Netflix has launched “The Gay Agenda,” a new podcast that will look at the lives of LGBTQ+ creatives at the top of their fields across different industries. The goal, the streaming service says, is to be celebratory, championing success stories “through a loving and humorous lens.”
The podcast is created by lesbian actress, singer/songwriter and podcaster Jasmin Savoy Brown, who appears in the buzzy new hit “Yellowjackets” and the upcoming “Scream” reboot. She co-hosts the show with producer and nonbinary actor, comic and playwright Liv Hewson, a co-star on “Yellowjackets” where the pair play two teenage members of a soccer team who are stranded in the wilderness together, a turn of events that severely tests their romantic relationship. Hewson has also appeared in the Netflix series “Santa Clarita Diet.” Their credits also include “Bombshell” and “Let It Snow.” On the new podcast, Brown and Hewson interview queer trailblazers in the community.
“I’m proud of ‘The Gay Agenda,'” Savoy said. “It’s joyful, it’s inquisitive, it’s welcoming. I think it’s a real reflection of the LGBTQ+ community and I hope our listeners feel the same. Interviewing guests this season made me a better person. Hearing people’s unique stories and perspectives on life and happiness was a learning experience and I don’t take that for granted.”
“The first item on ‘The Gay Agenda’ is, of course, for our guests to have fun and be themselves,” Hewson added. “There’s room for all of it, for connection and healing and for irreverence and silliness. it’s serious and it isn’t. We contain multitudes! Part of the impetus behind this podcast was creating a space to talk about being LGBTQ in entertainment that centered on something other than pain. The pain is there of course, but the joy is too! We want to live in joy.”
“The Gay Agenda” marks the company’s first LGBTQ+ podcast and comes as Netflix has moved much more aggressively into the audio space. Netflix has launched over 40 podcasts since it formed a division devoted to the medium in 2018. Some shows are focused on augmenting Netflix content such as “The Crown,” but there are also a number of wholly original productions. These include “Okay, Now Listen,” a podcast that focuses on “Black joy” through an often humorous lens and “Strong Black Legends,” which honors the best of Black Hollywood, as well as “You Can’t Make This Up,” a companion series to Netflix’s extensive roster of true crime stories.
“The Gay Agenda” will be produced by Most, which is Netflix’s banner for its LGBTQ+ storytelling. The podcast will launch on Jan. 10, 2022. Brown is also credited as a producer. The show was produced by Multitude, a podcast production company in Brooklyn. The lead producer was Eric Silver and the show was engineered and edited by Mischa Stanton.
“With our first foray into the podcast space, Most is entering a new era — one where the gay agenda continues to expand into all corners of our audience’s lives, making it easier and more fun than ever to discover Netflix’s LGBTQ+ talent, titles, and storytelling,” Gabrielle Korn, Netflix editorial and publishing manager for Most, said. “I love this podcast so much; it’s truly a joy to listen to, and I hope it brings that same joy to our followers.”
The inaugural season has 45-minute episodes released consecutively over eight weeks. The first episode welcomes nonbinary actor Bex Taylor-Klaus (“Arrow,” “The Killing”). According to an official description, “the episode dives into their love of Shakespeare and Tegan and Sara, softball and growing up queer and Jewish in the South.”
The second episode launches on Jan. 17 with director, writer, actor Natalie Morales (“Language Lessons”), who discusses the various queer characters they have portrayed including an asexual axolotl on BoJack Horseman, along with a spirited bonus rapid-fire game of Gender This.
Additional guests include actor Ally Beardsley (“CollegeHumor Originals”), actor Javicia Leslie (“Batwoman”), comedian Caleb Hearon, author Carmen Maria Machado (” In the Dream House”), actor Leo Sheng (“The L Word: Generation Q”), and writer/comedian/actor Fortune Feimster (“The Mindy Project”).
