# Gay Mean Girls

Gay Mean Girls is a Canadian teen dramedy anthology web series created and directed by Heyishi Zhang, produced by Maddy Falle and co-producer Hayley Wong. The series first premiered in June 2019 at TIFF Next Wave to a sold-out audience, and then subsequently aired on a YouTube Channel of the same name, Shaftebury's KindaTV, and Revry. Gay Mean Girls examines issues within the LGBTQ+ community through coming of age stories about queer racialized teens. It is based on a viral short film that amassed over 3.5 million views on YouTube.

## Plot
### Season 1

The series follows the events of the short film while expanding on characters, themes, and other events. Prom committee member Lucy Ching seeks to establish Gay Prom Royalty to impress her best friend Miranda, feminist, lesbian beauty guru on YouTube. In the midst of questioning her sexuality, Lucy struggles to fit in with the white gay community. As she gains confidence in her leadership, she realizes that she cannot relate to Miranda's brand of white feminism, and forms allies with other characters who share her struggles.

### Season 2

The second season expands on the themes of season one while following a different group of students (with some recurring characters) and takes place the following school year. When student journalist Savannah Lin becomes embroiled in the complicated dynamics of a social justice "safe space", she must choose between protecting her community or the integrity of her voice in the wake of a betrayal. The season addresses themes of corruption within social justice spaces and the fight for narrative control.

## Cast
### Main (Season 1)

* Vicky Li as Lucy Ching, an unpopular member of the prom committee hoping to better understand herself and her sexuality.
* Hannah Raine as Miranda Hayes, an outgoing lesbian YouTuber and Lucy's best friend.
* Jordan Li as Jamie, the school's cool, non-binary drug dealer and friend of Lucy.
* Lane Webber as Anita, the enthusiastic president of the school's Gay Straight Alliance.
* Jensen Porter as Clara, an uptight straight-girl and president of the prom committee.

### Main (Season 2)

* Jenna Phoa as Savannah Lin
* Robyn Matuto as Jenn
* Vicky To as Skye
* Lydia Lowe as Amy
* Kat Khan as Katie

## Episodes

Season 1 :
| No. | Title | Directed By | Written By | Original Air Date | Length |
| 1 | "The Queer Monarchy" | Heyishi Zhang | Heyishi Zhang | January 18, 2020 | 10:13 |
| Lucy Ching lives in the shadow of her assertive and confident best friend Miranda who's remiss about the lack of same sex prom royalty winners. At the prom committee meeting, Lucy proposes a new Gay Prom Royalty initiative. Prom committee president Clara rejects the idea, and the two friends stage a protest, attracting the attention of GSA leader Anita. When Clara interrupts the protest, she and Lucy fight about their rights. Miranda films this interaction, which gets posted online. Although Lucy and Miranda get suspended by the principal, Lucy's gay prom royalty idea is approved. ||||||
| 2 | "Liang Liang" | Heyishi Zhang | A. Liu | January 19, 2020 | 9:42 |
| Lucy hides her suspension from her overbearing mother by pretending to be sick. Miranda pays Lucy a surprise visit at her home and the cultural differences between their upbringings are revealed. They share an intimate moment when Miranda reads Lucy a poem. ||||||
| 3 | "The Questioning Lesbian" | Heyishi Zhang | M. Hassan | January 20, 2020 | 9:34 |
| Lucy realizes she has romantic feelings for Miranda. She comes out to Jamie, who advises her to attend the GSA to drum up more support for the Gay Prom Royalty initiative. While there, Lucy experiences imposter syndrome, and receives a lukewarm reception until Miranda shows up. Later, Lucy comes out to an ecstatic Miranda. ||||||
| 4 | "The Party" | Heyishi Zhang | Isabel Putz-Preyra | January 21, 2020 | 11:27 |
| When a drunken Miranda offers to kiss Lucy at Anita's party, Lucy freaks out and flees to the bathroom. Meanwhile, Anita's enthusiastic musical promposal to her girlfriend Cassandra doesn't go over well. At the end of the night, Lucy witnesses Miranda kissing another girl and continues to hide her true feelings. ||||||
| 5 | "Spicy Discourse" | Heyishi Zhang | Heyishi Zhang & Hayley Wong | January 22, 2020 | 12:49 |
| Lucy finally confesses her feelings toward Miranda, who rejects her and insist on staying friends. When Lucy goes on Jamie and Anita's podcast to drum up some hype about her Gay Prom initiative, she breaks down about feeling unlovable and comes out to the whole school. Afterward, she has a heart to heart with Jamie, and Miranda finds Lucy to apologize and the two kiss. ||||||
| 6 | "The Campaign" | Heyishi Zhang | Heyishi Zhang | January 23, 2020 | 10:08 |
| Now the school's lesbian "it couple", Lucy and Miranda campaign as prom queens amidst some stiff competition. With Jamie's help, Anita tries again to prompose to Cassandra, finally securing a yes. Miranda gets too caught up in the campaign and overlooks Lucy's feelings in favour of winning. Jamie confronts Lucy about Miranda's toxicity, making Lucy reconsider everything. ||||||
| 7 | "White Fragility" | Heyishi Zhang | Heyishi Zhang | January 24, 2020 | 8:55 |
| When Clara tries to send out rainbow-coloured invitations for Gay Prom, Lucy becomes concerned about queer kids of colour being outed. She confronts Clara in front of the prom committee, demanding that she step down as president. Clara reluctantly agrees and Lucy is voted in as the new president. Back at home, Miranda disagrees with the way Lucy handled things. Lucy calls her out on her privileged mindset and breaks up with her. ||||||
| 8 | "Your Best Canadian Girl" | Heyishi Zhang | Heyishi Zhang | January 25, 2020 | 13:33 |
| On prom night, a vengeful Clara lights the voting box on fire, leaving Gay Prom Royalty a mystery. Lucy scurries to perform a recount. The time comes to finally announce Gay Prom Royalty - and Jamie is declared the winner. Afterwards, Lucy finally speaks up for herself and confronts Miranda, explaining why they can't see each other anymore. Lucy apologizes to Jamie, and the two embrace. At prom, Lucy dances by herself, savouring her self acceptance. ||||||

## Production
### Season One

The first season of Gay Mean Girls was funded by the Bell Fund and Telefilm's Talent to Watch Program. Principal photography began October 2018. The season premiered at TIFF NextWave in 2019 to a sold-out audience. On Global News, creator Heyishi Zhang says she drew inspiration for season one from her own high school relationships as well as her political awakening in university.
During the time of filming, Vicky Li was only fifteen years old. The rest of the cast was also relatively young, with Lane Webber and Jordan Li both being eighteen and members of the GSA at the high school where the series was shot.
As a series that explores feminism, intersectionality and the experience of racialized teens, all key creatives are the show are women, with the writer's room being composed entirely of queer women of colour. The team also spoke with a non-binary consultant when writing Jamie's character.

### Season Two

Season two of Gay Mean Girls was funded by the Bell Fund, Ontario Creates, the Canadian Media Fund and Shaw Rocket Fund.
Principal photography for season two began March 2022. Season two has yet to be released.

## Reception

Gay Mean Girls has been praised for its candid exploration of intersectionality and the problematization of "white queerness" within the queer community. Critics have noted the show's subversion of stereotypes typical of queer romance, such as being in love with a best friend, having a white protagonist, and focusing solely on romantic love. Speaking on its modern, unapologetic nature, the online magazine starrymag points out, "[y]ou don't see a lot of shows bringing up topics like gaslighting and heteronormativity from the first episode and I was pleasantly surprised to see it discussed in such a raw and natural way, that’s still entertaining." Bella Media Channel compares Gay Mean Girls to other niche, queer series such as Carmilla and Barbelle.
In 2019, Gay Mean Girls was featured on Elle Canada's Pop Culture Radar.