Two queer couples find themselves at a crossroads between their adult ambitions and the bed-hopping, booze-swilling frivolity of their youth in “Unconventional,” actor and creator Kit Williamson’s new dark comedy.
The nine-episode series, which premiered Tuesday on Revry, follows siblings Noah (played by Williamson) and Margot (Aubrey Shea) in Palm Springs, California, both of whom are at a breaking point with their respective partners. With his quest for a career in academia stalled, Noah has agreed to help Margot’s wife, Eliza (Briana Venskus), get pregnant by being her sperm donor.
Enter Noah’s husband Dan (James Bland), who is eager to start a family of his own — that is, until he and Noah meet a chiseled go-go dancer (Constantine Rousouli), who threatens to drive a wedge in their marriage. Soon, the show’s central foursome are drowning their sorrows in vices while leaning on unlikely confidantes, played by Laith Ashley and Kathy Griffin, among other actors.
Watch the trailer for “Unconventional” below.
Best known for his portrayal of Ed Gifford on “Mad Men,” Williamson envisioned “Unconventional” as a “spiritual successor” to his Daytime Emmy-winning series “EastSiders,” a YouTube cult favorite later scooped up by Netflix.
While “EastSiders” conveyed the experience of “being a gay mess in your 20s,” Williamson says “Unconventional” is a story about “being a gay mess in your 30s, and the problems that arise as you’re forced to nail down the trajectory of your life.” While there’s no shortage of steamy love scenes, the central characters also grapple with their mental health and addiction, and not in a slight way: “There are life-or-death stakes.”
“I refer to it as a chosen family drama because these characters — some of whom are family by birth — are all family by choice. That doesn’t mean it’s not a dysfunctional family,” he said. “I’m not interested in pretending that our experiences [as LGBTQ+ people] are exactly the same as straight people’s.”
He went on to note: “It’s complicated to start a family as a queer person, be it dealing with fraternity rights from a donor, or the challenges and expenses of adoption and surrogacy. In media, we’re often dropped into the story after those challenges have been resolved. We see the happy ending, but not what it took to get there.”
Though “Unconventional” isn’t intentionally biographical, fans of Williamson’s work will spot parallels to his off-screen life. Like the show’s central couples, he and his husband John Halbach spend much of their time in Palm Springs and Joshua Tree, California. The characters of Noah and Margot find themselves at odds with their Texas-based mother, much as Williamson felt like an outsider growing up in a Christian family in Mississippi.
Initially, Williamson had set “Unconventional” in the Bywater neighborhood of New Orleans. Once COVID-19 hit, however, he and the creative team pivoted so that the series could be filmed entirely in California — a decision he feels worked in the show’s favor, as the script was revamped to reflect some of Bland and other cast mates’ firsthand experiences.
“We convened a writers’ room in quarantine,” he said, “and were able to shape the story around a group of people with different identities.”
What Williamson didn’t predict, however, was that “Unconventional” would hit screens as LGBTQ+ people are experiencing a significant rollback of their rights under President Donald Trump. And while “Heartstopper” and “The White Lotus” enjoy great success on streaming platforms, LGBTQ+ representation on television as a whole has been on the decline in recent years.
“We’re seeing a huge backlash to the progress we made in representation with what’s happening with the current administration,” Williamson said. “This is a universal story that’s accessible to everyone, but if it’s ‘too gay’ for somebody who doesn’t want to see LGBTQ+ people on screen, mission accomplished. I’m not here to make those people comfortable.”
“I’m able to identify with all kinds of people on screen, even if they don’t look like me, don’t sound like me, don’t love like me,” he continued. “I think there are a lot more people like me out there than executives want to acknowledge.”
Revry appears to be betting big on “Unconventional,” its first full-length scripted series. Founded in 2015, the free streaming platform is focused on LGBTQ+ content ― home to “Absolutely Fabulous” and the original British iteration of “Queer as Folk” ― but has not yet broken into the mainstream.
Whether “Unconventional” will find the success enjoyed by “EastSiders” remains to be seen. However, Williamson has no plans to alter course by shying away from LGBTQ+ stories moving forward.
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“One thing that gives me hope is … we have more friends, family and allies standing with us than ever before,” he said. “No matter what happens, I know we have people in our corner.”
