Though each version provided unprecedented gay representation, the lack of diversity in race and gender expression in the show leaves out any representation of trans people and people of color in the queer community. counterpart.īoth versions of Queer as Folk followed homogenous main casts of white, cisgender people, most of whom were in their 20s and 30s. Lipman and Cowen got their version greenlit and swore they’d make it even raunchier than its U.K. because it featured too much sex, too many drugs, too little condom use, and so on. version, arguing that nothing of its outrageous ilk could ever exist in the U.S. They had just read a piece in the Los Angeles Times about the U.K. version of Queer as Folk was created by Daniel Lipman and Ron Cowen when another show they were working on for Showtime fell through, and they decided to pitch Queer as Folk in its place.
The show brought 2 million viewers to Channel 4, topped only by ER. It had an initial run of six episodes, with two more made later, bringing the total to eight. The show premiered in 1999 on Channel 4, and followed three men and their friends in Manchester’s Canal street area, known as the Gay Village. The eventual, slightly less vulgar name is a play on the Yorkshire colloquialism, “Well, there’s nowt so queer as folk” (in essence, “People are weird.”).ĭavies was itching to write something he felt accurately captured not only the realities of being a gay man in Manchester, but also the broader experience of growing up and discovering who you are. by writer and producer Russell T Davies-perhaps best known for his work on Doctor Who-and was nearly called Queer as F-ck. The original Queer as Folk was created in the U.K. How two versions of Queer as Folk were made Peacock’s reboot of Queer as Folk was released on June 9th. While the concept of “representation in media” is often paid ineffectual lip service, Queer as Folk was the real, ridiculous, sexy, messy, multi-faceted thing. and U.K., and provided many young queer people’s first exposure to gayness not framed as either a mildly interesting sideshow attraction alongside a straight person’s “real story,” or an abject tragedy. Queer as Folk also contributed to broader shifts in public sentiment toward the queer community in both the U.S. In doing so, it had a significant part in setting the stage for other quintessential queer dramas, including The L Word, the L Word reboot ( Generation Q ), Glee, Genera+ion, and even, yes, Euphoria. So often called “ground-breaking” that the description might start to sound trite if it weren’t also true, Queer as Folk put gay people and queer storylines front and center in a way that even other media of the time prominently featuring gay characters, like Will & Grace, had yet to do.