January 10, 2023
Bad Bunny's Collab with 'Bridgerton' Creator is an LGBTQ+ Sci-Fi Series
Kilian Melloy READ TIME: 2 MIN.
Bad Bunny is furthering his career in film and TV by executive producing the gay YA novel adaptation "They Both Die at the End" for Netflix, along with "Bridgerton" former executive producer Chris Van Dusen, Gizmodo reported.
Gizmodo recalled that the global music superstar, whose real name is Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio, "recently made the jump into movies – playing the most interesting character in 'Bullet Train' – and the artist's creative endeavors continue to expand through projects like this, which amplifies Ocasio's support for LGBTQIA+ representation in the arts."
Deadline detailed that Van Dusen is scripting the series, which was the subject of a five-way bidding war that Netflix ultimately won. The series reportedly "has received a significant, script-to-series commitment," according to Deadline.
Reports thumbnailed the plot of the series, which is based on a 2017 YA novel by Adam Silvera: Two young men, Mateo and Rufus, are notified that, according to a company that predicts when people will die, they have one more day to live. Using an app, the two connect and spend an epic "End Day" together.
"'They Both Die at the End,' which made history as the first YA novel with queer Latinx characters to hit No. 1 on the New York Times bestsellers list, was a breakout when it was first published in 2017," Deadline recalled.
"The novel then experienced a resurgence during the pandemic and hit No. 1 again in April 2021 after it became a fixture under the TikTok hashtag #BookTok, propelling it to spend 15 consecutive months at #1 YA on the NY Times Best Seller list and become the #1 best-selling YA book of 2021."
The book has gone on to outsell the newest "Twilight" book in some global markets, reports noted.
Bad Bunny has said that he is heterosexual – at least for now – but he has unapologetically challenged gender expectations, wearing a dress on the cover of Harper's Bazaar's "Icons" issue last summer and, in a performance directly after winning the "Artist of the Year" title at the 2022 VMAs, swinging both ways, literally, by kissing first a female backup dancer on one side and promptly kissing a male dancer after.
Will "They Both Die at the End" prove to be another "Spoiler Alert," or will it reach... or even surpass... the high-water mark set by fellow queer Netflix series, "Heartstopper?"
Kilian Melloy serves as EDGE Media Network's Associate Arts Editor and Staff Contributor. His professional memberships include the National Lesbian & Gay Journalists Association, the Boston Online Film Critics Association, The Gay and Lesbian Entertainment Critics Association, and the Boston Theater Critics Association's Elliot Norton Awards Committee.
