Peacock Reboots a Gay Staple with Unexpected Success QUEER AF
By Arnold Wayne Jones
If you’re old enough (and gay enough) to remember watching when Russell T. Davies’ original British series Queer as Folk debuted more than 20 years ago – I, sadly, am – then you will never forget the adrenaline-rush of seeing sexually-active gay men engaged in realistic-seeming sex without AIDS, shame or suicide being the dramatic driving force. It was staggering in its radicalism. There was no marriage equality; it was still GLBT – the “A” hadn’t been added, the letters reversed, the Q codified. It was sexy, frivolous, and its politics was that of stentorian outrage at closet-cases, homophobia and hypocrisy. The original QAF – and its American remake, which ran on pay-cable for five seasons – was a kind of fantasy soap opera of bed-hopping, shade-throwing and melodramatic cliffhangers. (Question: Should we call a gay soap opera a “lube musical”? But I digress.)
Courtesy of NBC/Universal
We live in a new world now, although not always a better world. Gay weddings are now called “weddings,” Grindr gets joked about in primetime, COVID has replaced HIV as the virus of the moment, trans kids are… well, a thing. But there’s also the Pulse nightclub shooting, anti-trans legislation and the current SCOTUS membership. We’ve come far, but there’s still far to go.
Which is why, as I discovered slightly to my surprise, that we really needed a reboot of Queer as Folk. I needed convincing; I’m generally opposed to rehashing old properties simply because Hollywood is so bereft of courage or originality that it assumes audiences only want what they already know. (Unfortunately, they are often right.) Why revisit the same characters, or “new” characters regurgitating the same ideas, just for clicks and a 4.5 in the demo? The fact that this QAF was coming to NBC’s Peacock – the buggiest and boringest of the major streaming services from the most middle-brow of networks – gave me little hope.
Courtesy of NBC/Universal
Then I watched the first episode. And the second. And third. And it dawned on me that, of all retro series reboots out there, this may be the one that has the best chance to seem more relevant than the original.
In some ways, this is a critique of the American version. A dirty little secret: Most gays will concede that we often hate-watched that show. We wanted to see idealized versions of our own lives on screen (hard bodies glistening with perspiration in soft-core lighting), but these scenes were sandwiched between stereotypes, often painfully overwrought dialogue and predictable plotting. Most episodes left you with the same dissatisfaction as a Diet Coke: You asked for it, but the empty aftertaste left you wanting something better. The Peacock version needed to improve upon those feelings, and so far, it has.
Courtesy of NBC/Universal
The first amazement for me was the opening scene: A fairly explicit and rolicking anal sex scene that shows more ass and abs than I expected from NBC. The second amazement: Diversity. Another reason why the earlier incarnation was so disappointing was the total lack of color in the primary cast: Of the dozen or so regulars, every single one was as white as a Trump rally. There were token lesbians, a mix of tops and bottoms, twinks and doms but virtually no bears, no queens, and no POC. Not so this time out. The lesbian couple are mixed race – a butch black dyke and a thin lipstick transwoman; the local slut is mixed, the adopted son of white parents (including an almost unrecognizable Kim Cattrall, doing excellent character work) with a brother on the spectrum (Special star Ryan O’Connell); there are Latinos, gender-fluid teens, otters, a disabled guy and Juliette Lewis. (Sadly, no senior queers – hey, it’s still a gay fantasy.)
Courtesy of NBC/Universal
Another big difference is how the stakes seem contemporary and relevant. There’s less worrying about HIV (PrEP!) and molly overdoses and more mass shootings, social media awareness and criticism of faux allies. But there are still the cliches: Young gays having/wanting kids (heteronormative ideals are the flesh-eating viruses of most mainstream portrayals of gay culture); superficial conversations about overwrought emotions; secondary characters praising/apologizing for the anti-heroic stars; and so, so many pretty boys fucking wildly to fill in for plot (OK, I admit I like that part a lot). The trade off works, though.
Courtesy of NBC/Universal
I’ve enjoyed the acting (other than O’Connell, who is sweet but never convincing in his line delivery) and the mancandy helps the bad dialogue go down easier. I’ll definitely watch all eight episodes and probably wait for another season. And maybe two decades from now, another version will come along and rewrite the gay script over again for a future generation. And maybe it will be Queer AF too.
Neil Patrick Harris to Star in Uncoupled | Streaming July 29 on Netflix
Neil Patrick Harris | Santiago Felipe / Getty Images
Creators & Executive Producers: Darren Star (Sex and the City, Emily In Paris) and Jeffrey Richman (Modern Family, Frasier) globally premiere Uncoupled, starring Neil Patrick Harris July 29, 2022 on Netflix with eight-30 min. episodes
Michael (Neil Patrick Harris) thought his life was perfect until his husband blindsides him by walking out the door after 17 years. Overnight, Michael has to confront two nightmares - losing what he thought was his soulmate and suddenly finding himself a single gay man in his mid-forties in New York City.
Executive Producers: Tony Hernandez (Full Frontal with Samantha Bee, Younger) and Lilly Burns (Emily in Paris, Younger) of Jax Media, Neil Patrick Harris.
Studio: MTV Entertainment Studios
Review to follow release.
Darren Star & Neil Patrick Harris | Stefanie Keenan / WireImage
Neil Patrick Harris | Source: Fandom
Unbounded Bash Puts Queer and Trans BIPOC Performers at the Forefront
Television shows like Pose and Legendary have reminded us of the trails blazed by the queer and trans heroes before us. They have also portrayed ballroom culture and how underground balls were a quintessential part of queer and trans liberation. This Wednesday (March 16), Unbounded Bash will bring a real-life ball to Austin’s Coconut Club as part of SXSW.
Spearheaded by Unbounded Agency, Unbounded Bash celebrates queer and trans people of color, and will feature performances by various queer and trans acts. The bash will feature three different activations.
“We have At the Discoteca hosting the DJ showcase,” says Unbounded Agency founder Anita Obasi. “At the Discoteca is a traveling party celebrating Black music for the queer and BIPOC community. We also have live performances that will precede the Dirty South Ball.”
The Dirty South Ball will be hosted by Austin’s iconic House of Lepore and will feature previous cast members from Legendary, along with various regional houses, including Puerto Rican house, Laboratoria Boricua de Vogue.
Unbounded Agency was invited to be an official presenter at SXSW in 2020, however, COVID-19 forced the conference to shut down. Obasi, however, says Unbounded’s return couldn’t be more timely.
“72 hours before the events, we basically had to cancel everything,” Obasi says. “So it was definitely a really hard moment for everyone involved. But it's really exciting to be able to bring everyone back and put our best effort in. I think it was also a blessing in disguise in the sense that we've had two years to reflect on ourselves as a whole, and then come back to the table feeling more refreshed and renewed.”
Born and raised in northern Virginia, Obasi is a first-generation American of Nigerian and Indian descent. She arrived to Austin in 2013 after graduating college and landing a job in the tech industry.
Obasi worked with a group of people who ran a coworking space called Topology, a 2,000-square-foot warehouse in which she and her peers operated the space as a creative hub. The warehouse has since been torn down, But Obasi was determined to use her creative and collaborative spirit to make a difference in the community she holds dearest to her heart.
“I was trying to figure out how to take the ethos of that space and turn it into something that could exist without walls or without necessarily a physical location,” Obasi says. “And part of the ethos of Topology was incorporated into our own personal values. And for me, it was creating space for queer and BIPOC people.”
Obasi founded Unbounded Agency in 2018, with a mission to organize events centering queer and trans people of color. Unbounded Bash will celebrate the voices she sought out to amplify during the genesis of her company.
With a line-up of predominately Black and Latinx performers, Unbounded Bash aims to remind us of all the reasons why we love queer culture. Performers include Argentinian DJ Tayhana, Xa’Pariis Nike of Legendary fame, non-binary rapper Babiboi, and Chicago house legend DJ Shani.
“DJ Shani is very representative of the true nature and history of house music, which is something that, as it has become popularized has seen more of a ‘white bro-y’ face to it. We're excited to have her here to remind people of the roots of house music and specifically the depth of Black history in that space.”
Although Obasi now resides in Los Angeles, she is elated to return to Austin, the city she called home for six years. For her, there is no other city where she would rather launch Unbounded Bash.
“I think people forget that queer and BIPOC identities still continue to exist in Texas,” Obasi says. “We're all human beings who exist in this space and we need to take up space and remind people that we are existing and thriving.”
Unbounded Bash kicks off Wednesday, March 16 at Colorado Club. SXSW badge holders will have priority entry. RSVPs and more information about the showcase can be found at unboundedagency.org/sxsw.