Julio Torres Will Navigate a “Dreamlike New York” in His New Show Fantasmas

Nina Westervelt / WWD via Getty Images

It’s Julio Torres’ world, and we’re all just living in it.

After premiering his directorial debut Problemista in March, the comedian has a brand-new TV show coming out this summer, and it looks like we’re in for another dose of his signature surreal humor. On Tuesday, Entertainment Weekly exclusively revealed a first look at Fantasmas, a comedy mini-series that will premiere on HBO and Max this summer. Details about the show are scarce so far, but judging from the stills and the general synopsis of the show, it sounds like it’s going to be yet another technicolor existential romp from the Los Espookys star.

Read on for everything we know so far about Fantasmas, including the premiere date and the incredibly stacked cast.

What is Fantasmas about?

According to Entertainment Weekly, Fantasmas will see a fictionalized version of Torres navigating a “dreamlike New York” on a quest for a lost earring. The show’s six episodes will feature some of Torres’ signatures, namely a cast of “strange characters,” and a “surreal, introspective deep dive into questions of purpose, meaning, and the nature of reality,” per EW. Additionally, Torres told the magazine that Fantasmas will be structured as a slice-of-life “show of vignettes,” and that his role will be one more akin to a “master of ceremonies.”

Who guest stars in Fantasmas?

The better question is, who doesn’t? Entertainment Weekly reported that some of the guest actors in Fantasmas will be Uncut Gems muse Julia Fox, Ziwe, Steve Buscemi, Alexa Demie, and Kim Petras — and that’s in addition to some other “top secret cameos.” Artist Martine Gutierrez will also star as Torres’ “pseudo agent,” and comedian Joe Rumril will voice Torres’ “robot companion Bibo.”

The gay comedian deconstructs his own complex narratives on the HBO series.

What were some of the inspirations for Fantasmas?

Torres told Entertainment Weekly that he was inspired by “overhead camera shots of The Sims” and the video game series Age of Empires, in which you “control ancient civilizations and build villages.”

“What always struck me about it was that when you were moving one person, there was light that illuminated one person. It was like a spotlight, and then beyond them it was just darkness, implying that people can only see so far,” Torres told EW. He added that there was “a very lonely quality” about the game, and that that was something he sought to emulate in the “very lonely New York City” of Fantasmas. “It's a New York City where people can only see as far as their experience,” Torres told EW. “People are on top of each other, but they’re not really seeing each other. It just felt like the appropriate visual choice to tell stories about people looking for something.”

Additionally, Torres took inspiration for the show from a real-life incident in which he lost “a beautiful little oyster earring” in a club on New Year’s Eve in 2020. “I was so upset that I went back home and was like, ‘I’m going to sell a show about this. Because something good needs to come out of this,’” he said.

When does Fantasmas premiere?

There’s not a specific date yet, but it will hit HBO and Max in June.

Get the best of what’s queer. Sign up for Them’s weekly newsletter here.

Originally Appeared on them.