Fire Island: a first look at director Andrew Ahn & writer-star Joel Kim Booster’s modern-day queer spin on Austen’s Pride & Prejudice

Dreaming of that summer vacation in the Pines? Searchlight Pictures has just released a tantalizing array of first look holiday snaps from the set of director Andrew Ahn’s Fire Island, premiering on Hulu this Pride Month, on Friday, June 3rd.

Written by and starring Joel Kim Booster as Noah, Fire Island, is a queer modern-day rom-com inspired by Jane Austen’s classic novel Pride and Prejudice, set and shot in the Pines. The story centres around two bffs, Noah and Howie, who set out to have a legendary summer vacation with the help of cheap rosé and a cadre of eclectic friends. The cast features Bowen Yang (as Howie), Conrad Ricamora, Matt Rogers, James Scully, Torian Miller, Tomás Matos, Peter Smith, Nick Adams, and Margaret Cho.

“Jane Austen’s observations about the way people are awful to each other without being awful to each other” was what struck a chord with Booster, as he shared with Vanity Fair. “I was like, ‘Oh, my God, this is shade. This is what gay men do all the time.” Going on to ponder, “What happens when gay men are put together on an island and there are no straight people to oppress us? How do we oppress each other?” Adding, “I want people to come away from this movie feeling the joy of our experiences and that it’s not all tragic. There are many of us out here living our lives joyfully.”

Take a look at the first raft of images from Fire Island:

Fire Island, directed by Andrew Ahn and written by and starring Joel Kim Booster premieres on Hulu on Friday, June 3rd.