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.
Demons & Ghosts (Ep 295 - Dr. Who/Hamish Steele)
Somewhere That's Green (Little Shop of Horrors/Brad Cerenzia)
It Was a Mindf**k (Ep 294 - Carol Channing/Terry LaBolt)
The Manic Fervor of a Tennessee Williams Heroine (Ep 293 - Sunset Blvd/Dashiell M. Silva)
Legendary Slumber Parties (Ep 292 - Greenwich Village/Robert Patrick)
Strip Mall Hypnosis (Ep. 291 - Clan of the Cave Bear/Michael Hobbes)
A Really Accomplished Fake (Ep. 290 - Video games & Radiohead/Daniel Villareal)
We Were Too Busy Being Gay (Ep. 289 - Stonewall/Tree)
The Pack Rat (Ep. 288 - Norman Lear/Steven Capsuto)
Superheroes Are Basically Naked (Ep. 287 - Marc Andreyko/Moonlighting)
Fairies and Mortals Can't Get Married (Ep. 286 - Dee Michel/The Wizard of Oz)
It Started as a Sexy Fun Project (Ep. 285 - Amos Mac/Original Plumbing)
Kind of Right & Kind of Wrong (Ep. 284 - Seth Rudetsky & Broadway)
I Paid my Dues, Baby (Ep. 283 - Charles Busch/Vampire Lesbians of Sodom)
The Night Australian TV Lost its Virginity (Ep. 282 - Number 96/Andrew Mercado)
Dream Role, Dream Show (Ep. 281 - Hedwig/Trystan Reese)
Don't Make Superman TOO Sexy (Ep. 280 - Joeboys/Joe Phillips)
Connect, Not Just Sex (Ep. 279 - Luis Buñuel/Dale Lazarov)
The Most Expensive Flop in History (Ep. 278 - Madeline Kahn/William V. Madison)
Failed Mystics (Ep. 277: Buffy, X-Men, He-Man, and Lwaxana Troi)
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