When I read that Luca Guadigno had a HBO series, I knew right away I would want to see it. Then came the description: teenagers in a US Army base in Italy, and I was more piqued. Could it be? Then I saw it stars a young curly haired twink, and I asked myself, is he messing with me? This show screams call my whatever, and people will just sit idly? My heart was pounding when I saw the trailer and I couldn’t wait till the premiere. (The title is even referencing a song from my fave ‘La Cage Aux Folles’)

And it did not disappoint. It is wonderful, heady, moody – just everything I am looking for in the series. In the first episode, the action revolves around Frasier (Jack Dylan Grazer) who looks like post-teen Bieber, without all the messy tattoos, but with the brooding complicated edge of an Elio – edgier even. Frasier is curious, questioning, fashion-forward. It is not clear yet what his sexual orientation is, but just like most young kids nowadays, no one really cares. He has an odd relationship with his mothers, and you know as this story progresses, he will get involved with something you will love – you can smell it in the air. It captures base life accurately – I should know because my father worked in one in my youth – capturing a place that looks acts and feel American even when it is in a soil that is not.

This is the perfect summer series, even as I feel the mornings getting a tad chillier right now. I want to live in its world.