Exclusive Cast Interviews For Logo’s New Reality Show “The A-List New York”
October 15th, 2010
[I:http://www.littlelionbooks.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/IfeBlount0.jpg] When you take six hot social elite gay men in New York City, you get the makings of a potentially hit reality television serious such as Logo Television’s “The A-List New York” (“The A-List”) I attended an exclusive episode screening, cast meet and greet, and after-party for “The A-List” at Therapy lounge in New York City. Created by the producers of “The Real Housewives of Atlanta,” it is being promoted as a similar show, although I found the cast more homogeneous in their careers as models, including an aspiring actor; a model agent; and a celebrity photographer. Meet cast members Reichen Lehmkuhl, Rodiney Santiago, Austin Armacost, Derek Lloyd Saathoff, Ryan Nickulas, and Mike Ruiz. Mike Ruiz was unable to attend. Not to be overlooked is TJ Kelly who is best friends and business associates with Ryan. Having met the cast, I am looking forward to the launch of “The A-List” on Monday, October 4, 2010 at 10:00 PM ET on Logo. The first episode was made available in advance via iTunes.
In summary, the first episode introduces the cast and ultimately brings them together for the opening night of “My Big Gay Italian Wedding,” and off-Broadway musical starring cast member Reichen.
Take a look at the footage I compiled from Monday night at Therapy. Thanks to Nando of Nandoism.com who graciously agreed to report with me, having never met in person before, in a true display of the power of online social networking. Also, thanks to his beau and fantastic photographer German Marin of MarinNYC.com who showed his support by often holding 2 digital SLR cameras and 2 digital recording cameras in his hand simultaneously. Forgive me in advance for the bootleg/amateurish nature of this video. I’m learning as I go with editing and have on my Christmas wish list to get a good video cam set up with lights and a microphone (eh-hem! 
). It’s just part of the growing pains of a broke blogger who’s gaining some notoriety. 
[youtube:GEpJiRRXhXs?fs=1;[link:Interviews with the Cast of Logo's "The A-List"];http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GEpJiRRXhXs?fs=1&feature=related]
During the first episode, drama abounds between Reichen, Austin, and Rodiney; however, when interviewing the cast, I got a slightly different perspective that you don’t always get on television. For example, I was impressed by Reichen’s passion and involvement as a spokesperson for Servicemembers Legal Defense Network (SLDN) fighting to overturn the military’s “don’t ask, don’t tell” (DADT) policy. He also has a jewelry line called Flying Naked. Austin’s dimples and midwestern charm was endearing to me. I love his confidence about his body and his disapproval of the modeling industry’s perfect body image requirements. It’ll be interesting to see a male’s perspective on this issue since the issue is most often discussed as something unique to women. Besides being my latest Latin lover, Rodiney had some real struggles restarting his career as a model when his connections were back in Miami.
[I:http://www.littlelionbooks.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/IfeBlount1.jpg] Upon screening the episode, I did not like Derek because my only impression of him was his addiction to spray tanning. When interviewing him, however, I found that Derek had one of those magnetic personalities that made me feel as if we had known each other for years. He ended up being one of the best interviews of the evening, but unfortunately the lighting was the poorest by the time we got over to speak with him. Derek spoke like a true ambassador for the show and with great enthusiasm.
Last, but certainly not least, are besties and co-workers at Darius Salon, the Ryan and TJ. The chemistry between these two is absolutely electric! I wasn’t surprised to go back through my footage and find that Nando and I spoke with them for 8 1/2 minutes- about twice as long as the others. There’s something about them that make you want to push “play” and be entertained. It will be fun to watch Ryan and TJ dish on other cast members throughout the season. We also get a look at Ryan’s romantic life. He’s married to Desmond who works in the finance industry. Talk about opposites attract! The couple wishes to have a baby, and we can expect to see more on that subject throughout the season.
While Mike was not present, I agree with his statement in the first episode about this show having the potential to make or break him. More than the others, I feel he has a long established career and highly regarded as a celebrity photographer. My initial thought was that he doesn’t need this show and risks ending up on the fast track to a revival of VH1s “The Surreal Life” if the show doesn’t do well.
That’s all I was able to gather from the event. Please share any feedback about my coverage of “The A-List” as well as the show itself scheduled to debut on October 4, 2010.
Ifelicious also blogs about reviews and posts announcements of upcoming reality series on her blog. For more specific details about “The A-List: New York” read the press release. For information on other TV series written on her blog click here.