Dekkoo, the premiere streaming service dedicated to gay men, will launch its new original series, Danny Will Die Alone, on May 16, 2024. Created by and starring Jack Tracy, Danny Will Die Alone dives deep into the hellscape of being a single gay man today trying to find love via the hookup apps. Loosely based onJack Tracy’s own dating life in New York City and his “Dying Alone Together” podcast, the series depicts Tracy as Danny: a man on a mission. Recently single after a devastating breakup and freshly entering a mid-life crisis, Danny finds the dating scene markedly different from the last time he was on the market. Emotional unavailability, fear of commitment and hypersexuality abound and Danny is forced to navigate his way through unhinged flakes, fakes, and bots, all while remaining blissfully unaware of his own multitude of flaws. Danny Will Die Alone will begin streaming Thursday, May 16 on Dekkoo.
In addition to its jaw-droppingly vulgar humor, Danny Will Die Alone presents a critical look at modern dating and its shifting relationship styles. It explores how gay men use the apps, treat one another, and the differences in their behavior when interacting virtually and in-person. “On the apps, you're never quite sure if the man you are speaking with is looking for something real or if he simply enjoys the chase,” Tracy explains.
He notes there is a huge emphasis on casual sex encounters today. “It’s as if long term relationships and traditional dating structures have been abandoned by men in their 20s and 30s,” Tracy continues. “Once you get into the 40s, it’s a whole other macrocosm of messiness; mostly married couples who have opened their relationships and are looking for a temporary third to complete their throuple.”
Initially built as a web series, the first nine episodes of Danny Will Die Alone are fifteen-minute affairs, each focusing solely on Danny’s encounter with a man that represents a particular corner of the gay dating world. Characters pop into Danny’s life only to never be heard from again, no different than how it goes while dating in the modern era.
It begins with Danny attempting to convert a well-endowed hookup into a forever partner. After that fails, he meets hipsters, conservatives, spiritual beings, gym gurus, and men with all kinds of kinky sexual proclivities. All the while, Danny breaks the fourth wall to regularly let viewers know what he’s thinking about during the ongoing car crashes. “It's a way to bring the audience into Danny's issues,” Jack explains. “The viewers become the confidant Danny vents to.”
Viewers may sympathize with Danny, but not too much, because Danny is jaded to the point of near insanity, and is as awful as the situations he finds himself in. Like when he realizes the apps have become the land of unwanted bottoms and he enters his “top era”, or when it dawns on him that the apps simply aren’t ‘appening, and he hires a professional matchmaker.
It's nonstop hilarity at Danny’s increasingly desperate antics as he futilely searches for his one true love.
Jack Tracy is a New York based writer, actor, producer, and recording artist. He has released three LPs, numerous EPs, and is best known for his feature film Snowflake, and his web series History, Big Law and Millennial Memoir. Danny Will Die Alone is his first Dekkoo original series. When not working on his latest creation, Jack spends time with his cocker spaniel and, like Danny, continues his search for love.
Season two of Danny Will Die Alone is filming now. It will shift to six full half hour episodes with a continuing storyline and additional lead cast members.
Danny Will Die Alone begins streaming May 16 on Dekkoo.
