My guest this week is Ben Sander, creator of the character Brini Maxwell, a drag hostess who’s helmed shows about crafting, cooking, and homemaking, for decades. It all started with a little cable access show that he produced with some help from his mother, before becoming a cable TV series, with live shows that continue to this day — with Brini the character continuing to evolve as Ben her creator explores new artistic frontiers.
(Also: if you’re a fan of pop culture history — and I think you are — you’ll probably enjoy Sam’s great blog from a few years back, The Obscurity Factor.)
We’ll have that conversation in a minute. First, a reminder that I’ve got a book coming out next year about queer sitcoms! It’s called Hi Honey, I’m Homo, and pre-orders are open — head over to gaysitcoms.com to get all the details.
Also, big thanks to everyone who supports The Sewers of Paris on Patreon! Patrons get hours of exclusive bonus videos about pop culture history, stickers and stuff in the mail, and names in the credits of YouTube videos.
Don't Ask Me Out Again Until You've Written Chapter Two (Ep 468 - Steven Rowley/Tootsie)
There Was a Rage (Ep 467 - Star Wars/Karl Dunn)
Lucy Would Not Take This Down (Ep 466 Lucille Ball/Eli McCann)
Living a Superhero Lifestyle (Ep 465 - Scooby Doo/Tim Fish)
Gay Male Student #1 (Ep 464 - Carol Burnett/Justin Root)
I Love F***-Ups (Ep 463 - Another World/Rasheed Newson)
Loners & Misfits (Ep 462 - Silence of the Lambs/Monty Wolfe)
Sci-Fi, Soaps, and Sports (Ep 461 - Jesse/All My Children)
I Don't Know When I Lost My Sense of Shame (Ep 460 - Dayspring/Anthony Oliveira)
Legendary Slumber Parties (Ep 459 - Robert Patrick/Greenwich Village)
The Silver Age of Queer Cinema (Ep 458 - Tyler/It's a Sin)
People Who Have Real Magic (Ep 457 - Ryan/Dune)
Very Powerful Women (Ep 456 - Paul/The Eyes of Laura Mars)
A Writer's Job (Ep 455 - Wicked/Gregory Maguire)
If I Drown Myself in my Bathtub for my Art, so Be it (Ep 454 - Sam/Pushing Up Daisies)
I Didn't Know I Could Love Someone Like That (Ep 453 - Mark/Rent)
How Much Can We Get Away With? (Ep 452 - David/The Muppets)
I Live My Life Like Performance Art (Ep 451 - Dean FM/That's So Raven)
Everything but the Snakes (Ep 450 - Joseph/Worship songs)
It's Worthwhile to Fall in Love (Ep 449: Jin/Tales of the City)
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