By Kilian Melloy

Jack Tracy is a creative polymath: Musician, producer, writer, filmmaker, and, for the past couple of years, star of his own TV series, Danny Will Die Alone, which streams on gay cinema service Dekkoo .

The titular Danny is, perhaps, a funhouse reflection of Tracy himself: A corporate lawyer who does music on the side but also pursues a vigorous dating life. It just so happens, however, that his dating life keeps turning up people with whom he is simply not compatible. Sometimes the sex is hot, but the intellectual stimulation is not; sometimes the irreconcilable differences revolve around sexual practices, beverage choices, or commitment and exclusivity. In one arc from last season, Danny was trying to make things work with a polyamorous boyfriend already involved with a primary partner… an arrangement that didn’t play so well with Matty, Danny’s friend with benefits and a regular go-to guy when the latest date turned into a disaster. A season-long simmer boiled over in the finale when Matty gave Danny an earful and then stormed off.

Season 3 leaps right back into Danny’s madcap whirlwind of lousy matches and wild hookups, offering fourth-wall-breaking commentary throughout. Only, this time, he’s not the sole focus: Though he and Matty have broken up, we continue to follow Matty as he embarks on disastrous dates of his own. The fourth-wall-breaking device extends to Matty, but Tracy finds a clever new dimension in which to take the narrative device that serves the story in surprising ways. Hot guys and hotter hookups feature in every episode, and yet the season as a whole delves into unexpectedly vulnerable and heartfelt moments, too.

Jack Tracy took some time to catch up on a Zoom call and fill us in on brining the series to a close, how his own string of dating misadventures inform the comedy, and his slate of work to come.

Kilian Melloy: You’ve led up to the premiere of this final season with a string of true dating disaster stories on social media. Would some of those have been in Season Four if you’d gone another year?

Jack Tracy: Yes, there’s particularly one where I was out at a restaurant and that guy started singing to me at full volume. That would have been in the show.

Kilian Melloy: Danny’s not the only one breaking the fourth wall this time. What was behind that idea?

Jack Tracy: When we moved into season three, I thought, “I don’t want it to be stale, and I want to keep progressing the story forward and doing different things.” There’s a moment at the end of Season Two that made me think we could now introduce this extra piece of it to make things more interesting. I don’t like to repeat things. I like to elevate and I think fans will enjoy the change.

Kilian Melloy: In depicting sexuality in a straightforward and naturalistic manner, did you also feel any pressure yourself to add more shock factor, more friction, or more heat to the erotic hijinks?

Jack Tracy: I know Dekkoo’s audience, and I know their other content. When they bought the show, I made sure to familiarize myself with the platform. And the platform is very sex-positive, very naked, very forward in that respect. So that influenced [the show’s content] — when it was a web series, it was sort of every other episode had a sex scene. Then, when I moved to Dekkoo, it was like, “Okay, every episode needs to have some skin, every episode needs to have some sex.” But I like to think it all flows naturally with the story. I hope nothing feels tacked on or gratuitous. I mean, look, Danny’s going on all of these dates. And if a date for me goes two or three days, at some point we’re having sex, so it feels natural.

Kilian Melloy: You get into some uncomfortable territory for your characters, especially for Matty. Were there any lines you skirted and pulled back from?

Jack Tracy: The only thing in the entire season that made me sort of blink and think, “Should I do this gag? Is it worth it?” is a visual gag in Episode Three where we go to a puppet show. It’s a political gag. Part of me was like, “I don’t know if people are gonna find this funny, if they’re going to take it from how I mean it.” That was the only time that we stuck in a little politics, and that was the only thing I was afraid of.

Kilian Melloy: With only six episodes, there were specific kinds of sex you wanted to show you just didn’t have time for it?

Jack Tracy: Well, I mean, we’ve shown a lot. We’ve done fisting, we’ve done group sex, we’ve done role play. We’ve done BDSM; we did someone with an OnlyFans [type of] thing. We’ve done mismatch of top and bottom. We’ve done feminization. I don’t know, maybe we could have started working in trans story lines, but I feel a little nervous about that because I don’t have a personal experience with that, and I would want someone who does, or someone in the trans community, to at least consult. I think it’s important if you’re going to write that kind of story to have the right voices in the room.

Kilian Melloy: Now that Danny is behind you, are you going to miss him?

Jack Tracy: I think I will, though I will have to say… I filmed what became the first webisode five years ago, so Danny has been with me for a long time. While I had ideas for what a fourth season would be, I don’t feel unfulfilled. The series reaches a nice bookend this season. I always look forward, and the next project, which is a movie that I’m getting ready to do the crowdfund, is actually launching the day that Danny premieres. So, if you’d like to join that, follow me on Instagram: Jack Tracy Official. My brain is now fully in the movie.

Kilian Melloy: Tell me more about the new movie?

Jack Tracy: It’s called The Naughty List. It is a queer Christmas movie with the vulgar humor of Danny — [it’s] Elf meets The Santa Clause. I’m crowdfunding for it now, so I would love anybody’s help to bring this to life. It’ll be the biggest production I’ve ever done. You can follow me on the Instagram at The Naughty List Movie to find out more.

Kilian Melloy: You do have another movie already to your credit [2018’s Snowflake], so a feature film is not completely new for you. But would you want to channel some of those unused ideas into a Danny movie at some point?

Jack Tracy: Well, Dekkoo owns it, so they’d have to ask me for it. But, yes, I think where the story ends in Season Three, it opens it up to a new chapter in Danny’s life, and that could certainly be a movie. It’s just a matter of being asked.

Kilian Melloy: Do you have another TV series that you might be thinking about?

Jack Tracy: I have multiple things written. I’ve got two movies that could also be six-episode series. I’ve got the Christmas movie, which is the one I’m working on next, and then the album’s coming out in March. And I’ve got other songs that will be on a future album within a year or two. So, I always have different plates spinning, and I’ll work on them as I’m motivated. The first one that reaches the finish line is the one that comes out.

Kilian Melloy: How do you manage to find enough time to do all that and keep as day job as a lawyer?

Jack Tracy: I’m a very scheduled, organized person. There’s a 90-minute gym five days a week; I work from nine to five-ish; and then I put two hours every night into something creative. It’s whatever I feel like that evening. I should mention I’m doing watch-alongs that’ll be posted on my OnlyFans [ https://www.jacktracy.lgbt/itstime ], so you can watch Season Three with me and I’ll talk about filming it and give you behind-the-scenes stuff. That’s what I’m going to do tonight. I still get my eight hours of sleep, but every day is just a very scheduled and regimented.

Kilian Melloy: I hope you have time to find companionship. I hope that Jack Tracy isn’t gonna die alone.

Jack Tracy: Well, we’ll see.

This interview has been edited for length, flow, and clarity.

“Danny Will Die Alone,” Season Three, is streaming now on Dekkoo.

Watch the trailer: