WATCH: Sex work romance ‘Boy Culture’ team reunites for long-awaited sequel

The mid-2000s were a real boom time for independent, low-budget movies that actually put gay men front and center. From the Eating Out series to the self-parodying Another Gay Movie, they might not have been what anyone would consider “awards worthy,” but they were the best we had and will always hold a special place in our hearts.

One of the better titles from that era was Boy Culture, the story a gay male escort who goes by X (Derek Magyar), balancing complicated relationships with his roommates—one of whom, Andrew (Noah’s Arc‘s Darryl Stephens), he’s in love with—and his long list of clients.

Based on the 1995 novel by Matthew Rettenmund (who also runs the great blog with the same name) and directed by Q. Allan Brocka (Eating Out and its Drama Camp and The Open Weekend sequels), Boy Culture was a game-changer for putting gay sex and sexuality on screen in an honest, authentic way.

Now, 17 years later, Boy Culture returns with the long-awaited sequel Generation X because, as we know, the hustle never stops.

Set a decade after the events of the first film, Generation X sees the return of Magyar and Stephens as X and Andrew, respectively. They’d been on-and-off over the past ten years and are now officially broken up—but money’s tight so they’re still living together.

After careful consideration, X decides to throw try his hand at sex work once again, but the 40-year old realizes a lot has changed since last time. In an era of social networks, OnlyFans, PreP, and changing attitudes around sex and queerness, he has to play by a whole new set of rules.

For some help navigating it all, X turns to catty Gen Z twink Chayce (Open To It‘s Jason Caceres), who offers a wake-up call to this brave new world.

“The original focused on taking a risk to find love,” Brocka shares in an official press statement. “Now, X has had love, and something’s not quite working, so he’s got to refocus on himself — who is he outside of love?”

Related:

‘Edge Of Seventeen’ & ‘Another Gay Sequel’ filmmaker looks back on the challenges of telling gay stories

Between filming “in the closet” and working with adult entertainer Mermen, Todd Stephens opens up about bringing two very different movies to life.

As for Rettenmund, he hopes the sequel will speak to audiences who are X’s age and have grown up with him, but also to younger generations. The writer says the new film “is even more diverse, and also talks a lot more about race, age-gap issues, the status of safer sex, bisexuality, social media image-making, cosplay… There is something startling and thought-provoking at every turn.”

Produced by Dekkoo Films, Boy Culture: Generation Q heads to all major digital platforms on November 7, and will begin streaming exclusively on Dekkoo in 2024.

Check out its brand new trailer below: