The Ryan Murphy-sitcom The New Normal, based on the showrunner’s own attempt at starting a family with his same-sex partner, didn’t survive past its freshman season, but its hot button topic remains as timely as ever. A new Chilean reality TV show called Happy Together focuses on a gay couple as they navigate the trials and tribulations of wanting to start a family. It’s a particularly timely premise in a country that has seen LGBT acceptance flourish in the past few years, from its passing of a hate-crime law in 2012 to its more recent civil union bill signed into law in April.
The docu-series follows Juan Pablo Fuentealba and Julio Dantas, a same-sex couple living in Las Condes in Santiago de Chile. Together for more than a decade, they legally wed in California in 2013. Originally approached to star in a show centered on their wedding preparations, the couple suggested the show focus instead on their attempt at having a child and building a family.
With a playful score and a number of colorful animated intertitles, the trailer suggests an optimistic portrait of LGBT life, one set amidst (as Juan Pablo describes it) a “traditional though not conservative” extended family. Braced for the sure-to-come criticism of the show – which is already present in the YouTube comments section of the trailer, for example – Juan Pablo hopes their show will send a positive message, creating a more open Chilean society.
Happy Together premieres on Chile’s TVN in October.
