ABC is leaning into Pride Month with a one-hour special from World of Wonder spotlighting LGBTQIA+ stories of late-in-life self-discovery. Late to the Party: Coming Out Later in Life premieres Friday, June 6, at 8 PM ET, and will stream the following day on Hulu and Disney+.
The special is built around deeply personal narratives—parents, a former Baptist priest, and a 90-year-old man among them—who came out after decades of living heterosexual lives. At the center is Charles M. Blow, the former New York Times columnist who publicly came out as bisexual in his 40s. He serves both as on-camera guide and consulting producer.
This is a World of Wonder production, with Fenton Bailey, Randy Barbato, and Jeremy Simmons exec producing for the company. Melia Patria and David Sloan oversee for ABC News Studios.
While it tracks the emotional cost of staying closeted through earlier eras, the special is ultimately forward-facing—framing the choice to come out later in life as a bold act of self-determination. For ABC, it’s also a content play that targets underserved intersections of age, identity, and personal reinvention.
