I Saw Myself in Kermit (Ep 565 - The Muppet Show/Dan)

To mark the recent re-re-re-rebooting of The Muppet Show, this week we’re heading into the Sewers archives to revisit my 2020 interview with Dan Steadman. Dan grew up in a household that was so religious, his parents forbade him from watching certain episodes of The Muppet Show, due to a guest appearance by Alice Cooper. His upbringing in a sheltered religious community found him placed in a lot of unusual circumstances, including a reboot of his entire identity when his family swapped lives with a family in Brazil. A career in showbiz took him to Los Angeles, where he worked alongside big-time celebrities and also faced a crisis — the more comfortable he was living as an openly gay man, the more he realized that he’d have to cut ties with some of the homophobic celebrities he worked with.

Theater is My Version of Church (Ep 564 - Catwoman/Greg)

A few weeks ago I came across an online video from a comic convention featuring a phalanx of comic book figures — life-size statues, painted to look like they’d walked off the pages of a comic book. Their creator is Greg Maraio, an actor and artist in Boston who fills his time between shows with this unique project that’s turned into an artistic calling … though for many years, it seemed like it was bringing him to financial ruin.

 We’ll have that interview in a moment. First a quick reminder that I host weekly livestreams every Sunday on Twitch, and I hope you’ll join me for those. Plus — check out my book Hi Honey, I’m Homo! at GaySitcoms.com; subscribe to my email newsletter at MattBaume.com, and if you’re enjoying The Sewers of Paris, support the show on Patreon at Patreon.com/mattbaume.

The Most Expensive Flop in Broadway History (Ep 563 - Madeline Kahn/William)

The day this episode comes out, March 26 2026, is the 115th birthday of renowned playwright Tennessee Williams. And to mark the occasion, we’re heading into the Sewers archives to hear my 2020 interview with writer William V. Madison, whose career was inspired in part by a moving experience in college involving a Streetcar Named Desire. That brought William to a series of adventurous jobs, from working on Broadway shows to producing the news alongside Dan Rather, singing to Angela Lansbury, earning a nickname from Fidel Castro, and writing a biography of Madeline Kahn. 

The Fire that Came with Creating (ep 562 - Fifth Element/Ricardo)

My guest this week is illustrator Ricardo Bessa, whose beautiful art features lush colorful fantasy settings and characters on fabulous adventures, often very queer. Ricardo knew he was a fish out of water in the town where he grew up, and planned to move to London to find others like him … and that worked, a first, but he didn’t count on running into burnout that nearly ended his career.

We’ll have that interview in a moment. First a quick reminder that I host weekly livestreams every Sunday on Twitch, and I hope you’ll join me for those. Plus — check out my book Hi Honey, I’m Homo! at GaySitcoms.com; subscribe to my email newsletter at MattBaume.com, and if you’re enjoying The Sewers of Paris, support the show on Patreon at Patreon.com/mattbaume.

Making Something Special Out of Garbage (Ep 561 - Pro wrestling/David)

On last week’s episode we heard from drag comedienne Pissi Myles, and this week we’ll hear from Pissi’s husband, photographer and creative director David Ayllon. David’s specialty is weird colorful visions that lean heavily on the spooky, the queer, and the poppiest of pop art — a career that he thought he’d blown after one particularly disastrous interview and a years-long search for something that seemed, for a long time, impossible: A job that pays the bills and is creatively fulfilling. 

We’ll have that interview in a moment. First a quick reminder that I host weekly livestreams every Sunday on Twitch, and I hope you’ll join me for those. Plus — check out my book Hi Honey, I’m Homo! at GaySitcoms.com; subscribe to my email newsletter at MattBaume.com, and if you’re enjoying The Sewers of Paris, support the show on Patreon at Patreon.com/mattbaume. 

Nothing About my Life Isn't Funny (Ep 560 - The Birdcage/Pissi Myles)

My guest this week is drag comedienne Pissi Myles, who always knew she needed to be on stage but wasn’t always sure where she fit in… thanks to a music theater education that left her feeling like she couldn’t measure up to her classmates, and comparing herself to the host of Blues Clues. That is, until she discovered a wig and heels and her calling, which these days involves ruining showbiz classics, in a loving way.

We’ll have that interview in a moment. First a quick reminder that I host weekly livestreams every Sunday on Twitch, and I hope you’ll join me for those. Plus — check out my book Hi Honey, I’m Homo! at GaySitcoms.com; subscribe to my email newsletter at MattBaume.com, and if you’re enjoying The Sewers of Paris, support the show on Patreon at Patreon.com/mattbaume. 

The Cool Person I Could Be (Ep 559 - Pokemon/Cody Shipman)

This week marks the 30th anniversary of the release of Pokémon, and to celebrate we’re diving into the Sewers archives to hear my 2019 chat with Cody Shipman. Cody’s a graphic designer and artist here in Seattle whose work is very beautiful, very gay, and very explicit. For a long time, he felt hesitant about blending his gay interests and his nerdy interests together. But it was when he finally merged them that he found inspiration for some of his most rewarding work to date.

Check out Cody’s (not safe work work!) art here: https://www.codyshipman.com/

Also, a quick heads up that I’m planning a European book tour this spring and summer, where I’ll be reading from my book Hi Honey I’m Homo!, as well as sharing clips from classic queer sitcom episodes. Plans for that are still coming together. But if you or someone you know is connected to a bookstore, university, community group, or any other organization in Europe that would like to collaborate on a book event in May or June of 2026, please get in touch so I can try to make it happen!

Also, a quick reminder that I host weekly livestreams every Sunday on Twitch, and I hope you’ll join me for those. Plus — check out my book Hi Honey, I’m Homo! at GaySitcoms.com; subscribe to my email newsletter at MattBaume.com, and if you’re enjoying The Sewers of Paris, support the show on Patreon at Patreon.com/mattbaume.

Imposter Syndrome (Ep 557 - Aladdin/Tim)

My guest this week is Steven Salvatore, author of young adult romances like And They Lived…, No Perfect Places, and When Love Gives You Lemons. Steven’s plan, when he was younger, was to be an artist… until a cruel art teacher crushed his dreams. But that set the stage for him to discover a passion for writing, and for exploring stories about young queer people in love.

We’ll have that interview in a moment. First a quick heads up that I’m planning a European book tour this spring and summer, where I’ll be reading from my book Hi Honey I’m Homo!, as well as sharing clips from classic queer sitcom episodes. Plans for that are still coming together. But if you or someone you know is connected to a bookstore, university, community group, or any other organization in Europe that would like to collaborate on a book event in May or June of 2026, please get in touch so I can try to make it happen!

Also, a quick reminder that I host weekly livestreams every Sunday on Twitch, and I hope you’ll join me for those. Plus — check out my book Hi Honey, I’m Homo! at GaySitcoms.com; subscribe to my email newsletter at MattBaume.com, and if you’re enjoying The Sewers of Paris, support the show on Patreon at Patreon.com/mattbaume. 

Power Will Corrupt (Ep 556 - Fallout/Tim Cain)

My guest this week is game developer Tim Cain, who’s shown us what the end of the world looks like. Back in the mid-90s, Tim was working with a small team on a post-apocalyptic game with a 1950s aesthetic — a weird mix of styles that Tim was worried would bomb so hard he expected his next job would be serving fast food. But … that game was Fallout, which became a massive phenomenon, with multiple sequels and a TV series based on the game that just wrapped its second season. One of the recurring themes of Fallout is people stepping out of bomb shelters and discovering there’s more to life than self-isolation. Something Tim had to force himself to do when he decided it was time to emerge from the closet.

Watch Tim's YouTube videos: https://www.youtube.com/@CainOnGames

And check out his chocolate blog: https://chocolateihaveknown.wordpress.com/

Also, a quick reminder that I host weekly livestreams every Sunday on Twitch, and I hope you’ll join me for those — lately we’ve been watching the film Strangers on a Train and comparing it to the screenplay and Hitchcock’s original, even gayer cut of the film. Plus — check out my book Hi Honey, I’m Homo! at GaySitcoms.com; subscribe to my email newsletter at MattBaume.com, and if you’re enjoying The Sewers of Paris, support the show on Patreon at Patreon.com/mattbaume.