“The Parenting” Brings Gay Family Drama And D*** Jokes To HBO
Family Weekends Gone Wild
A weekend with both sets of parents is stressful enough. Add a 400-year-old demon, and you’ve got The Parenting, HBO’s new gay horror comedy now streaming.
#TheParenting on Max was so much fun. I laughed out loud at least 5 times among many smaller laughs throughout. Definitely more Comedy than Horror and had some missed moments but having Lisa Kudrow, Parker Posey, and Edie Falco in a comedy/horror film was fun to watch! pic.twitter.com/szSpLQdNBA
— Justin 🩸🔪 (@JustinHorrorLYF) March 16, 2025
The film follows couple Rohan (Nik Dodani) and Josh (Brandon Flynn) as they bring their families to a country cabin where Rohan plans to propose. The only problem? The house already has residents: an ancient demon and ghost victims.
Writer Kent Sublette took inspiration from his own life. “It’s loosely based on a trip that my husband and I took with our parents when we first started dating,” he tells Pride. “Three days is too long for that. So it was stressful. We would joke that the only thing that would make this more intense is if this house was haunted.”
#TheParenting is a very silly, extremely dumb horror comedy, but it’s also got a crazy hot Brandon Flynn, an off kilter Parker Posey, and a naked Brian Cox talking about his penis. Plus it’s gay and Lisa Kudrow has a bowl cut. What more do you need? pic.twitter.com/JGiQFmgF5b
— David Opie (@DavidOpie) March 12, 2025
Dodani relates to his character’s nervousness about mixing his strict mother (Edie Falco) and serious father (Brian Cox) with Josh’s laid-back Midwestern parents (Lisa Kudrow and Dean Norris).
“Meeting your partner’s parents is truly one of the most terrifying things in the world, no matter who you are,” Dodani tells Pride. “This movie is about the way we turn into teenage versions of ourselves around our parents, or the desperate need for everything to go perfectly.”
The Parenting mixes crude humour with genuine warmth. The film celebrates both biological and chosen family through characters like Josh’s dad Cliff and their friend Sara (Vivian Bang).
Bang explains to Pride: “Your chosen family are just as pivotal and essential as your family. Sara is literally the friend that everyone needs.”
One of the most touching moments comes from Norris as Cliff, who shares how much he loves and admires his son. Norris hopes this resonates with parents of LGBTQIA+ children.
“The most important thing for that character was that he loves his son unconditionally and completely accepts him,” Norris tells Pride. “That kind of drives him through the movie.”
GUYS IT'S SIMPLE #TheParenting pic.twitter.com/7tsQ54qrXM
— 𝓶𝓸𝓷𝓽𝓰𝓸𝓶𝓮𝓻𝔂 (@Mont6147) March 15, 2025
Classic Horror Comedy Vibes
Director Craig Johnson loved the script’s mix of fun and heart. “This one reminded me of the movies I grew up with as a kid in the ’80s. I grew up with Poltergeist and Creepshow and Beetlejuice and Gremlins and all of these freaky, subversive, funny, scary movies,” he tells Pride.
The cast formed a tight bond during filming. “We just all hung out, cookouts, movie nights, game nights, just fun stuff,” Norris recalls. “Everyone just appreciated and respected everybody. It was amazing, probably one of the most amazing off-set cast experiences I’ve ever had.”
A killer time. #TheParenting pic.twitter.com/lYiYXrbX5b
— Max (@StreamOnMax) March 13, 2025
Real Ghost Encounters
The cast stayed in a haunted hotel and tried to contact spirits. “We did have a seance,” Flynn says. “We were living at this hotel called the Colonial Inn in Concord, Massachusetts.”
Bang believes they succeeded. “I think we conjured some spirits. The attendant told me, ‘I think you guys conjured something because now it is.'” She later saw fog and purple lights in her room.
The Parenting brings us that perfect mix of scares, laughs, and genuine emotion that we rarely see in modern films. Now streaming on HBO.
