Hulu has released the first trailer for the new queer rom-com “Fire Island,” starring Joel Kim Booster and “Saturday Night Live” star Bowen Yang.
A modern take on the classic Jane Austen novel “Pride and Prejudice,” “Fire Island” focuses on two gay best friends, Noah (Booster) and Howie (Yang), who take a trip to the Pines, a hamlet on New York’s Fire Island that’s a hotspot for queer culture. Over the course of their vacation, they party with friends and develop flirtations with two other, significantly wealthier vacationers, Will (Conrad Ricamora) and Charlie (James Scully). The film also features Yang’s longtime “Las Culturistas” podcast co-host Matt Rogers, Margaret Cho, Nick Adams, Tomás Matos and Torian Miller in supporting roles.
Variety broke the news of the film in June last year. Booster wrote the script for the film, which is directed by Andrew Ahn, the filmmaker behind critically acclaimed indie films “Spa Night” and “Driveways.” Booster also executive produces the film, with Tony Hernandez, John Hodges and Brooke Posch producing for JAX. The film is distributed by Searchlight Pictures. In addition to releasing on Hulu domestically, “Fire Island” will be available on Disney Plus’ Star brand globally.
In an interview with Vanity Fair, Booster revealed that the genesis behind a “Pride and Prejudice” story set on the shores of Fire Island stemmed from a trip he took to the Pines with Yang where he brought Austen’s novel with him. After shelving the idea for years, Booster initially developed it as a short form series for the now defunct streaming mobile platform Quibi. When the platform folded, Searchlight acquired the idea and expanded it into a film.
“I want people — especially gay men, especially queer people — to walk away from the movie happy that they’re gay,” Booster told Vanity Fair. “I think that there are so many movies about the gay experience that are fraught with people who are unsure if they’re happy being gay or struggling with coming out… I want people to come away from this movie feeling the joy of our experiences and that it’s not all tragic. There are many of us out here living our lives joyfully.”
“Fire Island” will premiere on Hulu on June 3.