Is darren star gay
Tuesday night saw Darren Star (Sex and the City, Younger, Emily In Paris) and Jeffrey Richman’s (Modern Family) fresh Netflix comedy series Uncoupled, starring Neil Patrick Harris, premiere at New York’s iconic Paris Theater, followed by a glitzy cocktail reception at the nearby Plaza Hotel. The Queer Review’s editor James Kleinmann was on the well-dressed grey carpet at the event to speak with the creators and cast about the reveal, which follows luxury Manhattan real estate agent Michael (Harris) as he deals with the aftermath of a sudden uncoupling from his romantic partner, Colin (Tuc Watkins).
“It’s about a lgbtq+ man entering middle age being unexpectedly single”, co-creator Darren Star tells The Queer Review. “He’s finding himself having to start over at approaching 50 and rediscovering what dating is all about now”.
“We wanted to write a romantic comedy with a gay lead”, adds Uncoupled co-creator Jeffrey Richman. “We thought of the lowest place we could start him at. His loved one of 17 years wakes up one day and says, ‘I’m gone, it’s over, and I don’t want to talk
Melrose Place creator Darren Star describes the often offensive reaction of Fox network executives to the character "Matt Fielding," who was gay. He also defines what differentiated "Matt" from earlier depictions of gay people on television:
"The issue wasn’t that he was gay, it was the issues that come with entity gay. And I think up to that point it was like if you had a gay character on television...the issue for that character would be, oh my god, he’s homosexual. And in this case the character was out...he just had a life. He was principal his life."
Watch Darren Star’s entire interview to hear the stories behind the iconic shows he’s created: Beverly Hills, 90210, Melrose Place, and Sex and the City.
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Bouncily bingeable, 'Uncoupled' delivers exactly what you'd hope for from Darren Star
DAVID BIANCULLI, HOST:
This is FRESH AIR. The new comedy series "Uncoupled" stars Neil Patrick Harris as a gay New Yorker whose long-term relationship abruptly ends. The series was created by Darren Star, established for such shows as "Melrose Place" and "Sex And The City." Our critic-at-large John Powers says that "Uncoupled," which drops today on Netflix, delivers exactly what you'd hope for from a show by Darren Star.
JOHN POWERS, BYLINE: A while back, I became obsessed by the diaries of Witold Gombrowicz, the great Polish author who viewed the society through eyes that sever like scalpels. Human experience, he said, is a constant war between maturity and immaturity, a war that immaturity ultimately wins. No matter how elderly and wise we are or think we are, we remain, at bottom, adolescence. If anyone in pop culture seems to confirm this idea, it's Darren Star, the hitmaking TV producer who began his career with teenagers. He created "Beverly Hills, 90210," then "Melrose Place." And in a feeling, he never left them behind. Whether it's "Sex And The City," "Younger" or the fatuous "Em
The Master of Compulsively Watchable TV
Emily in Paris returns to Netflix August 15.
Photo: Erik Tanner
For about as prolonged as any millennial has been watching television, Darren Celebrity has been making it: Beverly Hills 90210, Melrose Place, Sex and the City, Younger, Emily in Paris. His hits span four decades and various business models in the medium — broadcast, cable, streaming — all famous for their compulsive watchability. It’s achievable that what he loves most about writing television is the act of starting a unused show; once each one had create its legs, he often left to do it again elsewhere. Nostalgia doesn’t interest him. “I’m a shark,” he says. “I enjoy to keep looking forward.” In person, the 63 year old is tanned and smiley, wearing a fitted ebony T-shirt and alabaster jeans. At his suggestion, we possess lunch at Union Square Cafe, a classic ’80s restaurant that hasn’t missing its audience. “As I always utter, ‘You really only need one smash show at a time,’” he tells me.
You were 28 when Beverly Hills 90210 was green-lit. What was the original pitch?
I said that no one had written a show about teenagers from a teenage point of view. Movies like The Bre