, YOU MIGHT GET THIS ELECTRIC CHARGE THKG AT LEAST YOU’RE NOT AS BAD AS HE IS. YOU N FEEL SO MORALLY SUPERR, RIGHT? IT GIV YOU THE MORAL HIGH GROUND, BUT I HOPE THE HIGH GROUND DON’T LAST. I HOPE THAT PEOPLE ARE WATCHG AND THK, “OH MAN, I’M A PART OF THAT.” SO WHAT WAS THE PROCS, SHOOTG THIS HAWAII THE MIDDLE OF COVID? THEY HAD MA ARRANGEMENTS WH THE STATE THAT WE WERE QUARANTED FOR A CERTA AMOUNT OF TIME, AND THEN WH A NUMBER OF TTS WOULD BE ALLOWED OUT OF OUR ROOMS. BUT WE WEREN’T EVER ALLOWED TO LEAVE THE HOTEL GROUNDS. FOR THE FIRST HALF, WE WERE THE ONLY PEOPLE AT THE HOTEL. THERE WERE NO GUTS, AND THERE WAS A VERY SMALL NUMBER OF STAFF. SO THE NCERN OF GETTG COVID WAS PRETTY LOW; WE WERE ALL JT THERE WH ONE ANOTHER. FRED [HECHGER] AND STEVE [ZAHN] AND I WOULD HAVE DNER TOGETHER EVERY NIGHT. SO THEN YOU GO TO WORK ON AARON SORK’S NEW FILM, BEG THE RIRDOS. YOUR CHARACTER AND HIS PARTNERS CREATED AND WROTE ALL OF I LOVE LUCY. I FEEL LIKE HISTORY HAS ERASED THEM OM THE EQUATN.  YEAH! SO I PLAY BOB CARROLL JR., WHO ALONG WH MALYN PUGH [PLAYED BY ALIA SHAWKAT] AND JS OPPENHEIMER [PLAYED BY TONY HALE] WROTE EVERY EPISO OF I LOVE LUCY. WHICH IS NUTS, WHEN YOU THK OF HOW MANY EPISOS THEY WERE DOG PER SEASON. AARON SORK, WHO WROTE AND DIRECTED , WAS VERY KEEN TO SAY THIS IS A PATG, NOT A PHOTOGRAPH. THIS IS NOT A KEN BURNS DOCUMENTARY. MOST IMPORTANTLY, ’S A GUY WHO IS NEVER SEEN OR HEARD, AND HAS HIS ENTIRE LIFE TETHERED TO THE TWO PEOPLE. IF THEY GO DOWN, HE GO DOWN. HOW DO YOU MEAN? THE STORY IS THAT—AND ’S TE— A SGLE WEEK OF I LOVE LUCY, [BALL] WAS ACCED OF BEG A MUNIST, AT THE PEAK OF MCCARTHYISM, AND DI WAS ACCED OF SLEEPG WH LL GIRLS. ALSO, SHE WAS PREGNANT WH HER SEND CHILD AND HAD TO GO TO CBS AND SAY, “YOU’RE GOG TO DO SOMETHG YOU’VE NEVER DONE AND PUT A PREGNANT WOMAN ON TELEVISN.” AND THIS ALL HAPPENED 48 HOURS. NO ONE ASSOCIATED WH THE SHOW KNEW WHETHER THEY WOULD EVEN SHOOT ON FRIDAY, OR WHETHER THE TWO WOULD EVER WORK AGA. SO THAT’S THE HUMAN STORY BEYOND THE IN OF LUCILLE BALL. MOST POPULARTHE 25 BT SHOWS ON NETFLIX TO WATCH RIGHT NOWBY TARA ARIANOWELE TO SALTBURN’S TWISTED GOTHIC TALEBY REBEC FORDWH MATRO, LEONARD BERNSTE’S LEGACY AND LOV FALLY H THE BIG SCREENBY REBEC FORDTHAT PATG-VERS-PHOTOGRAPH APPROACH, DO TAKE THE PRSURE OFF OF TRYG TO BRG INS LIKE LUCY AND DI TO LIFE? I HOPE DO. I ALSO THK THAT THERE’S NO POT TELLG THAT STORY IF YOUR PURPOSE IS TO DO AN EXACT REPLI. THAT’S JT SPLAY. IT’S TOUGH, BEE A LOT OF PEOPLE HAVE A LOT OF PERSONAL NNECTNS TO ANYTHG SURROUNDG THEIR LEGACY AND THEY’RE GOG TO HAVE TO GET OVER . IF YOU THK YOU’RE GOG TO NEVER WORK AGA AND AT THE SAME TIME MAYBE YOUR MARRIAGE MIGHT END THE NEXT 72 ARE THE THGS THAT THE STORY IS ALG WH MORE THAN “DID WE GET THE HAIR RIGHT.” THE WAY THE TER WORKS IS TO BE LIKE, “LET’S FD A THG TO SCRATCH AND THEN PICK UNTIL ’S A PROBLEM.” SOMETIM I AGREE, AND SOMETIM I DON’T. AND THIS LAST YEAR, WHEN WE WERE ALL STUCK AT HOME, I THK THAT WAS EVEN MORE TEMPTG. YOU KNOW, SOMETHG TO DO JT TO GIVE THE DAY SOME SHAPE. SURE. WHAT DID I DO TODAY? WELL, I TORE SOME STUFF DOWN ON THE TER FOR A WHILE, AND THEN I BUILT SOME OTHER STUFF BACK UP. MORE GREAT STORI FROM VANY FAIR— AN EXCLIVE DEEP DIVE INTO PETER JACKSON’S THE BEATL: GET BACK— JOSEPH FIENN ON HIS HANDMAID’S TALE FATE— THE 10 BT MOVI OF 2021 (SO FAR)— JANE LEVY ON THE ZOEY’S EXTRAORDARY PLAYLIST CANCELLATN— IS LU PIXAR’S FIRST GAY MOVIE?— HOW PHYSIL GOT UNR ROSE BYRNE’S SK— WHAT IS BO BURNHAM’S INSI REALLY TRYG TO SAY?— SIMU LIU IS READY TO TAKE ON MARVEL— FROM THE ARCHIVE: JACKIE AND JOAN COLLS, QUEENS OF THE ROAD— SIGN UP FOR THE “HWD DAILY” NEWSLETTER FOR MT-READ DTRY AND AWARDS VERAGE—PL A SPECIAL WEEKLY EDN OF “AWARDS INSIR.”JOANNA ROBSON

FROM THE 'EVIL QUEEN' TO THE 'SAD LBIAN,' 'WHE LOT' ED MANY GAY TROP. WHY DIDN'T RAISE ANY RED FLAGS FOR SOME FANS?

Edor's note: this post ntas spoilers for episo five of The Whe Lot season 's givg a weeks-long tease, we fally got a gay sex scene on season two of The Whe Lot. In a classic Whe Lot twist, though, a gay sex scene me om somewhere else entirely. Introduced episo three, wealthy gay man Quent (Tom Hollanr) is at the Whe Lot hotel Sicily wh a group of gay iends.

Though most of them are rich olr gays, there are a few younger men their pany, cludg Jack (Leo Woodall), a charmg and sexy guy om Essex who refers to Quent as his "uncle.

Quent's personaly, accent, and tast f the archetypil "proper wealthy Brish gay man, " whereas Jack looks and sounds like a future st member of Love Island. Sendly, if a rich gay man like Quent were to hire a few younger guys to "enterta" him and his group of iends durg a trip to Sicily, stands to reason that someone like Jack would lie to Portia about Quent beg his uncle, not his "employer. Tanya and Portia were troduced to Quent, his “high-end gays” and his alleged nephew Jack episo four, and they all quickly h off.

MIKE WHE AND ‘THE WHE LOT’ STARS BREAK DOWN THAT JAW-DROPPG TWIST: I WANT TO ‘MAKE GAY SEX TRANSGRSIVE AGA’

(Photo: Courty HBO/Warner Media)Warng: This story ntas the wake of the shockg, juicy Whe Lot fale on Sunday, social media has been flood wh great mem, mostly featurg the inic Jennifer social media has not been flood wh, however, is outcry about the show’s e of a variety of age-old gay trop — om the evil queen and the sad/psycho lbian to the “bury your gays” trope, aka the offg of gay characters, the end.

They’ve also mourned Tanya and have excedly looked forward to another season, hopefully wh more Portia outfs to lgh though such well-worn LGBTQ plot pots have riled crics the very recent past — cludg wh Killg Eve and Hoe of the Dragon, both lled out for the “bury your gays” trope — barely anyone seemed triggered by Whe Lot.

Perhaps ’s bee they were prepped by Season 1’s fale, which saw Armond (Murray Bartlett), as the “praved gay, ” also killed off, promptg jt the slightt b of outcry on the Redd thread lled “a cliché trope that needs to die. Over on Twter, “brown queer artist/activist” and filmmaker Leo Herrera ved his bed 35, 000-pl followers to “talk about the e of gay trop” on the seri recently, gettg not much tractn.

THUNR WAIV RUDY GAY, PER REPORT, CLEARG WAY FOR JACK WHE

”Further, he says, “I don’t want to be the ‘angry brown guy’ … but somethg we need to be aware of is that some of the gay whe show-nners may believe we are past certa stereotyp or trop — which brgs up issu of race and privilege. (Photo: Courty HBO/Warner Media)On Facebook, a few of this wrer’s acquatanc sound off, wh one llg Whe a “lazy wrer, ” addg, “’s gross to portray gay men as predators, addicts, transgrsive and dirty before killg them.

‘THE WHE LOT’ SEASON FALE: ‘THE GAYS, THEY’RE TRYG TO MURR ME!’

It’s typil old textbook Hollywood to kill off the morally rpt gay characters, if you know your cema history … yet BOTH SEASONS of Whe Lot rely on the tired old trope.

”Over on a Whe Lot Redd thread, meanwhile, one viewer wonred, “What gay men f***ed wh Mike Whe for him to always make them tragic, vic, and stereotypil? ” That prompted a few to agree, cludg one who noted, “The thg is gay villas is actually a thg … We still want reprentatn so of urse ’s a double-edged sword and impossible to please the entire dience. First, some background on gay tropGLAAD lls gay trop “harmful and tired, ” and the recent exampl have helped refuel old anger about how LGBTQ characters are so often killed off TV dramas — a tradn actually stemmg om the 1934-1968 Motn Picture Productn Co, aka the Hays Co, a set of self-imposed dtry guil that banned (along wh nudy, ltful kissg and more) onscreen homosexual pictns.

THUNR CUTTG RUDY GAY CLEARS WAY FOR JACK WHE SIGNG

That prompted filmmakers to skirt the l by makg sure any even vaguely gay characters were tragic, lonely, doomed or topic was explored pth the 1996 documentary The Celluloid Closet, based on the landmark book by Vo Rso. “I said, you know, if you talk to 10 gay men and ask what they thk, three will love him, three will hate him and four will be jt like him, ” she rells. ”Now, 2022, “we live a culture where people look [at gay Whe Lot characters] and shg … People are not takg as an offense.

THE WHE LOT SEASON TWO: FANS LEFT UTTER SHOCK BY UNEXPECTED GAY SEX SCENE

’”Further, Whe, who is bisexual and whose father is a gay activist, touched upon aga wh Terri Gross on NPR recently, tellg her, “this whole season of the show is … gog to a certa, like, nstellatn of trop and try to, like, play wh those trop a way that hopefully feels h.

On that Redd thread, not one menter, “I’m pretty sure mike whe is bisexual, and his father is gay.

WHE LOT STAR JAKE LACY WAS “THRILLED” TO PLAY A TOTAL ASSHOLETV’S MOST STABLE BOYIEND DIGS TO HIS REPUGNANT NEW HBO CHARACTER, HIS ROLE BEG THE RIRDOS, AND ALMOST BEG ST PROMISG YOUNG WOMAN.BY JOANNA ROBSONJULY 12, 2021FACEBOOKTWTEREMAILSAVE STORYPHOTOGRAPH BY JOHN JAYSAVE THIS STORYSAVESAVE THIS STORYSAVETHERE’S A FAIAR FACE MIKE WHE’S BUZZY NEW HBO DRAMEDY THE WHE LOT THAT MAY LULL DIENC TO A FALSE SENSE OF SECURY. IT’S JAKE LACY, WHO’S GOT A LONG HISTORY OF PLAYG THE SWEET, STABLE LOVE TERT OPPOSE PLITED, MSY FEMALE PROTAGONISTS THE OFFICE, OBV CHILD, GIRLS, HIGH FILY, AND MORE. HE’S SO FAMO FOR PLAYG NICE GUYS THAT VULTURE MA A LIST ABOUT . BUT ALMOST IMMEDIATELY THE WHE LOT, ’S APPARENT THAT THIS LACY CHARACTER IS DIFFERENT. HE’S WEARG BRIGHT PK AT BRO SHORTS, BUT NOT HIS TRAMARK LACY GR. AS IF THAT WEREN’T ENOUGH OF A RED FLAG, HIS BSQUE, UNSG LIVERY OF AN EARLY LE—“NO OFFENSE? LEAVE ME THE FUCK ALONE”—SHOULD LET YOU KNOW THAT WHE’S SHOW WILL MAKE YOU RETHK YOUR FAVORE ONSCREEN GOOD GUY. IN WHE LOT, LACY IS PLAYG SHANE PATTON, ONE OF SEVERAL WELL-HEELED VATNERS AT THE TULAR, EXCLIVE RORT HAWAII. SHANE IS ON HIS HONEYMOON WH HIS LOVELY BRI RACHEL (ALEXANDRA DADDAR)—BUT LIKE MOST OF THE PRIVILEGED GUTS AT THIS LUXUR HOTEL, SHANE IS EXTREMELY UNHAPPY WH HIS LOT LIFE. HIS BIG PROBLEM? THE HOTEL HAS BOOKED HIM TO A SLIGHTLY LS PALATIAL SUE THAN THE ONE HIS MOTHER PROMISED HIM. SHANE HAS SEVERAL OBNOX ANGL, ALL OF WHICH LACY ATTACKS WH GTO. THE ACTOR SPOKE WH VANY FAIR ABOUT UPENDG THE NICE GUY TROPE, WHAT WAS LIKE TO FILM WHE LOT DURG THE PANMIC, AND ABOUT AARON SORK’S UPG FILM BEG THE RIRDOS, STARRG NILE KIDMAN AND JAVIER BARM AS LUCILLE BALL AND DI ARNAZ. VANY FAIR: WHEN HIGH FILY WAS RELEASED, YOU DISCSED YOUR HISTORY OF PLAYG NICE GUY BOYIENDS AND SAID YOU WERE HOPG TO PLAY CHARACTERS WHO WERE A LTLE MORE TERTG—LS LIKE “JT WALLPAPER,” I THK IS HOW YOU PUT . JAKE LACY: AS I HEAR THAT BACK I’M LIKE, “DON’T SAY THAT STUFF, JAKE. DON’T SAY ‘JT WALLPAPER’ TO PEOPLE. COME ON, MAN.”WELL, I THK HIGH FILY DID FULFILL THAT PROMPT. BUT WHE LOT IS OBVLY SOMETHG VERY DIFFERENT. HOW TENTNAL WAS THAT CHOICE FOR YOU? WERE YOU LOOKG TO BLOW UP YOUR NICE GUY PERSONA?  I WAS THRILLED THAT WAS DIFFERENT, BUT WAS NOT AS SPECIFIC AS “I WILL NO LONGER DO STABLE BOYIEND ROL.” MY HISTORY DOG SUPPORTIVE, STABLE GUYS LENDS SELF TO SHANE WHE LOT, BEE HE THKS HE IS THAT GUY. HE THKS HE’S THIS TCH. YOU HAVE THAT PERSON ALSO BEHAVG AS A PETULANT CHILD. I LIKE THAT DICHOTOMY MORE THAN JT A PERSON WHO LOOKS LIKE A VILLA, BEG A VILLA. THAT HAS S PLACE. IT’S ALSO FUN TO HAVE SOMEONE THAT SEEMS AFFABLE TO BE A LTLE GROSS. YOU JT WANNA BE LIKE, BUDDY, LET GO WH THE ROOM. YOU HAVE EVERYTHG ELSE. DID YOU HAPPEN TO SEE PROMISG YOUNG WOMAN? IT’S A PARA OF STABLE, NICE GUY BOYIEND ACTORS. I WAS LIKE, WHERE’S JAKE LACY? HONTLY, WAS A SCHLG THG. I WAS SHOOTG HIGH FILY AT THE TIME. I REALLY WANTED TO BE A PART OF . I DID SEE , AND LOVED WHAT THEY DID. BUT, Y—NICE GUY GO BAD, E ON! I READ AN TERVIEW WH EMERALD FENNELL WHERE SHE SAID SHE WANTED TO ST THE FAIAR FAC, PARTICULARLY OM TV. AUDIENC ARE A LTLE MORE VULNERABLE TO THOSE PEOPLE BEG GROSS BEE YOU’VE VED TO YOUR HOME. TO THEN HAVE THAT FACE BE THE SG FACE OF SEXUAL ASSLT IS REALLY UNNERVG. WERE THEY LOOKG AT YOU FOR THE ROLE THAT BO BURNHAM PLAYED OR A DIFFERENT ONE?NO, NO. A DIFFERENT ONE. SHANE WHE LOT IS A SIAR BA AND SWCH. WE GET BAD VIB OFF HIM IMMEDIATELY, BUT BEE OF YOUR BACKGROUND AND BEE THERE ARE THE MOMENTS WHERE HE THKS HE’S JT GOG TO PROVI FOR HER, I KEPT ROOTG FOR HIM TO FIGURE OUT. HE’S NOT PARTICULARLY PALATABLE AND ISN’T PARTICULARLY GENERO, BUT HE’S NOT A LIAR AND HE’S NOT GASLIGHTG ANYONE—WHICH MAK EVEN MORE PLITED FOR ME TO UNRSTAND HOW I FEEL ABOUT THE PEOPLE AND THEIR PLACE THE WORLD. I SEE HOW THEY GOT THERE, BUT DON’T MEAN I LIKE WHAT IS. SHANE’S RELATNSHIP TO , HE WANTS TO HAVE SEX WH HIS WIFE. THERE IS NO PROBLEM WH THAT. BUT IF THAT’S ALL THERE IS AND ’S EXCLIVELY FOR YOU AND NOT THE OTHER PERSON, THEN STARTS TO BE A PROBLEM. MOST POPULARTHE 25 BT SHOWS ON NETFLIX TO WATCH RIGHT NOWBY TARA ARIANOWELE TO SALTBURN’S TWISTED GOTHIC TALEBY REBEC FORDWH MATRO, LEONARD BERNSTE’S LEGACY AND LOV FALLY H THE BIG SCREENBY REBEC FORDI WAS READG AN OLD TERVIEW MIKE WHE GAVE ABOUT WHY HE WAS SO FASCATED WH REALY TELEVISN. HE SAID SOMETHG ABOUT HOW THE JUICIT VERSN OF THE GENRE, THERE’S JT A TREMENDO LACK OF SELF-AWARENS. WATCHG WHE LOT, SO MANY OF THE CHARACTERS ARE FECTED WH THAT LACK OF SELF-AWARENS. THE BT OF WHE LOT IS WHEN PEOPLE ARE GOG ABOUT THEIR LIV, AND THEY DON’T KNOW THEY’RE BEG AWFUL. I WISH I HAD BEEN MORE KEYED- ON THAT. AS A VIEWER, WHAT I LIKE VOYRISM IS A PERSON WHO HAS NO CLUE HOW TERRIBLE THEY ARE. WHETHER ’S A MOVIE OR ON THE STREET. IF YOU WERE THE LOBBY OF A HOTEL AND OVERHEARD YOUR CHARACTER, SHANE, YOU MIGHT GET THIS ELECTRIC CHARGE THKG AT LEAST YOU’RE NOT AS BAD AS HE IS. YOU N FEEL SO MORALLY SUPERR, RIGHT? IT GIV YOU THE MORAL HIGH GROUND, BUT I HOPE THE HIGH GROUND DON’T LAST. I HOPE THAT PEOPLE ARE WATCHG AND THK, “OH MAN, I’M A PART OF THAT.” SO WHAT WAS THE PROCS, SHOOTG THIS HAWAII THE MIDDLE OF COVID? THEY HAD MA ARRANGEMENTS WH THE STATE THAT WE WERE QUARANTED FOR A CERTA AMOUNT OF TIME, AND THEN WH A NUMBER OF TTS WOULD BE ALLOWED OUT OF OUR ROOMS. BUT WE WEREN’T EVER ALLOWED TO LEAVE THE HOTEL GROUNDS. FOR THE FIRST HALF, WE WERE THE ONLY PEOPLE AT THE HOTEL. THERE WERE NO GUTS, AND THERE WAS A VERY SMALL NUMBER OF STAFF. SO THE NCERN OF GETTG COVID WAS PRETTY LOW; WE WERE ALL JT THERE WH ONE ANOTHER. FRED [HECHGER] AND STEVE [ZAHN] AND I WOULD HAVE DNER TOGETHER EVERY NIGHT. SO THEN YOU GO TO WORK ON AARON SORK’S NEW FILM, BEG THE RIRDOS. YOUR CHARACTER AND HIS PARTNERS CREATED AND WROTE ALL OF I LOVE LUCY. I FEEL LIKE HISTORY HAS ERASED THEM OM THE EQUATN.  YEAH! SO I PLAY BOB CARROLL JR., WHO ALONG WH MALYN PUGH [PLAYED BY ALIA SHAWKAT] AND JS OPPENHEIMER [PLAYED BY TONY HALE] WROTE EVERY EPISO OF I LOVE LUCY. WHICH IS NUTS, WHEN YOU THK OF HOW MANY EPISOS THEY WERE DOG PER SEASON. AARON SORK, WHO WROTE AND DIRECTED , WAS VERY KEEN TO SAY THIS IS A PATG, NOT A PHOTOGRAPH. THIS IS NOT A KEN BURNS DOCUMENTARY. MOST IMPORTANTLY, ’S A GUY WHO IS NEVER SEEN OR HEARD, AND HAS HIS ENTIRE LIFE TETHERED TO THE TWO PEOPLE. IF THEY GO DOWN, HE GO DOWN. HOW DO YOU MEAN? THE STORY IS THAT—AND ’S TE— A SGLE WEEK OF I LOVE LUCY, [BALL] WAS ACCED OF BEG A MUNIST, AT THE PEAK OF MCCARTHYISM, AND DI WAS ACCED OF SLEEPG WH LL GIRLS. ALSO, SHE WAS PREGNANT WH HER SEND CHILD AND HAD TO GO TO CBS AND SAY, “YOU’RE GOG TO DO SOMETHG YOU’VE NEVER DONE AND PUT A PREGNANT WOMAN ON TELEVISN.” AND THIS ALL HAPPENED 48 HOURS. NO ONE ASSOCIATED WH THE SHOW KNEW WHETHER THEY WOULD EVEN SHOOT ON FRIDAY, OR WHETHER THE TWO WOULD EVER WORK AGA. SO THAT’S THE HUMAN STORY BEYOND THE IN OF LUCILLE BALL. MOST POPULARTHE 25 BT SHOWS ON NETFLIX TO WATCH RIGHT NOWBY TARA ARIANOWELE TO SALTBURN’S TWISTED GOTHIC TALEBY REBEC FORDWH MATRO, LEONARD BERNSTE’S LEGACY AND LOV FALLY H THE BIG SCREENBY REBEC FORDTHAT PATG-VERS-PHOTOGRAPH APPROACH, DO TAKE THE PRSURE OFF OF TRYG TO BRG INS LIKE LUCY AND DI TO LIFE? I HOPE DO. I ALSO THK THAT THERE’S NO POT TELLG THAT STORY IF YOUR PURPOSE IS TO DO AN EXACT REPLI. THAT’S JT SPLAY. IT’S TOUGH, BEE A LOT OF PEOPLE HAVE A LOT OF PERSONAL NNECTNS TO ANYTHG SURROUNDG THEIR LEGACY AND THEY’RE GOG TO HAVE TO GET OVER . IF YOU THK YOU’RE GOG TO NEVER WORK AGA AND AT THE SAME TIME MAYBE YOUR MARRIAGE MIGHT END THE NEXT 72 ARE THE THGS THAT THE STORY IS ALG WH MORE THAN “DID WE GET THE HAIR RIGHT.” THE WAY THE TER WORKS IS TO BE LIKE, “LET’S FD A THG TO SCRATCH AND THEN PICK UNTIL ’S A PROBLEM.” SOMETIM I AGREE, AND SOMETIM I DON’T. AND THIS LAST YEAR, WHEN WE WERE ALL STUCK AT HOME, I THK THAT WAS EVEN MORE TEMPTG. YOU KNOW, SOMETHG TO DO JT TO GIVE THE DAY SOME SHAPE. SURE. WHAT DID I DO TODAY? WELL, I TORE SOME STUFF DOWN ON THE TER FOR A WHILE, AND THEN I BUILT SOME OTHER STUFF BACK UP. MORE GREAT STORI FROM VANY FAIR— AN EXCLIVE DEEP DIVE INTO PETER JACKSON’S THE BEATL: GET BACK— JOSEPH FIENN ON HIS HANDMAID’S TALE FATE— THE 10 BT MOVI OF 2021 (SO FAR)— JANE LEVY ON THE ZOEY’S EXTRAORDARY PLAYLIST CANCELLATN— IS LU PIXAR’S FIRST GAY MOVIE?— HOW PHYSIL GOT UNR ROSE BYRNE’S SK— WHAT IS BO BURNHAM’S INSI REALLY TRYG TO SAY?— SIMU LIU IS READY TO TAKE ON MARVEL— FROM THE ARCHIVE: JACKIE AND JOAN COLLS, QUEENS OF THE ROAD— SIGN UP FOR THE “HWD DAILY” NEWSLETTER FOR MT-READ DTRY AND AWARDS VERAGE—PL A SPECIAL WEEKLY EDN OF “AWARDS INSIR.”JOANNA ROBSON

The ‘evil gays, ’ as they’ve been lled, I’ve never really seen that explored. ”Regardg the “bury your gays” trope, Katz believ the way Whe handled was “a subversn. ”“You had this credibly loved queer figure [Tanya] who’s the one buryg the gays — and this stance, the gays are evil.