2024 Rewind: Have You Met the 'Escort Boys?'

This piece is part of EDGE's 2024 Rewind series. We're reaching into our archives and sharing some of our favorite stories from the past year.

The new French series – Amazon Prime's major investments in that country – dropped internationally late last month and may have gone under the radar in the holiday onslaught, but with its beefcake titular characters, it is well worth a look.

As reported by Variety, "Escort Boys" is a half-hour comedy series that "portrays four young men who become escorts to make ends meet and save their family business in a picturesque town in Southern France. Their experiences rock their pre-conceived ideas about romantic love, female sexuality and masculinity, as well as the relationship between men and women."

Six episodes of the series are available to watch on Amazon Prime. Watch the 90-second trailer (in French) below:

The series is the French adaptation of the Israeli show "Johnny and the Knights of Galilee" ("Milk and Honey"). "Highlighting the country's changing gender power dynamics with an eye-candy cast and grown-up jokes," writes Variety, " 'Escort Boys' looks to build on an interesting momentum as France experiences its most divisive #MeToo moment ever around iconic actor Gerard Depardieu's downfall."

One of the show's producers Charlotte Toledano-Detaille explained to Variety that getting the show on the air hasn't been easy. "I was in charge of development at Lagardere Studios. In the middle of a flood of spy dramas and counter-terrorism thrillers, I saw the trailer for this show with four men naked riding horses and I thought, 'Oh, what is that!?' And then I watched the series, and what struck me is that beneath the surface it says a lot of meaningful things. But it wasn't an easy sale, the project was turned down by many producers!"

After securing producers, Toledano-Detaille developed the series, which was on track until the pandemic occurred and it was put on hold. "After the lockdown and all those restrictions tied to the pandemic, it felt like the right time to revisit the project," explained Toledano-Detaille.

Asked by Variety if men would watch the show, co-producer Myriam Gharbi-de Vasselot said, "I think it's a rare show that men and women enjoy watching together." Toledano-Detaille added: "At first, we assumed it was a series primarily for female audience, but one thing we noticed is that guys who watch it generally want to become part of the band of escort boys. It strikes a chord to see men talk about sexuality and their feelings."

She continued: "I'm curious to see how American audiences will react to it. But I think they will be delighted to see four sexy French men. Look how popular Lucas Bravo became from his role in 'Emily in Paris.' In 'Escort Boys,' we have four handsome guys and there's one for every taste."

Playing the clients of this service are actresses Amanda Lear, Carole Bouquet, Zahia Dehar, Caterina Murino, Pascale Arbillot, Kelly Rutherford, and Rossy de Palma.

Who They Are:

Guillaume Labbé

40-year old Guillaume Labbé plays Ben, an actor forced to return to his native South to take over his dead father's beekeeping business. He turns to escorting to make some quick money, then convinces a few friends to join him in a sex work business. "With the team sports that I did, I was used to finding myself naked in front of people," the actor, a former rugby player, told the French queer website Têtu.com.

Simon Ehrlacher

Actor and ju-jitsu teacher Simon Ehrlacher was said to have pushed himself physically in preparation for his role of Mathias on "Escort Boys." It has paid off as the 40-year-old is being called the "breakout star" from the series. "But I remembered that my character worked on a farm, so I shouldn't I be built like a bodybuilder?" he told Têtu.com. "Escort Boys" marks his return to acting after a 10-year break from acting when he taught ju-jitsu.

Corentin Fila

35-year-old Corentin Fila turned to acting at the age of 23 after receiving a degree in Economics. His career change occurred after he saw a performance of "The Suit," a Peter Brook play with South African actors. After studying acting, he was cast in the André Téchiné's film "Being 17" and was nominated for the César Award for Most Promising Actor for his role in the film. In "Escort Boys" he plays Zak, one of the men who joins Ben in his escorting venture.

Thibaut Evrard

Veteran actor and producer Thibaut Evrard plays Ludo, the fourth member of the "Escort Boys" quartet. His character is a struggling dad in a troubled marriage who is under economic duress. With the approval of his wife, he takes to escorting. "I have real tenderness for this character," Evrard said in an interview with Nice-Matin. The 36-year old was surprised by the show's frankness. "We question the idea of virility, of masculinity, we also address vulnerability and the relationship to nudity which is the same whether you are a woman or a man. We don't see many fictions where men talk about sex with each other, premature ejaculation or anything else. Once again, we are taken out of our comfort zone with such a series, even the viewer," he told Nice-Matin.