Justin Baldoni is about to turn the tables on "locker room talk." The actor, who plays Rafael Solano on CW's Jane The Virgin, is officially set to go into production on The Men's Room, a panel talk-show like The View, but for men. According to Variety, Baldoni will serve as a moderator on a panel of five men to chat about masculinity, spanning topics like marriage, fatherhood, sex and porn.
While men seem to dominate most of Hollywood, they're not often seen in the world of panel talk shows, and Baldoni feels this is a shame.
"I think that one of the main reasons the talk show space hasn’t previously seen an all-male show is simply because our culture has taught men that they need to be strong, confident, and stoic and that emotions are a sign of weakness," he told Variety. "Men in our society have been socialized to suppress their feelings. We want to challenge men to open up and be okay talking to each other, and more importantly, form deep and meaningful relationships. We will probably get our fair share of negative feedback, but we think that’s a good thing."
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In case your alarm bells are going off, don't worry — this isn't some kind of men's rights, raunchy locker room show. In fact, that's the exact stereotype Baldoni wants squashed.
"I’ve never had any qualms about my emotions or the expression of love for everyone in my life, but at the same time, have felt trapped by my need and desire to ‘man up’ or act a certain way to be accepted," he explained to the outlet. "My journey has been one of trying to understand the duality of my own masculinity and through that process I have seen how many men are really just like me."
He wants the show to inspire men to embrace another side of themselves, and to show women that not all male conversations are toxic or derogatory. It's just going to meaningful conversations between dudes, which is something I could get behind. No word on the network or release date, but the show, which is being developed through Wayfarer Entertainment, will go into production this August.
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