John Paul Brammer Memoir ‘Hola Papi’ Optioned by Funny Or Die

Funny Or Die has optioned writer and illustrator John Paul Brammer’s “¡Hola Papi!: How to Come Out in a Walmart Parking Lot and Other Life Lessons” to develop into a scripted series.

Brammer started the Substack advice column “¡Hola Papi!” in 2017, and published his memoir of the same name last year through Simon & Schuster. The paperback edition is set for release in June, and available for pre-order on Amazon.

“Working with the team at Funny Or Die is a dream come true, and I’m so grateful for the opportunity to take ‘¡Hola Papi!’ to yet another medium,” said Brammer, who will also serve as an executive producer on the series. “From the column to the book and now to the screen, watching Papi’s journey has been one of the great joys in my life. It’s a journey only made possible by my readers, and my hope is to make a show that will honor the trust and support they’ve given me over the years.”

In “¡Hola Papi!” Brammer pens essays that follows his life and journey as a queer, mixed-race kid from rural Oklahoma to becoming the self-proclaimed “Chicano Carrie Bradshaw” of his generation. It’s seen as the perfect material to help launch the next evolution of Funny Or Die, the digital media venture launched by Will Ferrell and Adam McKay in 2007, in the early days of high-end original content for digital platforms. The FunnyOrDie digital platform and content production operation was acquired last year by entrepreneur and activist Henry Muñoz III.

“ ‘¡Hola Papi!’ is a great American Dream story that takes its main character from a small town in Oklahoma to the metropolis of New York City in pursuit of his future: new career, new friends, and new loves,” said Muñoz. “It’s funny, touching, and very much about American society in the 21st Century. We are committed to having Funny Or Die Studios stand for Funny, Original and Diverse content, and with a Latino and LBGTQ Plus hero, Hola Papi is a perfect fit.”

Brammer is a contributing columnist for The Washington Post. He’s also written for such publications as Guernica, The New York Times, Catapult and Food & Wine.

Brammer is repped by UTA and Annie Hwang at Ayesha Pande Literary.