Interview - The Daddies of 'Daddyhunt: The Serial' Talk About Season 3

On October 24, the YouTube web series, Daddyhunt: The Serial premiered its Season 3. This season is four parts, which updates with a new episode every week. The series follows a couple that is emblematic of the type of coupling that occurs via the Daddyhunt web site and the Daddyhunt app, which allows older men to engage in romantic relationships with younger men and vice-versa. It's a gay dating app for older men and for men who don't discriminate based on age. The app is open and inclusive of any one, but the older-younger age gaps seem to be its cornerstone.

In the series, the older guy named Graydon is played by Jim Newman. The younger named Ben is played by BJ Gruber. Season 3 continues with Graydon and Ben preparing to move in together. However, this season also focuses on the best friend of each, particularly Ben's best friend named AJ, played by Michael Snipe Jr., who has a new love interest named Richard, played by David J. Cork.

Jim Newman (left) in 'Daddyhunt: The Serial'

Besides the romantic ups and downs, an important issue that's tackled is that of testing and notification of Sexually Transmitted Infections or STIs like syphilis and HIV. In order to properly address that issue, Daddyhunt partnered with the nonprofit organization, Building Healthy Online Communities or BHOC, a consortium of public health leaders who specialize in STI prevention.

Between the release of the 2nd and 3rd episodes, Newman and Cork answered questions about their experiences making the series. I also interviewed Casey Crawford, the General Manager of Daddyhunt and I spoke with Dan Wohlfeiler, the co-founder of BHOC.

I began though with Wohlfeiler. The 61-year-old who resides in the San Francisco Bay Area has worked in HIV prevention for nearly 30 years. he and his coworkers researched what strategies might be effective to reduce STIs. They brought these ideas to app owners like Daddyhunt to have them build into their platforms and services ways to help men make informed choices and to spread the word about the importance of getting tested regularly.

Crawford, 45, who currently resides in Berlin, Germany, oversees day-to-day operations at Daddyhunt. Crawford says he wants to end the stigma that is often associated with STIs or even STI prevention. One such STI prevention option is Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis or PrEP, which is a drug for people that helps to stop the spread of HIV and AIDS, but Crawford says he hates to see people shamed for using PrEP, which apparently does happen. PrEP is for people who don't have the virus, so if people are shamed for that, one can only imagine the shaming for people who actually do have the virus.

Yet, Daddyhunt is working on launching a new design for its web site and app. Crawford says the new design will allow for testing notifications or a 3-month reminder to get an update on one's status. He says the new design will also feature space for people to disclose their current status, if they so choose. People can opt in or not.

When crafting the series, Wohlfeiler says they wanted to include things like disclosure of status on one's app profile and 3-month testing reminders into the story, but he and the creators didn't want to inject those things like a data dump. They wanted to make those things involving online STI prevention organic into what was happening in the narrative and with the characters. Wohlfeiler revealed that the series filmed for about a week or so last December in New York City and that he consulted in order to help weave in sexual health points and make sure they were accurate before going on set.

Newman says the filming last December for Season 3 contrasts to how Season 1 was made. Newman says Season 1 was filmed in one day in October. It was done guerilla style. It was done so fast and with a crew of only three people that Newman wasn't sure if the series would turn out well. He says he was surprised that it turned out better than even he thought. Season 1 was light and fun. It was only until Season 2 and BHOC's involvement that he says things got serious. In fact, it's in Season 2 that the issue of PrEP arises between his character and Gruber's character.

In fact, his Graydon learns that Ben is on PrEP. Graydon who is older doesn't feel safe or comfortable having sex with someone on PrEP, at least not without a condom. This causes him to break away from Ben. His actions are reflective of the aforementioned stigma or perhaps a lack of knowledge about this particular STI prevention, which Wohlfeiler and Crawford say they want to fight against. Newman wants to be clear though that in real-life, he is nothing like his character who perhaps harbors anxieties from having lived through the AIDS crisis of the 1980's. Newman himself, however, harbors no such anxieties.

Like Newman, Snipe was involved in the project since Season 1, but Snipe notes that he only had one line and one scene in that first season. In Season 2, Snipe learned his character of AJ would be HIV-positive. Yet, that season only had him give Gruber's character advice with regard to the PrEP question. In Season 3, Snipe says his role increased dramatically and his character of AJ even gets his own boyfriend or potential love interest. Snipe says one is constantly having to educate those that have no idea what it means to be HIV-positive and undetectable. He says one can see how scared AJ is of rejection and being alone, which is the reality he faces.

Cork who played that potential love interest named Richard says being with someone HIV-positive, especially if one is uninformed about how to be safe, can be scary. Like Graydon learning about Ben being on PrEP, Richard is a little unsure when he learns that AJ is positive. Richard learns about AJ's HIV status during a scene where the two are having ice cream in the park. Cork notes that it was "freezing" outside that day and he and Snipe had to huddle up for warmth between takes. Yet, Snipe admitted it was the most difficult scene for him. Despite the weather, Snipe says it was difficult because "you have this huge thing in you [HIV] that you know people will judge you for and hold against you."

The characters Michael Snipe Jr (pictured left) and David Cork play also represent something that the series wanted to push even more for Season 3. Snipe is African-American and when casting his potential love interest, the creators wanted to lean more into diversity. Both Wohlfeiler and Crawford echoed this point. Crawford who is African-American himself says he hadn't heard of Daddyhunt prior to joining the company in September 2015. Crawford's friends in Los Angeles, the men of color he knows, also hadn't heard of the app, so appealing to men of color, specifically black men, is something that those behind the camera stressed for Season 3.

Unlike Crawford, Snipe had heard of Daddyhunt prior to working for the company, but he didn't think it was for him. It wasn't a race thing. He simply says he doesn't consider himself a "daddy." Snipe who started working on this series in his late 30's and keeps in shape due to being a professional dancer would be considered too young to be a daddy. Snipe later says though that apparently "daddies" come in any age. Yet, Newman who is 54 and who probably is old enough to be considered one says he didn't feel like a "daddy" either.

David J. Cork

He says he has since warmed to it. Like the stigma against people with STIs, Newman notes there used to be and possibly still is a stigma against getting older. He says though that he's happy to be a part of a series that's all about ending STI or ageist prejudices. He says he's in the best shape of his life even in his early 50's and is happy that being older doesn't make him invisible but in fact the opposite. Being on a hit web series has probably helped the most in that regard. Doing musical theater and even being in the band formerly known as the Village People has taken Newman all over the country and world, but it's this series that's gotten him recognized the most, even in Singapore of all places.

For more on Jim Newman, you can follow him on Twitter and Instagram @jimnewmannyc. You can also check him out on his other web series, After Forever on Amazon Prime. For more on Michael Snipe Jr., you can follow him on Facebook and Instagram @msjr11. For more on David J. Cork, you can check out his web series, Bi: The Webseries, as well as other projects in the works. You can follow him on Facebook and Twitter @DavidJayokay or go to his web site https://www.itsdavidjay.com/. For more information about BHOC, you can go to https://www.bhocpartners.org/about-bhoc/. To watch Daddyhunt: The Serial - Season 3 from the beginning, go to https://www.youtube.com.