The Avocado Toast series is an intergenerational sex-comedy. Have you ever wondered about your parents’ sex life?
Neither did Molly and Elle until coming out and divorce forced them to learn about their parents’ new sexcapades. Now, these 30-something best friends cling to each other as they navigate their parents’ sex lives alongside their own.
Border2Border Entertainment is producing the Avocado Toast series and producer Charlie David recently sat down with co-creators Heidi Lynch and Perrie Voss to discover how they came to create this new show.
Are there any personal experiences that inspired the characters or storylines in the Avocado Toast series?
Heidi: YES! Originally the show was based on the tumultuous time in our lives when we met. I had just ended things with first female partner.
Perrie: And I had received a sudden phone call that my parents were breaking up after over 30 years of marriage. Sadly it wasn’t an amicable split, which made it even harder.
Heidi: We both felt totally discombobulated and leaned on each other – hard.
Perrie: Heidi and I had a bond before those things in our lives escalated, but that bond really deepened through these experiences. There were a ton of tears, a ton of laughter and a ton of wine hahaha. That experience really informed the base of our protagonists.
Heidi: Through drafts, the show has now morphed into an amalgamation of truth, imagination and research.
What hole does this fill in the current TV/web landscape?
Heidi: MEN & WOMEN AGE 23-69 😋 If you type “avocado toast, millennials” into google you will find a litany of articles written on how millennials are ruining their lives and the world that baby boomers created. This way of thinking is toxic and divides the two generations.
The Avocado Toast series aims to bridge the gap between millennials and baby boomers by talking about something both groups will always have in common… sex! We explore the intricacies of platonic female relationships, which is rarely truthfully depicted. ALSO… Bisexual representation needs to happen! It has started happening slowly with recent stars coming out as bi. So if there is anything we can do to help that and to create bisexual representation by telling our story we will!
The Avocado Toast series explores sex and all the awkward interactions that can happen in a conversation about sex between a millennial and a baby boomer parent. It’s weird for parents to think about their kids having sex and it’s weird for kids to think their parents have a sex life. How can we get over this cultural minefield and have meaningful conversations about relationships between the generations?
Heidi: This is such a great question and hard to answer because the entire thing is awkward. I want for everyone to have full rich sex lives and to never feel embarrassed about them.
I don’t think any parent or child needs to “get over” that awkward feeling. BUT I do think a parent and a child need to respect each other and support each other’s happiness. EVERYONE DOES IT. hahaha. We want to explore society’s desexualization of women over 40.
Perrie: And along that line – why we as a society tend to have double standards for men dating younger women (which, let’s be honest, you can’t swing a cat without running into hahaha), but we can be flabbergasted at a middle aged woman dating a man 30 years her junior. There can be more judgment. But obviously women have vibrant sex drives throughout their lives, and there’s still this left-over stigma pre-sexual revolution that they need to be prim and proper and not publicly show desire. I mean – go get it girl! I personally want to explore this and I think we will both learn a lot from this exploration. We don’t necessarily have the answers, but we have a viewpoint on it and we’re excited to learn as the show develops. Sex is so subjective. So let’s start that conversation!
Heidi: We also want to question why SOME parents of LGBTQ people take issue with who their children choose to be with romantically. It really should never matter who your parent/child is having sex with as long as they are happy and feel safe. But some really funny and awkward conversations might need to happen en route to getting there.
The Avocado Toast series is written, starring, directed, and created by women. That’s kick-ass!
Heidi: It is really fun and incredible to get to work on a set that is female heavy. I feel that way especially because I have created a character that is exploring her sexuality. Molly is bisexual so that means some girl on girl action will be required. With Sam Coyle directing I have full confidence that any scene we shoot will be shot with a female eye. The set will feel professional and I will be taken care of. That is not to say that couldn’t happen with a male director but as an actress I have a laundry list of moments where that wasn’t the case, even on “closed” sets. That being said, we absolutely have some incredible men behind the scenes on Avocado Toast which make it clear that gender shouldn’t be the determining factor in why you work with someone. The best human for the job is what we want and is what creates harmony and a cohesive vision.
Perrie: I could talk about this for days, but that’s exactly it. I was a little baby feminist as a little girl even before I knew what that meant. I didn’t comprehend or see that there was an integrated division until I hit puberty. I used to win track races and swimming races over the boys and not even bat an eye about it. So I think I carried this “I can kick your butt in anything” aka “we’re equal” mindset with me and had a hard time adjusting to the idea that women can be considered “less-than” (and I think sadly all women have endless histories of these micro and macro moments that we’ve had to deal with).
Although I didn’t set out to systematically create a woman-heavy project, Heidi and I found these powerhouse humans (who also happened to be women) who fit our project perfectly. Then it got exciting – this industry can be tough for women, and there is something SO empowering about giving other women job opportunities when they perhaps were overlooked in previous years and projects. Women are amazing! Heidi and I have set up collaborative environments and it is super inspiring to be around that energy. And like Heidi said – I LOVE the men that are a part of our project. They have each been handpicked as well. Each of them are hugely kind, understanding, and massively talented humans. They trust us and believe in the project. There’s no tolerance for “mansplaining” on our sets! hahahaha.