With some old favorites and a dramatic new face, the third season of here! TV’s The Lair has gotten off to a sizzling start

by Christopher Lisotta

Any gay bar on a tropical island inhabited by a coven of sexy hot vampires is bound to be all about the drama. This is completely true of the bar in the eponymous series The Lair, here! TV’s sultry, shirtless and slightly ridiculous half-hour soap opera that began its third season in September. At the heart of the series is Thom, the young journalist who showed up in season one trying to figure out why all these hunky young boys were turning up dead with puncture wounds on their necks. Of course, a romance and breakup with a vampire ensued, but in the third season, Thom is finally coming into his own, said David Moretti, the actor who plays The Lair’s central character. “Thom has a bit of an identity crisis,” Moretti explained. “He’s doing a lot of soul searching. There’s a cool storyline around him and the lead vampire. Thom isn’t settling for what’s told to him anymore. It’s cool to see the character growing.”

The openly gay Moretti noted that despite all the supernatural storylines and hyped-up romance, the element the show does play down is at the same time the most obvious — the characters’ sexuality. “That’s a huge sign of progression for gay television,” he said. “For once being gay is not the central point of the character. It’s really cool to be able to finally play someone who is not a stereotype.” Moretti is thankful there doesn’t have to be a tortured coming out back story or a thorny relationship storyline related to Thom’s unaccepting parents. “Most of the time we’re all about solving the vampire dramas,” Moretti admitted. “The characters identify themselves as gay but it’s definitely not the focal point.”

One of the new focal points for season three, however, is the introduction of Frau Von Hess, a mysterious woman who comes to the island with a score to settle. The Lair’s creator, writer and director Fred Olen Ray asked B-Movie demi-goddess Sybil Danning to take on the role. Most recently featured in Quentin Tarantino’s Grindhouse, Danning is a cult film favorite who immediately got The Lair and its spooky, sexy vibe. “Oh my God, these guys are all so beautiful,” Danning said. “Who doesn’t want to be surrounded by all these gorgeous men?” Still, Danning did take a leap. When Ray approached Danning, he didn’t have a role for her, but just an offer. Only after she accepted did Ray start writing a character for her.

“It was the first time I ever basically blindly committed,” Danning said. “Having worked with Fred before, I had full confidence. Whatever Fred was going to write, I knew I would fit right in. I couldn’t have asked for anything better.”

Danning particularly enjoyed working with Dylan Vox, who plays the bad boy vampire Colin. Vox noted the feeling was mutual, because Danning was always one of his faves. “I’m not a star junkie,” Vox said. “Celebrities don’t impress me at all. I couldn’t care less.”

But about five years ago, soon after he came to L.A., Vox was driving when he saw a crowd waiting in line. When he realized they were waiting to meet Danning, Vox rushed home and got his copy of the1980 comedy How to Beat the High Cost of Living (where Danning steals Jessica Lange’s husband) to have her sign it. After Vox told her he was in L.A. to act, Danning autographed the box with a message: “To Dylan, hope to work with you some day.”

Flash forward five years and Vox innocently comes onto The Lair set and sees Danning on the wardrobe list. He immediately wanted to know why everyone wasn’t screaming. “I was pumped,” he said, noting Danning told him when they met again on set she enjoyed his work too. “She was nothing but gracious, a total professional, just a cool lady, the bomb to work with.”

Vox and Danning’s professional relationship has continued; when Vox was cast in the epidemic thriller movie H1N1: Virus X, he suggested Danning for a part that she eventually took. In return, Danning had a role written for Vox in her project The Last Revenants. “It’s nice, because our genuine admiration for each other’s work has stayed genuine,” Danning said.

Besides his admiration for Danning, Vox also has an admiration for the horror genre as a whole, and where The Lair fits in that genre. “I loved it since day one,” he said of the show. “I love campy, silly stuff. That’s what I’ve grown up with and always enjoyed watching. We have a lot of people out there who say, ‘Oh, that show’s horrible,’ and I’m like, ‘Dude, you’re not watching it the way you’re supposed to.’”

Like Moretti, Vox feels what is groundbreaking about The Lair is the fact that it doesn’t focus too much on the sexuality of the characters or gay actors like himself.

“It’s not making a political statement,” Vox said. “And I enjoy that, and I think that’s hopefully where gay entertainment will head—not being so serious or being focused only on the gay issue. I appreciate that about the show, and I hope fans understand that.”

Season three of the The Lair is currently available on demand via cable and satellite. In addition, Gay.com premium members can view episodes online.