By Romeo San Vicente | Photo courtesy KathClick
“Boys In The Band” star Robin de Jesús goes “Boom”
What we love most in this life is a real queen, someone whose flashing discoball personality you can feel from miles away. And if you watched the recent Netflix update of “The Boys In The Band,” you saw “Camp” star Robin de Jesus, then you witnessed a queenly performance of extravagant proportions. Rooting for this three-time Tony-nominated actor is one of our hobbies and we’re thrilled to see him included in the cast of the upcoming directorial debut from Lin-Manuel Miranda, “Tick, Tick… Boom!” Based on the semi-autobiographical stage musical from “Rent” creator Jonathan Larson, the story concerns an aspiring theater composer approaching 30 and despairing that he might not realize his dreams (no spoilers intended, but we’re going to assume it has a happy ending). The cast for this one is impressive: de Jesús is joined by Andrew Garfield, Alexandra Shipp, Vanessa Hudgens, Bradley Whitford and Judith Light. It’s all just getting underway right now, so maybe by the time it’s ready to hit a big screen… well, you know.
Kaley Cuoco takes off in “The Flight Attendant”
Like so many experiences with air travel, “The Flight Attendant” hit some pretty major turbulence. The new Kaley Cuoco-starring limited series based on the novel of the same name by Chris Bohjalian and executive produced by Greg Berlanti (“Love, Simon”), was in the middle of shooting its first season for HBO Max when the COVID shutdown began. Then in late August production resumed on the remaining episodes for a future air date. The story involves Cuoco’s flight attendant waking up in Dubai on a layover, with a hangover and a dead body lying next to her. Unable to remember the night before, she begins to think she might be the killer. We love a murder mystery and we also love it when a sitcom powerhouse changes up her career with something unsavory. The supporting cast includes Rosie Perez, Bebe Neuwirth, our favorite “Girls” girl Zosia Mamet and the return of T.R. Knight (“Grey’s Anatomy”). So we’ll be streaming along when this one finally arrives, later than expected, sometime in November.
Tessa Thompson finds Jazz Age romance in “Sylvie’s Love”
Cue up our enthusiasm for “Sylvie’s Love.” Written and directed by Eugene Ashe (director of the 2012 indie feature “Homecoming”), it stars queer fave Tessa Thompson and former NFL All-Pro player-turned-actor Nnamdi Asomugha as lovers in 1957 New York. She dreams of working in TV and he’s a struggling jazz saxophonist. When circumstances separate them and pull them in different directions, they become mutual “One(s) That Got Away.” Fast forward many years later to a reunion and one more chance for romance. The film co-stars Eva Longoria, Wendi McLendon-Covey (“The Goldbergs”), Aja Naomi King (“How To Get Away with Murder”), and Jemima Kirke (“Girls”). Amazon drops this one on Christmas Day, and with the period setting and the promise of that kind of only-in-the-movies romance, it sounds like the perfect gift.
Meet Sam Jay, Late Night Host
It’s very possible you aren’t aware of Sam Jay. The Black lesbian stand-up comic has appeared on Netflix’s “The Comedy Lineup” and starred in her own Comedy Central special, before getting her own Netflix standup special in 2020, “Sam Jay: 3 in the Morning.” But in a world of too many TV choices, you might still have missed her. It’s more likely that you know her work as a writer on “Saturday Night Live” as the co-creator of the recurring sketch, “Black Jeopardy.” Well, you’ll soon be able to see her work on HBO as the host of an as-yet-untitled late-night series – one executive produced by “Insecure” showrunner Prentice Penny – where she’ll dissect culture and politics from her unique perspective. Currently, Peacock is streaming another late-night format show hosted by a Black woman, “The Amber Ruffin Show,” which means all we need now is for another platform to do the same thing for this to become the trend it always should have been. For now, at least, it’s a welcome future disruption in the late night world of seemingly endless white dudes. Jay’s HBO bow takes place sometime in 2021.
Romeo San Vicente demands lesbian domination in all areas of entertainment.
