When a nervous and adrift 40+ gay man loses his boyfriend and his job in quick succession, he dives into the macho world of boxing to gain the confidence he needs to turn his life around and bring his dream of opening a bakery to life.

SYNOPSIS:

Alan Marshall is a nervous and effeminate high school science teacher in his early 40s. He’s been afraid of taking risks his whole life – in his career and in love. He lives in his boyfriend, Barry’s, apartment. His best friend Marla, a spunky and funky, broach- wearing, crystal-loving art mama, has been trying to get him to reconnect to his passion for baking for years. And to live a little by pushing beyond his comfort zone. His other best friend, Dirk, has been trying to get him to get in shape to halt the growing middle-age sag that is slowly taking over Alan’s belly.

But Alan is content to coast.

Things come crashing down when he discovers Barry cheating on him with Dirk on the same day he gets fired for (accidentally) poisoning his students in a demonstration of the chemistry of baking. With no job, no boyfriend, and nowhere to live, he shacks up with Marla. Marla lets Alan nurse his wounds for a few weeks before laying down the law and forcing Alan to get his act together. She convinces him to start dreaming of what a baking business might look like, but he doesn’t know anything about business. He even gets up the courage to go on a date with Frank, a grass-fed hunk of a man Marla met at one of the events at Arty Party. The date goes so well it leads to date number two. Alan takes a leap and buys a bit of kinky underwear only to accidentally make poor Frank puke by feeding him a cake he is allergic to. Feeling low and embarrassed, Alan loses his confidence again.

When Marla isn’t busy running Arty Party, her painting party business, or reading Tarot, she is an avid boxer. It’s given her the confidence to embrace her body and encouraged her to grow her business. Marla convinces Alan to join her at Northside Boxing where he discovers boxing is more than just a testosterone fueled rage fest. Alan meets a diverse mix of (mostly) straight and (mostly) younger people who he’d never encounter in his day-to-day life. One of them, Johnny (aka Ice Man), is not only also over 40 but he runs a successful local business selling ice. Alan and Johnny hit it off and eventually Alan works up the courage to ask Johnny for business advice. Johnny makes Alan a deal: train for a real fight as part of an upcoming fundraiser and he’ll give him free business advice.

Alan decides to take the deal. In his first sparring session, he ends up with a black eye. The good news is, he gave the other guy one too. With four months to train for the fight Alan gets deeper into the world of amateur boxing. At the same time, he focuses on building a business that merges his love of science with his talent for sweets. Throughout season one, he’ll navigate the bros at the gym, youth- and beauty-obsessed gay dating culture, and the foibles of being an entrepreneur. In the end, he’ll have to overcome his self-doubt, the expectations of what it means to be a gay man over forty, and a very tough boxer named Nate if he’s to find the spark he lost a long time ago.

Meanwhile, Marla is focused on expanding Arty Party into a franchise. She’ll need a loan and a lot of luck if she’s going to succeed. She’ll also need to stay focused and not get distracted by her search for a man who has the right balance of charm and strength she desires. Unfortunately, Marla is a sucker for emotionally unavailable men, and she gives her trust away too quickly. She’ll need to figure out when to trust the Tarot and when to listen to her gut if she’s going to become the powerful, and happy, business leader she aspires to be.

Alan and Marla help each other as they search for happiness, strength, and acceptance in a world that assumes people in their 40s have stopped growing. They’ll make a mess, laugh a lot, and learn a thing or two along the way. Throughout it all, they’ll have each other.