Created by Toronto drag artist Champagna, Womb Envy is a new series written by Mark Keller, directed by Jake Horowitz and produced by Charlie David of Border2Border Entertainment for AMI-tv and OUTtv.

Max (Daniel Fernandes) is stuck in a rut. Nearly 30 years old, he is wanting more than the tired beat of the Toronto gay dance floor and needs a purpose in his life other than vodka and a deteriorating septum. Meanwhile, Maggie (Storm Steenson) is pregnant and desperate to escape the clutches of her religious zealot mother, Dorothy (Helen Holtham), and the small town that her and Max grew up in.

Showing up on Max’s door one day after years of separation, Maggie convinces Max to pretend to be her baby daddy, since he was the only man her mother ever approved of. They create rules to ensure the success of their half-baked idea, which causes Max’s fragile queer ego to create a drag queen apparition—The Divine (Champagna) – who constantly fights against this new assimilation to heteronormativity. Confusing things even more, Max soon falls head over heels in love with their Lamaze instructor, Patrick (Jeffrey Haase). Patrick, who is partially sighted, soon becomes an important part of Max’s life, throwing a huge wrench in their charade.

Internalizing the chaos in his life, Max develops a rare condition known as couvade syndrome, bizarrely displaying pregnancy symptoms which become increasingly more difficult to hide. Everything in their lives quickly unravels, and soon Max and Mary are forced to see what’s important in life, even if that’s the hardest thing for them to do.

“We’re making queer content, we’re making accessible content and with shows like Womb Envy, we’re creating challenging conversations on cisgendered, non-binary, trans, disabled and queer bodies…” said Charlie David, President and Producer, Border2Border Entertainment. ”Most importantly, we’re providing a big sand box in which to play and inviting more people to join us. We’re working hard to ensure that at each stage of a production we’re inclusive. We don’t make the kind of shows that most companies make and I’m proud of that—it sets us apart.”

Womb Envy will be available to stream from 10 May on the OUTtv Channel available on Amazon Prime and AppleTV+ with two episodes releasing every Wednesday.

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