Rich@DallasVoice.com<\/a><\/p>\n
Local filmmaker Israel Luna has embarked on a new series that hits close to home. In The Gayborhood, he and co-creator Joseph Herrera, along with a group of coworkers and friends, are bringing a mix of comedy and drama to each other\u2019s lives.<\/p>\n
And, of course, the show is set right here in Oak Lawn.<\/p>\n
The six-part episodic series show premieres June 27 on YouTube with a special theatrical screening and premiere party on June 24 at Studio Movie Grill in Dallas.<\/p>\n
(Full disclosure: The Gayborhood is made in association with Dallas Voice.)<\/p>\n
\u201cThis has been fun to write,\u201d Luna said. \u201cIt\u2019s all about the gays. It has as much representation as possible in this group of friends and coworkers.\u201d<\/p>\n
For inspiration, Luna reached way back \u2014 like decades ago \u2014 into his early foray into serialized storytelling.<\/p>\n
\u201cI did a show in the \u201990s on cable access,\u201d Luna said. \u201cCable access! It was called Boobs, Boys and High Heels, and we did a couple of episodes. We were throwing around ideas, but that show became an inspiration for me to do this one.\u201d<\/p>\n
But times have changed for Luna. He revisited this format, but he did it with a new outlook.<\/p>\n
His wheelhouse has expanded since then, and he was going to put all that to use.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Filmmaker-Israel-Luna-center-turned-to-longtime-friend-Richard-Curtin-right-with-whom-his-has-worked.jpeg\")
Filmmaker Israel Luna, center, turned to longtime friend Richard Curtin, right, with whom his has worked often, to lead the cast for The Gayborhood<\/p>\n
First, he spoke with Dallas Voice publisher Leo Cusimano about the project. The two would ultimately join forces to present this project. For Cusimano, this all fell in line with the Dallas Voice\u2019s mission of being a platform for the community. Plus, it allows Dallas Voice to expand its digital presence, an initiative important to Cusimano.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve known and respected Israel Luna for years. His talent, his storytelling instincts and his unique voice are undeniable,\u201d Cusimano said. \u201cWhen he approached me about The Gayborhood I immediately saw the potential for something special: a series that not only entertains but also reflects the colorful, diverse and sometimes outrageous characters that make up our community.<\/p>\n
\u201cGetting involved as executive producer felt like a natural next step,\u201d he continued. \u201cI also saw this as an opportunity to elevate Dallas Voice\u2019s presence on YouTube. We\u2019ve been working to grow that channel, and a series like The Gayborhood has the power to attract new viewers, build engagement and eventually help us monetize the platform in a meaningful way.<\/p>\n
\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026.<\/p>\n
Dallas Voice hosting The Gayborhood premiere<\/strong> The event will also feature members of the cast and a talkback with the creative team behind the show as well as the actors.<\/p>\n \u201cI am nervous, but more excited,\u201d Luna said about people seeing the show.<\/p>\n Tickets are $10 and can be purchased at DallasVoice.com\/Support.<\/p>\n \u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s entertainment; it\u2019s community storytelling, and it\u2019s smart business \u2014 all rolled into one.\u201d \u201cWe have a limited budget \u2014 like, limited. So we watched the number of locations, and, ultimately, I made the show based around the studio,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n The premise centers on Bruce, studio owner by day and drag queen Heather Hardin by night. Surrounding characters are primarily his employees, including a podcaster, an assistant manager, the handyman and some recurring characters peppered in.<\/p>\n The main cast features eight actors \u2014 all local, and the show stars Richard Curtin, who Luna has worked with numerous times in his previous films.<\/p>\n \u201cHe will do whatever is required of his character,\u201d Luna said of Curtin. \u201cHe loves to act and is so willing that I tried to write in some ridiculous stuff for him to do.\u201d<\/p>\n The cast also includes Danny Venegas, Opie Ryan, Trevor Vanarsdale, Brent Fields, Basil Ramos-Ahued, Sam Preece and Angel Rose Keeley \u2014 many of whom were new faces to Luna.<\/p>\n \u201cI had only met them for the first time during auditions. This cast though is just so good, I had to put them in. It makes me so happy to have them in this show,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n In the process, Luna was learning as well.<\/p>\n \u201cOpie identifies as nonbinary but auditioned for Jessie, a character I wrote as a lesbian. But Opie was perfect for the role, and so I rewrote the character as NB-identifying,\u201d he said. Because, for Luna and Herrera \u2014 while this is intended to be a fun show \u2014 it is all about representation.<\/p>\n A catalyst for starting and moving forward with the show was the 2024 presidential election. Luna immediately knew that visibility was going to be the community\u2019s biggest weapon.<\/p>\n \u201cAfter you-know-who was put into office \u2014 I can\u2019t even say his name \u2014 we had to represent,\u201d he said. \u201cI thought that we are going to need to be louder, stronger, gayer, queerer, sluttier and more colorful.<\/p>\n \u201cWe need to take up as much space as possible and flood the airwaves with everything queer. We have to let them know we\u2019re not going anywhere.\u201d<\/p>\n Cusimano noted, \u201cWorking with Israel on a project that explores the lives of wacky, wonderful and deeply meaningful individuals sounded like a blast\u2026 and it aligned perfectly. <\/p>\n \n\tRelated<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Diversity and inclusion were key in casting The Gayborhood RICH LOPEZ | Staff writerRich@DallasVoice.com Local filmmaker Israel Luna…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":10248,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5135],"tags":[5229,1596,11207,11208,11209,5603,11210,358,11211,3187,67,586,132,5230,68,2969],"class_list":{"0":"post-10247","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-dallas","8":"tag-america","9":"tag-dallas","10":"tag-dallas-events","11":"tag-dallas-filmmakers","12":"tag-dallasvoice","13":"tag-lgbtq","14":"tag-oak-lawn","15":"tag-texas","16":"tag-the-gayborhood","17":"tag-tx","18":"tag-united-states","19":"tag-united-states-of-america","20":"tag-unitedstates","21":"tag-unitedstatesofamerica","22":"tag-us","23":"tag-usa"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/114737378112881033","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10247","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10247"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10247\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/10248"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10247"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10247"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10247"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
The Dallas Voice and Israel Luna will host a special premiere event for the new streaming series The Gayborhood at Studio Movie Grill, 13933 N. Central Expressway, on Tuesday, June 24. The event gives guests a chance to binge the entire first season of The Gayborhood before Friday\u2019s YouTube premiere of the first episode.<\/p>\n
With Luna and Cusimano on the same page, the filmmaker moved forward creatively but also efficiently since this is a budget-minded indie project. Luna is also the owner of Spayse Studio which also served as much of the show\u2019s location.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Make-up-time.jpg\")
Make-up time<\/p>\n
\u201cI thought this was a good learning experience for me to explore the character this way. They expressed their appreciation, which was so cool. I\u2019m glad to be part of maybe changing or adding to that dialogue,\u201d Luna said.<\/p>\n