“It had that same shameless edge to it that we’ve only historically associated with straight male comedians. And at the times, we didn’t associate those qualities with gay men on TV,” Eichner says. “It wasn’t my plan, necessarily, but [Billy on the Street] did end up kind of being a bridge between the gay world and the straight world comedically.”
In the 11 years since Billy on the Street premiered, Eichner has taken on a series of memorable TV and film roles, from his “love-it-or-hate it” Parks and Recreation character Craig to real-life conservative journalist Matt Drudge in Ryan Murphy’s Impeachment: American Crime Story.
Not many people can say they’ve taught Conan O’Brien how to use Grindr and been on a song with Beyoncé over the course of their career, but Eichner can.
Recently, though, all eyes are on his new film Bros, which has been making headlines as the first gay rom-com ever made by a major studio, and the first with an entirely LGBTQ cast (“even in the straight roles”). As the film’s co-writer and star, Eichner knew those historical statistics meant that they needed to get this movie right, and that meant telling authentic gay stories instead of slipping two men into the conventions of a typical straight rom-com.
“Love is love is love, but also not really,” Eichner says. “I wanted it to depict all the nuances and the different, very queer-specific issues that we have when two men date each other in 2022… I wanted to make a movie about smart, funny, messed up, gay adults.”
Bros hits theaters Friday, September 30.
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