And occasionally, she learns a thing or two about her own.
DEADLINE What was that first meeting like with Cara?
Of course it was in the Covid era, so our first meeting was over Zoom.
Cara is an actress, one of the world’s most photographed people and an award-winning LGBTQ+ icon. On this immersive journey, she puts her mind and body on the line in search of answers regarding human sexuality, its joys, mysteries, and constantly changing nature. In every episode, she shares her own personal experiences. Uniquely unfiltered and authentic, there’s no limit on how far Cara’s willing to go to explore what makes us all human. (Photo by: Christina Belle/Hulu)
She had just wrapped Carnival Row.
She was incredibly excited about this project and was teaming with so many ideas.
It was our job to try and capture them and figure out how to put them into action.
We were just really surprised, honestly, about how personal this project was to her.
You always dream for a celebrity host to have a personal investment in the subject matter.
This is an actual, personal quest and journey for her.
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DEADLINE Did she come in with a specific goal?
CHERMAYEFFIt was not a singular question like that, no.
We all have so much to learn.
We started getting into the details of places we could visit, people we could talk with.
That was always the lens that we approached it with, and with her too.
DEADLINE You did some traveling!
CHERMAYEFFWe all benefit from re-identifying what we mean by certain words.
The show is meant to be for a wide audience.
This is for everybody and this conversation should be had by everybody.
CHERMAYEFFIts a part of the cultural moment that were in.
Ultimately, we are trying to present something that allows for more data points, more information.
Maybe youve learned a little bit more [from this show].
I think were trying to get to a place in this conversation where you could have questions or doubts.
Its a new experience for her.
CHERMAYEFFThat was in our first real shoot together.
It worked so beautifully.
We all dove in together.
I had never been to Dinah Shore and Im a lifelong lesbian.
It was a really powerful experience.
But to have hundreds and hundreds of women who identify as lesbian just celebrating is a really special experience.
They arent protesting, its not about political action.
Its about really having fun.
So, it was quite a journey for us, too.
I think that regular human squirminess around some of these issues comes through.
I mean, we learned a lot about how our bodies work, making this show.
There are so many reasons why theyre studying sexuality and gender and sex organs.
DEADLINE Do you think this will mostly appeal to women?
I mean, can men get into this?
VESELICI would sure hope so, especially if theyre having sex with people with vaginas.
Theres an entertainment factor that goes beyond the topics.
DEADLINE You said you talk about female genitalia.
Is there an episode breaking down the penis?
CHERMAYEFFI think that theyre hoping for a season two that is more focused on male sexuality.
DEADLINE After you finished the first season, did you have a postmortem with Cara?
Did she feel like a different person?
She was sharing what she was feeling with us the whole time, which was wonderful.
It was scary and intense to put herself out there in even the most silly moments.
She did have real sense of self and boundaries about this.
There were certain choices that she made.
For example, she wanted to cover her face during a masturbation workshop.
She sits there and makes a whole sculpture herself.
