'It Felt Very Real.' Drew Tarver On Carey Dubek's Gay Journey on 'The Other Two'

Picking the queerest show on television right now is pretty easy. It is "The Other Two," the 2019 Comedy Central hit that has moved to HBO Max for its second season. That is because one of its titular characters, Carey Dubek, is a thirtyish, aspiring gay actor living in New York City thrust into the public limelight due to the unexpected celebrity of his teen brother – a break-out, TikTok personality – and his mom, Pat Dubek, who becomes daytime television's new queen of nice. Caught in their shadows only acerbates his personal issues surrounding his sexuality. Concurrent to Carey's personal struggles are those of his sister Brooke (Heléne Yorke), the other half of the show's title, who also deals with issues of her family's fame.

For actor Drew Tarver, playing Carey felt familiar. "From the beginning, Tarver noticed numerous overlaps between himself and his on-screen counterpart," writes GQ in an interview. "Like Carey, Tarver also self-identified as a struggling actor; he also knew what it felt like to come out as queer later in life."

So far this season, he was involved with Jess (Gideon Glick), who becomes his instant bf when his mother, Pat, says they are in a relationship on their television show. It ends badly by the fourth episode, but not before the show gleefully lampoons queer culture from the inside. It is that knowing sensibility, GQ points out, that elevates the show beyond the standard treatment of queer characters in sitcoms. Being in on the joke makes it that much more fun, so when the show parodies a daddy/son relationship in one episode, and, in another, pokes fun at a couple obsessed with their social media brand, the show earns its queer satiric cred.

Asked why he took the role, Tarver says: "Well, being a struggling actor, playing a struggling actor was like,�Okay, I know these humiliating moments. I know the struggle you're going through. So it felt very real. I also really responded to [the fact that] it wasn't a coming out story about a queer character. It was more about a character who's already come out, but is dealing with the repercussions of coming out late, having some internalized homophobia still coursing through his veins, and trying to figure that out. Not only did it have these very funny big moments and super smart jokes, but it also had an emotional element that felt very real and that you could latch onto."

In Season One, Carey was just coming out, with a super-crush on his straight roommate, with whom he would make out with but without any acknowledgement that such behavior just might be gay. "It was nice to see him [evolve] because it takes him four full episodes [in season one] to put his foot down and stop making out with his straight roommate, which I think is a little bit too many episodes. So it was nice, in the second season, to be like,�Okay, he has a boyfriend and now he is making some strides in his romantic life.

"But it was also interesting to be like,�If Carey has a boyfriend, does that all of a sudden make him fixed? Or are there going to be lingering feelings of self-loathing? And if so, how do they present themselves in a relationship? What does that look like and how does it affect the relationship?�It was really interesting to see him trying to make a relationship work when he still doesn't have some of the deeper things about himself figured out."

One of those things is his relationship with his father, who didn't take to his coming out very well and then died unexpectedly, without the time to work those issues out. "Yeah. I think Carey is definitely trying to find approval from his dad. In certain episodes of this season, it's very obvious that he wishes he had those moments with his dad to, like you said, find some common ground. He's trying to figure out how to get that or find ways to feel that acceptance after his dad's death. He's definitely chasing after it. [Laughs] I don't mean to laugh. It's very sad."

But, he was reminded, the show is a comedy. "We have been talking about all these devastating topics, but I swear it's funny!"

He also addressed his break-up with Jess, which brought a bittersweet moment to an otherwise hilarious episode when Carey and Jess visit a couple obsessed with their social media brand. "Yeah. That was a tough scene because it's one of those breakups where you understand that they both need to not be with each other right now, despite it feeling like a very good relationship for the most part. But speaking of his dad's approval, Carey is trying to be like, "Oh, if I'm in the perfect heteronormative relationship, I will get the approval that I'm seeking." But this season, Carey is learning that there's no right way to be gay. He's realizing, "What I'm trying to fit into is coming from some of my self-loathing as a person."