Nudist murder mystery – by Cameron Scheetz

Image Credit: ‘Laid Bare,’ OUTtv

What would you do if you received a mysterious invite to join a bunch of hot guys for a weekend at a clothing-optional resort in Palm Springs?

Well, you’d pack your bags (though, let’s be honest, you won’t need to bring much to wear) and head out to the desert ASAP of course!

But what sounds like paradise is actually a deathtrap in Laid Bare, a new darkly comedic mystery series from writer-director Tim O’Leary (Demonhuntr) which premieres today, exclusively on OUTtv.

When wealthy, closeted businessman Nikos Lambrakis (Kevin Scott Allen) suddenly croaks, 10 men receive posthumous invites from him to gather at his secluded resort. Two of whom are his adult sons—both queer themselves—Alistair (Youthful Daze‘s Ethan Daniel Corbett) & Aaron (Miracle Workers‘ Robert Rice), that latter of which is now managing the place in his father’s absence.

The seven special guests of honor are an eclectic bunch who all happened to be in attendance at Nikos’s 60th birthday sex party just before he passed—and apparently each of them blackmailed him, threatening to expose his secret!

They are: Olympic athlete Cassidy Raines (Boy Culture: Generation X‘s Jason Caceres), socialite Barron Hemmings (When They Look, I’m Gone‘s Zack Rocklin-Waltch), publicist Bryan Byrne (Come Clean‘s Jaymes Hayden Rodriguez), fashion model Montana Briggs (House Of Abraham‘s Marval Rex), animal rights activist Liam McKay (T-Rex Ranch‘s Michael Deni), adult film star Jesse Steele (Dominated By My Dad’s Boss‘s Nicolas Zuluaga) and his partner Eric Barnard (9-1-1‘s Ephraim López), a former professor.

And if you’re keeping count, guest number 10 is Nikos’s trusted valet Jacques (Bros‘ Alex Ringler)… though it looks like the poor hunk’s days might be numbered.

As the group soon comes to understand, they’ll all be splitting the old man’s inheritance ten ways. Of course, if someone were to kick the bucket in the meantime, that’d mean that much more money to go around…

Yep, it’s all fun & games until these guys start getting whacked off, one by one—and not in the way you might hope! 😈

Laid Bare seems like it was designed in a lab to give the gays everything they want: A genuinely thrilling whodunit mystery with a wicked-sharp sense of humor, a deep bench of intriguing suspects/victims, and plenty of eye candy. As series creator Tim O’Leary previously joked in a social media post, it’s giving “Clue meets The CW meets Falcon Studios.” Um, sold!

On that latter note, the series—like the resort it’s set at—is pretty laissez-faire about clothing. Which is to say, the amount of body parts on display would even make fans of Heated Rivalry blush. And in that sense, it’s a rather groundbreaking approach to storytelling by and for queer and trans men who like men.