April 28, 2021 | Arts / Entertainment

"Special" trailer released for upcoming season

Ryan O'Connell's Netflix series Special is back for a second, and final, season on Netflix.

The semi-autobiographical comedy follows a young gay man with cerebral palsy as he struggles to find his place in the gay community. And though it earned four Emmy nominations for its first season, it will come to an end with eight new episodes.

A breakdown of the upcoming season has been revealed:

"Ryan (Ryan O'Connell) really needs to get his shit together. It's been two months and he still hasn't spoken to Karen since their fight and he has a gnarly case of writer's block that's getting him in hot water with Olivia (Marla Mindelle).

"Enter Tanner (Max Jenkins), a fun, flirty dance instructor who charms Ryan despite not being totally available. When his writer's block eventually lifts, he's inspired to write a longform piece about disability.

"From there, he begins a journey of self-discovery that creates unexpected complications in his relationship with Tanner."

"As a gay man all I ever wanted was to be sexualised,” O'Connell admitted. “It sounds so crass and base, but it’s true, I wanted to be seen as desirable, I wanted people to want to have sex with me. I wanted what everybody wants, but also, not only did I want what everybody wants, but I had to deal with society never seeing me that way."

“I feel like my sexuality as a disabled gay man has been, kind of, castrated by society," he added. "I feel like, by me doing these sex scenes, it’s me being like, ‘I dare you to erase me, bitch. I dare you to turn the channel. You’re gonna look at this body, honey, and you’re gonna feel things about it. You can’t get rid of me, honey, here I am.'"

The final season will air on Netflix on May 20.