November 4, 2021
The 'Old Gays' Ink Docuseries Deal
Kilian Melloy READ TIME: 2 MIN.
The four LGBTQ+ elders known as "The Old Gays" – a viral sensation on TikTok and Grindr's YouTube channel – are set to be the subject of a new documentary series, Variety reported.
The quartet – Bill Lyons, Jessay Martin, Mick Peterson, and Robert Reeves – "have signed with Brian Graden Media (BGM) to develop a docuseries about their personal and professional social media lives, all while living together in Cathedral City, Calif.," Variety detailed.
Brian Graden, the head of BGM, declared that the company is "thrilled to be working with the hilarious and very talented 'Old Gays,'" and told Variety, "Their videos resonate with audiences young and old alike and viewers have shown extreme interest in seeing their lives on a more personal level which we intend to deliver upon."
"We have always been very passionate about telling stories within the LGBTQ+ community," Graden added, referencing a number of BGM's productions, including "'Finding Prince Charming,' 'Todrick,' 'Escape the Night,' 'Instant Influencer,' and 'Lance Loves Michael.'"
The "grandfluencers," who are in their 60s and 70s, shot to fame in 2019 with an instantly-viral video that showed them setting up accounts with gay dating site Grindr.
From there they went on to make dozens of videos for the dating app, that detailed "getting sex tips from a doctor; dressing in drag; smoking pot; meeting Gus Kenworthy; and even using Grindr" itself, as EDGE reported previously. Appearances in advertisements followed, with one spot for Shake Shack benefiting The Trevor Project.
The foursome seem a natural fit for a documentary – or even an entire docuseries – given their good humor, sex appeal, and the eventful lives they have lived, as glimpsed in a video that saw the gents looking back on their own younger days.
Kilian Melloy serves as EDGE Media Network's Associate Arts Editor and Staff Contributor. His professional memberships include the National Lesbian & Gay Journalists Association, the Boston Online Film Critics Association, The Gay and Lesbian Entertainment Critics Association, and the Boston Theater Critics Association's Elliot Norton Awards Committee.