Watching figure skating is one of my very favorite things to do. There’s something about the mix of athleticism and artistry, and the fact that it consists of equal parts elegance and batshit craziness (they jump around on ICE with RAZOR BLADES strapped to their feet) that I find almost hypnotic. Any weekend from October to March that a big competition is held, I am glued to that hours-long coverage like it’s my job. I’m in the minority of people who like the Winter Olympics better, because gymnastics is great and all, but it’s no figure skating.
I don’t actually skate myself. My sister and I went this past Christmas Eve and I had a rough go of it. I didn’t actually fall, but I was so fearful of falling that I went around the rink in jerky, stiff circles. So I’ve been watching in awe as Queer Eye’s grooming expert Jonathan Van Ness — who also adores the sport — documents his journey of learning to figure skate as an adult. He’s been sharing his progress on Instagram and has used the tag #nevertoolate, hoping to inspire people to be unafraid of trying something new in a world that can sometimes make us feel like we’re too old for things long before that’s actually true.
Jonathan has gotten so good in fact, that he was recently cast in an upcoming Netflix show about the skating world called Spinning Out. I almost squealed when I read this story (I don’t know why I said “almost,” I definitely did, but #thatsnormal), both because Jonathan Van Ness is a warm ray of light in this garbage world and I want to see him in as much as possible, and because there’s going to be a figure skating show on Netflix and holy crap I’m going to watch the hell out of it.
Spinning Out will also star Kaya Scoledario, playing a singles skater who is about to throw in the towel on her career after a serious injury when she gets the chance to become a pairs skater by teaming up with bad-boy Justin (Evan Roderick). Reading that synopsis, I was instantly reminded of Mariana Zapata’s novel “From Lukov with Love,” a book the TN Boozy Book Club read a few months ago. Everyone loved it, so there’s a good chance a whole lot of people are going to go crazy for this show too. Jonathan Van Ness will play Bruce, a former skater turned choreographer. Filming now, the series will run ten episodes, and will also feature figure skater Johnny Weir, January Jones, and The Hunger Games star Willow Shields.
I am READY. There are what feels like a billion movies and TV shows about football, a sport that is the absolute worst. There’s a reason everyone loved I, Tonya, and it’s not just because Sebastian Stan had that hysterical mustache. Figure skating sucks you in.
Unfortunately, we’ll have to wait a while until Spinning Out premieres on Netflix, but in the meantime we can watch Jonathan Van Ness be his phenomenal self in Queer Eye. Season 3 will be here on Friday, and if the trailer is any indication it looks like this season going to be every bit as delightful as the last two.
