The very queer HBO Max series Genera+ion drops the final episode of part one of its freshman season at midnight Wednesday. And ahead of the episode, The Advocate has an exclusive clip of the show's core found family of LGBTQ+ teens coming together to give Delilah (Lukita Maxwell) and J's (Sydney Mae Diaz) surprise baby a loving entry into the world as they take care of the infant. as
In the clip, resident wild child Chester (Justice Smith) sings the baby a lullaby. "Sassy, moody, nasty," Chester croons, true to form, as the baby calms to his charms.
The ensemble series created by the queer father-and-daughter team of Daniel and Zelda Barnz revolves around a group of queer teens in an Orange County, Calif. high school who are bound by their identities and the school's LGBTQ+ alliance. The show began in the current timeline with Delilah discovering she's about to give birth in a mall bathroom and flashes back to the months that led to that pivotal event that would likely change all of their lives in a variety of ways. Over the course of the eight-episode season (there's more to come later this year), the future and the past meet.
The series also stars Haley Sanchez as Greta and Chase Sui Wonders as Riley, whose attraction to one another is palpable from the start of the series but who have a few bumps along the way to acting on it. Uly Schlesinger plays Nathan, who comes as bisexual at his sister's wedding. Among the guests are his younger sister, Naomi (Chloe East), who already knew, and his conservative mother, Megan, played by Martha Plimpton. Nathanya Alexander plays Arianna, the sardonic daughter of gay dads (likely inspired by Zelda Barnz's dads Daniel and Ben). Meanwhile, Nathan Stewart-Jarrett plays Sam, the cool new queer guidance counselor, and Mary Birdsong is Mrs. Culpepper, a lovable fanny pack-sporting adviser to the LGBTQ+ alliance.
The series is a modern look at queer life in which the LGBTQ+ kids find strength and a logical family in each other as they navigate love and desire while also hashing out the finer points of queer culture.
Ahead of the finale, Daniel Barnz, who is the showrunner and a director, told The Advocate, "As a fully queer family, we feel so phenomenally lucky to be a part of a show that gives voice to so many diverse queer people across the gender and sexuality spectrums. From the get-go, we wanted to create rich characters who were queer -- but could have lives and desires and wants that weren't necessarily solely defined by their queerness either."
Daniel, Zelda, and Ben Barnz
"One of our favorite scenes in the show is a relatively minor moment where Chester is texting in a locker room surrounded by his naked teammates. What was exciting to us was to have a locker room scene with a queer kid that didn't involve bullying or forbidden desire -- it's just Chester, living his life."
Watch the exclusive clip below. And watch Genera+ion on HBO Max.
