‘Does This Murder Make Me Look Gay?!’ Podcast Team on Making the “Queerer Version of Clue”
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“I would say I wanted to do a gay version of Clue, but Clue is the gayest thing ever,” writer Ted Malawer jokes about his new scripted podcast Does This Murder Make Me Look Gay?! “So, I would just say a gayer, queerer version of Clue.”
Malawer, along with cast members Michael Urie, Cheyenne Jackson, Frankie Grande and Nathan Lee Graham, can’t contain their seemingly genuine love for the scripted podcast on a Monday afternoon Zoom.
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Hailing from Ninth Planet Audio and iHeartMedia’s Outspoken Podcast Network, the podcast chronicles the life and death of a fictional D-list movie director Vandy Monroe III (Jonathan Freeman).
As the victim narrates at the top of the podcast (before diving into the cast of characters), “In dissecting my big gay murder, I have two goals: to name my killer and to entertain.”
The ensemble, full of possible suspects, includes: Monroe’s neighbor and “award-losing interior designer” Henry Jacobs (Graham), British porn star Jacques St. Cock (Jackson), Raymour & Flanigan fortune heir Kelly Raymour & Flanigan (Frankie Grande), among many others.
Malawer, co-writer of fan-favorite Amazon movie Red, White & Royal Blue, credits his love of murder mysteries for the show’s creation.
“If you came into my bedroom at night, which whatever,” he begins, met with laughs from his cast. “It’s just me watching Murder She Wrote episodes with my dog… I love murder mysteries. Agatha Christie, Hitchcock … That’s stuff that I’ve always loved.”
Does This Murder Make Me Look Gay premiered on June 17 with two-episodes and is truly a laugh out loud listen, which helped entice some of the cast. “I was howling reading the script,” says Urie, who plays the show’s “straight man except he’s gay,” James Wilson.
“To me, there’s nothing more exciting than somebody who takes the silly seriously,” he continues.
Urie’s cast members had plenty of similar praise to share about Malawer’s writing and their own love for detective stories. “Ted was very hands-on, which I loved,” says Jackson, who considers himself a fellow lover of murder mysteries. “He had such specific ideas for all of the nuances.”
Grande echoed Malawer’s love for a certain iconic ’80s mystery film, which influenced his decision to join the project. “When I got the chance to be in what I consider to be a modern, queer version of Clue, I said yes immediately,” he says.
“All I can say is that I always like being a part of a legendary moment,” Graham says of working on the podcast, triggering a chorus of giggles from the rest of the group. The actor also considers himself a fan of the genre. “I’m a PBS doll, as well,” he adds, noting he loves anything “English and mysterious,” including Agatha Christie and Broadchurch.
Keeping things silly and light — well, aside from the murder, of course — is the through line in Does This Murder Make Me Look Gay?!, which according to Malawer, is the intentional.
“It’s kind of amazing that there is more and more gay content out there these days, but I think a lot of the time it is heavy and serious, which is absolutely important,” the writer explains. “But I also think that there’s room for joy and fun and silly humor, and that’s what we’re giving in this podcast.”
New episodes of Does This Murder Make Me Look Gay?! drop Mondays on the iHeartMedia app and all other major podcast platforms.
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