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Fanatical: The Catfishing of Tegan and Sara is being called “a thriller, a caper, a whodunnit, and an intimate personal journey” and we shall be seated.
Tegan and Sara Quin are the kind of artists to whom fans feel instantly, powerfully connected. This comes in part through their innate warmth and generosity with the fandom, but also the raw intimacy with which they write their music and tell their story through their memoirs.
On the one hand, having this kind of connection with your fans is a beautiful thing; that kind of reciprocal love and loyalty is powerful. However, there can be a downside to those parasocial relationships, one that the twins are sadly just as familiar with. And that is detailed in their upcoming documentary Fanatical: The Catfishing of Tegan and Sara, which sees the duo, along with documentary filmmaker and investigator Erin Lee Carr (Britney Vs. Spears) investigating their own shocking and disturbing brush with a catfish.
The documentary will explore how the safe space for queer folks that the band had created in their fan community was terrorized by one bad actor who took advantage of their trust. “Tegan and Sara’s world turned upside down when Tegan’s personal files were hacked in 2011, revealing the dark side of fame and fandom. This is a sprawling yet intimate story of how Tegan’s identity was stolen and weaponized in a complex catfish scheme to ensnare members of this community. The film is an examination of the severe ripple effect of mistrust, anxiety, and self-doubt that resulted from Fegan’s (Fake Tegan) actions,” reads the official synopsis.
With the help of Carr, Tegan is determined to track down the person who stole her identity and has made it their business to terrorize her and the community for over 15 years. Along the way, they discover potential suspects, learn of even more victims, and reveal “sinister and unforeseen twists.”
This story comes to life not only through Tegan’s words but also from the duo’s fans, and chillingly through extensive records of Fegan tormenting their victims. The documentary is being described as “a thriller, a caper, a whodunnit, and an intimate personal journey rolled into one,” and we cannot wait to see how it plays out.
Fanatical: The Catfishing of Tegan and Sara is set to premiere October 18 on Hulu.
Rachel Shatto, Editor in Chief of PRIDE.com, is an SF Bay Area-based writer, podcaster, and former editor of Curve magazine, where she honed her passion for writing about social justice and sex (and their frequent intersection). Her work has appeared on Dread Central, Elite Daily, Tecca, and Joystiq. She's a GALECA member and she podcasts regularly about horror on the Zombie Grrlz Horror Podcast Network. She can’t live without cats, vintage style, video games, drag queens, or the Oxford comma.
Rachel Shatto, Editor in Chief of PRIDE.com, is an SF Bay Area-based writer, podcaster, and former editor of Curve magazine, where she honed her passion for writing about social justice and sex (and their frequent intersection). Her work has appeared on Dread Central, Elite Daily, Tecca, and Joystiq. She's a GALECA member and she podcasts regularly about horror on the Zombie Grrlz Horror Podcast Network. She can’t live without cats, vintage style, video games, drag queens, or the Oxford comma.
