5 scenes that'll take you for a joyride in Fantasmas

Standup comedian and sketch comedy writer Julio Torres (My Favorite Shapes & Los Espookys S1) is a premium destination if you’re looking for an all-inclusive break from reality. His latest series Fantasmas S1 follows his character, Julio, on an over-the-rainbow journey through a real and imaginary world in pursuit of getting the new “Proof of Existence” documentation. Despite needing to get it sorted out urgently as it impacts every aspect of his life, from renting an apartment, to getting medical aid, to getting work, Julio is endlessly distracted by side-quests. And why not? Whether we’re visiting a dance club for gay hamsters, listening in on a mermaid call centre, becoming obsessed with TV series like Melf and The True Women of New York, or watching Julio’s robot assistant Bibo strive to become an actor, it’s a brighter, sweeter, more whimsical place to be.

In doubt about taking a holiday in the world of Fantasmas? Here are five scenes that have replaced boring reality in our heads…

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1. Hamster nightclub (episode 3)

While taking on a maddeningly interlinked series of tasks needed to either prove his existence or check out of it by uploading his consciousness for a mere $5 per month, Julio must visit the former site of Fufu’s, the first and only queer hamster nightclub in New York City. As the flashback scenes shows real, adorable little hamsters scurrying around a set styled like a miniature nightclub, a human club employee (Alex Hong) explains to Julio that Fufu’s was “Studio 54 meets Berghain (the Berlin nightclub), but for gay hamsters…the only place just for them, where they could walk in, dance, misbehave, and forget about the tedious, endless loop of their exercise wheels.” We meet the sweet old club owner Pompolino, and get caught up in the drama as Pompolino’s greedy new lover, Coco, reveals his plans to commercialise Fufu’s. So we’re fully invested by the time Julio visits the former site of Fufu’s, which has become a hamster pharmacy under the DJ booth of a human nightclub. 

2. Melf (episode 1)

During Julio’s trips with rideshare operator Chester (Tomas Matos), Julio becomes engrossed with the TV series showing on Chester’s in-car screens: Melf. Starting out as a straight-up parody of the 1980s sitcom Alf, Melf takes a turn for high drama as sitcom dad Jeff (Paul Dano) falls in love with the family’s puppet alien visitor, Melf. And a bitter divorce starts when sitcom mom Nancy (Sunita Mani) walks in on them open-mouth snogging in the bathroom. Melf demands the family home in the divorce and the family is split until years later when little daughter Gracie, who now goes by the name Toast (River L Ramirez), visits Jeff to invite him to their wedding, but insists they don’t want Melf to come. But when Melf returns home early it seems she has been far more engaged in Toast’s life than Jeff has been. Pass the popcorn, Melf’s on!

This is one of a handful of show-within-a-show moments in Fantasmas, but in episode 6, The True Women of New York deserves its own page. A reality show producer uses brainwashed rich women (played by Emma Stone, Rozie Perez, Cole Escola, and Rachel Dratch) to act out his fantasies about his evil, rich mother. For True Women catchphrases, you can’t beat Rellany’s “Want to know what’s chilling? This is me already in therapy.”

3. Call centre showdown (episode 2)

Before a 90-second booking slot with his clinic doctor, Julio battles the administrative roadblocks thrown up by his health insurance’s malicious call centre agent, Becca (Alexa Demie) – who considers herself the company’s “sword” and protector. We get to see inside her office as she revels in a petty obsession with enforcing the rules. But when her naive new nepo-baby manager decides that the call centre staff all need to be more helpful, Becca has a meltdown. She spitefully bends the rules by booking a personal vacation using her work computer, only to immediately regret it and try to cancel the booking. But when Becca picks up the phone, she runs afoul of the airline’s custom care representative (played by Ziwe). The two battle it out in a moment that’s filmed like an erotic S&M scene, as Becca gets what’s coming to her. Guaranteed, you’re going to feel some kind of way after watching this. Glee might be the word. 

4. Alphabet talent show (episode 1)

Julio explains that he has seen the world differently ever since he was struck by lightning as a child. Aside from getting a doctor’s note excusing him from gym class for the rest of his life, he reveals that In his head, everything, including numbers, colours and letters, has a distinct personality. To elaborate on his personal brand of synesthesia, he describes a talent show for letters of the alphabet, and laments the tragedy Q, a true avant-garde artist of a letter (played by Steve Buscemi as a punk rock musician) who’s stuck among the normies like P and R instead of at the end of the alphabet where he really belongs, with the mavericks like X, Y and Z. It’s an utterly convincing argument that hints at tragedy to come for poor, rejected Q – a lone inspiration to those that’ll come after him. 

5. Vanesja (episodes 1-6)

Julio’s friend and agent, the sultry yet efficient Vanesja (Martine Gutierrez), is really a performance artist playing the role of an agent – which is a great way of looking at your job without being completely crushed by a sense of existential dread. During the season, she investigates why the young men she dates all keep empty sports drink bottles in their rooms, musing on it as a form of performance art until she concludes that it is, in fact, merely a vessel for the real issue – feeling of being overwhelmed by reality to the point of losing executive function. Vanesja comes up with many ingenious ways of bending reality, including pretending to be stood up on dates so restaurants treat her to meals. When she persuades Julio to film an advertisement for a credit card, the scene will have anyone who’s worked in advertising, film, or really any kind of media, hiding under the blankets and calling their therapist. 

Binge Fantasmas S1 now

Also watch

Need some enrichment in your human enclosure? Try five more unashamedly odd little shows for your break from reality!

1. Los Espookys S1: This fantasy series follows Mexican “horror entrepreneur” Renaldo (Bernardo Velasco), his longtime friend, chocolate empire heir Andrés (Julio Torres), and their gang of friends as they stage spooky encounters for their supernaturally obsessed clients, from faking exorcisms, to giving a seaside town a new monster, or abducting an ambassador using a cursed mirror. But the barrier between fantasy and reality is paper thin, and sometimes they break through it. 

2. My Favourite Shapes: Julio Torres’ standup comedy performance centres on him telling whimsical stories based on the shapes that pass in front of him on a conveyor belt, as he discusses their personalities, loves, and crimes. 

3. How to with John Wilson S1-3: This HBO series follows New York-based documentary filmmaker John WIlson as he tries to learn something seemingly simple. Each sweetly optimistic episode starts with a seed of an idea – captured in the episode title, like How To Improve Your Memory, How To Throw Out Your Batteries or How To Find a Public Restroom. From there, it branches off wildly through the process of learning anything, from researching the topic, to picking a teacher, to actually stepping through the process of learning the skill itself. The result will make you look at everything and everyone around you differently.

4. High Maintenance S1-4: This anthology comedy-drama series takes us along on a ride through New York City meeting clients from all walks of life who call up marijuana dealer “The Guy” (Ben Sinclair). It’s an excuse to be nosy about the neighbours, and for the performers to create fascinating portraits of people, from cross-dressing screenwriter Colin (Dan Stevens), to recovering addict Darnell (Chris Caldwell, aka Bob the Drag Queen), to heightened versions of real-life celebrities like Martha Stewart, Nick Kroll, Hannibal Buress and Lena Dunham.

5. Animals S1-3: See humans through the lens of urbanised animal lives in New York City in this animated series. A pigeon who desperately wants to be a dad carries his “egg” (a golf ball) around in a plastic shopping bag. A dog park turns into a prison yard for puppies, complete with a Shawshank Redemption-style prison break. And rats start an underground fashion movement that turns trash into iconic outfits. It’s just a day in the life of the big city.