Archive

New York lesbians featured in new reality series “Brooklyn Kinda Love”

If you’re disappointed that The Real L Word, Season 2, isn’t going to be shot in New York, as Chaiken originally threatened promised, fear not. Real New York lesbians will be coming to a TV near you this Saturday when Playboy TV (of all places) premieres its new reality show, Brooklyn Kinda Love.

The Playboy channel is not normally the destination for viewers on the prowl for content that reflects the lives of LGBT people, but times are obviously changing. Created by the Emmy award-winning team behind HBO’s risqué, Taxicab Confessions, Brooklyn Kinda Love puts the daily ups and downs, in and out of the bedroom, of four couples under the microscope, and promises to be “‘raw, unpredictable and highly addictive,” according to its publicity material.

The mélange of “quintessential” Brooklyn couples includes Bek Allen and Erin Williams, two ladies who have been together for almost three years and plan to marry this summer.

We sat down with Bek and Erin during the Television Critics Association’s semi-annual press tour to find out about their experiences when the cameras went on, how the show can change perceptions of gay couples, and if doing the show helped or hurt their relationship in the long run.

AfterEllen: How did you two get involved with Brooklyn Kinda Love?

Bek Allen: I actually was looking for a job and I stumbled on the ad on Craigslist. I was like, “Honey, why don’t we just do that?” And she said, “Sure, why not?” We called, they called us in, and we got interviewed. We were one of the last people to get interviewed. I heard it was over 500 couples.

AE: Do you know if there were a lot of gay couples that applied?

Erin Williams: I don’t think there were a lot, since the show wasn’t geared towards gay couples. Even the ad that they sent out was geared towards straight couples. But we’re the same as everyone else.

AE: How intrusive was it to have the cameras thrust into your lives? Is there a schedule or were they with you 24/7?

EW: They were with us most of the week — five days a week — pretty much all day. They’d go places with us, they went out to dinner with us, went to nightclubs with us, to dance class with us. They followed us walking down the street, all sorts of stuff. They were there a lot. We did also have cameras in the bedroom that we turned on and off…

BA:… and not only for sex.

EW: Yeah, so they could capture conversations in our relationship.They supplied us with another camera so if were having a conversation in the living room or kitchen we could also film ourselves. It was pretty much a project that consumed us. We were very, very involved and we’re really excited.

AE: People who have been on reality shows always say that the cameras become invisible. Was that the case?

EW: It took a couple of days to get used to it but [in] all, they were invisible.

BA: [The producers] told us in the beginning, “[The crew is] not going to interact with you. They’re going to slip in and slip out.” We don’t even know their names, except for the producer. They kept it really detached and when they did that, it really helped. You didn’t feel weird being naked or crying in front of them or anything. It was very real.

EW: It was hard getting used to not having them around. We were like, “Wait, it’s over!”

AE: Did you make sure you had some makeup and your hair was done when you knew the cameras were going to be there?

BA: Sometimes. But after two months, we were like, “Eh.”

AE: What do you think the show can do to change stereotypes about gay couples?

EW: I really wanted to portray our relationship. I think that portraying our relationship on television could be a really great way to show people that we’re just like everyone else. We have the same problems, we have the same arguments, and we have the same issues as everyone else. Gay people are no different than straight people.

We’re getting married and we may not have the luxury of being able to do it legally, but we brought that aspect into the show [when] we started to plan our wedding. This is a real relationship and I really, really wanted to show that it’s a healthy relationship.

AE: You’re in business together, too. What can you tell me about it?

EW: We run a cocktail development business called Hush Cocktails. We design cocktails for liquor companies, custom cocktails for weddings and special events, and we personalize cocktails for celebrities. We would like to be able to do more commitment ceremonies and be involved in that; that’s exciting for us. Not enough attention is paid in the wedding community to commitment ceremonies and gay weddings.

BA: We could do a hers-and-hers cocktail. We want to reach out to the gay community and cater to them. 

AE: Did doing the show change your relationship for better or worse?

BA: Before this, we were very much workaholics. We had started a business and were working full-time jobs while running the business. This allowed us to stop and just spend time together for four months. It was a blessing. It was hard to go to the extreme, in that [filming the show was] our full-time job, but it was good. I tell people now that I feel like we’ve been together for ten years.

EW: It’s definitely brought us closer.

BA: In communication, sex, it made us focus more and appreciate each other.

AE: So, now that the show is done and it’s about to air, what your thoughts of seeing your lives played out on TV?

EW: It was obviously weird to see yourself getting naked on TV, but I was really pleased. The directors did a great job and it’s all very tastefully done and very interesting and intriguing. It definitely draws you in. It’s going to be a great show and I’m very excited.

BA: I hope people will watch it. It really is about everything in your relationship. It’s very humorous and it touches on very important subjects, not just sexuality but other things. And the sex scenes aren’t just, “BAM!” They actually have a story and it’s very graceful and it’s very pleasant to watch.

I was watching it with Erin yesterday and I was like, “I would watch this!” There’s a lot of stuff out there that I wouldn’t watch because it makes you uncomfortable, but I felt comfortable watching this.

EW: It’s definitely something I would watch!

Brooklyn Kinda Love premieres Saturday, January 15 at 10 ET/PT on Playboy TV.

Lesbian Apparel and Accessories Gay All Day sweatshirt -- AE exclusive

Related Articles

Leave a Reply

Back to top button