Kayden Koshelev: Zombie boy, drag queen, nonbinary firefighter. But that's not the interesting part. With Dorman and random twink d*cks

  

Link to the n*de photos

Someone named Kayden Koshelev appeared on the teen idol website: rather femme, with lots of pictures where he's going to movies and events with dudes (here Mason McNulty)  Obviously gay.  But that's not the interesting part (after I go through his LGBTQ roles).

16 years old as of this writing, Kayden was born in Burbank, then moved to Chicago before returning to L.A. to pursue his career.  He began performing at age 7, playing the young John (Michael Dorman) on an episode of Patriot (about a dysfunctional spy).

A lot of gay-themed tv followed:

A 2021 episode of Diary of a Future President, a Disney teencom with Charlie Bushnell (left) gradually (very gradually) coming out.

Five episodes of Search Party (2022).  The dark comedy started out as a search for a missing friend, but in Season 5 the gang sells "instant enlightenment" pills, not realizing that they turn you into a zombie.  Aspen (Kayden), adopted by gay couple Elliott and Marc (John Early, Jeffery Self), soon turns murderous, drowning the Gay Pool Boy (Julio Torres of Los Espookies) because he won't provide ice cream. 

He then acts like he has a crush on Drew (John Reynolds), so he will lower his defenses.  Drew asks "Why is he so obsessed with me?" before Aspen attacks. 

 

Me Time (2022) stars Kevin Hart and Mark Wahlberg as a responsible "family man" and his wild-child buddy.  Kayden's character is not specifically gay, but his rendition of "Hallelujah" brings down the house.  And I can post Kevin Hart's backside.

Let's fast-forward through Kayden's 21 acting credits to:

Firebuds (2023-25): Preteen first responders are "vroom-mates" with sentient vehicles.  Cory, paired with a helicopter, is nonbinary, using they/them pronouns: the first nonbinary character on any Disney Channel program.

And: Cupid's Treacherous Journey (2025). Teenage theater director Preston (Kayden, also the writer) and the girls in his cast are trapped in the theater during a storm, and decide that "the show must go on."    The girl playing the lead isn't there, so he'll do it:  "They built the sky like a glass ceiling, but I wasn't made to be grounded.  They fear what happens when us women burn too brightly."  

More after the break

"I Love LA": Entitled 27 year old lady and her gay best friend have boring conversations. With Hutcherson, Firstman, and some others.

 

Link to the dudes

The 11 years I lived in Los Angeles were the best of my life.  Imagine  having a job interview at Paramount Studios.  Driving down Sunset Boulevard, past Chateau Marmont and the Comedy Store, on the way to work.  Running into John Amos at the gym and Richard Dreyfuss at the Bodhi Tree.  Living two blocks from Mickey's and the Different Light.  Buying groceries at the West Hollywood Safeway, where everyone is gay.  So of course I'm going to watch a tv show called I Love LA., even though it's about zillenial ladies with influencer problems.

Plus, it stars Josh Hutcherson (left) and Jordan Firstman (who showed his stuff in Rotting in the Sun) as a gay friend. In an era where gay starring characters on tv suddenly turn straight (Dr. Who, Klaus in The Umbrella Academy, Will Byers on Stranger Things) or their shows are cancelled after one season, maybe secondary character will have staying power.

Scene 1: It's Maia's 27th birthday, and she doing stuff with her boyfriend (Josh Hutcherson); his chest visible, she is fully clothed.  There's an earthquake, but she thinks that he is being energetic, har har.

Scene 2: Maia and Boyfriend in the bathroom.  They discuss a girl in Boyfriend's class, whom Maia hates, but Josh gives the benefit of the doubt: she's only 12, entitled to be mean.

Next topic: Why Maia gets pain in her privates so often (as we know from Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, that happens when your boyfriend is extra...um...capacious).

Next topic: Maia is a year older today, so does she look like an ugly old hag, or is she still as ugly as yesterday?  There's no way to answer that without getting in trouble, buddy.

And why is she still an assistant?  She should be a manager by now.  She's an utter failure! 

"You could ask your Boss for a promotion." 

"I could, but I have to time it right."  She looks at a photo on her phone of a woman gazing at the camera while shoving her finger in her mouth.  This depresses her.

Scene 2:  On the street.  Still depressed, Maia watches as her Black Friend gets out of a fancy car, runs across the street, and hugs her.  "Happy birthday!"  As they discuss how much Alyssa hates her hair style, two gay guys walk up.  Her Gay Friend (Firstman) waves goodbye, says "I love you!",  throws him a bunch of kisses, then admits to his friends that he has no idea who the guy is: "I've literally never met him before."  

He's Jason, played by Rion Fletcher (n*de photo on RG Beefcake and Boyfriends).  This is his only appearance on the show.

Scene 3: The three walk down a jogging path in a part of L.A. I don't recognize.  Maia asks about Tallulah's Heaven campaign: it was months ago, but she's still "breadcrumbing it" at $10,000 per post -- a ridiculously low amount!  Plus she lives in...ugh..New York!  The friends agree that she's a joke, not worth Maia's time.

"Oh...um...we were friends five years ago, but now I hate her, of course.  She didn't even wish me a happy birthday."

"You're still in contact?" Gay Friend scoffs.  "Block her!  You don't see me hanging out with Avici anymore, do you?"

"Well, he's not alive."

Gay Friend rushes off to cruise a guy.  Maybe he didn't want to deal with the grief over his friend, or maybe he's just lonely.

Next topic:  Maia is that at 27, she's over the hill, no longer a useful member of society.

"Nonsense!" Black Friend exclaims. "My Dad won his first Oscar at age 28!  You still have, like three good years left!"

Back to Tallulah: "Block her!  You can't keep living in the past!"  He chants "Block! Block! Block!" until she does -- "and I feel amazing!"  She yells "Love you, b*tches!," and rushes away.  Is that a term of endearment now?

Scene 4:  Maia goes to work at Alyssa 180, determined to ask the Boss for a promotion.  Her assistant says "Good luck, Queen!"  Is that a term of endearment now?

She climbs the stairs to a workshop.  I don't know what they make or design here, but the staff is all women.

Left: So far the only male characters have been the button-down schoolteacher Boyfriend and the swishy stereotype Firstman, so here's Colin Woodell, who plays Ben in two episodes (not this one).

Alyssa, Founder and Principal, is getting a manicure.  "Happy birthday!  How old are you now?"

Maia tells her.

"Ugh, 27, that's rough.  Better than 28, though.  28 -33 are like 'K*ll me!'"

"What happens at 34?"

"B*tch, there is no one over 33."

Maia points out that she developed Grayson's Chipotle Bowl, which sold a lot of corn, so she should be promoted to manager.  

"Nope, sorry, I can't promote you to manager unless you have experience being a manager."  That sounds like a Catch-22, but it's actually how human resources work: you must have done this job, or you couldn't possibly do this job.

More after the break.  

Taylor Gregory: The fierce, fabulous Barbie kid grows up to ballet, bodybuilding, and kissing boys. With bonus Czerwonko going downtown

  

Link to the n*de dudes

When I was doing a profile of Iain Armitage, who played Young Sheldon, the preteen and teenage version of the Big Bang Theory's neurotic physicist , I thought Wyatt McClure should come next.  He played next door neighbor Billy, who started with a gay-subtext interest in Iain before the writers decided to give him a crush on his sister Missy instead.

Wyatt McClure turned out to be unsuitable; no beefcake, and straight.  But he did draw my attention to his best friend, Taylor Gregory: 17 years old as of this writing, and extremely muscular.

Taylor has done some acting, but he is primarily a dancer, interested in a career in ballet. Here he plays the Prince in Nutcracker at Christmastime 2023.  

Auditioning for the Houston Ballet Academy's intensive summer session in 2025.  Did they require you to dance shirtless on your audition video, or did you think your physique would give you an edge?

Gay in real life:

Taylor: "We weren't celebrating Valentine's Day, but we were."  His date, a guy named Carson, is getting friendly under the table. We don't see Wyatt's date; maybe they're taking the photo.

Taylor tries to kiss Wyatt, who isn't into it.  

Any questions?

Any gay roles:

In 2015, when he was six years old, Biloxi, Mississippi native starred in a commercial for Mochino's high-end Barbie doll collection.  He was  the first boy ever to be shown playing with Barbies on tv.  With his femme hair and his "fierce and fabulous" snap, he became a media sensation and "a voice of the LGBTQ community."  

In one of the news stories I watched, Taylor's Mom seemed uncomfortable with the idea of her son being a gay icon.  It was just an acting role; in real life, he plays with Matchbook cars (translation: "My son is straight")

Gay boys are allowed to play with cars, Mom, just as straight boys are allowed to play with dolls. You can't tell by the toys they like.

But she did allow him to perform at the  Gulf Coast Equality Fest, an annual LGBTQ+ event "aimed at inspiring, educating, honoring, and celebrating our community and our allies."  

More after the break

Jonny Quest: Gay in the 1960s, hetero in the 1990s, gay again (sort of) in the 2010s

An adventure series with distinctively realistic animation,Jonny Quest first appeared on prime time in 1965-65, and then on Saturday morning through the 1970s. Renowned scientist Dr. Benton Quest (Don Messick), with a reddish-brown beard and a white lab coat, and his white-haired, hard-muscled boyfriend Race Bannon, investigate weird mysteries in the Andes, the Artic, the Sargasso Sea, or most commonly in steamy jungles full of dragon-like lizards and headhunters.

 Tagging along, either to figure out the mystery or get abducted by bad guys, are Dr. Quest’s 11-year old son, Jonny (Tim Matheson) and his companion Hadji (Danny Bravo), who met them in Calcutta and then tagged along for no logical reason except that he rather liked Jonny.

Dr. Quest and Race Bannon were quite obviously gay partners. Neither displayed the slightest interest in women.

 Race was often drawn in a swimsuit so his massive muscles were visible.  Here he stains himself with purple berry juice to convince the savage Po-Po Indians that he is a god.

But I was more interested in Jonny and Hadji. Jonny, blond in a tough guy’s black turtleneck, rushes double-fisted into danger, while Hadji, slim and brown with petite hands, wearing a turban with a ruby in it all the time (even when swimming), is skittish and emotional, shouting “Be careful!” from the sidelines as he waits for an opportunity to assist with his mystical arts.

Hadji is presumably Hindu, although the turban suggests Sikh (in the 1990s series, his full name is Hadji Singh).  So why is his name an honorary title given to Muslims who have completed the hajj, the pilgrimage to Mecca?

He was one in  long line of South Asian boy-adventurers such as Sabu (left), Kim in the Corentin series, Gunga Andy's Gang, and Raji on  Maya (below) .

More after the break