‘Pose’ EP Ryan Murphy Reveals Personal Reason For 1987 Setting

FX’s “Pose” captures the world of ballroom culture in 1987 New York, and executive producer Ryan Murphy told International Business Times that he had a very personal reason for wanting to start the series at that time.

“It was a personal year for me because it was the first year I came — ‘87, ‘88 — was the first year I came to New York,” Murphy said at the pink carpet premiere of “Pose” in New York. “So I was the same age as the Damon character in the show, so I guess that’s why.”

Damon (Ryan Jamaal Swain) is the young man with dreams of being a dancer in the city on the FX drama. However, he gets kicked out of his suburban household after coming out as gay. He goes to New York and sleeps on benches until he is taken in by Blanca (MJ Rodriguez), who is starting her own house. That’s when he discovers balls, competitions for “people who aren’t welcome anywhere else.”

While Murphy may have identified with the fish-out-of-water character, fellow executive producer Brad Falchuk told IBT that there were a few cultural changes that helped determine the setting too.

“The ‘80s were the beginning of mainstream culture of a lot of artifices, of a lot of the appearance of wealth, the appearance of success, the appearance of beauty,” Falchuk explained. “And so we wanted to contrast that cultural movement with the authenticity of our lead characters and with people who are — they are who they are even if it’s at the expense of everything — their families their homes, their jobs, everything — they are who the are. We really wanted to display that contrast.”

The world of wealth and privilege will be examined through Evan Peters’ character Stan in Sunday night’s series premiere. He has a white-collar job at Trump Tower and a pretty wife (Kate Mara). Still, he has a curiosity that can’t be satisfied and finds himself propositioning a trans prostitute, Angel (Indya Moore), after a job interview.

Unfortunately, a story about the LGBTQ community in the 1980s wouldn’t be complete without the AIDS epidemic. At least one leading character discovers they have HIV. This isn’t like the Murphy-directed tearjerker “The Normal Heart,” though. Despite some serious subjects, “Pose” has plenty of fun.

Falchuk’s final reason for the 1987 setting? “The 80s costumes are the best.”

“Pose” Season 1 premieres Sunday, June 3 at 9 p.m. EDT.