Gay streaming service Dekkoo launches new romantic comedy series, 'Marriage of Inconvenience'

The new, original series Marriage of Inconvenience follows two strangers who enter a witness protection program and must pretend to be happily married to hide their identities from the dangerous people who want them dead. 

Plenty of laughs follow when stars Jason T. Gaffney as Owen, a messy, street-smart dropout with anger issues and David Allen Singletary as Franklin, an even-tempered English professor who prides himself on his attention to detail in every area of his carefully structured life are around.

About the only thing they have in common is, they’re gay.

Mr. and Mr. Fulton come to life starting April 6 on Dekkoo.com, a subscription streaming service dedicated to gay men.

“I’m really excited for the world to see the series, a post-coming-out-story about Owen and Franklin, two gay men, who are forced into witness protection and partnered up as newlywed husbands. They are polar opposites, which leads to chaos and laughs.

“It’s ended up becoming a modern twist on The Odd Couple.

“We’ve made great strides in representation for LGBTQ+ characters in the last decade, but we still have a long way to go. It’s such a treat to get to tell a post-coming-out-story where we see the characters looking for the same things as everyone else in the world. Love, identity, and safety. Plus, they deal with the same romantic comedy high jinks that straight characters have grappled with since time began. It’s our turn, and we are ready for high-jinks and pratfalls and plenty of laughter with our love stories.”

Gaffney added: “We all have a past that we’d either rather forget or go back to. As Owen and Franklin go on their witness protection journey, I wanted to explore their evolution as they slowly become the people that they were always supposed to be, but weren’t able to, due to society and circumstance getting in their way. It’s going to be fun to watch as the series continues.”

Jason T. Gaffney wrote the series with his longtime writing partner, Ed Gaffney, who also happens to be his father.  

“By getting to see where Owen and Franklin come from, we learn that they’re not cartoons. They are three-dimensional people who have lots of scars from the past,” Gaffney said. “As we watch them let their walls down, we also get a chance to see who they might be able to become in this strange, new world they find themselves trapped in. Also, they’re not afraid of conflict, which leads to some pretty fun arguments between the guys. The physical comedy that David Allen Singletary brought to the role of Franklin was fantastic.”

Gaffney, who lives in Los Angeles, was born in New York and grew up in Massachusetts.

Though no cast or crew hails from Chicago, Gaffney visited a few years ago when Analysis Paralysis screened at the Reeling LGBTQ Film Festival, followed by a Q&A with the audience.

Gaffney said filming for Marriage was originally slated for 2020, but he pandemic caused a multi-year delay. Gaffney and Gaffney wrote Marriage of Inconvenience in 2019.

“I love getting to work with my dad. We have so much fun writing a script together,” Gaffney said. “We have a style of writing where we outline the story and then I’ll start writing the first episode, and once that’s done, I’ll give those pages to him and he’ll start the first round of revisions. As I’m finishing up the second episode, he’ll give me back the first one to read, and then I give him the second. By the end of the season, we have the characters and their voices realized so that we don’t need as many revisions, and it goes a lot faster. But we do polish and punch up the jokes right up to the moment on set when I call ‘Action!’”

Gaffney and Gaffney also have brainstorming phone-calls, often to discuss a direction for the show. “When it’s a solid idea, he’ll start pitching jokes at me. We try to make each other laugh and really lose our shit—that’s not a bad way to spend our days,” the younger Gaffney said.

“The series is easily our strongest work to date, and we’re already writing season two. I can’t wait for everyone to follow the journey Owen and Franklin are on.”

Gaffney is very inclusive focused for Marriage.

He cast as many out LGBTQ+ actors as possible. Nearly all the actors playing gay men are out gay men, including Jason Carceras as Lenny, and Jewell Wilson Bridges as Peter. Veteran comedic out actor Alec Mapa makes a cameo in the series, playing the role of Claude.  Additionally, Nicole Asava and Sylvia Batey Alcalá, the two actors who play the neighbors, are both part of the LGBTQ+ community.  Asava is pansexual and non-binary and Batey Alcalá is bisexual.

Gaffney worked to create a diverse crew and post-production team, too, making sure that at least half were women, including Diliana Deltcheva who directed two of Marriage of Inconvenience’s episodes, and Jasmine Sankaran who did post-production sound. Gaffney’s camera crew was predominantly queer women, led by director of photography, Nacia Schreiner, and gaffer Lisa Tom; and his real-life husband, Matt, is an executive producer.

“Having LGBTQ+ representation for queer roles is always ideal,” Gaffney said. “I’m a firm believer that anyone can play any role in regard to sexuality, however, when a role is about being LGBTQ+ and the LGBTQ+ experience, then I would much prefer that that character is played by someone LGBTQ+. Until Hollywood becomes more OK with the idea of an out queer person playing a ‘straight’ role, we need to give as many queer actors as possible a shot with our own stories.

“We created a diverse crew for both production and post-production. In addition to being the right thing to do, I’m a huge fan of having as many different experiences and perspectives on set and in my post-production team as possible. I’ve found that having people from all walks of life allows for me to make a well-rounded and inclusive series.”

Marriage of Inconvenience delivers a rollercoaster of emotions. The Franklin character will have audiences laughing one moment and then crying the next – and that’s one of Gaffney’s favorite things of the series. He admits, he often had trouble keeping a straight face on the set.

Most of the series was filmed at Gaffney’s home, where he lives with his husband, Matt.

“I hope Marriage of Inconvenience makes people laugh and see what happens next with Owen and Franklin,” Gaffney said. “If even one person watches this series and sees themselves in it, then we will have done our job. The LGBTQ+ community is a vast, colorful umbrella and we need as many own-voices stories being told as possible, so that the world can see us in all our beautiful, diverse forms.”

Marriage of Inconvenience premieres on Dekkoo on April 6. For more information, go to: Dekkoo.com.