While so many romantic comedies (straight, gay, or otherwise) come to a rather heteronormative conclusion of coupledom, the reality is that many queers refuse to limit themselves—even if they’ve found that special someone.
That largely uncharted territory is at the core of a hilarious new web series called Open To It, about a happy gay couple who, three years into their relationship, open themselves up to new possibilities.
The comedy comes from creator and star Frank Arthur Smith, who you may recognize if you watched the Netflix reality series Tidying Up With Mario Kondo. But, what Smith (previously) lacked in home organizational skills, he makes up for in a sharp sense of humor and thoughtful observations about modern queer life, both of which he brings to Open To It.
“Polyamory and openness are often portrayed as this heavy, apocalyptic antithesis to healthy romantic relationships,” Smith shares with Queerty. “I wanted to expose (teehee) the sexiness and silliness behind ethical non-monogamy.”
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Smith stars as Greg, the slightly more anxious partner to the assured Cam, played by actor Tim Wardell. When we first meet Greg and Cam, they’re madly in love—and they’re also getting ready to have a “guest” over for the first time, for a night of… well, they’ll just see where the night takes them.
Enter: Princeton, their young, unpredictable third who carries himself with the confidence of someone who definitely has a six-pack. As played by Jason Caceres (who Smith describes as a “gay internet dreamboat”), Princeton is a welcome agent of chaos, who shakes things up for this settled-down pair. As Greg and Cam adjust to the change in status quo, their constantly shifting dynamic plays out over the course of Open To It’s surprising first season.
Open To It makes space for plenty of unexpected drop-ins from Drag Race royalty, from Manila Luzon to Honey Mahogany to Pandora Boxx to lip-sync assassin Laganja Estranja, who has a special featured role as the delightfully named drag queen, Lois Carmen Denominator. The cast also features Elizabeth Boone and Kimberly Pace-Nieva as Greg and Cam’s nosy neighbors, a monogamous couple who wind up doing some boundary-exploring of their own.
“It was essential to me to have queer actors playing queer characters having queer lives and, yes, having (simulated) queer sex,” says Smith. “And I am 100% invested in showing just how broad the LGBTQ experience can be. There are so many intersections that I want to explore and normalize in film, because too often, we get a limited view of ourselves as queer people. Are we sexy? Sure! But we’re a whole lot more than that. And I want to bare it all! (And I do. Watch Episode 3!)”
Speaking of “baring it all,” Smith also shares a fun anecdote with Queerty about filming the series’ first (or many) sex scenes:
“Storytime! Jason Caceres, who plays Princeton, was the only one of the main throuple who had previously filmed a sex scene prior to working on Open to It. Not having filmed anything like that before, Tim Wardell and I were understandably nervous. Writing sex scenes does not make you any less nervous to film them—fun gay fact! Fortunately, Jason was great at calming people’s nerves, and lightening the mood on set, by randomly saying things like, ‘Wait a minute. Are we… naked!?'”
After making its U.S. premiere earlier this year at L.A.’s Outfest, the first three episodes of Open To It are available online now—which is perfect because it’s getting colder outside, and we know you don’t want to leave your home this weekend! Episodes 1 and 2 are available to stream for free on the series website, while the third episode can be purchased via Vimeo, with a portion of its proceeds going to the Trans Latin@ Coalition.
You can watch a sneak peek trailer for Open To It below:
gayinLA
What a fun watch! Hoping for more episodes soon
GlobeTrotter
Saw the first two episodes. It was pretty shallow, vapid and just meh. No plot, no exposition, nothing interesting about any of the characters, just another uninteresting gay series about uninteresting gay men obsessing about gay sex. Basically another nail in our coffin.
JPDonahue
Can’t wait to see what you produce.
GlobeTrotter
See, that’s the good thing about living in a free country – your god given right to your own opinion!
jackscott
I enjoyed the first two episodes, however, wouldn’t pay to see the 3rd etc.
Jbaltes
I’ll pass!