Julio Torres explores a fantastical & queer New York in Fantasmas trailer

Hot off writing, directing, and starring in his first feature film Problemista, comedian and actor Julio Torres is bringing us our new summer TV obsession!

Today marks the release of the first trailer for Torres' new show Fantasmas, a six-episode HBO series following a fictionalized version of himself as he searches New York for a lost earring shaped like a tiny gold oyster.

"I'm Julio, I'm an Aquarius, I got struck by lightning as a child and now, I see the world a little differently, and I'm allergic to the color yellow," Torres says as the trailer begins and he sits in a doctor's office where he's told he has 90 seconds remaining for his appointment.

"I've been having this recurring dream where I'm in a room," he says. "I can feel the inner lives of shapes and colors and sounds and numbers. And then I wake up."

Throughout his search, Torres is helped along by his "pseudo agent" played by artist Martine and a robot companion named Bibo (Joe Rumrill). He also encounters many strange characters in his journey through NYC.

Of course, this isn't the normal New York City we're used to, but the surreal and fantastic one that exists through Torres' eyes, filled with robots, mermaids, strange locations and even stranger characters.

"It was complete heaven," Torres told Entertainment Wekkly about creating the world for the show. "One of the best things I heard was someone on set referred to it as a group art project, which I take as the highest compliment. Everyone put so much of themselves into it. I like creating sandboxes for people to come and build something together and dream big. But also at the same time, there's a sort of joyful resilience that comes with being scrappy and making a lot with very little. Some of the budget conversations were like, 'Okay, this set will not have walls or a floor, so we have to convey a room without walls or a floor.' But they were all very exciting limitations."

Torres came up with the idea for the show back in 2020, based on something that really did happen to him.

"I bought a beautiful little oyster earring that I lost immediately in a club on New Year’s Eve, 2020," he said. "It was like, '3-2-1, Happy New Year, where’s my earring?' I spent most of the night looking for it! I was so upset that I went back home and was like, 'I'm going to sell a show about this. Because something good needs to come out of this.'"

Torres had already announced that the show would feature guest actors including Julia Fox, Ziwe, Steve Buscemi, Alexa Demie, and Kim Petras, but thanks to this new trailer, we also know that others like Emma Stone, Jaboukie Young-White, Aidy Bryant, Tomas Matos, Rachel Dratch, Paul Dano, Dylan O'Brien (in red lingerie!), and more!