HBO Max's It's a Sin may have majorly pulled on our heartstrings when it premiered earlier this year, but in between the incredibly emotional, heartbreaking moments that were featured in Russell T Davies' important and ever-timely drama about the early days of the UK's HIV/AIDS crisis, the series also blessed us with one of our favorite, queer chosen families: the residents of the Pink Palace.
Starring Years & Years frontman Olly Alexander as Ritchie, Omari Douglas as Roscoe, Callum Scott Howells as Colin, Lydia West as Jill, Nathaniel Curtis as Ash, and David Carlyle as Gregory, It's a Sin's core cast of characters quickly endear themselves to the audience with their relatable tales of love, dating, family, and other hardships. The show may feature a lot of trauma and sorrow, but joy and happiness are also on display when it comes to the Pink Palace crew, and it's one of the hallmarks of the series that the young cast crafts extremely well. And, according to them, the chemistry was real both on-screen and off!
PRIDE got to sit down virtually with two of It's a Sin's stars, Nathaniel Curtis and Omari Douglas, to chat about what it was like creating one of the most unforgettable found family units in TV history, the impact the series is having on the next generation of LGBTQ+ viewers, the importance of authentically showcasing the struggles of the early days of the ongoing HIV/AIDS crisis, and more.
"I was incredibly lucky because the people that I worked with are the most gorgeous people you will ever meet. As a group, we clicked so quickly and we are, even to this day, incredibly good friends," Nathaniel told PRIDE when asked about building the friendship dynamic with his It's a Sin co-stars. "We had so much fun. Even on the days while we were filming difficult scenes, we had fun. We protected each other. We loved each other. And the days where we were filming all the really, really fun, hilarious party scenes, and especially the scenes earlier on, there was just joy absolutely everywhere on set, there was joy. And it was beautiful. On the days where it was a little bit harder, with what we were filming, there was care from absolutely everyone. Cast, crew, absolutely everyone. The set was just filled with love from day one until the moment we finished, and it was a dream to be a part of."
"A part of it was taking what we already had off-screen, then just putting it onto the screen at the same time," Omari added. "The relationship, the chemistry is the same. We love being in each other's company. Most people sort of expect that when you spend so much time with your people on screen, that you want to have your own downtime off-screen, and we definitely didn't. We had a couple of weeks off actually during filming, at least a few of us did, and me, Lydia, and Callum went on holiday."
He continued:
"We came back to filming straight away and every Sunday, all of us would get together. The six of us. If we were all shooting the next day, we'd all go for dinner together. We just tried to make a tradition out of being together. Investing in all of that is what a lot of you were all seeing right now. So I'm really happy that people have invested in that relationship, because we did. It's just nice that everyone gets to share it and sort of spy in on it a little bit."
It's a Sin is now streaming on HBO Max.
