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YOUNG ROYALS FOREVER - UNCUT

We just couldn't leave it there!

Once again we are diving into the unscripted side of content and seeing if BTS on Young Royals can give us even greater insight into what representation meant for the cast and crew

WILMON FOREVER!

YOUNG ROYALS FOREVER - UNCUT

Comments

Identifying with Simon who is attracted to boys and who labels himself as gay does not necessarily show that Omar is gay. Just that he is attracted to boys.

Dionne Lakey

I was amazed that Omar spent time writing songs and rehearsing for Sa Mycket Battre while filming Royals. He flew to Gotland to film it (reality TV show centered on re-interpretations of hit songs from other songwriters) on a long weekend, then came back to the Royals set to finish the last three days of filming. His work on that show was amazing... I love the songs from it, plus you get a sense of how charming and funny he is.

Sharon Williamson

Edvin shared his season 1 playlist because he didn't know how to make his Spotify private.

Sharon Williamson

Rewatching this and Josh, Edvin is filming over in Northumberland at the moment for Danny Boyle's 28 Years Later movie - with Jodie Comer, Cillian Murphy and Ralph Finnes.

Dionne Lakey

I was so lucky to get the chance to watch the final episode and the documentary at the fan event. The atmosphere was amazing, and both the audience and the cast/crew were breath taken by all the emotions. One could def tell this show has affected all of us so deeply. Side note about getting behind the scene - could you imagine how strange it felt when I realized they were filming in my hometown? For the first 2 season they were almost at least a few kilometers away from where I used to live. But, like at Sara's drive up, you can see my old school in the background, just a 100 meters from my parents house.

Mikaela Thunell

You find Edvins playlists here, one for each season. https://open.spotify.com/playlist/5lrsuGhQTDHsltJs6X6O8D?si=abe6703077254c78 https://open.spotify.com/playlist/33agrRcJDKTAZtys8d5t27?si=24562716b6cf4250 https://open.spotify.com/playlist/0ipOZOtr6hV9xR5Ufakuol?si=7ec407b26f914793

Mikaela Thunell

I am a very big fan of Alex and Josh just saying love them

Lola

Did you watch Tobie Donovon's Heartstopper season 1 vlogs where he shows the behind the scenes? If not, you should react to them, they're on YouTube.

GroovyGadget

Thinking of what you said in the end Josh, about you wanting to meet Omar and Edvin. You should interview them on your podcast. They have done many podcast, one of them is with Tommy Didario who has interviewed Edvin and Omar on his podcast both together and seperatly. It’s wonderful to hear them talk about the show 💜💙, please do 🙏🏻.

Marstrand

This was filmed between March and May 2023

Dionne Lakey

Hi again! I replied above to someone else about my search progress for the podcast where Edvin says he's straight. I hope it helps.

Mandi Mateer

Hi, again! I've been looking for the podcast where I heard Edvin say he's straight in and can't find it, but perhaps you can! Here's what I remember: it's possible it's land-locked to Sweden, because that's generally where I keep my VPN set. It's on YouTube and in Swedish with English subtitles available to turn on. There's no visuals, just audio. I think there's temporarily a picture of Edvin on the screen when the podcast starts, but it goes to just a black screen. I think at one point it transitions to a picture of a cabin for a moment, but that may have been another podcast, so don't rely on that as an indicator of you finding the correct podcast. Edvin is interviewed by someone with a deep voice. I don't remember their name or pronouns, but cishet people would definitely jump to labeling the interviewer a "man". In the podcast, they discuss mental health quite a bit. I know the interviewer asks Edvin asks about his other projects, but continues on to what Edvin's been doing to decompress. Edvin says he's seeing a therapist, because all of this has been quite stressful, as much as he's grateful for everything "Young Royals" has done for him. Edvin talks about how he was accused of queerbaiting because he's a straight guy playing a queer role, and how it really hurt him. He didn't set out wanting to like steal a gay role for the praise of playing a queer person like some people were claiming. He just loved Wille as a person and wanted to play him. He saw Wilhelm's sexuality as a small part of the character, so he didn't think it would mean anything to people if he played him, and he guessed he was wrong for some people. Edvin talked about his therapist, family, and time away helping him work through that, and how he realized it was a very small but loud group that had a problem and he was the one holding on to it. People mostly don't care anymore, because they know he's an ally. One of his queer friends finally explained to him that those people were possibly worried that Edvin would play a role that meant so much to them, and if it turned out Edvin was a homophobe, it would really hurt everyone. Edvin helped everyone know he's not like that, so everything with the queerbaiting had calmed down, but it isn't fun. That's all I remember. Maybe you can find the interview yourself and watch it. Side note: I distinctly remember Edvin vacillating between the label he would give Wille in the interview. Everything from "not straight", to "queer", to "gay". I'd search for the podcast more, but I have 3 outpatient surgeries/intense medical tests coming up during the next 2 weeks, thus I'm SUPER busy. I hope that helped.

Mandi Mateer

So Madison (Nathalie Varli) is Swedish. Obviously she speaks immaculately in English. It is very common in Sweden to speak English. Edvin Ryding also speaks English with almost no European accent. The actors in this show are impeccable (the acting, the understanding of what they were creating). Omar is such a talent and so glad he played Simon no one else could’ve done it like him. If you have a chance he is performing in music festivals all over Europe. Go see him. Thanks Josh and Alex you had me crying again. 💜💜

Jennifer Cooper

Josh, to settle the question that seems to have been eating at you: Madison, the girl who always speaks english -- she's probably from a (wealthy) US family who have (and maintain) swedish roots and business ties. Families like that often send their children to boarding schools in their ancestral country for a few years so that they can pick up the language and customs and form connections with people there. (The fact that she never seems to speak swedish kind of defeats the purpose, but that's a different matter. She's probably insecure about her swedish, but she'll never get any better unless she practices. But she gets away with it because virtually everyone in skandinavia speaks english.)

Aeneas

Please can u watch dead boy detective on Netflix it has a couple of queer love stories, is funny and scary about two English dead boys who sold crimes

Grace

Part of why the intimacy is so beautifully represented is because it has a female director and female writer. There is always a very different take on the representation of sex and love when you have women in charge.

Suze

yeah ok I admit that was silly but I still the series lol

Emma Williams

See my above reply to the other person. I will look for the video. I promise I'm using the label I heard him use for himself.

Mandi Mateer

I'm going off of what he said on a Swedish podcast. He said that he's been accused of queerbaiting after playing Wille since he's a straight actor playing a queer role. His words. I wasn't trying to label him. I used the label he used for himself. I'll try to search around to find that video link if I can find the time after work and my doctor's appointment.

Mandi Mateer

It’s amazing how they’re able to channel the deep emotions whilst having the amount of people filming and cameras pointed at them in such close proximity. Amazing skill set! I wouldn’t be able to do that.

Reem

He’s commented before how he likes that his character isn’t explicitly labeled. So he could be queer, he could be straight. Let’s not label him and let him be whoever he wants to be. xx

Reem

Thanks for reacting to this!

Reem

I wonder when this was filmed. They say it’s stuffy whilst for the past couple of months and even today over here in Aberdeen the weather has been like, “Oh it’s Spring, enjoy the sun… no it’s not, wear socks in bed it’s cold…. Oh it’s nice again… no it’s not, freeze and have lots of rain…”

Reem

Edvin has never comed out as straight in any interviews. He doesn’t talk about his sexuality. He has had a longer relationship with a girl a couple of years ago and are currently dating Felicia Maxime, but we shouldn’t label him since he hasn’t done that openly💙.

Marstrand

May be bisexual

Gina Lipkin

I loved that one too. I thought, "Do you realize you just admitted you want to raise dog children with Omar because that was the question that was asked?" There's another great one (I wish I could remember the specific video, though I do remember it was just after season 1 was released because Edvin had his longer hair still and they were discussing season 1 intimacy scenes), where Edvin said something like, "You can really feel how much I want to kiss Omar. I mean, how much Wille wants to kiss Simon. Freudian slip?" And he said it in Swedish, so it can't be blamed on him translating to a secondary language. I'm sure the English subtitles on the video were accurate.

Mandi Mateer

The one when Edvin is talking about getting three tiny dogs with Omar is the best Freudian slip ever 🤭

Riikka

I love seeing how Malte is iRL…so completely different than August. To be such a quiet laid back guy to playing uptight August. Shows what a great actor he is. I’ve started following his band and they are really good.

Michelle Barry

Edvin being straight, honestly shocked the hell out of me. His interviews, going all the way back to the premiere, were so flirty with Omar. I'm generally oblivious about that stuff, and even I was really surprised at the boldness of Edvin's comments and what he'd admit to. I'm gay as hell, and even I would've been like, "I can't say that in an interview. EVERYONE will talk about how obvious it is that I have a crush on this person." Edvin is/was always talking about how they had the sexiest scenes in the show, how he initiated a couple improvised moments that would require he and Omar to kiss, and like constantly talking about Simon in context of the show, but when it came to moments of intimacy or Wilmon's future, his responses suddenly become about him and Omar. He's started calling them "Freudian slips". It makes me wonder if he knows what that actually means. I won't be surprised if Edvin comes out as not being straight sometime later. It's entirely possible he's just really flirty and comfortable in his sexuality (which would be fucking awesome too). We need more cishet masc people like that.

Mandi Mateer

Love the lovely people who give us all so much joy and heartfelt feelings, 🥰 feel very proud of yourselves YR and in sharing BTS for us, 💖 Big Love, Big Hugs

Gina Lipkin

"You can go there?!?" I've been twice. It's just outside Stockholm. And yes, Jackie-Ross Lavender *wanted* to do it when he visited Stockholm in February or something, but didn't have time for it, so he's ahead of you guys there! 😛

Henrik Schröder

Thanks for reacting to this documentary! What a treat for us😄 I recommend watching the finale again, it hits you differently seeing the BTS footage. Also if you want to see cute and fun videos of Omar and Edvin and the rest of cast check out Netflix Nordic and Still Watching Netflix YouTube channels. While they were in New York for Jimmy Fallon they also did interviews for Q+ magazine, The Queer Review and Queerty. They are on YouTube as well. You guys are so much fun!!

Jera Hanson

Yes these are great interviews! There’s also a podcast called “I’ve Never Said This Before” hosted by Tommy DiDario. He has recently interviewed Omar, Edvin and Lisa.

Jera Hanson

Aww this was so nice. You guys are great and I'm so thankful for your reactions to all of Young Royals and this doc. "I'm feeling quite moved by all this...I don't know why..." I had to giggle. It's because everyone behind the making of this show is SO LOVELY! And there was so much care that went into it in every aspect. Getting to see a bit of that here is heart-warming. 💜 You both swooning at the little moment when Omar jumps into Edvin's arms and they swing around, and then Alex with, "I love their relationship"... HAH I know the birth of an "Edmarie" when I see it! 😏😝 Oh I kid of course, but we all see the magic between these two and I'm so glad they've confirmed they aren't done working together. 👏 I loved this doc and am so grateful we have it to close out this beautiful series, but honestly it only shows a tiny snippet of how incredible the people behind this show are. The amount of content I've consumed since discovering YR is wild but it's because the show is special, and from what I've gathered many involved in creating it are too. I can't get enough of Omar and Edvin and look forward to following their careers which I'm sure will be jam packed. If you did want to react to any more bts stuff for YR in honor of it's ending, I'm sure many of us could point you in the direction of great videos!!

scarr

@Jane Riley: that‘s what I noticed too, that Omar became more open. For example, he was interviewed in a podcast called „This is a Gay Ass Podcast“, where the last question always is: what do you think made you queer. So he definitly identifies as queer. I think it is great that he obviously grew more confident or secure or whatever. 👍

Allinug

Yep, Omar hasn’t labelled his sexuality and has talked in interviews about having had relationships with men and women. Edvin, as far as I’m aware, hasn’t labelled his sexuality either and when they appeared together answering questions about season 1, they both said they were not in favour of labelling.

Ruth May

https://youtu.be/cdeqJ1XJceE?si=86mRB7mHy4giM8wy For anyone who hasn’t had enough of Wille and Simon, here’s a beautiful edit with Omar’s latest track, Red Light to enjoy as well. ❤️👑❤️

Ruth May

I can’t speak for straight women but as a queer woman, it feels validating to watch any type of queer media. We get so little lesbian/queer representation for us that we have to look elsewhere to see queer love (especially on a mainstream level).

anon922

Nope, he never said he is gay, he is unlabeled. And in his recent interview he confirmed that he likes both girls and boys. https://youtube.com/shorts/GQQqPgOcbFA?si=BtS1nzGRtlcTwm3Q

Angelina

Speculation about anyone's sexuality can be harmful and we shouldn't really be part of it.

Suze

You mention them being young Omar is 25 now and was 21 at the audition and Edvin is 21 now and was 17 at the audition. Samuel (Nils) has just turned 30. Omar is a pop star and has just signed with a US label. He was in a boy band from 14 until he was 18. He tried to represent Sweden at euro vision a couple of times but didn't get through the public vote.

Jayne Riley

Omar had said he is Queer. He has become more open about recently.

Jayne Riley

Thank you for this lovely reaction! I've met Omar when I went to his concert in Stockholm in February and he is absolutely lovely! You mentioned Edvin's playlists that he put together for Wilhelm for each season and here's the links : Season 1 : https://open.spotify.com/playlist/5lrsuGhQTDHsltJs6X6O8D?si=3BWb3NeXS-OUHyRCdY0opw&pi=e-hJo26OoTQM-K Season 2: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/33agrRcJDKTAZtys8d5t27?si=yRxDW7OpSZGRkzQHB-7zhw&pi=e-G3ODvJyTT761 Season 3: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/0ipOZOtr6hV9xR5Ufakuol?si=46pZC4ElSayABd2qSVqbrA&pi=e-r9N38M9GRNqq I especially love the jazzy season 1 playlist! Enjoy!

Janey P

All of this cast and crew were filming in late 2020 during the covid lockdown so they formed a bubble to create the show. So they formed an extraordinary bond as friends/family in season 1.

Dionne Lakey

He shared them I have S3 on Spotify

Amanda Balser

The last season when his mom fell out of tree or off a cliff (can’t remember )and barely a scratch…. lol…. Confirmed that it had officially gone off the rails.

Shari

He had said somewhere (don’t remember the video) that he wished he had a character like Simon on tv when he was younger and struggling. Simon is gay.

Shari

Omar is unlabeled though.

Matilda

he really was a cutie... I loved them all, I don't think there was an episode I didn't like

Emma Williams

Thanks, guys for all your reactions to Young Royals and to Young Royals Forever. 👏🏼🙏🥰 It’s been an emotional experience and I can’t imagine ever tiring of this show. The acting, the writing, the music and cinematography have all been superb. I’m rewatching the series now and finding it a really interesting process of seeing how the central characters and their relationships develop over each season. The parallels and echoes that Young Royals does so well are fascinating and satisfying to link up over the three seasons. Edvin and Omar have talked recently about a project they’ve been working on together, which apparently, we’ll see very soon. ❤️👑❤️

Ruth May

Her name is Felica. They confirmed they are dating in a vogue Scandinavia article recently.

Jayne Riley

Thank you 🫶🏻, this was sweet to watch with you ❤️.

Marstrand

Thank you for reviewing this! It was awesome to watch your reactions :) Have you ever seen the schitt's creek documentary? I found it to be really similar in tone or feeling. This was just such a really wonderful celebration and send off to the characters and show that we all loved. And I definitely cried just as much in this as the show!

Chelsea

Edvin was adorable as the little boy and we saw him grow… but season 4-6 were a little ridiculous…. Not that I wouldn’t watch S7

Shari

Supposedly….. Omar is gay, Edvin is straight, Malte is straight, Samual (Nils) is gay, the one who pays Alexander is trans… of course… anyone can be bi or whatever they want. And as we know.. in the grand scheme of things.. it doesn’t matter who they love

Shari

Reign with Josh Smith interviewed both Edvin and Omar last year when he interviewed Kit and Joe. I very much recommend his podcast episodes with both of them after season 2. This is Edvin's: https://open.spotify.com/episode/3QdxCQAVDPUegcYCE52ASH?si=4Azb1DG3Qcmslcr6pVCHQQ This is Omar's: https://open.spotify.com/episode/3RV8RENFDOUdYVdsVIB2M8?si=4Q7ZTo5fTmaFnfkftXiY3Q

Dionne Lakey

Edvin has been acting since he was 6 lol he was in a massive swedish show called Gåsmamman which I highly recommend to anyone, it's not a queer show but its amazing non the less I was on the edge of my seat through all 6 seasons and season 7 is coming out soon its the final one..... Omar has been singing since he was 15 hes also been in a horror movie called Karusell which was also amazing and I highly recommend ... and the guy who plays Ayub which was Simons friend he's also a singer.... seeing those final scenes being filmed broke me, they are so emotional... and Alex I'm with you I couldn't be an actor I would fall for the other person so easily if I had to do intimate scenes lol

Emma Williams

Since you asked, Alex, Edvin has never publicly labelled his sexuality. Omar has had relationships with both men and women, according to what he has candidly discussed in interviews. He and Edvin developed a close friendship during season 1 which has continued and there’s been endless speculation about whether their relationship has ever involved anything else, which has led to a lot of stuff online that put pressure on their relationships with other people in their private lives. I think it’s because they have incredible chemistry on screen and really like and respect each other, but they had that natural connection from their first meeting, as they’re saying here, despite having to go straight into a quite intimate scene, because Omar was 5 minutes late.

Ruth May

I love seeing the BTS scenes and sort of meeting the actors as themselves. You’re right Josh, Jackie is itching to get back to Sweden! You were speaking about Autistic actors. Brad Riches who plays James in Heartstopper is also Autistic. Thanks Alex and Josh this was wonderful as always!

Diane Furlong

I think the greatest thing about this documentary is that while we've already fallen in love with the characters, now we get to fall in love with the actors as well. Just lovely to watch their journey throughout the entire production of the series.

Chris Metzger

OMG, will be watching this later and getting emotional all over again…❤️👑❤️

Ruth May

I love these BTS videos they release! It really gives a look at the actors/directors and what they wanted to portray through the series. Edvin is dating the blonde girl, who's friends with Felice (I forget her name) but they've been pictured together also at fashion events etc. Lovely series 💜

Nikki Hearn

You were wondering if Edvin has shared his playlists for his character Wilhelm. You can find all his playlists on Spotify. Just search with “Edvin”.

Riikka

Still unbelievable that this was Omars first acting job. Edvin has been acting since he was 5 years old. They both are AMAZING. As is the rest of the Actors. Young royals forever x

Heidi Janssens

there's a youtube channel called "the permanent rain press" who has interviewed loads of members of the cast every season.. and they have a new video coming out soon with lisa ambjorn, the writer and co-creator and showrunner for season 3. i just thought of it after watching your reaction to this - which was superb of course. in the preview they've put out on instagram - lisa is saying in the interview that one of the biggest issues she's faced and the cast and crew have faced over the life of the series is the fan base obsession with relationships between cast and crew, their sexuality, speculation about partners etc. omar has had to absolutely slam people in the past because they've been vile and disgusting towards one of his previous partners. edvin got berated so much he's left social media numerous times over the length of the series. so she said that so many have found this so difficult they've limited or quit social media. we know that most of the negative comments which simon received in season 3 lisa had included in the script from actual social media posts she'd seen targeting the actual actors and their relationships / sexuality. i think it's important that we all learn to respect their privacy outside of the show - like for instance edvin's sexuality or partners, if omar and edvin had a relationship.. its really none of our business whatsoever. it's all great to love them as actors and be fans of them without having to delve into their personal lives. if they wish to make aspects of themselves public.. then that should be their choice. we should have learnt from what happened with kit conner (nick) from heartstopper.

LM-Entertainment Australia

i love that you put it on tonight, thank you But I don't know how you made it through three seasons of this great show as fans and didn't learn much about the young actors. You don't have an ounce of stalker personality in you :P I just wanted to say that Malte Gardinger is a wonderful person irl. And Edvin Ryding has 10 times more features of a king than Willhelm on screen, he is no older than the characters in the series (he was 17 when filming began) and before that he was a very well-known child actor in Sweden.

karolina tersa

I’m here for Alex 💖 Sorry Josh with or without the vest 😉 So happy to watch this with you, thank you! YR forever 💜

Riikka

They do have a team of writers- Lisa is just the head writer

Dionne Lakey

Watching this with you guys I'm just realising how little you know about the cast and crew - you're in for a treat in discovering the amazing people who made this show, if you have the time.

Dionne Lakey

So Lisa Ambjörn the writer has never represented herself as queer but is in a lot of queer spaces. The girl who speaks English all the time is Swedish but was playing an American/Swedish International student.

Dionne Lakey

Can’t wait to watch this with you!! Gotta get through a workday first tho.

Jera Hanson

There have been some really good interviews with the cast and two creators of this show over the three years that give deep talks saying different things that are being said in this documentary. So if you want anymore I can recommend them.

Dionne Lakey

I'm here for Josh in as little as possible!

Regan Smith Burton

I clicked so fast 🤩🤩🤩

Frances

im here for josh in a vest.

LM-Entertainment Australia

I watched this shortly after finishing the last episode. Couldn’t believe how big Malte (August) hair was, such a contrast to the character we loved to hate! Thanks again Alex and Josh!

Chris Mackenzie

Can’t wait to see your thoughts on this. I hope you took my advice and let the credits roll a moment so you could see the last little bit of goodness. I will be watching this today after I finish administering an exam. Yes Alex I get to be one of those people you mentioned in HS S2 😂

Amanda Balser

Ooh Hooray!

Diane Furlong

OH MY GOD IM SPRINTING

Liza


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