Send your questions for a Q&A video!

Would you ever be interested in looking into hidden queerness that was gently sprinkled into old 1930s westerns? Maybe compare them to our more modern westerns and look at the different stars that shaped them? (James Arness? Amanda Blake? … maybe John Wayne too 😒 I guess)

As someone also in academia, I'm really interested in how you go about research. Do you have a favourite/go-to location or website where you start when working on a new subject?

Someone hands you a giant budget to create your own fictional tv series. What is it about and who's starring?

I've been listening to a lot of your Sewers of Paris podcasts. If this isn't an inappropriate question, have you ever interviewed anyone that you regretted interviewing afterward, either because he didn't interview well or took the conversation to a place where you didn't really want to go? You seem to be quite good at directing conversations to topics that listeners would find interesting. I'm sure its harder than it appears. Thanks!

Who do you think is/was the most famous out gay actor on US television? Is there someone who was always open about being gay AND was famous at the same time?

I may have asked this question before but: what's do you currently think of the value in calling out Queerbaiting? For me, I used to think that this was a worthwhile pursuit. T.V and movies have been ripe over the past few decades of either certain characters or “friendships” who leave a breadcrumb trail of queerness, but they just never take that final step to being an actual Queer person, or actual relationship, or even worse – confirm the wholly straight nature of that character or relationship at the last minute. Movies have been guilty of this for ages, and while it may have been a necessity under the Hays code, or in over the decades following where only a sprinkle of Queerness would even be accepted, in more modern films (with examples as varied as from Scream to Luca to the newer Star Wars prequals), it’s hard not to see these sprinkles as cynical more than anything else at this point. On T.V. shows, this breadcrumb trail can take place over several seasons, with examples such as Sherlock and John on Sherlock, Betty and Veronica on Riverdale, Will and Hannibal in Hannibal, Dean and Castiel in Supernatural. These even take place on stage, with the central characters of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child likely the most egregious recent example. All that being said though, over the past two decades or so, the discussion of Queerbating has been expanded to debating the morality of non-Queer actors playing Queer roles. At first, I thought that this was a worthwhile discussion as well. Afterall, I’m old enough to remember when Rupert Everett’s career as a leading man was basically ruined when he came out in the 90s but then still “dared” to still play straight parts (such as when he played opposite of Julia Roberts in 1997’s “My Best Friend’s Wedding”). So, the question of straight actors playing gay parts did at a minimum seem worthy of questioning when the shoe was on the other foot. However, it was this thinking that also led to a twitter mob harassing Kit Connor into outing himself before he was ready to do so. It’s the same group of people who are also questioning Connor Storrie & Hudson Williams’s ability to portray Queer characters on the new megahit show Heated Rivalry unless they fess up publicly about their own sexualities. There’s very little about this discussion that doesn’t seem toxic to me now as a result, and it’s leading me to question whether the whole Queerbaiting debate has done more harm than good. Even with that though, I still can’t walk away totally from that debate - as if push comes to shove, I still have strong reservations about a non-trans actor playing a trans character. There’s just something about it that feels really wrong, maybe it’s because it’s psychological reinforcing the idea that being trans is a “performance” which it is absolutely is not. All this to say that I’m still conflicted on this, and as such, I always appreciate getting other’s thoughts. (Just have to add is what I’m not conflicted about right now is the show Heated Rivalry. It is simply put, the absolute best thing on T.V. right now. Jacob Tierney is a genius, Rachel Reid’s novels are amazing, and Connor Storrie & Hudson Williams must be protected at all costs. That is all.)

1. What is the most *offensive toward queer people* movie or TV show you’ve ever seen? 2. If you could live anywhere outside the country, where would you go? 3. Fuck marry kill: Bea, Rue, Betty. 4. What queer icon would you like to receive the biopic treatment, and who should play them? 5. What’s your desert island album? 6. What’s your desert island dessert? 7. One Broadway show gets a revival that you get to cast, what is it and who’s in it (living or dead)? 8. What’s one thing you would like to do in your career that you haven’t had the chance to do yet?

Has there been a depiction of same sex attraction/romance that made you swoon? (for me, it was Brideshead Revisited)

What upcoming pieces of queer media are you looking forward to seeing/reading/etc?

When considering queer media as a whole; what unreleased content that was either cut from media that would eventually be created and published (cut scenes and characters) or fully unreleased films, series, books, etc, have you been most intrigued by/most disappointed by their lack of inclusion?

I have a theory about old sitcoms and secondary characters. Many of the “confirmed bachelors” and “working gals” would have been clocked as gay if not given a boy/girlfriend for at least one episode to throw off suspicion. Floyd the barber on the Andy Griffith Show had an episode where he was meeting up with a penpal we had never heard of who was never seen again. Sally Rogers on the Dick Van Dyke Show had Herman Glimpshire to refer to. Miss Jane on the Beverly Hillbillies was seeing Wally Cox the birdwatcher for a few episodes. Alice the maid on the Brady Bunch had Sam the Butcher. Niles on The Nanny inexplicably fell in love with CiCi. I’m sure you could probably come up with more examples. Or am I looking for representation where there isn’t any?

What are your predictions for queer media in the coming year? How might the ongoing media conglomerate mergers, the growing use/enforcement of AI, and the current administration's escalating attacks on free speech (i.e. Jimmy Kimmel, 60 Minutes and the CECOT report, etc.) affect queer visibility, storytelling, and opportunities? Second question: Assuming you’re familiar with the genre, what are your thoughts on gay romance novels in general? What are your thoughts on the popularity of Heated Rivalry, and the ongoing discussion about who these stories are marketed to and which kinds of gay relationships they tend to center?

will queens of adventure ever be coming back? i know since some of the cast has gone on to drag race fame it could be harder getting people together for a campaign but it was such a comfort listen for me over the years!

Have you ever seen Six Feet Under from HBO? It's about a family of morticians and their relationships between each other and the people they have to bury. One of the main characters, David (played by Michael C. Hall), is one of the best representations of gay men I think I've ever seen in a primetime television show. If you haven't, I implore you to check this wonderfully dark show out.

Would you ever make a video about Monty Python?