External links
Queer as Folk | |||||||
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| British series | |||||||
| American series |
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| 2022 American series | |||||||
| Queer as Folk | |
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| Genre | Drama |
| Based on | Queer as Folk |
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| Country of origin |
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| Original language | English |
| No. of seasons | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 8 |
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| Running time | 42–56 minutes |
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| Original release | |
| Network | Peacock |
| Release | June 9, 2022 |
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Queer as Folk is a drama television series created for Peacock by Stephen Dunn. It is a re-imagining of the Channel 4 1999 British TV series Queer as Folk that was created by Russell T. Davies. The series was released on June 9, 2022. [1] The reboot was cancelled after one season on September 23, 2022 due to low ratings. [2]
Set in New Orleans, the series follows a diverse group of friends who find their lives transformed in the aftermath of a shooting at a queer nightclub called the Babylon. The group struggles with vulnerability, addiction, grief, and relationships.
| No. | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original release date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Babylon" | Stephen Dunn | Stephen Dunn | June 9, 2022 |
| 2 | "Blocked" | Satya Bhabha | Jaclyn Moore & Brontez Purnell | June 9, 2022 |
| 3 | "Welcum to the Hellmouth" | Satya Bhabha | Stephen Dunn & Des Moran | June 9, 2022 |
| 4 | "#F*ck Disabled People" | Brian Dannelly | Ryan O'Connell & Alyssa Taylor | June 9, 2022 |
| 5 | "Choke" | Brian Dannelly | Roxane Gay & Azam Mahmood | June 9, 2022 |
| 6 | "Pretend You're Someone Else" | Ingrid Jungermann | Jaclyn Moore & Sarah Link | June 9, 2022 |
| 7 | "Problemática" | Stephen Dunn | Stephen Dunn & Ryan O'Connell | June 9, 2022 |
| 8 | "Sacrilege" | Stephen Dunn | Des Moran & Maia Golden | June 9, 2022 |
In December 2018, it was announced Bravo had put into development a reboot of Queer as Folk with Stephen Dunn set to write and direct, with Russell T. Davies set to executive produce. [3] However, in August 2019, it was announced the series was now in development at Peacock. [4] In April 2021, Peacock ordered the series. [5]
Dunn has indicated that this incarnation of the series was inspired directly by Davies' original series as a "jumping off point", stating that he did not take the Showtime adaptation into consideration. [6]
Dunn assembled the writer's room while isolated at his mother's condo in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The entire writer's staff ended up being queer, save one writer's assistant. [7] Due to low viewership, on September 23, 2022, the series was canceled after one season. [2]
In August 2021, Jesse James Keitel joined the cast in a series regular role. [8] In September 2021, Candace Grace, Johnny Silbilly, Devin Way, Fin Argus, and Ryan O'Connell joined the cast in series regular roles. [9] [10] In November 2021, Kim Cattrall joined the cast in a recurring capacity. [11] In December 2021, Juliette Lewis, Ed Begley Jr., Armand Fields, Chris Renfro, Eric Graise, Sachin Bhatt and Benito Skinner joined the cast in recurring capacity. [12] In March 2022, it was announced Lukas Gage, Megan Stalter, Olli Haaskivi and Calvin Seabrooks had joined the cast in guest capacity. [13]
Principal photography began by October 2021, in New Orleans, Louisiana. [14]
The series was released on June 9, 2022, on Peacock. [1] In Australia the series premiered on Stan on June 10, 2022. [15] The series aired in Canada on Showcase beginning on June 26, 2022, as part of owner Corus Entertainment's output deal with NBCUniversal for Peacock original programming. [16] [17] The series was picked up by Starzplay for distribution in the UK, several continental European countries, and Latin America. In the UK, it premiered on July 1, 2022, and in other territories on July 31, 2022. [18]
The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reported an 80% critic approval rating with an average rating of 7.6/10, based on 20 critic reviews. The website's critics consensus reads, "Sprawling to a fault but packed with lovable characters and cultural resonance, Queer as Folk successfully updates a watershed in LGBTQ representation for a new era." [19] Many critics praised the diversity of the new era, with the Guardian writing "Queer As Folk finds ever more delicious and delirious ways of offering prickly story beats and character arcs that refuse to flatten or homogenize the LGBTQ+ community... The cast and characters are much more diverse than previous versions in terms of race, gender identity, sexuality and levels of physical ability." However the reception from the general public was less favorable with a Rotten Tomatoes approval rating of only 44%. Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned a score of 53 out of 100 based on 8 critics, indicating more of a mixed reception. [20]
While critics were generally positive, some critics and the public never warmed to the new iteration and the show was cancelled after just one season. Camilla Long from The Times writes "The Peacock show toes a fine line between representing marginalized communities and potentially exploiting their trauma... Queer as Folk always felt dangerous and interesting, as if we were peeking in on a world we shouldn’t. The reboot feels jaded, as if we are watching things we’ve seen a hundred times before." [21] And Richard Lawson in his Vanity Fair review writes "The new Queer as Folk gets bogged down in Tragedy... But is that what Queer as Folk should be? After watching all of the first season, I think my answer is no." [22] Some reviewers noted that it was hard to relate to the characters, with the Boston Globe writing "There’s plenty of emoting going on, and the issues at stake are clear enough, but there’s not enough character depth and warmth in the air. The characters seem self-absorbed, and, alas, their romantic histrionics and struggles didn’t move me."