These 'Gayby' Stars Reunited For A New Series That's Bloody Good Fun

Jenn Harris and Matthew Wilkas are inadvertent assassins in "New York Is Dead."

“Queer as Folk” icon Randy Harrison becomes a hipster tour guide in this exclusive clip from his new web series, “New York Is Dead.”

HuffPost got a first look at the series before its Funny or Die premiere this Friday. The black comedy, which marks Harrison’s directorial debut, follows down-and-out artists Felix (Matthew Wilkas) and Cathy (Jenn Harris), who are struggling to make ends meet in New York. One day, they’re given the chance to earn a fortune and wipe out some of their mounting debt... by killing a stranger.

A few questionable, if humorously presented, decisions later, the pair become hired hit men. Their victims and accomplices include a plethora of guest stars, including Jemima Kirke, John Early, Ana Gasteyer and Bebe Neuwirth. (Olympic freeskier Gus Kenworthy, who is Wilkas’ longtime beau, even turns in a cameo.)

"New York Is Dead" reunites Jenn Harris and Matthew Wilkas, who starred in 2012's queer cult comedy, "Gayby."
"New York Is Dead" reunites Jenn Harris and Matthew Wilkas, who starred in 2012's queer cult comedy, "Gayby."
Funny Or Die

“New York Is Dead,” which premiered at the 2017 Tribeca Film Festival, is an onscreen reunion for Wilkas and Harris, who also starred in the 2012 queer cult hit, “Gayby.” The pair co-wrote the series, which Wilkas called “sort of autobiographical” in that the writer-performers have their own love/hate relationships with the Big Apple.

“New York is an absurd, beautiful and impossible place where everyone is fighting for their piece of space,” he told HuffPost. “Jenn and I have never killed anyone, of course, but we have, in our individual ways, experienced struggle. As important as art and creativity is to New York, it doesn’t really make life easy for its artists.” Shooting with Harrison, he added, was “pretty phenomenal.”

John Early (left) and Jemima Kirke are two guest stars who pop up on the black comedy series.
John Early (left) and Jemima Kirke are two guest stars who pop up on the black comedy series.
Funny Or Die

The pair raised money for the production of the first season of “New York Is Dead” through a successful Kickstarter campaign, while all six episodes were shot over just seven days. To Wilkas, whose credits also include “The Mummy” and HBO’s “Looking,” the support from audiences “means the world.”

“We never would have been able to make this show without our fans and friends,” he said, “and knowing that they support us and are invested in the project is super inspiring.”

The first two episodes of “New York Is Dead” will be released Friday, Oct. 13 on Funny or Die. Each of the remaining installments will be released each subsequent Tuesday.

Catch the trailer for the series below.

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