STARZ has officially launched in Canada, delivering a slate of the bold, diverse, and genre-bending original programming with select library titles, and classic films from all eras, including the new gender non-conforming series NOW APOCALYPSE , a romp and roll through the lives of friends and lovers into FB, BF, FWB, BFF, TIT, TAT, BDSM, WS, ETC

Yes queer filmmaker Gregg Araki is back. He’s been queering up screens from his beginnings with the low budget, stationary camera, 1987 directorial debut,  Three Bewildered People in the Night , that told the story of a romance between a video artist, her sweet-heart and her gay friend. He followed this with the underrated The Living End , and his  “Teen Apocalypse Trilogy” —Totally Fucked Up (1993), The Doom Generation (1995), and Nowhere (1997)—characterized as teen alienation, hazy sexuality and aggression. Mysterious Skin, based on the 1995 Scott Heim novel of the same name, was  the beginning of a tipping point in his career. This marked the first time that Araki worked with someone else’s source material. His recent Kaboom was the winner of the first-ever Queer Palm Award at the Cannes Film Festival in 2010, for its contribution to lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender issues.

The series was created by Gregg Araki and executive produced by Steven Soderbergh and Gregory Jacobs. It was an official selection of the 2019 Sundance Film Festival and stars Canadian actor Avan Jogia, as well as Tyler Posey, Kelli Berglund, Beau Mirchoff, and Roxane Mesquida. Karley Sciortino, author, Vogue.com sex columnist, and creator and host of SLUTEVER on Viceland (also available on Crave), co-wrote the series with Araki and serves as consulting producer.

SNAPSHOT REVIEW

Between sexual and romantic dating-app adventures, the series follows Ulysses (Avan Jogia) and his friends as they explore identity, sexuality, and artistry while navigating the strange and oftentimes bewildering city of Los Angeles. Ulysses grows increasingly troubled as foreboding premonitory dreams make him wonder if some kind of dark and monstrous conspiracy is going on, or if he is just smoking too much weed. This is just one of the continuing plot lines, and does involve sex, as do all the other plot lines as well. 

There’s pretty much no boundary untouched in this series, as Araki continues to push limits. Ulysses is roommates with Ford (Beau Mirchof),, who’s in a dead end relationship, and is unaware of most everything, yet very willing to try new things. Ford’s girlfriend Severine (Roxane Mesquida) doesn’t believe in monogamy, and is quite up front about it. She’s a workaholic robot. Ulysses’ best bud Carly (Kelli Burglund) has a boyfriend who she argues with more than having sex, but she does camming for cash, and things seem fine. Ulysses does try and smoke less pot, and find the right man, and along the way has some sexcapade and alien adventures. 

For those into monogamy, fetishes, three-ways or more-ways, Now Apocalypse delivers. Every millennial stereotype has been crossed, because people are just having sex. In this age of apps, Araki once again is ahead of the grid addressing addictions straight on. Things are a lot different now than when he made that first stationary camera debut more than three decades ago. Now, his films are about the self-entitlement that the smartphone generation brings with it. We have all become one large stationary camera, so you might as well take a peek!

Now Apocalypse streams 10pm Sundays, with new thirty minute episodes being added weekly.

STARZ is also home to hundreds of classic films with new titles launching every month. 

How to get STARZ in Canada:

  • On two linear channels and the on demand platforms of participating television providers.
  • Via the STARZ streaming service which is available directly to all Canadians with access to the internet as an add-on to Crave for an additional $5.99/month. It can be accessed at www.crave.ca, and the Crave app on iOS and Android, and Apple TV Generation 4, with additional platforms rolling out in the coming months.

About the Author

Bryen Dunn is a freelance journalist with a focus on travel, lifestyle, entertainment and hospitality. He has an extensive portfolio of celebrity interviews with musicians, actors and other public personalities. He enjoys discovering delicious eats, tasting spirited treats, and being mesmerized by musical beats.