The cast members from USA’s new breakout series Eyewitness are teaming up with It Gets Better Project to throw a party for series lead character Philip Shea’s officially coming out on a the latest episode airing Sunday, November 6th. The Coming Out party will be celebrated in person in Los Angeles and on social media with fans who have already helped the show trend on Twitter for the past 3 episodes.
Played by newcomer Tyler Young, Philip Shea is a teenager from the projects who’s seen more pain than any adult ever should and he gets a fresh chance to start over in an idyllic small town with his new foster mother, Helen. He is on the verge of falling in love, when he witnesses a triple murder with his closeted boyfriend – and the two boys swear themselves to secrecy for fear of being outed.
Eyewitness is the first crime thriller series ever on national U.S. television to center around two gay characters. The cast is going to get together for a cast and crew special party in Los Angeles and engage live with the audiences on Twitter and in a Facebook Live conversation with fans immediately following the 10pm ET and 10pm PST broadcasts of Eyewitness.
Fans are encouraged to Tweet in their questions directly to the cast and series while watching the show and the questions will be answered during the Facebook Live sessions after the show airs. The Facebook Live session will run on: https://www.facebook.com/itgetsbetterproject/
Hashtags for the social media coming out party are #Eyewitness and #PhilipsComingOutParty
Series creator Adi Hasak and his team at Adi TV Studios with the help of It Gets Better Project and Storytellers United have been able to help create a groundswell of support from the LGBT community and amplify their enthusiasm of the series. The It Gets Better Project’s mission is to communicate to lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender youth around the world that it gets better, and to create and inspire the changes needed to make it better for them.
ABOUT ‘EYEWITNESS’:
Airs Sunday, October 16 at 10/9c
USA Network’s bone-chilling crime thriller EYEWITNESS delves into the lives of two innocent teenage boys who bear witness to a triple-homicide while in the midst of a secret romantic encounter. Desperate to keep their relationship a secret and in fear of being found by the perpetrator, they must hide one dangerous secret in order to keep another. But, what they’ve seen cannot be unseen and will change everything forever.
Adapted from the critically acclaimed Norwegian drama “Øyevitne,” the 10-episode series is spearheaded by creator, writer, and executive producer Adi Hasak (creator, “Shades of Blue”), who brought Catherine Hardwicke (“Twilight”) on board to executive produce and direct the first two episodes.
From Universal Cable Productions (UCP), EYEWITNESS explores a grisly crime from the point of view of the eyewitnesses. The series stars Julianne Nicholson (“Black Mass,” “Masters of Sex”) as Helen, a former big-city homicide detective who left her harrowing career to become a small-town sheriff, and Gil Bellows (“Ascension,” “11.22.53”) as her husband Gabe, who rescued her from a self-destructive cycle of living. The drama introduces Tyler Young (“Empire”) as Philip, the foster-child who Helen and Gabe struggle to raise together, and James Paxton (“Term Life”) as Lukas, a popular local motocross star who seems to have it all, until his sanity slips after witnessing the crime with Philip.
Catherine Hardwicke (“Twilight,” “Lords of Dogtown”), Scott Peters (“V,” “The 4400”), Jarl Emsell Larsen, and Jackie de Crinis also serve as executive producers.
About It Gets Better Project
Launched by syndicated columnist Dan Savage and his partner Terry Miller, the It Gets Better Project is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization that leverages the power of media to reach and provide critical support and hope to LGBTQ young people around the world. Through collaborative partnerships elevating positive portrayals of the LGBTQ community, the It Gets Better Project strives to communicate to LGBTQ youth that it gets better – and inspire the changes necessary to make it better for them. The It Gets Better Project received the 2012 Governor’s Award from the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences and has garnered support from President Obama and 500,000 others who have taken the pledge to share messages of hope and to speak up against intolerance.