English Teacher, on Hulu, stars Brian Jordan Alvarez as an old-school gay guy in a world that's moved on. He doesn't understand nonbinary, asexual, pansexual, and the other "queer" identities of his high school students, and expects everybody to be homophobic. And they are, sort of, expressing stereotypes and misinformation but completely nonchalant about the gay teacher in their midst. I reviewed Season 1, Episode 8, the season finale: "Birthday"
Teaser: Student Eddie (Blaise Reyes, right) reveals to Evan (Brian Jordan Alvarez) that he's gay, but afraid to come out to anyone. Evan is dumfounded: It's 2024, just go out in the hall and say "I'm gay." Talk to one of the 200 out gay students. Living in a fantasy world, dude? Over 90% of LGBT students report hearing homophobic slurs at school. over half bullying and harassment, and 12% assault.
"But not the unspecified queer students -- they're mostly straight. Find a real gay, queeny." It's a gay guy giving him this homophobic advice.
Evan doesn't want to go out: Evan's queeny ex-boyfriend Malcolm (Jordan Firstman) -- think Jack to Will on Will and Grace -- is planning a birthday blowout at a "leather daddy bar," because he'll be 35, and somebody needs to "s*ck your cock." (that's how the subtitles phrase it). Evan doesn't want to go, for reasons.
.jpg)
The parking lot: Tom of Austin, with a gigantic sign. Evan is wearing a ridiculous vinyl shirt and gym shorts, afraid that one of the parents will see him and get upset. Any parent that sees him in a leather daddy bar will be fine with it. He's about to call it off and go home, when he's cruised by a muscular hippie -- maybe it will be ok.
Left: the hippie is not listed on the IMDB
Surprise! All of his work colleagues are there.
At the bar: The standard straight-person-at-a-gay-bar things happen. The Principal (Enrico Colantoni) gets groped repeatedly by a leather guy who won't take "no" for an answer, and tries not to look at the fisting videos on every tv set: "it's two men!" What did you expect, dude?
It's actually not a leather bar. Some shirtless daddies around, but also some swishy twinks, and the bartender is a woman wearing cat ears.
The homophobic-ish Coach (Sean Patton) -- the kind who says "you can't help being a swishy queen. I got your back" -- runs into his old high school teammate, Chuck (David Shae), and is shocked to discover that he is gay, or as he puts it, "I sleep with men." A gay guy at a gay bar? Who'd have guessed?
More after the break