Watch: Insomnia, stories of a queer sex worker now streaming on Revry

Michael James 8 April 2022

Insomnia is a captivating new series about a queer sex worker, which recently debuted on the LGBTQIA+ streaming service, Revry.

By day Nikhil is an aspiring writer working a dead-end job.

At night, unable to sleep, Nikhil lives a life far from what you’d expect.

Insomnia

Meet Nikhil, played by Vishaal Reddy, he can’t sleep, he’s kind of depressed and his world is all sorts of interesting.

Vishaal is also the creator of the show, which he calls “a series chronicling a queer, Indian-American escort dealing with generational trauma, race, and sex work in NYC.”

Set as a series of super-short episodes Insomnia follows Nikhils world as he navigates his secret life, his family and of course his array of interesting clients and the issues they present.

The episodes are short, but they work incredibly effectively.

Keeping them short allows for a gentle intimacy of the storytelling as each segment brings you into different parts of his world.

Whether it be meeting his client David who is trying to fill the void of his now-deceased husband or the super spoilt couple Lila & Frank who push boundaries in all the wrong ways.

Everyone has a story and Nikhil is here to tell it.

Insomnia explores not just the world of sex work, but also how this intersects with race, class and intimacy in a way that is raw and engaging to watch.

Vishaal plays the character of Nikhil with both passion and gentle humility, drawing you into his world immediately.

The short nature of the episodes plays well into keeping things short and sharp.

There are no overdrawn narratives of an unnecessary overrun of content, you are drawn in and left reaching for more.