As their star rose, Van Ness capitalized on their newfound notoriety to build their personal brand, penning a memoir and continuing their solo podcast “Getting Curious,” which launched in 2015 and is still going strong. (The last episode of 2021 featured an interview with queer singer Brandi Carlile.)
Netflix took note. The six-episode comedic docu-series “Getting Curious With Jonathan Van Ness” borrows both its title and premise from the podcast, though with fewer celebrity guests and more hands-on exploration. The trailer shows Van Ness ice-skating (a longtime passion), eating a coursed menu of fried insects, visiting a wig specialist, and strolling in discussion with non-binary writer and advocate Alok Vaid-Menon. Here’s the official synopsis from Netflix: “‘Getting Curious with Jonathan Van Ness’ is an unabashedly smart and quirky exploration into topics and questions that make Jonathan curious. From skyscrapers to bugs, or from gender identity to snacks, each episode follows Jonathan as he meets with experts in various fields to uncover complexities in a wide range of subjects.” The series is produced by “RuPaul’s Drag Race” studio and queer media powerhouse World of Wonder, headed by Fenton Bailey and Randy Barbato. In addition to their extensive TV empire, World of Wonder boasts an impressive film division, having produced the cult indie “Party Monster,” Carrie Fisher’s auto-biopic “Wishful Drinking,” and “Inside Deep Throat.” This year the studio had a high-profile hit with Searchlight’s “The Eyes of Tammy Faye,” which was adapted from their documentary of the same name and starred Jessica Chastain and Andrew Garfield. “Getting Curious With Jonathan Van Ness” premieres globally on Netflix on January 28. Check out the trailer below.
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