Entertainment Tonight: Congrats on season 2. Now that it’s done, how do you feel about what you were able to achieve with the series? Ryan O’Connell: I feel great. I mean, look, I’m really proud of season 1. I think there’s some really amazing moments in it, but I feel like as a whole, as a […]
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“Punam Patel may be a brown, curvy woman on the surface, but fans of her character Kim on Netflix’s short-form comedy Special see her as a woman with a tender heart and the roar of a lion.” “It’s important to remind people that you can be confident, and still doubt yourself,” Patel says. “In season two, you […]
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“I want gay sex and “Special” to be synonymous,” O’Connell told HuffPost. “I want my show to be known for topping, bottoming, top anxiety, lube ― all those things. I want to take the mystery and shame out of gay sex by depicting it as I’ve experienced it: erotic, humiliating, empowering, funny and intense, all within […]
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Don’t be sad that it’s ending, be happy that we got to experience two bold, proud, and super gay seasons of Stage 13 and Netflix’s “Special“! Entertainment Weekly got the exclusive first look at the “Special” season 2 trailer which highlights some returning and brand new faces (like Leslie Jordan!! HELLO!!!). And if you haven’t […]
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Please welcome: Charlie Barnett (Russian Doll), Max Jenkins (Dead To Me), Ana Ortiz (Ugly Betty), Utkarsh Ambudkar (The Mindy Project), Lauren Weedman (Looking), newcomer Buck Andrews, Anjali Bhimani (Modern Family), Ajay Mehta (This is Us) and Karan Soni (Miracle Workers) to the cast of “Special” season 2! Also we must yell that THEE Leslie Jordan (Will & Grace) will appear in a guest-starring role!! “Special” was written, inspired by, and stars Ryan O’Connell! […]
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“Special” Season 2 will be chic-er, longer, gayer! This season, episodes will be extended from 15 minutes to half an hour, we meet some new cast members, and get to experience a wonderful prom. Mark your calendars and buckle up, the final round of 8 episodes will be released exclusively to Netflix on May 20th, […]
Featured on The Hollywood Reporter
“Why, in this woke-ass culture that we live in, where so much attention is given to marginalized populations, do people with disabilities still largely go ignored?” If you don’t know who Ryan O’Connell is yet, WHAT are you doing!? Writer and star of the Stage 13 and Netflix series “Special“, Ryan is an activist and […]
Featured on New York Times
You read that right, “Special” gets the Special Recognition Award from GLAAD! “Special” is about a gay man with mild cerebral palsy who decides to rewrite his identity and finally go after the life he’s always wanted. We are so honored to be recognized by GLAAD (Gay Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation) in their 31st Annual […]
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“I was writing Special, and I don’t mind making people uncomfortable. That was sort of the point. I have suffered through so many, like, stupid straight sex scenes. It’s your turn now, honey, buckle up”. Ryan O’Connell, writer and star of Stage 13 and Netflix’s Special, explains why it’s important to have not only gay sex […]
Featured on The Hollywood Reporter
‘Special‘ wins the trophy in the Comedy: Longform category at the 2020 Webby Awards! Watch writer and actor of ‘Special’ Ryan O’Connell make his 5 word acceptance speech from home! Congratulations to all the WarnerMedia winners! For the full list, click here.
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Stage 13 leaves the 41st Annual Telly Awards with our hands full! Read the full list of winners here. Our shiny wins: ‘Special‘ brings home the Bronze in Comedy: Long Form or Series! ‘It’s Bruno!‘ grabs the Silver medal in Social Video: Media & Entertainment! ‘Family Style‘ doubles up with TWO Silver awards in Branded […]
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Ryan O’Connell wins for Original Short Form Media at the Writers Guild Awards for ‘Special’, and Bess Fifer wins for Outstanding Achievement in Casting – Short Form Series at the Artios Awards for ‘It’s Bruno!’
Netflix has renewed the comedy series “Special” for a second season.
Featured on Variety
Netflix’s first 15-minute series, Special, pulled in four Emmy nominations in the short-form categories.
Featured on Vulture
“Stage 13 is telling the stories that would get screenwriters thrown out of traditional television studios. That’s not because the content is offensive or controversial. Quite the opposite, actually: Since launching in 2017, Stage 13 has carved a niche for itself in the increasingly crowded television industry by championing the diverse individuals and social issues that […]
Featured on Indie Wire
Check out what media outlets are saying about “Special” and “It’s Bruno” Emmy® nominations.
“Special” and “It’s Bruno” were both nominated for the 71st Emmy® Award Nominations by the Television Academy.
In phone conversations with ET, two creators — also good friends in real life — discuss subverting TV norms, the constraints of telling a story in 15 minutes and what Emmy recognition would mean to them.
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After roles in celebrated series like ‘Friends’ and ‘Breaking Bad’, Tony-nominated actress Jessica Hecht shines on Stage 13’s ‘Special’ as the overbearing mother of a 30 year-old disabled son.
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Ryan O’Connell recounts his journey to becoming the creator, writer and star of the semiautobiographical Netflix show “Special,” in which he plays a gay man with disabilities.
Featured on Comedy Central
This Netflix comedy series, based on writer Ryan O’Connell’s 2015 memoir I’m Special: And Other Lies We Tell Ourselves, puts a fresh new spin on what it means to be a Netflix comedy.
Featured on Decider