When a closeted affair is the least heart-thumping component of a TV story line, is that progress? We’re not exactly sure, but judging by the tense first look at USA Network’s new drama Eyewitness, viewers will tune in either way.
An adaptation of a popular Norwegian show, the series explores a dizzyingly grisly crime from the point of view of two innocent young men who happened to witness a murder.
“I felt that a complex psychological thriller was a beautiful metaphor for the anxiety of a teen’s coming out,” Adi Hasak, the show’s creator and executive producer, tells Queerty.
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The two young men, played by Tyler Young and James Paxton, secretly meet up in the forest for a romantic rendezvous. That’s when they see the bloody shooting, and only barely manage to escape with their lives.
Intent on keeping their relationship a secret, they decide to stay mum — and that’s when they begin to realize that witnessing a horrific event will permanently change you, and rarely for the best.
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Heightened drama aside, there’s something pretty great about a major gay theme taking focus in a broadly marketed show. Exposure is everything, and somehow we doubt shows like Looking or The L Word make their way into many straight, mainstream households. Lots of shows have gay subplots, which we love to see, but this one is pretty front and center.
“The two gay teens and the thriller setting were what really captured my imagination,” Hasak says. “I worked extra hard to make sure the boys’ storylines and thriller plot lines were complimentary of each other.”
Watch the trailer below:
Eyewitness premieres October 16th on USA Network.
crowebobby
The original version “Øyevitne 2014 part 1” is on YouTube (free) with English subtitle you can turn on. Subtitles probably won’t be that good.
Juanjo
@crowebobby: Thanks for posting that. I have been surprised by some of the original versions of shows that later appeared on US television. Shameless was a good example as was QAF. Looking forward to checking this out on Youtube.
scotshot
Another great (IMO) show that included gays as central characters is American Crime (USA NETWORK).
strix1
Looks like a good show, I can’t see how they can stretch it out past one season and I am afraid it may get lost among all the others shows out there…it starts in less than a week and this is the first time I have heard of it, so not much promotion to reel in an audience. I will be watching, hope it does not get pulled mid season!
Queerty, what happened to the comment Flags? There be spam in these comments!
chris_clb614
@scotshot: That show American Crime was on ABC, and as an anthology series with different stories in each season, the second season had gay characters.
pdt01
In Australia over the last 2 weeks we have had a great Drama called DeepWater, based on the deaths of gay men in Bondi, and their used of the “Thruster” dating app. Worth watching (IMO) if you can get a hold of it, the link is below
http://www.sbs.com.au/ondemand/video/770448963646/deep-water