Netflix Jumps On LGBTQ Holiday Romantic Comedy Bandwagon With ‘Single All The Way’

Topline

Netflix announced a gay romantic comedy for this holiday season, the first of its kind from the streaming service, joining several other similar projects bringing LGBTQ stories to a genre that’s largely ignored or sidelined them.

Michael Urie attends the 2019 Tony Awards at Radio City Music Hall on June 9, 2019 in New York City. … [+] (Photo by Taylor Hill/FilmMagic)

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Key Facts

Single All The Way, which premieres Dec. 2, tells the story of perpetually single Peter who asks a friend Nick to pretend to be his boyfriend while visiting his family for the holidays, but then gets set up with a handsome personal trainer, according to a Netflix release.

It’s the first romantic comedy on Netflix to focus on a same sex couple, Entertainment Weekly reports.

Crucial Quote

Michael Urie will star as leading man Peter and called the film “the gayest thing to happen to Christmas since Mariah [Carey].”

Surprising Fact

Only 22.7% of films released by major studios in 2020 included LGBTQ characters, according to a study from GLAAD.

Key Background

Single All The Way is preceded by Hulu’s Happiest Season, which premiered last year. The movie was the first LGBTQ holiday film from a major studio and starred Kristen Stewart and Mackenzie Davis. Last year Lifetime also released a same-sex led Yuletide film The Christmas Set-Up, and after petitioning from fans, Hallmark debuted their first gay holiday movie The Christmas House.

Tangent

Actor-comedian Billy Eichner is filming Bros, a gay rom-com co-starring Luke Macfarlane, who also plays personal trainer James in Single All The Way. Produced by Universal Pictures and directed by Judd Apatow, Bros is the first romantic comedy from a major studio to feature a relationship between two men. Bros also makes history as the first studio film to feature an entire cast of LGBTQ actors playing both straight and queer roles, according to Deadline.