"American Horror Stories": Halloween horror from the Murphy-Falchuk team, so there will be hot straight guys

  

American Horror Stories is Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuk's solution to running out of material after several hundred installments of American Horror Story: it's an anthology series, with hour-long episodes that sometimes verge into science fiction and mystery rather than horror. Season 3 was released in two parts, at Halloween 2023 and 2024.  Usually when a year elapses, they call it a new season. 

As in the mother series, there may or may not be gay characters, and they may or may not be sleazy, leering stereotypes.  I watched just enough of each episode to determine if the protagonist was gay, sometimes fast-forwarding to check for queer codes.  

1. Bestie: "After the loss of her mother, a young woman seeks connection with a mysterious online friend."   Amrou Al-Khadi, a queer Muslim drag queen, appears as Ana Rexhia. whose podcast has the motto: "It's a drag to be a fag, so just die!"  What a disgusting thing to say, especially in the first scene of the first episode.

The high schooler's mysterious online friend, a grotesquely misshapen person, encourages her to do bad things like dress up as the Ana Rexhia "Die Fags!" character for Halloween.  Everyone is horrified, even the school bullies, and her dad locks her in the basement. The online friend becomes more and more aggressive...

She gets a boyfriend at school, or thinks she does, but he turns out to be allied with the online friend.  

The first guy her age in the cast list is Gavin Conner, so I thought he would be the boyfriend, but I didn't see him anywhere.  I'm still posting the cool Halloween cupcakes from his Instagram.

 

2. Daphne: "An artificial intelligence smart device grows attached to its user."  The device is played by Gwyneth Paltrow, and the user by Reid Scott.  Yes, she pushes him into s*x.

3. Tapeworm: "An up and coming model will stop at nothing in her hunger for success."  Including a tapeworm.  I didn't even start this one, too  disgusting.

4. Organ:  "A blind date through a dating app goes very awry," as you can see.

Actually, Raul Castillo plays the guy with the app.  It brings him a roomful of underwear-clad women before things go very awry.

5. Backrooms: "A desperate father will do anything...and go anywhere...for a chance to find his missing son."  I figured that Dad, played by Michael Imperioli, would be searching through the back rooms of gay clubs and adult bookstores, but the son is like ten, and it's paranormal back rooms.

More after the break

My Late Night Hookup with the Incredible Hulk

 

When I was living in West Hollywood, I worked part-time as an editorial assistant on Muscle and Fitness.  

It wasn't as much fun as it sounds.  The articles were often heterosexist, we featured female bodybuilders as often as male, and  I didn't get to actually watch many photo shoots.

But I did get to talk to some bodybuilders, including Lou Ferrigno: Mr. America, Mr. Universe, Hercules, and The Incredible Hulk

He was most famous for The Incredible Hulk, about ten years before.  I never watched, but I knew the basic premise: It starred Bill Bixby as David Banner (changed from the Marvel comics' Bruce, which the network censored deemed too gay).  After the death of his wife, of course, he experiments with human strength, and Jekyl-Hydes himself into Ferrigno's green-skinned man-mountain: "Don't get me angry.  You wouldn't like me when I'm angry." 

One day Ferrigno came in with Bill Bixby.  I thought they looked like a gay couple.

A few days later, he came in by himself for a photo shoot.

"Hi, Mr. Ferrigno." I called.  "Where's Bill?"

"I left him home, chained up in the basement."

"Can I come take a look?"

He grinned, clapped a huge hand on my back, and walked on.

Asking around, I was told: "Ferrigno is straight, but he won't say no to a late-night....."

I kept a lookout for Ferrigno's next appearance.  It came near Halloween, when I was working reception, a part of the job I hated.

"You got a promotion, I see," he said with a cruisy smile.

"I'm a jack of all trades around here, but usually I'm in editorial."

"Then be sure to spell my name right."

"Only if you spell mine right.  I'd better write it down for you."

He didn't object, so I wrote it on a piece of paper.  "And my phone number, in case you have any questions."

"Good idea.  I might have questions."

He put the number in his pocket and went off to his appointment.  About half an hour later, he came through the lobby again and stopped at my desk.  "Do you like ____?"

I didn't understand his deaf accent (Ferrigno has 80% hearing loss).  "Mexican food?"  Was he asking me out?  "Sure.  What time...."

Then someone else came in, and he mouthed "I'll call you," and left.

At least that's what I think he said.

I told all my friends that I had a date with Lou Ferrigno, and waited for his call.

It never came, so I forgot about it-- I was giving my phone number to a lot of people at the time.

Then one night in  January shortly after Alan and I broke up, I was at home, watching tv and doing some reading for my seminar in Dante at USC, when Lou knocked on my door!

"Is this a good time?" he asked.

My one-room apartment was a mess -- unmade bed, dinner dishes out, books and papers everywhere.  Besides, I was in my bathrobe, and I hadn't brushed my teeth since dinner. But who's going to say no?

He collapsed onto the bed.  "Boy, I'm tired.  I could use a nap."

"Ok, let's take a nap."

I climbed onto the bed next to him, and he wrapped a huge arm around me.  I moved up and started unbuttoning his shirt and kissing his chest.

The full story, with n*de photos and sexual situations, is on RG Beefcake and Boyfriends

Bobby Hogan: From homophobic college to Parody Spiderman, with some significant d*cks in between

 

Link to the significant d*cks

"The Lake," from Season 2 of  American Horror Stories, follows the recent American Horror Story pattern of minimizing or eliminating LGBT representation.  In the first scene, three hot guys and three bikini-clad girls are on a boat, discussing how heterosexual they are.  Jake (Bobby Hogan) has a map of the village that was flooded to create their lake, so he and his sister dive down and look for souvenirs.  Suddenly a green tendril grabs him and pulls him into the muck.  He doesn't appear again, except as a corpse.  In fact, none of the cute guys appear again.  The story is all about sister Finn and her mother discovering the evil secret of the lake.

Heteronormativity or no, I wanted more than just one scene worth of Bobby Hogan's chest and abs, so I researched him on IMDB and his instagram, looking for beefcake and evidence that he is gay.

Not much biographical information.  On his Facebook, he says that he is from St. Louis and Chaminade College Preparatory School and Belmont University in Nashville.  Chaminade is Catholic, and Belmont is "Christ-centered," affiliated with the Southern Baptist Church until it broke away in 2007, and intensely homophobic. 

Bobby starred in Escape to Margaritaville, Footloose, and Johnny and the Devil's Box, and graduated with a BFA in Musical Theater in 2019.  

Wait -- 90% of musical theater guys are gay.  How does Belmont even allow a musical theater degree program?  Bobby must be gay or gay-friendly, but then why would he choose a homophobic college and listen to rants about how evil he or his fellow drama majors are?  I'm confused.

That better not be an alcoholic beverage, Buddy Boy

On WeAudition, advertising a service helping you run lines, develop a character, and so on, Bobby states that he moved to Los Angeles in the fall of 2020 to begin his film/tv career.  Unfortunately, it was the start of the COVID pandemic, so roles were scarce.  He has 10 listins on the IMDB, beginning in 2021 with The Superhero Diaries  

He plays a Parody Spiderman in 7 episodess.  I watched some clips on Youtube: a date with Harley Quinn, and serenading Wonder Woman.  Depressingly heteronormative, but he displays a nice physique and bulge.

After that, a lot of guest gigs:

Duncan in the 9-1-1 Lone Star episode "Red vs. Blue."  It's actually about a cops-firefighter baseball game, not red states vs. blue states.

 Marine Recruit #6 in the movie Manifest Evil.  The trailer shows a man interacting with two women, yawn.

The American Horror Stories gig.

Trevor Logan on The FBI episode "Fortunate Son." A teen shows up at headquarters with a bag of fentanyl, and wants the gang to find out who killed his father.  

A soldier on the NCIS episode "Survival of the Fittest."  He is attacked by a genetic weapon.

Cole on SWAT

Joshua in Remy & Arletta, a Christian movie about two girls who are friends (not girlfriends).  A Christian movie?   Figures.

Two episodes on Chicago PD as Noah Gorman, a teenager who leaves home after his homophobic parents denounce him for being gay. He is kidnapped, but mom and dad don't care, it's what he deserves for turning evil.  He is found, badly beaten and traumatized, but won't say who the kidnapper was.  

Hank Voight, Jason Beghe, takes him in, since he has nowhere else to go.  In the next episode, he is kidnapped again and killed -- not in a hate crime, just a regular serial killer, but still an awful "bury your gays" moment.  If you are gay, you must die.

But at least Bobby had no problem with playing a gay character. 

More after the break

Marcus Hodson: Shape-shifting demon or hyper-masculine Midlands model? With n*de merman bonus

 Link to the NSFW version

On Dead Hot (2024), Marcus Hodson plays a shape-shifting demon, a hermetic Magus who travels between esoteric realms through the Eye of Horus bar and its mysterious Red Phone.  I wanted to know if he plays other mysterious Pucks or Lords of Misreason, but his IMDB listing is rather basic  Five roles, all 2022-2024: 

You Like That, a short about a gay American student in Edinburgh.

The Stand-up Sketch Show, where comedians perform "a surreal reconstruction of their own material."  Marcus is a background player in five episodes.

An episode of Domino Day, about a young witch "haunted by her need to feed on others." In Episode 2, Marcus plays a hookup who smooches with her and is eaten.

Gentleman in Moscow is about a Russian aristocrat placed under house arrest in a hotel for the rest of his life after the 1917 revolution.  He befriends a girl who also lives in the hotel; Marcus plays her piano teacher.

He also plays one of the mermen in The Little Mermaid.

Only one other paranormal show, and he doesn't even play a supernatural being?

Not many biographical details available. A 2021 article in Pause magazine states that he is 25 years old, from Manchester but living in London. He began modeling at age 18, then started university, but left to go pro.

In spite of the paucity of biographical details, Marcus has a very active social media presence, with hundreds of posts about travel, food, and beefcake. Here he is in Greece

In Rome

On the beach.  Does Marcus have a palsy disorder in his left hand, or is he displaying some magickal gestures?

More after the break

Who is Theo James, why is he n*de so often, and has he been in anything gay-positive?

  

In White Lotus Season 2, Cameron and Ethan (Theo James, Will Sharpe) and their wives visit the Italian resort, and start flirting with every woman in sight, plus each other. In Episode 4, Cameron even says "I want to do stuff to you."  But it is just queerbaiting; the two never lock lips.  In fact, they hate each other.

You could probably figure that White Lotus, well known for its shocking homophobia, would never portray an actual gay romance.  After all, it was created and written by Mike White, aka The Devil. 

Link to NSFW version

But Theo James is not personally homophobic; he has been interviewed an a dozen gay magazines, he wants to play a gay action-adventure hero, and he was in the running to play gay pop star George Michael.  Let's check his previous work for gay roles

The Time Traveler's Wife (2022) features (straight) lovers stymied by the guy's frequent involuntary time slips.  Heterosexuals all the way down, although it does give us some nice rear and frontals.

Sanditon (2019-22) is an adaption of a novel that Jane Austen left unfinished at her death in 1817. There is actually a gay character, outed in the second season. Theo plays Sidney Parker, whom focus character Charlotte love/hates with the "He's arrogant!" trope.  

In the animated Castlevania (2018-21), Theo plays Hector, whose plot is propelled by that horribly cliched Dead Wife Trope.  

Archive (2020)?  Another guy with a Dead Wife, who he tries to recreate with an android.  Yawn.  I'm beginning to think that it will be tired cliches as well as heterosexuals all the way down.  Are the butts and dicks worth the trouble?

Lying and Stealing (2019)? Caper romance between two thieves.

How it Ends (2018)?  "In the midst of an Apocalypse, a man struggles to reach his pregnant fiance, who is a thousand miles away."  That' actually the motive behind about half of the characters on The Walking Dead: "I'm looking for my wife!"

Before The White Lotus, Theo was most famous for the Divergent series, four movies set in a teen dystopia where people are classified according to their primary virtue: Candor, Dauntless, Erudite, Abnegation, and Amity.  He plays Four, a Dauntless instructor who romances focus character Beatrice. 

Ok, let's try Theo's future projects.  In the upcoming The Gentleman (2024), Theo plays Eddie Halsted, who inherits his father's estate without realizing that it is the front for a drug empire.  And he...falls in love...with...

I give up.

But at least there are lots of Theo James rears and frontals on RG Beefcake and Boyfriends

See also: The Resort: Skyler Gisondo disappears at Christmas in a scary Mayan resort.

Bobby Hogan: Christian, Spiderman, Marine, gay teenager, with some significant selfies

Jonathan Taylor Thomas

Born in September 1981, Jonathan Taylor Thomas (JTT) became a star at age 11 through Home Improvement (1991-1998), playing Randy, the middle son of macho tool-show host Tim Allen. He was passive and somewhat feminine, gay-coded yet indefatigably girl-crazy from the start, and careful to rebel against any hint that he might be gay.

In “Groin Pull” (October 1992), Randy is cast as Peter Pan in the school play.  First he is horrified because he must “prance” rather than fly: as his father states, “Men don’t prance.  We walk, we run, we skip if no one’s looking. . .but we never prance!”  Then he discovers that Peter Pan is generally played by a woman, and almost drops out of the play, before Dad confinces him that he can re-create the role as heterosexual, “a man’s man. . .a man with hair on his chest.”  And it works: Randy comes home after the performance and exclaims triumphantly, “I saw Jennifer looking at me!"

The pubescent Jonathan Taylor Thomas soon began to dominate the teen magazines.  There are literally thousands of pin-ups and centerfolds, far overwhelming those featuring the more muscular Zachery Ty Bryan, who played his older brother, or Taran Noah Smith, who played his younger brother, or their various hunky friends (such as Josh Blake of Alf).

. His character became a teen dream operator, intensely attractive to girls -- never to boys -- and intensely heterosexually active and aware.

But Randy was not content to be just another of the girl-crazy hunks who populated 1990s tv.  He often supported liberal causes, in opposition to his conservative father, and his episodes often drew the series into serious themes, such as Randy questioning his religion or facing a possible cancer diagnosis. When JTT left the series in 1998, it was explained that Randy had been accepted into a year-long environmental study program in Costa Rica.

In his other projects, JTT more than made up for the "every girl's fantasy" plotlines of his conservative tv series.  He enjoyed a buddy-bonding romance with Brad Renfro in Tom and Huck (1995), and with Devon Sawa in Wild America (1997).  He played a bisexual hustler in Speedway Junky (1999), opposite Jesse Bradford, and a gay teenager in Common Ground (2000).

2 gay/bi roles in two years!  The gay rumors came fast and furious, but JTT, like his character on Home Improvement, always denied them: he said he didn't mind, but they made his elderly grandmother upset.

He moved into voice work, guest starred on Smallville, and went to college, graduating from Columbia University in 2010 with a degree in history. He has retired from acting, except for a four-episode plot arc on TV dad Tim Allen's Last Man Standing

 In 2011, tv personality Lo Bosworth re-ignited the rumors by stating that he was gay on the Chelsea Lately program.  He is not "yet" married.

Stephen Louis Grush: From Pericles to Peter's Militia, with shirtless shots and gay subtext roles in between

 

Link to the n*de photos

 Stephen Louis Grush grew up in New Orleans, and graduated from Roosevelt University in Chicago with a BFA in Theater. He has over 30 credits on the IMDB, often in projects that emphasize gay subtexts, or texts.

In Catch Hell (2014), two toughs (Stephen, Ian Barford) kidnap a Hollywood actor (Ryan Philippe) with the intent of torturing and killing him.  They do a lot of torturing, and a lot of n*de struggling, but Junior (Stephen) also falls in love with him.

In Gracepoint (2014), Stephen plays a plumber's apprentice who may be gay, accused of murdering a small boy.

In a 3-episode story arc on Rectify (2016), focus character Danny (Adan Young) is  living in a halfway house.  His roommate Manny (Stephen) walks around n*ked in front of him; this is particularly upsetting because he was repeatedly r*ped in prison.  But Manny won't stop.  Finally Danny tells the house leader about it, expecting the guy to be kicked out.  Instead, they give him a new roommate.

More after the break

"Unhinged": Road Rager pushing paranoia about societal decay, with some gay actors and teen idols

I try not to drive very much, due to a little road rage problem.  Other drivers absolutely cannot cut in front of me.  When they do, they are being disrespectful, like a slap in the face, and I feel compelled to "get even" by zooming around them.  Strangely, the police don't see it that way, and think that I am in the wrong.  

So I love movies and tv shows about road rage, like Deliverance and Beef.  When Unhinged, 2020, showed up on Netflix, I clicked "play" without doing any research.

Prologue: A montage of sensationalistic stories about an epidemic of violent crime, people going beserk, law and order decaying, a downward spiral of disorder.  The violent crime rate is the lowest it's been since the 1950s, one tenth the rate in 1990. 

Scene 1: Mom Rachel is sleeping on the couch when she is awakened by her lawyer, Andy. Her ex wants even more stuff in the divorce.  Plus she overslept, so now her son will get to school later, get another tardy on his record -- in the era of the school-to-prison pipeline, a possible arrest -- and she'll be late meeting with her client. 

Scene 2: At breakfast, a feminine man, who lives with them, is talking online with his mom about assisted living. Gay uncle?  Nope, a woman comes in, says that she loves him, and they kiss.  Had to heterosexualize him immediately, didn't you?  There's also a girl wandering around.  Son is watching tv news about a man who killed some people, then set the house on fire. Foreshadowing.  

Back story: It's Mom Rachel's Freddy and his wife, staying with her but not kicking in any rent., because he's into get-rich-quick schemes. 

Uncle Freddy is played by Austin P. McKenzie. whose first acting job was in the ASL-inclusive, gay-themed Spring Awakening.  He has also appeared in When We Rise and Speech and Debate.  He is in a relationship with Kevin McHale, formerly of Glee.

Scene 3: Mom Rachel and her Son rush out of the house, and run into the neighbor, also taking her kids to school.  So, carpool?  Neighbor is much more successful and snobbish.

The Son is played by Gabriel Bateman, no relation to Jason Bateman. More recently he had a starring role as Charlie Fox in Mosquito Coast, the role River Phoenix originated in the movie.

Uh-oh gridlock.  Should they take the freeway?  Son checks the traffic on his phone -- it looks clear.  So they cut down the shoulder onto the freeway. How far away is this kid's school?

Scene 4: Dad Richard calls to blow off whatever gender-polarized masculine thing he and his son have planned for tomorrow night.  Mom's client calls to fire her for being late so often.  And...more gridlock!   I've been trapped in gridlock a lot, in weird places like the middle of Illinois, nowhere near anywhere, and heading out of Cleveland during morning rush hour, when everyone should be going toward downtown.  We were parked in that one for 45 minutes. 

Son suggests getting off at the next exit and taking surface streets, so she drives into the shoulder, pushes her way through several lanes of traffic, getting honked at, and onto another shoulder to the surface street and a stop light.  

The light turns green, but the truck in front of her doesn't move.  She blares her horn, then zooms around him while making an obscene gesture.  Uh-oh, that's the worst thing you can do.  You've just signaled the other driver that you think he is worthless, so he'll have to zoom around you to prove that he is a valid human being. 

And more gridlock! 

Scene 5: The Man in the Truck pulls up next to them, apologizes for "zoning out," and then asks Rachel to apologize for disrespecting him.  She refuses, saying that she has nothing to apologize for.  Are you kidding?  You've been acting like an entitled jerk the whole trip.  You've cut off like a dozen drivers.

He says that this is why the society is falling apart: "We have lost the ability to apologize to anyone for anything."  She tries to ignore him.  He promises that she's going to find out what a bad day is.

At that moment, the traffic opens up, and they drive away.  The Man zooms around, cuts them off, and slams on his brakes. Smiling at his triumph, he moves on. That must be what he means by "finding out what a bad day is."  It would certainly ruin my day. Wait -- there's still an hour left.

More after the break

"Decline and Fall": Student canned for immorality in 1930s Oxford, with organs and vile bodies

Link to the n*de photos

After Brideshead Revisited appeared on television in 1982, everyone thought that Evelyn Waugh was a gay writer, and started buying up the original novel from 1945, as well as his other novels, Decline and Fall and Vile Bodies.  Turns out that he was straight-ish, regretted the gay romances of his Oxford years, and thought of gay love as decadent and immoral, or at best adolescent experimentation that you give up once you are old enough for the "real love" of a woman.   So I don't expect the  2017 BBC adaption of his Decline and Fall, streaming on Amazon Prime, to have any gay characters. 

Or maybe not.  Waugh derived the title and central theme from The Decline and Fall of the West, by Otto Spengler, which theorizes that societies inevitably decline into moral decadence.  Including LGBT people.  So maybe there will be some homophobia.

Scene 1: The Bollinger Club at Scone College, Oxford -- har, har -- is trashing their common room.  Meanwhile, quiet theology student Paul Pennyfeather  (Jack Whitehall, top photo) is sitting quietly with his friend Potts (Matthew Beard, left), who wants to go to a church tomorrow and "make some rubbings."  He means rubbings of tombstones, but...har, har.  Paul refuses, whereupon the friend says "I'll make some rubbings for you."  I'll bet you will...

On his way home, Paul runs afoul of the Bollinger Club, who strip him n*ked and force him to run across the quad.  Although he is not responsible, he is expelled from Oxford for "moral malfeasance."  

Scene 2: Generally men sent down for moral failings become schoolmasters, and there's a position available in Llanaba, Wales, to teach English, French, German, Latin, and coach cricket.  Paul doesn't speak German, but the job agent tells him to fake it.

Scene 3: Paul arrives at Llanaba, finds his way to the school, which is actually quite ornate, and is introduced to Captain Grimes (Douglas Hodge),  just as he is disciplining a student for whistling.  The other students were whistling, too, but "it makes no difference."  He gets 100 lines, and next time a beating. 

Then the Headmaster  and his daughters, whom Paul snubs.  Not into girls, are you?  He's in charge of the fifth form (15-16 year olds), games, carpentry,  and fire drill, and he'll be giving Best-Chedwyth organ lessons.  "But I don't play the organ."  "You do now."

Scene 4: The shabby Fifth Form classroom.  Headmaster advises Paul not to mention why he was sent down, and rushes away.. The students make fun of "Good morning" and role call, lock his desk drawer, and give him trick chalk. 

Scene 5: After the first class debacle, he rushes to the common room, and meets the hard-drinking Prendergast:  "You'll hate it here.  I do.  We all do."  Then to his room to unpack his stuff and be depressed.

Cut to dinner: teachers have to eat with their students. Paul is still depressed, the students still disrespectful, the food greenish slop.  

Afterwards, Captain Grimes escorts him to the pub. They discuss the Headmaster's two daughters; Grimes is engaged to "the haybale," leaving "the male one" for Paul.

About the Fifth Formers: Don't try to teach them anything, just keep them quiet and beat them.  Grimes isn't cut out for teaching; he keeps getting sacked at private schools for "doing things," but fortunately he's a public school alumnus so he always gets another job. In Britain, "public schools" are like the private schools in America.  

During the War, he "did something" that almost resulted in a firing squad, but because he was a public school alumnus, they just transfered him to Ireland, where you can "do things" without penalty.  Gay acts?  But they wouldn't get you a death sentence in Britain at the time

The leering Philbrick (Stephen Graham) approaches and asks if either of them would fancy a woman tonight. You got any men? They refuse.  Grimes says that he doesn't really fancy women.

More after the break

Brock Yurich: Romcom hunk, gay villain, hustler, bodybuilder, n*de model, and a big reveal.

First Brock O'Hurn, and now Brock Yurich.  I seem to be collecting Brocks.  After seeing Yurich as ChaseDream's Trainer in two episodes of The Other Two, I looked him up on the IMDB.  

Link to the n*de photos

Not much: Born May 1, 1989 in New Philadelphia, Ohio, about two hours west of Pittsburgh.  Nothing else until he moves into acting in 2011 with small roles like Fraternity Brother, Bar Patron, and Attractive Man, plus guest spots on The Two of Us, The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, and Succession.

The IMDB says that he "known for" playing Winston in Rambler (2013), not to be confused with The Rambler (2013), starring Daniel Keith as a hit-man with a price on his head. I don't know who Winston is, but in the trailer there's close-up of a woman's foot followed by a guy, maybe Brock, dressed in a South-of-Market leather outfit offering drinks and screaming.  I'm guessing a standard gay/trans villain.

Brock is also "known for" two short films that he wrote, produced, and appeared in: T-Country (2016), about a down-on-his-luck prizefighter, and 49: A Tribute to the Pulse (2017) -- the gay Latinx nightclub that was the site of a mass shooting in 2016. 

Another possible gay role: in Law and Order: Special Victim's Unit Episode 17.18, 2016, the detectives uncover a "massive cover-up in the Catholic Church." Brock plays Lance Woodstone. I don't have a lot of details, but this photo suggests that he's a hustler who specializes in BDSM scenes for priests. I can't tell if it's a homophobic portrayal or not.

After that, we move on to purely heterosexist roles. The Hating Game (2021): A romcom about two business rivals (Lucy Hale, Austin Stowall) who fall in love.  It's a "boring trifle," "sweet and sugary," or "an abomination," depending on whose review you believe. Brock plays someone named Mack, far down the cast list -- not the gay best friend.

The Love Hunt (2023) is a romcom about an heiress who has to find some hidden treasure in order to inherit her dad's estate. Brock plays the small-town working-class bloke whom she chooses over her prissy button-down boyfriend.

The Boxer and the Butterfly (2023) is a romcom about an aspiring dancer who must teach a down-and-out boxer the moves.  Brock plays her love interest.  Ok, maybe the gay projects were just a fluke.

His instagram is not very exciting.  Sure, he flexes a lot, but 3,000 photos of a bodybuilder flexing at the gym or in a nondescript room?  There are no photos of travel, restaurants, or anything of non-hunk interest, no humor, not even a lot of interesting exterior shots. 

And he hugs a lot of women.  Definitely straight.

This is the only humorous post, Brock in a Mandalorian mask, with the Yoda baby.

Searching for "Brock Yurich" and "n*de" revealed some shots from Tyler Perry's soap opera, The Haves and the Have-Nots (2018-21),  about the relations between the rich Harringtons and the poor Youngs -- basically the plot of every soap opera ever, except that most of the cast is black.   

In Seasons 5-8, Brock plays Madison, an "openly gay" nurse at the local hospital, who develops a relationship with Jeffery, the Harrington's closeted, then out-but-beleaguered son. Actually no n*dity, but the guys hug.

More research reveals a p*rn video, plus several other n*de photos.

And a photo shoot for Instinct, the gay magazine.

Wait -- the "I'm Coming Out" Podcast gives us more biographical details.  Brock attended the University of Central Florida, receiving his degree in musical theater.  While in college he hung out and worked as a bartender at the Pulse nightclub -- which explains why he filmed the tribute.

Upon graduation, he moved to New York to find work as an "openly gay actor."  

So openly gay in real life, but not on social media, with a lot of hetero romcoms as he moves toward middle age.  You could do worse.

Brock dick and butt on RG Beefcake and Boyfriends

"RobiHachi": Gay-Subtext Buddies on a Planet of Musclemen, Chased by a Gay Stereotype

 RobiHachi, a 2019 anime series on Hulu:down-on-his-luck Robi tries to escape bill collector Hachi by stowing away on a spaceship headed for the planet Iskander, but Hachi follows him on board.  Now "this odd couple will make the trek together," No doubt with a romance developing, as evident in the "shipping" of the two names.

It looks like two boys,but Hachi is rather androgynous, so they could be a girl.  I checked out the voice artists: Kazuya Nakai (Robby) is male, but I can't tell the gender of Keisuke Komoto (Hachi), left.   Plus their biography uses "they/them" pronouns.  

The website Behind the Voice Actors has photos of characters they've voiced.  Darn!  Keisuke Komoto does both boy and girl voices.  Another dead end.

I should have checked the IMDB photos from the series first.  Both boys.  This one is from the episode "Que-eel-ee Surprise."  What the heck does that mean?  I'm reviewing it anyway.

Scene 1: Robi (redhead) and Hachi (pink hair) are piloting the space ship alone, except for a white-headed Hello-Kitty-type pet.  I thought it was a passenger ship?  They plan to stop on Hamama II, a planet known for its eels, just in time for its Great Eel Festival. (They're extinct back on Earth).

Scene 2: They land amid a herd of oxen supervised by musclemen in jockstraps.  "Awesome! You're so buffed! Robi exclaims.  "There's no time for you to admire him!" the Hello-Kitty yells.  "Ask where the Festival is."  Wait -- Robi is admiring male beauty.  Is he canonically gay?

Whoops, the festival is starting now!  The musclemen mount their oxen and gallop off.  Robi and Hachi follow.  

Suddenly a giant eel bursts from the ocean and swallows the oxen -- and chases Robi and Hachi.  The musclemen quickly subdue it.  Another giant eel for the festival!

Scene 3: A festival full of musclemen lassoing giant eels and turning them into sushi.  A little girl asks if Robi and Hachi need a guide.  "Not you," Robi says.  "If you were a young lady, then..."  Wait -- is he canonically straight? Maybe he just thinks that she's too young to be qualified as a guide.  She gives them a sob story, and they hire her.

Scene 4: Mr. Yang, the Big Bad who is chasing Robi, ostensibly to collect a debt,  lands on the planet. He's wearing nail polish and multiple rings.  A stereotypic feminine villain?  His henchmen note that the Eel Festival is going on. A perfect opportuinty to enhance his virility before hunting down Robi.  In English "virility" refers only to sexual prowess.  The Japanese word must refer to strength of all sorts, unless Yang plans on having sex with Robi.  

Scene 5:  Various aliens and humans in swimsuits eating grilled giant eel. Why swimsuits?  I'm going into beefcake overload.  Robi and Hachi, also in swimsuits, eat several skewers, even though Hello-Kitty advises that they're very expensive.  Their guide gives them a rundown of the day's events.

Meanwhile, the henchman bring Mr. Yang an eel bone.  When he eats it, he's overwhelmed with energy -- and shows a big bulge in his swimsuit!  

They stop for a parade, with a giant paper-mache eel carried by innumerable muscle men -- and Robi and Hachi!  Mr. Yang doesn't notice them.  He yells "Robi, I'm going to catch you, wherever you are!"

Scene 6: The Unazuki Hotel, popular among off-world tourists. Robi and Hachi get separate rooms -- not canonically gay. Meanwhile, Mr. Yang is prancing around, swishy hand on hip, wondering where Robi went. He and his henchmen get rooms at the Unazuki, too.  He continues to gorge on eel, over-fortifying his virility.  I think they really mean sexual potency.  The gay stereotype is hot for Robi!

More after the break

Tracker: Guy tracks missing people in scary states. Are any of them gay? Do any have beefcake pics?

  

The new mystery-crime series Tracker got a boost from appearing after the Superbowl (some kind of sports broadcast), and is now the most popular tv series on Hulu.  It sends the Tracker, played by Justin Hartley, to places that I'd be afraid to drive through: Klamath Falls, Oregon?  Missoula, Montana? -- to track down missing persons.  Not paranormal missing, just regular getting kidnapped and lost in the woods stuff.

He is assisted by a lawyer, a lady who likes to see him n*ked; a computer hacker who rarely leaves his cubbyhole; and his managers, a butch-femme lesbian couple, so there's some representation, but I want to see if the missing people are gay.  I watched some of the episodes until they were established as gay or straight, and otherwise depended on episode descriptions.

1. Klamath Falls: A 14 year old kidnapped, presumably by his birth dad, but then they discover that dad has been dead for several years. 

2. Missoula: A young man, played by Donald Heng, has been pulled into a deadly cult.  He's 27 years old, an accountant,  andaccording to his parents, "shy, so he doesn't meet many people."  27 years old and unmarried?  Gay...wait, his parents say that two months ago he met a woman.  Heterosexualized in 4 minutes.

3. Springland: A young woman's free-spirited sister. Well, I'm not picky, maybe she's a lesbian...nope, she has a boyfriend named Gecko.  Heterosexualized in 8 minutes.

4. Mount Shasta: A teenager played by Hunter Dillon goes missing from a troubled teen camp that is run like a prison.  They search his dorm room.  Tracker asks "Does he have a girlfriend?"  Mom doesn't know: "I don't even know if he likes girls."  He has a girlfriend, but it's nice that she doesn't assume automatically that every boy likes girls. Heterosexualized in 8 minutes.

5. St Louis.  Finally, a place I wouldn't be afraid to visit. A convicted murderer's daughter wants him to prove her father's innocence by tracking down a key witness. Doubtful.

6. Lexington: Tracker must team up with a rival tracker -- a lady -- to track down a missing race horse.  Unlikely.  I thought this assignment would be a nonstop hunk fest, but I haven't found anything. "Peter New" is in the cast list, but guess what happens when I google "Peter  New" and "nude" 

There's also a Peter Oldring.

7. Chicago. My kinda town. Tracker has to track down a female MMA fighter.His computer hacker, played by Eric Graise, gets to leave his dark computer room and participate in the action.  Eric played a gay character in the reboot of Queer as Folk, and his character is never heterosexualized, so maybe....

More after the break