Body Language: Talking with 'Inspiration Porn'-Star Ryan O'Connell
The Emmy winner, whose 'Special' plowed under stereotypes about disabled people, writes candidly about, well, getting plowed (and more)
May 20, 2026
Ryan O’Connell made TV history when he created, was the show runner on, wrote and starred in the 2019-2021 series Special, a groundbreaking project that put a gay man with cerebral palsy front and center.
A semi-autobiographical coming-of-age drama and wry comedy, Special earned him his first Emmy nomination. Just five years after it ended, it’s hard to picture it being greenlit today.
That show was based on his 2015 memoir I’m Special: And Other Lies We Tell Ourselves, and he’s back with another compelling memoir, this one exploring his navigation of becoming a cheerful slut in a world that has forever expected him to be asexual and has commented — unfavorably, unbidden — on the only body he has.
As it turns out, it’s a body very much in demand, and I think Inspiration Porn: Essays (St. Martin’s Press, May 26, 2026) will be a similarly hot commodity. It’s sexy, it’s funny and it’s insightful — right on brand for Ryan O’Connell.
Check out my podcast episode featuring Ryan directly above, on Spotify and/or read on for a lightly edited version of our talk …
