The new miniseriesBridesman, which first screened last year at Los Angeles Outfest, premiered on the Grindr app on the first day of this month, and it was no April Fools’ prank. Many users were dubious when the company announced its unexpected step toward online streaming. Much to the creators’ delight, the viewers have taken to the YouTube comment section to express their pleasant surprise and call for more episodes or even a feature film. Perhaps this opens the door for more original series from the queer social networking giant.
Bridesmanco-writer John Onieal spoke toPrideabout pitching the script he penned with his roommate Frank Spiro to the mobile app known for its prominence in the gay cruising scene rather than for producing TV shows:
“It’s so exciting! It’s been such a long time that we’ve been by ourselves alone in a dark room just writing. I heard they may be looking for content and I tried to get myself in front of as many Grindr folks that I could. I always had a script in my back pocket to hand them to get them to read it. Our script has 40 jokes per minute and I knew once they read it, they were gonna love it.”
Sounds promising. Now let’s take a look at what it’s all about.
How to Ruin Your Bestie’s Wedding
Unapologetically camp and promiscuous Terry enters the scene, sporting an outfit in Grindr’s signature color, mustard yellow, and hooks up with the Uber driveron his way to the weddingof his best friend, Judith. Invited as the man of honor, he has a less than honorable intention of spoiling her plans. He is prepared to save his childhood bestie and ‘forever partner’ from the tediousness of monogamous married life, and what is a better way to break up a wedding ceremony than seducing the handsome groom to be? Her nosy bridesmaid Muriel suspects he is up to no good and delegates a trio of wedding staff with the task of sniffing out evidence against him. Without a doubt, this wedding is bound to be a total disaster. The official series description invites us to “follow Terry and an unhinged ensemble cast of bridesmaids, detectives, a secret agent, anda demon from hellas the bridal party barely survives the wedding’s hallmark events, from the sexy bridal boudoir photoshoot to the bachelorette party.” We are officially sold on this hysterical set-up.
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Jimmy Fowlie, who starred in the queer seriesGo-Go Boy Interrupted, is no stranger to comedy. Also known for his appearances in HBO Max’sThe Other Twoand the CBS hit sitcom2 Broke Girls, he was cast in the main role of theBridesman. Sydnee Washington,a stand-up comedian, podcaster, model, and rising actress, plays the unsuspecting bride Judith. Shannon DeVido, cast as Muriel, can be recognized as the protagonist of the 2020 musical filmBest Summer Ever. The remaining cast members include David Mudge as groom Wyatt, Calvin Seabrooks as Uber driver Oscar, Phoenix Nicholson as evil kid Hunter, Crystal Porter Bazemore as the kid’s anxious mother Bobbi, Chris Smith as the bachelorette party dancer, Megan Johnson as Cheryl, and Chester Lockhart, Harry Katzman, and Liva Pierce as Muriel’s undercover agents.
Will We Get More?
While it has not yet been confirmed whether there is a potential for another season ofBridesman,Grindr might consider taking more new series scripts fromup-and-coming queer writersunder their wings. We’ll have to wait and see what the future holds for the dating app’s original content production after testing the waters. They have already produced some successful video projects, such as theOld Gay Series, where senior gay men react to the current youth’s favorite pop culture phenomenons. As more and more people use their smartphones to stream films and TV shows on the go, it wouldn’t be a bad idea to keep extending their platform’s marketing reach in this direction.
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Grindr’s marketing head Alex Black tellsThe Hollywood Times.:
“Telling queer stories is something that is actually good business for Grindr. Promoting visibility and representation can move the needle toward a more accepting world, and a more accepting world means more people feeling free to come out of the closet and live their authentic lives. A larger community means more Grindr users, and more Grindr users is good business. So it really makes sense for us in a lot of ways beyond just the more simple kind of engagement metrics.”
Luckily, all the six snack-sized episodes ofBridesmanare also available on YouTube. You can check out the official trailer for the show below.
