The Two Gay Geeks have a chat with Gretchen Wylder, creator and actress of a new web series, These Thems. We chat about how she got into the biz, shall we say and specifically what brought These Thems to life. She has a fascinating story. Have a listen and we hope you enjoy this as much as we did.
About Gretchen Wylder
Gretchen Wylder is an actor, singer, writer, and producer. She is primarily a comedic actress, having trained at UCB, Second City, the PIT, and Magnet. Gretchen has a large musical theatre resume after performing in NYC and abroad for over a decade. Her first original narrative web series, titled "These Thems," is a queer comedy series which she served as creator/writer, Executive Producer, and actor.
In a world where plenty of people are living beyond the gender binary, very few explicitly non-binary characters are present in the modern mediascape.
Non-binary gender identity may be one of the least understood labels falling under the LGBTQ+ umbrella, in part because it’s also one of the least visible.
while Billions star Asia Kate Dillon broke new ground for both TV and the LGBTQ community when they came out onscreen as non-binary but there’s still more work to be done.
Enter Gretchen Wylder, the mastermind behind the brand-new web series ingeniously titled “These Thems”. Wylder is among the very few writers / show creators paying consideration to non-binary identities and gender non-conformity and moving the needle for accurate representation.
About These Thems
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The seven-episode (8-10 minutes each), fully narrative digital series follows the lives of a newly out lesbian making up for lost time, a nonbinary educator intent on training the straights, a transman who is comfortably in the closet, and a lovelorn gay best friend.
After realizing she may be a lesbian, GRETCHEN (Gretchen Wylder) quickly befriends non-binary dog walker VERO (Victoria “Vico” Ortiz), who decides to stop training dogs and start training the straights. Vero takes Gretchen under their wing and introduces Gretchen to the queer world as she navigates what it's like to be newly out at the age of 30. Vero's childhood friend, ASHER (Shaan Dasani) isn't out as trans at work and is faced with the decision to out himself when an opportunity for a LGBTQ account pops up. Gretchen's gay best friend and roommate, KEVIN (Nick Park), is looking for love and may have found it in Asher.
“These Thems” explores themes of queerness, gender identity, coming out, sexual empowerment, acceptance, and self-expression taking the audience through New York's vibrant LGBTQ+ community.
"This series is a must-see because it focuses on a wide range of queer identities through a humorous lens while representing those identities authentically. All queer characters are played by out actors that identify the same way, allowing audiences to truly connect to and empathize with the very people whose stories we are trying to tell. The show was also created using an entirely LGBTQ+ and/or intersectional filmmaking crew, so what you are seeing in front of the camera has been represented behind the camera as well,” says Gretchen Wylder.
The story is told through a comedic lens, with accurate representation: All queer characters are played by LGBTQ+ actors. Behind the camera,
