Catherine McCafferty talks Pretty Gay, astro-dating tips & red flags, and the British guy who turned her queer
The comedian & actress celebrates 50 episodes of her fresh & funny chat series 'Pretty Gay.'
Mark
For four seasons now, beloved web series Pretty Gay has followed comedian & actress Catherine McCafferty’s search for love as she “dates” her guests each week.
But just because the show’s now dozens of episodes into it’s run and McCafferty is still looking for “the one,” that doesn’t mean Pretty Gay‘s been a flop—in fact, the whole dating premise is really just an excuse to get two hilarious people into a room for fun, games, and some much needed queer joy. Oh, and sometimes kissing.
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And on that front, Pretty Gay is a smashing success. Over the past two-plus years, McCafferty has welcomed guests like comic Cameron Esposito, Yellowjackets‘ Liv Hewson, and noted Kamala Harris impersonator Allison Reese, delving into unfiltered conversations about sex & romance with segments like “Wheel Of Intimacy” and “Finger / U-Haul / Ghost.”
This season, the host invites a new crop of guests in for even wilder games and gossip, including the iconic Vivian Jenna Wilson, Very Important People‘s Vic Michaelis, stand-up Sabrina Jalees, and returning fan-favorite ER Fightmaster for the landmark 50th episode.
All in all, Pretty Gay continues to be great showcase for McCafferty’s talents, proving why she’s one of the most exciting voices working in comedy today. So of course we couldn’t pass up the opportunity to invite her to the hot seat for our own long-running interview series, Dishin’ It. In our conversation, the star opens up about how Shakespeare made her gay, her dream “straight” guest, and how the show has helped make her a better dater IRL.
Is there a piece of media—whether a movie, TV series, book, album, theater, video game, etc…—that has played an important role in your understanding of queerness and the queer community, or your own identity? Why does it stand out to you?
Growing up, I always loved drama class. Shakespeare plays a lot with gender and hijinks, and it’s respected art; we are surrounded by texts that reflect queerness has always been around; it isn’t new, and being able to be in those worlds through plays was such a gift. Also… The L Word, sorry I said it. I binged The L Word when they re-released it on Netflix right before I came out to my brother. So Shakespeare and Shane.
Congrats on the continued success of Pretty Gay! Aside from the lineup of hilarious guests, in your opinion, what’s the secret to keeping the series fresh & exciting for you now four seasons in?
We are always writing new games, and changing up segments keeps it new and exciting. I love walking onto the set not knowing what is going to happen, and part of that is sometimes not knowing the guest before we are literally recording, and part of that is injecting new ridiculous segments. A prime example of keeping the show fresh is the segment “cat” which was born from one of my writers, Margaret Kaminski, asking how we get ER Fightmaster to be surrounded by kittens, and I was like What if they ARE the cat? and it snowballed, and it is one of my favorite moments in Season 4.
The set-up of Pretty Gay is this series of first (and sometimes second!) dates with your guests, but is there anything you’ve learned from the show that you’ve been able to apply to your IRL dating life?
Having this much practice talking to hot queer people has helped me approach more hot queer people IRL, and the approach is most of the battle for us sapphics.
If you had to bring one straight person onto the show as a guest, who would you want to talk to and why? (Can be living or dead, real or fictional—whoever you want!)
They HAVE to be straight??? Katharine Hepburn was fierce as hell and is in one of my favorite movies, and she was “straight”. I would love to see Katharine Hepburn play CAT.
Where’s one of the first spaces or places you can remember that made you feel a part of a queer community?
Back-up dancing for a great lesbian Scout Durwood in Austin, Texas. I was called in last minute because her other dancer wasn’t available, and they were shooting a set for TV, and it was so silly and joyful. I loved being asked to be a part of it, and from there, we worked together a bunch. Now we have butterflied into different people, but I love those memories, and it was an introduction to a whole new queer world!
As a proud Gemini: In your opinion, what makes a Gemini an ideal partner? What makes them a difficult partner?
Ok, my answer is going to probably be so surface level because I am not an expert, and I know my astro friends will say it’s much deeper than just the star sign… That being said, Geminis can see all sides of a situation, and for a partner to be able to see you, even if they are mad as hell, and understand why you did what you did, is beautiful. We will always get it, but that being said, I have been called out for understanding my partners’ enemies, and I’m sorry that I can make a case for your enemy, but I can.
As a style icon, who are what are some of your personal style inspirations and why?
SHUT UP!!! I have Kaylin Mahoney’s wardrobe to inspire me on set—she is the director and a writer on the series and brings her whole closet to set every season to pull from! I have always loved clothes, fashion, and pairing unlikely patterns and pieces together. My friend and photographer Carson Baum dubbed this summer “bully summer”; we are all dressing like early-oughts bullies, and I might have to steal that. The low-rise hip bones of the early 2000s with the sleek little strappy ’90s sandals are speaking to me in this moment, and designers I love are Rachel Antonoff, who always has fun with prints and matching sets, and Vivienne Westwood—I would die to have one of her corsets.
Who is an LGBTQ+ artist/performer/creator that you think is doing really cool work right now? Why are they someone we should all be paying attention to?
Doechii is a brilliant artist and incredible performer to watch. She is also not afraid to speak out on the f*ck sh*t this administration is pulling. Sorry, can I swear here? Oops. Also, if I may shout out Kate Nash, I’ve been listening to her for a while, and she has always used her music as a way to speak on injustice. She is a great example of how to be an activist and an artist all at once.
Be sure to follow Catehrine McCafferty on social media, and check out Season 4 of Pretty Gay—and so much more—on the Pretty Gay Patreon.
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