CHICAGO — Twitter’s beloved “Chicago Party Aunt” is getting her own Netflix show.
The Twitter account got its start in April 2016 and is known for its raunchy, boozy parody of a middle-aged Chicago woman. The Netflix show will be an adult animated comedy, with its first eight episodes premiering Sept. 17 and another eight coming later.
The character’s creator, Chris Witaske, said the show will follow the “adventures” of the Party Aunt, whose name will be revealed to be Diane Dunbrowski.
“She’s always out partying and getting into trouble. And part of the show, too, though is that the world is kind of changing around her. And she’s kind of a relic of the ’80s, when she was in her glory days, partying,” Witaske said. “A lot of the show is her having to deal with everything that’s changing around her.
“She’s still rocking the bedazzled jeans and the spiky haircut and smoking and drinking while people around her are drinking green juice and working out.”
There will be a lot of Easter eggs and references for Chicagoans, Witaske said: The Party Aunt hangs out at Guthrie’s in Wrigleyville and lives next to the ballpark. Even the Party Aunt’s name is a Chicago reference, as it’s a nod to the city’s large Polish population.
“We were trying to think of the most Chicago name we could think of,” said Witaske, who is from the suburbs and lived in Chicago for 10 years.
And there will be appearances from some of Chicago’s stars — including, possibly, beloved meteorologist Tom Skilling, with whom the Party Aunt frequently flirts on Twitter.
“We don’t wanna give away any secrets — but there might be some cameos from Skilling and other Chicago legends,” Witaske said.
But the show will also appeal to a universal crowd — after all, everybody knows someone who’s rowdy and a bit out of touch like the Party Aunt.
“We describe the show as a love letter to Chicago,” Witaske said. But “we want it to be universal so everybody can enjoy it.
“What’s great about this character is that everybody, no matter where you live, has a party aunt in their lives. We know that, y’know, the people watching over in Brazil will understand it because everybody knows this kind of woman.”
Witaske teamed with “Chicago all-stars” for the show, which has been in the works about two years, he said. The creative crew features Katie Rich, a South Side native and comedy writer; as well as Ike Barinholtz, a Rogers Park actor, and his brother, Jon.
The show will also feature RuPaul, Lauren Ash as the titular Party Aunt, Rory O’Malley as her nephew and others.
Witaske said the support he’s gotten through his Party Aunt character is unbelievable.
“I’ve been doing this anonymously just for fun for the last, like, five years,” Witaske said. “And it kind of just started as a fun, creative outlet for me.
“Now, to see it become a TV show that’s gonna stream all over the world with an amazing team behind it, it’s like, it’s kind of unreal to me to think that I went from sitting on the couch in my boxer shorts to now it’s gonna be on Netflix.”
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