Piggybacking off of the success of George Smith and his long-talked-about, continuously rebooted reality show, “Tha Life: Atlanta”, we now see new Atlanta black gay reality shows cropping up attempting to do the same.
The latest reality series created by Henderson Maddox and filmed in Atlanta is called, “The Boyz Next Door”, where three real-life black gay men begin their quest to become Gaylebrities. In this episode we meet the cast and watch them literally do nothing for 20 entire minutes.
Say what you will about version 2 of Tha Life: Atlanta, the show got it right. Not only was it engaging and well produced, it felt like a “real” show that you could see on television somewhere. This right here feels like someone bought film equipment, had nothing else to do with it, called up his friends and asked if he could film them having discussions.
I run a gay website featuring news and entertainment updates about gay men of color so I can’t pretend this kind of crap doesn’t exist…but that doesn’t mean that I have to like it.
1. DEAR GAY FILMMAKERS: Stop putting a “Z” at the end of shit to make it plural. That ratchetry is no longer “cute.” It’s stupid…And its “Gay”. Stop it. And while we’re on the subject, why are these grown ass men being referred to as Boyz in the first place? I can maybe understand it if they were teenagers still living with their parents, but these guys are clearly men with mortgages and car notes. Real talk, was “The Men Next Door” already copyrighted or something?
But what about, “Boyz in the Hood” you say? The difference is, that movie was actually about BOYS! They were kids in that movie. From adolescence to teenagers, the characters were children. Secondly, that was over 20 years ago, using a “Z” to replace an “S” in a word back then was considered edgy. Nowadays it’s used by teenage girls and gay twinks in a cute way…similar to drawing a heart to replace the dot in an “I”.
2. This “reality show” should really just be renamed to “The Boyz Just Sitting Around Talking: The Series”. Seriously, NOTHING HAPPENS on this show.
We literally watch the “Boyz” eat Mexican food and drink margaritas as they discuss one of the guy’s recent gay marriage ceremony. Its almost as if the filmmaker and the “Boyz” said, “We like to go hang out and talk all the time anyway, lets film it and make it a reality show!”
3. Can ADTV creator Derrick L. Briggs sue for copyright infringement? This show is basically ADTV on the Road. I wouldn’t be surprised if one or all of the “Boyz” are featured in a future scene topless as they discuss serious issues facing the Gay Community.
4. It felt strange watching the “Boyz” talk explicity about sexual acts like Anilingus in a public restaurant while we see little kids sitting DIRECTLY BEHIND THEM. All I could focus on was the five year old kid in the background as one of the men jokingly described in detail how he “eats booty.”
5. On the plus side, the video quality was acceptable, while not amazing. The audio was decent in all of the scenes (I could at least hear them) so as far as the technicals were concerned, the filmmakers got that right.
6. I wouldn’t expect this “reality show” to last more than three episodes…they won’t get the Gaylebrity buzz that The Life: Atlanta received but considering an episode merely consists of the men sitting around drinking and talking, they may be on for 7 seasons without ever running out of material.
Check out these screenshots from randomly selected moments throughout the episode:
Nick Delmacy
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I made it half way through before I was just completely bored out of my mind… I will say Tha Life (2) has been the better of the shows. I actually agree with everything you just said @nick. They might as well had this shot in someones house on a couch to spare the poor kids in the restaurant.(Sidenote: Of all the places to shoot the went to El Azteca??) I would just like for someone to just get it right so I could support it fully. We should make a cartoon reality “the men of CA”.
Hey, I love(d) El Azteca lmaooo!
I only survived 2minutes of this before rolling my eyes and calling it quits. And I must be missing something because the trailer of “Tha Life” posted by @africanking a few days ago was horrible! Is that the same series mentioned in this article?
Hey BP. No the one I posted is the 3rd installment of THA LIFE ATL. The second full-episode Ocky and Nick posted last year was actually well done.
Hey man… reality TV is not everyone’s cup of tea. For me I just simply laugh at how silly it is. I don’t take reality TV serious at all. I take things so seriously in life most of the time so reality TV blowing up was good for me. I just get to laugh at the “reality” depicted on my TV screen.
I don’t watch much primetime TV… I spend more time watching older sitcoms like Cosby, Moesha, Fresh Prince & Martin. All the black sitcoms are just gone… smh. BET where y’all at? lol
I am not even going to watch it. I see that all the stills come from them remaining at the table. LOL. THA LIFE ATL installment #2 is definitely hands down the best black gay reality show anything that has been released (sorry RuPaul fans lol… I’ve not even taken time to watch 1 second of that show honestly speaking).
I’m not gonna lie, THA LIFE ATL installment #3 does not look as good as #2 but I do admire what George Smith is doing. Let’s see how the whole episode looks come April 1. But for this show… TO HELL WITH IT!
I thought the quality was decent but didn’t find it very interesting.
Didn’t I just make a point about black gays and reality tv shows in ATL?
Observations: 1. It looks like the married guy is really milking his whole gay wedding publicity. It is almost as if he did it to help increase his gay fame, or he at least made sure it was publicly known for that reason. 2. Do grown ass men over the age of 30 really wear plaid onesies? 3. @nick why did you take all those screen shots knowing that each one was gone look exactly the same lol!?!?!?????
Clearly I’m in the minority, but I found it decent. There are several storylines developing from this pilot, that I think will be entertaining. LOL at Moe (favorite)…OVERALL GOOD JOB!
I’ve always criticised reality tv for all of the trumped up drama,but I never thought I would ever experience the other extreme…next time guys,film more scenes please
Great comment and great point…wish I had thought of it, lol.
This first episode was ok. They seem like nice, interesting guys. Some audio and lighting issues but it was ok. I hope the storyline is developed
Why did we need a full minute of them brushing their teeth and washing their face though?
What the fuck was this shit?
Wasted 30 mins of my life
Just to see three queens
Talk at a table about bullshit!
Smh
Hahahahaha! i actually thought Ocky wrote this one. “In this episode we meet the cast and watch them literally do nothing for 20 entire minutes” – thats something Ocky would say.
Yeah, he’s been stealing my style for years…
I actually liked it. I feel the guys are diverse, they don’t represent just one type of gay dude. I don’t really see the stereotypes jumping out like in many of the webshows. I didn’t mind the one scene at the table because I got into their conversation. It seemed more like I was a fly on the wall then watching a tv show and in a tv reality world where conversations and situations are “set up” and come off as scripted I am glad to watch something that seems like a regular conversation. It seemed real to me. The previews for up and coming shows seemed interesting and also indicates I won’t have to wait a year for episode 2 lol.
Yea I remember someone posting a preview of this reality show not too long ago. I didn’t watch the whole episode, but I will say if they want to make it more interesting they will need to put some more drama in there because if they don’t no one will watch it lol. That’s what reality tv shows are all about. I remember in the preview it looked like on one of the episodes they get into an argument so maybe there will be drama at some point. But real talk even if they did have drama this still wouldn’t convince me to watch it. Seeing a story about three guys trying to become gaylebrities is not entertaining, I’ll pass.
1. @nick u aint shit for those ‘screen shots’. lmao
2. Im just tired of gay men thinking they’re supposed to be celebrities just for being themselves. Its one thing to pursue a talent, but these mofos think they’re worth someone’s time becus they’re black n gay.
3. In all honesty, this show isnt hurting anyone..if they like it i love it. Im just not sure why it’s a show..jus sayin..
LMAO!
“2. Im just tired of gay men thinking they’re supposed to be celebrities just for being themselves. Its one thing to pursue a talent, but these mofos think they’re worth someone’s time becus they’re black n gay.” -SB3000
True but black gay men are definitely trendsetters in fashion, lingo, humor, entertainment, and partying. Beyonce, Tamar Braxton, Wendy Williams, Nathan (Nene) Leakes wouldn’t be no where near as popular as they are if it wasn’t for black gay men.
So it’s a natural progress for many black gay men to become overly consumed with attention, trying to stand out, and remixing current trends (like reality TV).
Does the author of this blog have some sort of stock in “Tha Life: Atlanta”? Bc it seems like you keep plugging that trashy show that had a bunch of random gay guys lying about their careers. The production quality of The Life was horrible…so did you see the same show I saw??
As for the Boyz Next Door, I thought it was a pretty good first episode. I understand the need for them to have a conversation in the first episode to introduce us to the cast. It made sense to me. From the sneak peeks at the end, it looks like there is a lot of drama coming in future episodes. I like the fact that all the guys give a different image of what gay men are like. I like the diversity. Interested to see what happens next.
Also, doesnt the creator of “Tha Life: Atlanta” use an “a” in Tha instead of its correct spelling?? Oh those little double standards…smh tisk tisk tisk
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If you are interested in knowing the author’s views and opinions about “Tha Life: Atlanta” there are three posts written about if you care to search or click on the 3 links or tags directly under this article.
I think the show is ok. I would like to see how they run their business.
I can see why it got 1.5 stars. Nothing but typical “reality TV” bullshit. A bunch of attention whores who want to be famous while doing nothing of value. It’s the height of narcissism.