Interview: Jack Tracy Reveals Why "Danny Will Die Alone"
(But will he live to see a third season of the Dekkoo sitcom?)
Prolific and polymathic, Jack Tracy seemingly does everything: He’s written, produced, directed, and starred in webseries; he’s created his own music, putting out several albums; he’s even written and directed a feature film.
Now he’s got a full-fledged TV show on Dekkoo, with the second season of his sitcom, Danny Will Die Alone, being upgraded to a half-hour format. As in Season One, the irascible Danny — a wisecracking horndog played by Tracy — takes to dating apps in the wake of a devastating breakup. (We never meet his ex.) Narrating his adventures by addressing the camera, Danny makes his way from one wild hookup to the next, finding himself embroiled in a succession of bad dates, all ostensibly while in search of lasting love. The thing is, Danny can’t help but sabotage himself at every turn, and it doesn’t help that the universe never seems to run out of mismatches to send his way.
Except, that is, for Matty. Introduced as Season Two commences, Matty (Jordan Bell) is a recurrent friend with benefits, someone who will reliably be up for a late-night consolation hookup after another failed date or imploded relationship with a side (as opposed to a top), an “open” couple looking to liven things up, a gay guy whose pillow talk is in the language of straight bros, or a fisting enthusiast. Matty even listens to Danny rage as he gets caught up in a flame war on a dating app. He's everyone’s idea of a best bud and good wingman, and Season Two teases us with the prospect that Matty might – just might – turn out to be something more. That’s great news, given the sweet chemistry between the two leads, not to mention their comfort in their own skins (and nothing else) during the show’s frequent depictions of hot sex.
Jack Tracy spilled the tea about Season Two, prospects for Season Three, and casting the adorable Jordan Bell.
(Photo provided)
Kilian Melloy: Can you talk a little about the how and the why for Danny Will Die Alone?
Jack Tracy: I found myself single right before the pandemic, and have been dating ever since, after taking some time off and letting the world come back. I found myself completely flustered with the way that dating, especially on the apps, is now, as opposed to how it was maybe about 10 years ago. There were so many dates that were just great comedic stories that I couldn't help but be inspired, and that led to Danny Will Die Alone.
Kilian Melloy: When you say the show is based on your own dating life, do you mean you took a kernel of an idea from an actual experience, or you more or less translated your life straight to the screen?
Jack Tracy: I didn't have to exaggerate that much. Some there was a kernel, and I expand from there. I've been dating for 20 years, off and on; I've got plenty of material. All of these are based on something.
Kilian Melloy: There are some changes for Season Two, including the addition of Jordan Bell as Danny’s fuck buddy, Matty.
Jack Tracy: Season One was filmed on my own as a web series, and then I showed it to Dekkoo and they elevated it into an original series. They [wanted] longer episodes, and they wanted a storyline to carry through the entire season. That meant there had to be other characters, so Matty was invented as a long-term hookup buddy that Danny meets with while he's still dating on the side. That way, it could provide him someone to bounce ideas off of and fight with and talk with — someone other than the audience.
In terms of Jordan Bell, he came in for the chemistry read, and we hit it off right away. Considering all the intimate scenes we do together, that was paramount. I think the best thing about Season Two is the interaction between Jordan and myself. There are some poignant and connected moments [in Season Two], where the series [previously] just played for comedy. This season has a little more to it.
Kilian Melloy: Did Matty grow and develop as a result of who Jordan Bell is? Or was the character set in stone from the beginning?
Jack Tracy: It was pretty well set in stone, though the character idea that I had changed a bit. Jordan has this innate sweetness about him, while the script has Matty being quite gruff, so we started to marry those two together, to give those hints of sweetness underlying his roughness, so that Jordan's personality started to imbue more into Matty.
Kilian Melloy: Was it a big change to let Dekkoo into your sandbox after you’d been doing so many projects on your own?
Jack Tracy: Actually, no, because Dekkoo has been extremely hands off. They love this series, and they trusted me. They told me what their needs were, and they let me go and do it.
Kilian Melloy: Season Two continues the “dating misadventure of the week” stories and gets into gets into things like dating sides versus tops or bottoms, couples being open, and having a constant fuck buddy to fall back on. But monogamy is still very important to Danny.
Jack Tracy: It brings an interesting flavor to Danny, because he is hypersexual. However, the relationship that he wants is monogamous. In my dating life, people have a hard time putting those two things together; they think, “Oh, if you're hypersexual, then obviously you're going to want to screw everybody you meet.” No, you can be hypersexual and want to funnel all of that into one person. I think that provides a little dichotomy to Danny, and sometimes he gets in his own way when his hypersexuality prevents him from getting the thing that he wants in a relationship.
Kilian Melloy: Kink plays a role this season — there’s a hilarious fisting episode.
Jack Tracy: Yes, that. I won't give away what happens in that episode, but the date that it's based off of, on our very first date, he asked me if I was into fisting because he's a fisting top and it was very important to him. I said, “I haven't thought about it, but if my person were really into it, maybe that's something we could talk about.” And then he said, “Okay, do you have any pictures of your toys? Because I need to make sure they're big enough to know if you can actually do this or not.”
[Pauses]
Jack Tracy: First date. First date! That's the real story, so just imagine what happens on the show.
Kilian Melloy: Season Two dives into polyamory — it becomes a major plot point — and you make compelling arguments in favor of it, even though you (and Danny) are more interested in monogamy. How did you tap into that vein of thought?
Jack Tracy: I listen to a lot of sex podcasts, so I hear people who study those kinds of relationships. I try to stay abreast of relationship models and changes and gender norms. And I have a background in that the particular episode that you're talking about was based off of a date that I had with someone who came out as poly during the date. So, that's how that happened.
Kilian Melloy: Does anyone ever get back to you and say, “Hey, I'm on your show!”?
Jack Tracy: No. If I'm writing an episode about someone, it's because it did not go well. And those people are not currently in my life. It's funny, because I'll go on a date and the show comes up, and they're like, “Oh, are you gonna write an episode about this?” I’m like, “I don't know, are you gonna do something crazy?”
Kilian Melloy: What can you tell me about Season Three?
Jack Tracy: Season Three is already written. There’s speed dating. We've got an orgy. We've got [a story about] dating someone who has a kid. We continue to do polyamory, because it carries over from the previous season. We have [dating between] older [and] younger [guys].
Kilian Melloy: Getting back to real life, you’re also on OnlyFans. I'm sure our readers will be fascinated to hear more about that.
Jack Tracy: Well, your readers will be disappointed, because it's not for pornography.
Kilian Melloy: Awww…!
[Laughter]
Jack Tracy: It's for my projects that aren't part of the streaming network or aren't sold. I spend so much money on them, I cannot stomach putting them on YouTube to just fall into the wasteland of YouTube content. If you want to see my music videos, if you want to see the other shows that I do, my concerts that I record and post there, you have to be a supporter. I just can't throw that stuff out there for free; I put too much into it. So, if you support indie artists and you like what I do and you want to see all my other content, feel free to hop on and support me.
This interview was conducted on November 12, 2024. It has been edited for clarity and length. Danny Will Die Alone is streaming now on Dekkoo.