For years, OnlyFans has shown up in mainstream television mostly as a punchline or a plot device. A season-two twist, a shorthand for a character hitting rock bottom, but rarely the actual subject of the story. That’s about to change. “Fly Me to the Moon” screenwriter Rose Gilroy and “The L Word” co-creator Ilene Chaiken are developing “Subs,” a dark comedy thriller set entirely inside the OnlyFans world, and it’s casting actual creators rather than actors playing dress-up as them.
The series, produced through Run-A-Muck, the company Chaiken co-founded, follows two best friends who get blacklisted by Hollywood after a public scandal and rebuild their careers by building an OnlyFans empire instead, only to eventually face a choice between protecting that multimillion-dollar business, under constant threat from manosphere harassment, AI rivals, and parasocial stalkers, or protecting their friendship. It’s a premise that isn’t really a satire of the creator economy. It’s more like a direct response to it, drawing on exactly the pressures real creators have been describing publicly for years: deepfake impersonators, hostile online communities, and fans who can’t tell the difference between parasocial attachment and an actual relationship.
But the casting? That is the real story here. Ari Kytsya, who has nearly ten million followers across social platforms, and Sophie Mudd, who had a recurring role on HBO’s “The Idol,” are both starring, while Kytsya is also attached as an executive producer, giving her direct creative control over how her own world gets portrayed rather than just lending her image to someone else’s version of it. And Kysya should know. She has been active on OnlyFans for years, and very open to talking about it.
Gilroy will serve as creator and writer, with Chaiken running the show as showrunner and executive producer. That’s quite a pedigree between the two, with a “Fly Me to the Moon” writer and the co-creator of one of the most influential queer dramas in television history, and it’s a surprise to many that they are choosing to build their next project around a subject most of the industry still treats as untouchable.
But it isn’t the first show to try this. “Margo’s Got Money Trouble,” the novel-turned-TV adaptation about a single mother turning to OnlyFans to support her kid, has already proven that mainstream audiences will engage with the subject matter seriously rather than just as shock value. It’s reportedly the exact show that inspired UCLA researchers to put marmots on OnlyFans to save their own funding, which says something about how far that cultural reference point has already traveled.
That casting choice fits into something bigger happening across the industry right now: adult creators increasingly crossing over into mainstream acting and production rather than staying confined to the platforms that made them famous. Isla Moon spent $4.5 million producing her own reality show after mainstream casting directors kept rejecting her once they learned her profession. Erica Wheeler and Maud Le Car have both signed formal OnlyFans athlete partnerships specifically to reshape public perception of the platform. Mudd’s “Idol” role and Kytsya’s producer credit on “Subs” both point toward the same shift. Creators aren’t just waiting for Hollywood’s permission anymore, and when they do get cast, they’re increasingly negotiating actual creative stakes rather than just showing up as a novelty.
Run-A-Muck is also publishing an original short story, “Backstage Bella,” on its editorial platform Drafting, expanding the “Subs” universe before the show itself even premieres. It’s a smart bit of world-building that lets the story’s tone and stakes reach an audience early. The company’s broader slate, including a Torrey Peters adaptation and a rom-com built around WNBA players, suggests Run-A-Muck is deliberately building a portfolio around subjects and talent the rest of the industry has historically treated as too risky to center. “Subs” fits that pattern precisely: a show about creators, told with creators, betting that authenticity is worth more than the safety of keeping them at arm’s length.