Daniel Franzese Of ‘Gay Skit Happens’ Talks About Finding Comedy In Life’s Most Dramatic Situations

Best known for his sly and snarky sweetheart characters in Mean Girls and HBO’s Looking, Daniel Franzese guest hosts the premiere of the new half hour, quarterly sketch show Gay Skit Happens. The Brooklyn-born actor-comedian joins a varied cast in the first episode of LOGO TV’s cheekily-named variety show, which is dubbed “The Love Edition”—just in time to prepare you for the onslaught of Valentine’s Day jitters.

Franzese appears as an exhausted, talent-agent-esque Cupid, among other characters, amongst a diverse pool of talent that includes Brian Jordan Alvarez, Tara DeFrancisco, Julie Goldman, Stephen Guarino, Ken Kirby, Lyric Lewis, Courtney Pauroso, and Bill Posley. The inaugural episode toys with the way we frame romance in a digital age while poking fun at Viola Davis, Adele, and James Bond in image-appropriating parody.

With all the eclectic projects Franzese has in the works, there’s no reason anyone needs to yell “She doesn’t even go here!” to him on the street anymore.

Daniel’s career and activism has often drawn on socially progressive issues and gags, and he serves as an ambassador at the Elizabeth Taylor AIDS Foundation, but that doesn’t mean he takes himself too seriously.

“It’s difficult to talk seriously about comedy—comedy sometimes just needs to be funny,” Franzese says in an interview with Decider. But there’s nothing frivolous in comedy when it compels us to giggle through critiques on everyday life and social challenges. And with the launch of Gay Skit Happens, Logo TV proves that representation of hilarious, varied voices is as essential as belly laughs in televised comedy.

Decider: What’s great about Gay Skit Happens is that it relies on a strong, diverse ensemble. How did you get involved as the guest host for the first episode?

Daniel Franzese: They called me and asked me to do it and I was really excited because I’ve done a bunch of sketch work in NYC and LA but I’ve never gotten the opportunity to do sketch on TV so this is thrilling. I had to jump at the chance, and I hope I’m invited back.

You’ve dabbled in various genres such as comedy [Mean Girls] and drama [Larry Clark’s Bully], as well as what some consider dramedy [Looking, ABC’s teen hit Recovery Road]. How do you view humor as something that could create conversations and enact engagement and change more than drama might?

David Mamet, in his book True and False, talks about how the most dramatic moments have comedy in it. Like if you get in a car accident. “Why does this always happen to me” you say to yourself in a funny voice. You’re saying this to make yourself laugh. So I try. Even on Recovery Road, I think my character is funny—and on Looking. I feel like there’s a lot of comedy in drama. Gay Skit Happens is straight comedy-comedy, and I think through laughter—and through telling the joke—we’re able to get acceptance and change.

Using that platform of comedy to confront social issues, I see you worked with Rusty Cundieff (Chapelle’s Show) on the pilot for Gay Skit Happens. What was his process in using humor to play on socially-charged situations?

Yeah, it was great to work with Rusty because he definitely works with edgy, different, and sometimes sensitive topics that are executed politically incorrectly. And Tom Gianis and I really got along, as well. He’s directed many a SNL and together, as we were working on this, came up with ways to tell these stories through sketches in a way that would definitely tickle but also ultimately make people think a little bit.

What kind of humor are you particularly drawn to? What would you consider your comedic sensibility to be?

The things that make me laugh the most are surprising and shocking. I tend to be a shock person. Like, I love John Waters. And different things where you not expecting a certain thing to happen, or an element is off. Even in my Shit Italian Moms Say character, I either don’t shave, or I leave my hairy chest. Something that’s a little off-key and weird. I definitely think that adds to the hilarity of it all.

Gay Skit Happens has such a diverse cast, so many voices are being captured—from straight and gay, to a variety of ethnicities. How do you hope that this cast and sketches will be greeted by a younger generation looking for representation?

I really don’t think since In Living Color has there been a cast in sketch that’s been this edgy and diverse. It’s really fun to see everyone in their element and not being afraid of anything. We’re all here to achieve just being funny. It’s difficult to talk seriously about comedy; comedy sometimes just needs to be funny. And we had a great time just laughing through it all.

You recently posted on Twitter about young actors and where they can find work. Can you talk a little bit about the incentive to encourage struggling talent?

Growing up I felt starving for answers about how to make it in the industry or how to get better at my art. My parents were blue collar Italians from Brooklyn. They didn’t really know a lot about tap dancing. [Laughs]. So I think I’m always open to sharing my journey because I really feel like everyone has to make their own way but you can learn a lot from other people’s journeys.

The pilot is title “The Love Edition.” Are there topics you would like to see confronted on the show in the future?

Sure, I mean it would be really fun to talk about money or drugs, or work. You know, other different social situations. I love that each one has a topic. I’m not sure what else they’re planning, but I do know that the next installment Vivica A. Fox will be hosting.

Considering “The Love Edition” episode plays on love in a more digital age, have you had any particularly awkward experiences in app-based dating?

It’s funny because I’ve had people say they saw me on apps, but I’m not on any of them. [Laughs]. I think it’s really…I met my boyfriend at a Starbucks. We met just randomly, kind of the old fashioned way. It gets more and more difficult the more recognizable my face becomes to actually do any online dating. I don’t think is that’s something for me anymore in my life. It’s really difficult for people on TV to do any online dating in real life.

Do you have any other projects in the works at the moment?

I have a movie coming out call Mind Puppets where I play a gay man who is hypnotized into thinking he is a pregnant woman. And I put out a comedy Christmas rap album [Christmas Wrapping] and I’m putting out a summer album.

Oh, wow.

Yeah, the album is called Summer Jam.

Given the current sketch comedy landscape, is there anyone in particular you find to be a valuable voice or anyone who inspires you right now?

I mean, I love Drew Droege [best known for Chloe Sevigny drag YouTube videos]. Anything he does I see, and I’m actually going to see him tonight in “Miranda Priestley and the Unauthorized Devil Wears Prada Musical.” He just has an amazing comedic voice on the LA side.

On the NY side, I love this performance artist named Shane Shane, who always cracks me up and has something insightful and culturally cool to say about the queer community. There are a lot of voices of there. I’m happy that Logo is creating more original programming so some of these voices can be seen on television by a bigger market and not just in smaller comedy clubs.

[Gay Skit Happens premieres on Logo TV tonight, Monday, February 8 at 10pm ET. You can watch episodes on LogoTV.com.]

Nick McCarthy is a Senior Editor at Movie Mezzanine and a contributor at Slant Magazine. You can follow him on Twitter: @nick_mccarthy