By the looks of it, Deondray Gossfield and Quincy LeNear Gossfield are among the few intrepid Hollywood producer-director gay husbands to strike a significant cultural chord. The real-life married couple has been a significant force behind the scenes in The Chi, Showtime’s powerhouse coming-of-age series, especially in season six, which is currently streaming and delivers another layer of LGBTQ+ representation in an upcoming episode that's available to stream beginning Sept. 1.
The series hails from Chicago native and Emmy-winner Lena Waithe (Master of None) and revolves around a group of South Side Chicago residents curiously linked to each other and all looking for some kind of connection, and some kind of justice. Season six ventures into new territory while still tracking the ups and downs and in-betweens of beloved characters like Emmett (Jacob Latimore), Kiesha (Birgundi Baker), Douda (Curtis Cook), Trig (Luke James), Kevin (Alex R. Hibbert), Jake (Michael Epps), Jada (Yolanda Ross), and more.
The new season's big reveal is bound to entice fans as it unveils two new gay characters named after the Gossfields themselves — and in the show, “Deondray” and “Quincy” are engaged. In this exclusive MovieWeb interview, Deondray Gossfield and Quincy LeNear Gossfield share more about that development and how the season ahead is in sync with their passion for delivering Black LGBTQ+ stories.
Why Creator Lena Waithe Was Scared S**tless
Going into season six, the Gossfields worked closely with Lena Waithe to introduce the show's first-ever principal gay characters named after themselves. The Deondray (Jabari Redd) and Quincy (Thomas Mackie) in the show were introduced in response to the lack of masculine gay characters on television. The producer-director couple say that the characters, and how they are represented here, were vital to help break down stereotypes about the LGBTQ+ community that are typically portrayed in shows.
“We were having a conversation with Lena Waithe about Black gay masculine characters and how they tend to not be in any real relationships when they're on television,” explained Deondray Gossfield. “When Quincy and I approached her about maybe bringing back a revamped version of our show The DL Chronicles, she thought the subject matter was a little past The DL Chronicles phenomenon.”
That 2005 series was, in fact, bold and ahead of its time, featuring a series of short stories about men of color who lead double sex lives. When Waithe came back to the couple about the idea of a revamped version of the show, she agreed with them that masculine Black gay men are not often portrayed in fully realized ways as characters on television.
“She told us she actually wanted to do something like that on The Chi,” Gossfield added. “She said, ‘I'm scared sh*tless,’ because The Chi has a very specific audience.' But Lena already opened up the palette for all sorts of portrayals on the show — trans, lesbian." Gossfield continued:
"So when you start to introduce gay characters — and Deondray and Quincy are not the first, but they're the first to be fully realized and be a weekly phenomenon — she was like, ‘It scares me, and I’m not quite sure how the audience is going to take it, but I know I should do it.’ Then she came to me and Quincy and said, “Hey, what do you guys think about me naming the characters after you guys?”
Will There Be Backlash?
Deondray and Quincy are engaged on the show. Quincy plays a campaign manager who is politically savvy and helping Victor "Trig" Taylor (Luke James) run for office. Deondray, also highly educated, is a real estate broker who works for one of the gangsters on the show. In the most recent episode, Quincy introduces his fiancé to some of the posse we’ve all come to know in a jam-packed episode that also features the teenagers heading to prom and some underhanded dealings with criminals.
“There's a possibility that Deondray and Quincy may get married on the show,” noted Quincy LeNear Gossfield of the characters. “The writers are still dealing with that, but they were named in our honor, and I was completely shocked. I thought Lena was joking. I would say that the characters are not us. Their personalities are completely different.”
The series has already proven to be a trailblazer. Lena Waithe already introduced audiences to Nina (Tyla Abercrumbie), Kevin and Kiesha's proud lesbian mother. The Chi also introduced one of the first trans relationships and transgender characters several seasons ago, and a new transgender character named Fatima (L'lerrét Jazelle) last season.
“Those introductions are bringing an even greater eye on the queer community in Chicago,” LeNear Gossfield explained. “The show itself has never had any gay male characters who were regulars. Unfortunately, there's always backlash, right? Because there is some sect of viewers who are just not happy with the queer representation on the show at all. So, we know that bringing these two new characters to fill in this world of queer Black Chicago goes over well with us, but then there's probably going to be some backlash." He added:
We're just living in a day and age where all of our freedoms and all of our representation is constantly being challenged. It was a really brave move on Lena's behalf to introduce these two new characters.
The Big Change from the Original Script
Establishing the right introduction of Deondray and Quincy as a couple was important. The Gossfields said that originally the script included a couple of women in that party scene who were supposed to have a “clutch their pearls” moment. “In the end, we all decided, ‘Why does it have to be this way?’ Why can't it just be, 'Okay, nice to meet you, Deondray,' when he's introduced as Quincy's fiancé,'” Deondray Gossfield said. “That does a lot for the viewer when they're watching for cues of how they interpret this moment.”
When asked about debunking stereotypes about queer characters and, in particular, Black men, Quincy LeNear Gossfield was candid. “In the Black community, there is a stereotype that, and I hate using the phrase ‘masculine presenting,’ but I don't know a better phrase to use yet, and I know that's a very triggering topic and phrase among our community as well…" He continued:
"But typically, if a gay Black man does not fit the typical portrayal or stereotype of a gay man then it's automatically assumed that this person is in the closet or trying to pretend to be straight or that they're a self-hating gay. These new characters in the show are masculine, and they’re not in the closet or on the down-low. They're not trying to be straight men or pretend to be straight men in public. This is just who they are, and they're unapologetic about their relationship and their love for one another.”
Once everybody meets Quincy’s significant other in The Chi, it doesn't feel as if his fiancé was kept hidden. It’s a natural reveal. “Lena likes to challenge narratives, and to take characters we expect to be one way and make them something different. She likes to actually have these moments be moments of conversation among the viewers and the community. She encourages critical thought,” he added.
Part of the show is entertainment, and part of it, for us, is to inspect why people are the way they are, why things happen the way they happen. You know, there's nobody that's good or bad.
The Gossfields strongly believe that this season of The Chi is one of the most authentic representations of Chicago. No surprise — they helped set the tone, style, and even creating a lookbook for future directors. Quincy LeNear Gossfield is a Chicago native, in fact, and brings a unique perspective to the show by delving into the “truth” of the city. To that end, the series appears to be in fine hands and there seems to be plenty of fuel to head into a seventh season.
The Chi streams on Showtime and Paramount+.