DENVER – A planned reality TV show produced by a gay adult studio claims it will reveal the real lives of “gay for pay” performers.

The studio confirmed the existence of Broke Straight Boys TV after an employee allegedly “leaked” a trailer (suspiciously, on the studio’s YouTube channel) June 26. Within two weeks, the short video collected more than 100,000 views.

According to a spokesman for creator BluMedia Network, the show will focus on straight men who perform in explicit gay films and their relationship with the staff and other performers at the website BrokeStraightBoys.com. No explicit material will be shown during the episodes, but BluMedia owner Mark Erickson said the insight into their chosen profession provided by the performers makes Broke Straight Boys TV a true character study, bringing viewers into a world rife with taboo.

“There are a lot of people who have a negative view of the entire gay-for-pay business, but these are grown adults who are capable of making their own decisions,” Erickson said. “There are plenty of positives that I believe the show will help showcase. We have gotten many guys off the streets.”

Critics argue the show is nothing more than a marketing tactic designed to fuel company profits by exploiting conflicted gay men who are packaged to fulfill the fantasy of “turning” straight men. The performers involved dispute that assertion.

“People don’t believe we’re straight, but in certain circumstances, a lot of us need the money badly,” gay-for-pay performer Jimmy Johnson said. “Sexuality is not the issue. It’s about survival. You’ll do what it takes to provide for your family. It would take me months at a fast food restaurant to make what I do in a weekend” of performing in gay porn.

Performer Kaden Alexander added, “We’re just like one big, dysfunctional family, except that we have sex with each other. Broke Straight Boys is like my second family.”

Erickson said producers Hot Mess Productions and Loyal Productions are in the final stages of negotiation for broadcast rights. He hopes the series will premier later this year.

“We are very close to making an official announcement,” he noted.