Never before would I have imagined hearing the greeting, “Hey, Twink” in a show about undercover spies — but maybe that’s just because the teaser for Q-Force hadn’t dropped yet.
Created by Pen15 and Broad City veteran Gabe Liedman, the upcoming Netflix project isn’t just a show about undercover spies — it’s a show about queer undercover spies (hence the “Q” in “Q-Force”).
Premiering on September 2, the 10-episode animated series already sounded ridiculously entertaining, but with the reveal of its über-cool and über-queer voice cast, I’m ready to peg this show as one of the year’s best months before it hits my Netflix queue.
Let’s take our sweet time running down the list: Together, Together’s Patti Harrison. Will & Grace’s Sean Hayes. Las Culturistas host Matt Rogers. Comedienne extraordinaire Wanda Sykes. And show creator Gabe Liedman himself. It’s hard to think of a cooler group; it’s even rounded out by queer-approved actors like Lady Bird’s Laurie Metcalf, Family Guy’s Gary Cole, and David Harbour of Stranger Things.
According to a press synopsis, Q-Force follows Agent Steve Maryweather (Sean Hayes), also known as Agent Mary. (The gay puns — they simply won’t let up!) A former Golden Boy of the American Intelligence Agency, Agent Mary was banished to West Hollywood after coming out as gay.
But rather than “disappear into obscurity” like his employers were hoping he would — they couldn’t exactly fire him on the grounds of his sexuality, not after Bostock! — Agent Mary used his time in WeHo to assemble his own “misfit squad of LGBTQ+ geniuses,” whom he christened the “Q-Force.” (Hey, that’s the name of the show!)
This team includes Stat (Patti Harrison), Q-Force’s brilliant yet guarded resident hacker, who is skilled at exposing all secrets except her own; Twink (Matt Rogers), “a drag queen master of disguises,” who balances his fun-loving, energetic genius with a healthy dose of “drama and daddy issues”; and Deb (Wanda Sykes), “an expert mechanic and gadget guru” who spends her free time with her wife and her “16 trauma rescue pitties.”
There’s also Benji (Gabe Liedman), Agent Mary’s “sweet and charming” love interest who often finds himself in peril simply by being in such close proximity to Q-Force.
Unfortunately, despite their obvious talent, Q-Force spends a decade waiting for the AIA to send them on an official mission, finally pushing Agent Mary to take matters into his own hands as he “goes rogue” and tries to prove himself to the Agency that turned its back on him.
