Queer as Folk ran for two seasons, the first episode airing on February 23, 1999. (Channel 4)
Queer as Folk, the groundbreaking Russell T Davies TV show, is getting a modern-day reboot on US streaming service Peacock.
A reimagining of the beloved British series that chronicled LGBT+ life, grit and all, that then delighted fans across the pond with its American spin-off on Showtime, has been ordered by NBCUniversal’s platform.
The eight-episode-long, straight-to-series order will be helmed by Apply TV+’s Little America director Stephen Dunn.
Venerable showrunner Russell T Davies, who created the original British series, will executive produce – but he stressed his involvement was “nominal”.
Instead of creaky Manchester, England or Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, the third edition of Queer as Folk will now explore the lives of a group of diverse pals in New Orleans.
It’s described by The Hollywood Reporter as a “vibrant” reboot that will throw viewers straight into the group’s lives in the wake of a tragedy.
Russell T Davies teases what Queer as Folk reboot might look like
Davies, who was actually pining for a reboot only last month, took to Instagram to express his pure, unbridled joy – and confirm whether it might be having a UK release date anytime soon.
“Scream 😱”, he wrote in the caption. “It’s American, it’s set in New Orleans, all-new characters, it’s written by a brilliant man called Stephen Dunn, I can’t wait to see what he does with it 😘.
“My credit is just nominal, really, it’s all theirs! So excited for them.
“Ordered for the Peacock streaming service in the US. No idea yet if it’ll come to the UK. Exciting!”
“It is a surreal honour to adapt the notoriously groundbreaking series by Russell T Davies,” explained Dunn in a statement to the outlet.
“When the show originally aired, the idea of unapologetic queer stories on TV was so provocative that I felt I could only watch Queer as Folk in secret.
“But so much has changed in the last 20 years and how wonderful would it be if the next generation didn’t have to watch Queer as Folk alone in their dank basements with the sound muted, but with their family and friends and the volume cranked all the way to the max.”
Also joining the behind-the-scenes crew, executive producers Lee Eisenberg, Emily Brecht and Nicola Shindler, who actually produced the original with Davies.
It is understood that the project has been in the pipeline on Dunn’s end since 2018, with the reboot originally intended to be on network Bravo.
Queer as Folk paved the way for queer television to come. In both Britain and America, their versions were the first, hour-long television shows that placed queer men at their centres.