RetroFit Debuts Instagram LGBTQ Soap Opera ‘Hidden Canyons; Quibi Sets Houston Astros Cheating Scandal Docu ‘Sign Language’

Dino-Ray Ramos
·2 min read

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Retrofit Films is entering the shortform interactive content game with the first-ever minutelong LGBTQ Instagram soap series Hidden Canyons from creator Brant Rotnem. Co-directed by Fawzia Mirza (CBS’s The Red Line), the first season consists of 26 episodes that are a minute or less and follows seven friends as they navigate the relationships and challenges of LGBTQ life in the titular fictional city of Hidden Canyons. The first nine episodes will debut on the social media platform on May 17 at 5 p.m. PT/8 p.m. ET. The remaining episodes air Wednesdays and Sundays through early August.

“We often see reductive depictions of the LGBTQ+ world in media,” said Rotnem. “I wanted to tell stories that speak to the nuances we don’t get to see. For instance, what is the community’s relationship to materialism and success? Should we structure romantic relationships like straight couples, or redefine them in our own way? What complications can arise when a same-sex couple asks a family member to help them conceive?”

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The cast includes Sufe Bradshaw (Veep), Sean Samuels (Giants); Tonatiuh (Vida), Jackson Davis, Jamie Renée Smith (Weeds), Sean-James Murphy (Danger 5, Neighbors) and Jeremy Glazer (Rust Creek, Modern Family, 9-1-1). Hidden Canyons will also be interactive as they will engage with viewers by presenting them with questions about what they want to see happen next. The viewer feedback is factored into future storylines

Quibi has added the new Houston Astros cheating scandal docuseries Sign Language (wt) to its slate.

From LeBron James and Maverick Carter’s Uninterrupted and The Cinemart, Sign Language gives viewers an inside look at the Houston Astros sign-stealing scandal and its unprecedented fallout, making it one of the most far-reaching cheating schemes in sport’s history. The docu uses the Uninterrupted podcast R2C2 with CC Sabathia and Ryan Ruocco and access to top athletes and sports reporters to go beyond the baseball diamond to explore themes of greed, cheating, corruption, sportsmanship, and social media activism.

The docuseries is directed by Julia Willoughby Nason and Jenner Furst. Executive producers are Jenner Furst, Julia Willoughby Nason and Michael Gasparro (The Cinemart) Maverick Carter, Jamal Henderson, and Philip Byron (Uninterrupted) and Jason Stein Producers are Uninterrupted and The Cinemart.

 

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