Finding Fire Island: Season 2
Finding Fire Island: Season 2 is an entertaining and revealing documentary series that uncovers the remarkable story behind Fire Island Pines. Far more than a nostalgic look at a beloved summer destination, the series explores community, resilience, creativity, and the power of belonging.
Through candid interviews with people who live, work and vacation there —including John Waters, Billy Porter, Julio Torres, and Jerry Mitchell—the series reveals how a nudist enclave on a tiny barrier island evolved into a place where LGBTQ+ people could live authentically, forge lifelong friendships, and become a cultural force that has helped shape America and the world.
Conceived by Board member Virun Rampersad, the series was created, narrated, and executive produced by Jess Rothschild and co-produced by the Fire Island Pines Historical Society. Through firsthand accounts and rare archival footage, the series offers a candid exploration of the evolution of Fire Island Pines—brought to life through Jess's distinctive storytelling in a way that is both deeply engaging and highly entertaining.
Whether you've spent decades in the Pines or have never set foot there, Finding Fire Island: Season 2 is a series worth watching. It is a story of friendship, freedom, resilience, and community that reminds us extraordinary places are ultimately defined not by geography, but by the people who create them.
Why We Did This
For any community, preserving its history is essential. It fosters identity, belonging, and pride while helping guide future generations through the lessons, struggles, and achievements of the past. The sad truth is that LGBTQ+ history has too often been misrepresented, suppressed, or even erased. Fire Island Pines has long stood as a vibrant and historically significant community within LGBTQ+ culture, but its story is not widely known.
We wanted to help change that. Finding Fire Island Season 2 is the result.
In this endeavor we were committed to candor. We brought together a diverse group of people who have spent meaningful time in the Pines —men, women, gay, straight, trans, queer, multiracial, young, and young at heart—to share their personal stories and presented them in an unbiased way across seven episodes.
We also wanted the series to be widely accessible, so we chose durable, ubiquitous distribution platforms - YouTube and podcasts. And because history should be as engaging as it is informative, we blended information, insight, and entertainment to create a series we hope people will not only learn from but truly enjoy.
We were incredibly fortunate to partner with Jess Rothschild, whose creativity, skill, energy and vision brought this project to life. Her genius transformed our ambition into a series that is thoughtful, compelling, and deeply human. We are also grateful to the Pines Foundation and the Fire Island Pines residents, past and present who helped make this happen.
We hope you enjoy watching.
Where To Watch
The seven episode series is available on YouTube and all major podcast platforms. New episodes drop weekly beginning June 11th, 2026. Check out episode 1 below
Meet Jess
Jess Rothschild is a writer, producer and native New Yorker. Jess is the creator and executive producer of “Finding Fire Island”, the GLAAD Award nominated docuseries centered on the history mystique and lore of Cherry Grove and The Fire Island Pines. She also created The Cult of Body and Soul, telling the story of SoulCycle.
Jess hosts and produces “Hot Takes & Deep Dives” where she interviews formative cultural figures including Rosie O’Donnell, Sandra Bernhard, Isaac Mizrahi, Mario Cantone, Melissa Etheridge, Michael Musto, Jeffrey Seller, and Fran Drescher. Her work can be found on all podcast platforms and YouTube.
