‘Plainclothes’: Tom Blyth to Lead Queer Drama Opposite Russell Tovey!!

The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes breakout star Tom Blyth and Being Human’s Russell Tovey have set their latest roles opposite one another in Carmen Emmi’s Plainclothes. A story of forbidden love during one of the darkest times in LGBTQ+ history, the production will take audiences back to the ’90s in a story based on true events of an undercover police officer handed the mission of entrapping members of the queer community and bringing them into prison. But, the cop’s world and everything he thinks he understands about himself is flipped upside down when he begins to fall for one of the men whom he’s to be tracking.

Both penned and directed by Emmi, Plainclothes will go into production in Syracuse, New York, setting the stage for the drama that’s set to unfold. Although he’s been behind a number of short films, including The Abandoned and The Grift, the Blyth and Tovey-led project will be Emmi’s first foray into feature-length filmmaking, something that the title’s producers, Colby Cote and Eric Podwall are excited for audiences to see pan out. In a statement paired with the film’s announcement, the producers said:

“Carmen Emmi is one of those unique talents who truly deserves a platform for his creative ingenuity. Plainclothes is a heartfelt story that deals with internal conflict, family and the complexities of sexual identity in the face of societal and personal expectations . We are excited to bring his first screenplay life with this incredible cast.”

Tom Blyth and Russell Tovey’s Exciting Years

Both of the leading men behind Emmi’s queer-centered romantic drama have experienced some career-defining roles over the last year. For Blyth, he launched to stardom as a young Coriolanus Snow in The Hunger Games prequel film, The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes where he appeared opposite Rachel Zegler in the Francis Lawrence-directed film. He also rounded out his sophomore year as the titular gun slinging outlaw in MGM+’s Billy the Kid with audiences waiting to learn if the series will move into a third season.

Meanwhile, 2024 is off to a killer start for Tovey as the Years and Years alum recently re-teamed with Ryan Murphy on the latest installment of the creative’s anthology series, Feud. Working alongside the likes of Chloë Sevigny, Naomi Watts, and Diane Lane, Tovey can be spotted in the FX series which is dropping new episodes weekly. The project marks a reunion for Tovey and Murphy as the pair previously worked together on American Horror Story: NYC.