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is a reporter focusing on film, TV, and pop culture. Before The Verge, he wrote about comic books, labor, race, and more at io9 and Gizmodo for almost five years.
Though Gen Z has developed a reputation for being so disinterested in sex that they don’t even want to see it on TV, the popularity of series like Heated Rivalry and The Summer I Turned Pretty has made it very clear that more than a few young people do, in fact, like their entertainment a little steamy. However prudish you might think today’s twentysomethings are, they’ve helped turn these sexually charged shows into breakout hits by participating in rabid fandoms. And women-focused audio erotica platform Quinn is trying to channel some of that intense fan energy into success for itself.
Founded back in 2019 by Caroline Spiegel (sister to Snapchat CEO Evan Spiegel), Quinn offers its subscribers access to a vast library of aural porn that invites listeners to imagine themselves in all sorts of hot and heavy situations. Most of the platform’s stories — which cover a variety of genres and a wide range of sexual kinks — are written and produced by independent content creators who record the audio with their own voices. But for the past few years, the service has been partnering with celebrities like Jesse Williams, Andrew Scott, and Manny Jacinto for projects that are clearly designed to capitalize on established fame.
Earlier this year, Quinn pounced on the opportunity to cast Heated Rivalry’s Connor Storrie and Hudson Williams as star-crossed fae princes from feuding kingdoms who (spoiler) have been knocking boots in secret. And last week, Quinn announced that it was bringing Mika Abdalla and Stephen Kalyn — two stars from Amazon’s adaptation of Elle Kennedy’s Off Campus novel series — on board to voice a romantic drama about unlikely roommates who end up becoming more than friends.
While erotic audio content is nothing new, these high-profile celebrity collaborations have helped Quinn turn it into more of a mainstream commodity. Casting the stars of sex-forward TV dramas as the voices of spicy audio romances makes sense because there’s plenty of thematic overlap. But these projects also give Quinn a way to tap into these celebrities’ hyper-engaged fanbases.
In its first 12 days of streaming, Off Campus — which was already renewed for a second season before the first debuted — became one of Amazon’s most-watched shows. The internet is only just now recovering from the mass psychosis event that kicked off during Heated Rivalry’s inaugural season, which was a ratings hit for HBO Max. And it seems very much like Quinn has been able to parlay all that hype into its own upward momentum.
Some of Quinn’s success in this particular realm feels also rooted in the way that Hollywood dynamics have been shifting in the past few years. Audience attention is increasingly split between traditional entertainment and social / mobile content, with the latter often winning with Gen Z in popularity. You would have been hard-pressed to find leads from popular streaming series recording porn on the side a decade ago, but we’re now living in a moment where Oscar-winning A-listers are doing commercials for credit cards and travel booking sites.
As is the case with other sectors of the economy, production work is down in Hollywood and actors are looking for other reliable sources of income. That’s part of the reason so many established celebrities have begun flooding the podcast space and up-and-coming actors are booking gigs on low-budget vertical dramas. And now, Quinn is giving these artists yet another way to make some quick cash and stay connected with their audiences.
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