Metro Sexual, the Humdrum Comedy production first seen on Australia’s 9Go! and 9Now, will premiere in the US on September 1 on the free streaming service Crackle, on OUTtvGo and OUTtv’s Apple TV from September 1 and then on Prime Channels in Canada.
Suppported by Screen Queensland, Metro Sexual is the first Australian sitcom with all LGBTIQ lead characters. Filmed in mockumentary style, it follows the lives of doctors Stephanie Huddleston (Geraldine Hickey) and Langdon Marsh (Riley Nottingham), who work at Metropolitan Sexual Health.
Crackle is part of Crackle Plus a Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment (Nasdaq: CSSE) company and one of the largest operators of streaming advertising-supported video-on-demand (AVOD) networks. The deal was negotiated by Screen Media Ventures, a Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment company, and the supplier of exclusive and original content for Crackle Plus.
OUTtv is the world’s first and Canada’s only LGBTQ+ television network. OUTtvGo is the networks streaming platform where subscribers can stream all their favorite series and movies.
Co-creator and co-star, Humdrum’s Riley Nottingham, said: “I am thrilled we are able to bring Metro Sexual to an American and Canadian audience and have found our home with Crackle and OUTtv. It’s such a hoot to play in the wild world of sexual health and hopefully Steph, Langdon and their crazy clinic can bring some much-needed laughter to the world.”
“We are proud to bring Metro Sexual to Crackle” said Philippe Guelton, President of Crackle Plus. “This ground-breaking comedy is the rare combination of relevant and irreverent, examining a serious topic in a hilarious way.”
“We’re thrilled to be welcoming Metro Sexual to our fall line-up on OUTtv,” said Brad Danks, CEO of OUTtv . “The show has received a great reception in its home country of Australia, especially for its all LGBTQ+ lead cast. The show is a perfect fit for our network – it’s a hilarious queer mockumentary series.”
As well as screening on 9Go! and 9Now, where the series reached close to 400,000 Australians and hit a massive 10.7% commercial share with People 18-39 on its first broadcast, the 8 x 10-minute series also played on Virgin Australia flights to up to three million passengers between January and April this year.
Humdrum Comedy is a Brisbane and Melbourne-based production company founded in 2013 by Riley Nottingham, Queenslander Henry Boffin and Nicholas Kraak. Specialising in comedy content for stage and screen, Humdrum makes fresh, original Australian content that appeals to domestic and international audiences alike. Metro Sexual is the company’s largest series and first series for digital television.
“Screen Queensland’s support for us, from our web series We are Darren and Riley to our television series Metro Sexual has been invaluable. Their support has been essential to the development of our careers, and knowing Screen Queensland care about the local screen industry means we’re always eager to bring business to the state.” said Nottingham.
Production credit: Metro Sexual is a Humdrum Comedy production first released with 9Go! and 9Now (Nine Network Australia). Principal production investment from Screen Australia, in association with Film Victoria. Financed with support from Screen Queensland with Yarraville Club, SKYN® and KNOBBY UNDERWEAR.
Series Synopsis:
Filmed in mockumentary style, Metro Sexual follows the lives of doctors Stephanie Huddleston (Geraldine Hickey) and Langdon Marsh (Riley Nottingham), who work at Metropolitan Sexual Health. The bubbly, customer service-driven Langdon, and the sardonic, seemingly-aloof Steph are both smart, empathetic doctors, however their differing approaches to patient care mean they’re always butting heads.
But when government cuts threaten to close them down, the duo’s boss, Miranda Graft, demands the pair prove their clinic’s worth. Accompanied by their well-meaning, but predominantly dispassionate receptionist Gwen Albright, Steph and Langdon must put their differences aside and do whatever it takes to get more patients through the door and save their clinic.
Along the way, Steph and Langdon deal with a crabs outbreak in a retirement village full of randy octogenarians, a tough Bikie gang leader who needs his prostate checked, an extroverted patient in for a cervical screening test who wants nothing more than to be Steph’s best friend, and a host of other internal and external conflicts.
Thanks to Tinder, Grindr and Bumble, more people are catching sexually transmitted infections than ever before. This is a problem – and it’s a problem no one is talking about. That’s where Metro Sexual comes in. This show will start a conversation about sexual health, and by presenting sexual health in a light-hearted, comedic fashion, will further work to de-stigmatise a topic that is impacting more people – young and old – than ever before.
