Queer as Folk reboot gets first look pictures and premiere date

Words: Will Stroude; Images: Peacock

Queer as Folk‘s eagerly-anticipated reboot officially has a premiere date and first look pictures – and if you need us, we’ll be in Babylon, baby. 

The new reimagining of Russell T Davies’ iconic LGBTQ series – which aired for two seasons in the UK from 1999-2000 and inspired a US version which aired from 2000-05 – is set to arrive on US streaming service Peacock on 9 June 2022.

Devin Way as Brodie

While a UK release is yet to be confirmed, Peacock is available to British viewers via Sky’s NOW TV service.

First announced in 2018, the Queer as Folk reboot moves the action from Manchester and Pittsburgh to New Orleans, where it follows “a diverse group of friends… whose lives are transformed in the aftermath of a tragedy.”

Jesse James Keitel (left) as Ruthie and CG as Shar

The series stars Devin Way as Brodie, a charming and sometimes chaotic commitment-phobe who finds a reason to stay in New Orleans after tragedy rocks his community. 

Fin Argus will play Mingus, a cocky high schooler whose confidence belies their lack of real world experience, while Jesse James Keitel will play Ruthie, a trans, semi-reformed party girl who is struggling to grow up. 

Devin Way (left) as Brodie and Jesse James Keitel as Ruthie

CG plays Shar, a non-binary professor navigating the rocky transition from punk to parenthood, and Johnny Sibilly will play Noah, a successful lawyer who is not as put together as he seems. 

Rounding out the main cast is Special star Ryan O’Connell, who also serves as a writer and co-executive producer on the series. O’Connell will play Julian (he/him), a pop culture nerd with cerebral palsy who is more than ready for some independence. 

Ryan O’Connell as Julian

Sex and the City star Kim Cattrall, Yellowjackets actor Juliette Lewis, Work In Progress star Armand Fields, America’s Next Top Model winner Nyle Dimarco and The White Lotus actor Lukas Gage are all set to appear in guest roles.

Russell T Davies, who has served as an executive producer on the new reboot, says: “I’m very proud of what we achieved in 1999, but in queer years, that was a millennium ago!

Fin Argus as Mingus

“As a community, we’ve radicalized, explored, opened up, and found new worlds – with new enemies and new allies – and there was so much to be said.”

The former Attitude Award winner adds: “The 2022 show is more diverse, more wild, more free, more angry – everything a queer show should be.”

Armand Fields as Bussey

Creator and director and the Queer as Folk reboot Stephen Dunn comments: “Like most queer ‘90s kids, I had a unique relationship with the original Queer as Folk. Growing up, I was desperate for any sort of connection with people like me. It was the first time I really felt seen.

“The show offered a new paradigm – one where we could accept and celebrate queer love, families, and communities on a global stage. It was truly iconic. I am honored that Russell T. Davies, the creator of the original series, entrusted me to continue this legacy.”

Eric Graise as Marvin

Dunn continues: “I wanted to create a new groundbreaking version of this show for this moment. Our new Queer as Folk is set in New Orleans – one of the most unique queer communities in North America – and I am immensely proud that the new series is comprised of an electric ensemble of fresh characters that mirror the modern global audience.

“If there’s one person who is able to see Queer as Folk and feel less alone, or who now feels more supported and seen, our job is done. In the true spirit of the original, our show doesn’t shy away from the harsh realities of our community, but above all else, the series is about people who live vibrant, vital, unapologetically queer lives.”

Johnny Sibilly as Noah

Expanding on Queer as Folk’s greater diversity of cast, charatcers and stories, executive producer and writer Jaclyn Moore notes: “I believe deeply in the power of storytelling to make people feel seen, but all too often I feel as though queer and trans representation in art is limited to extremes.

“We are either shown as saintly heroes bravely surviving a bigoted society or two-dimensional queer-coded villains that feel airdropped in from some previous era.

CG as Shar

“With Queer as Folk, we aimed to depict queer characters who live in the messy middle. People who are complicated. Who are funny and caring and flawed and sometimes selfish, but still worthy of love. Still worthy of narrative.

“As a trans woman, I’m excited to take steps to move past telling stories that seem to just be arguing for our basic humanity. My hope is that Queer as Folk is one such step.”

Queer as Folk premieres on US streaming service Peacock on 9 June 2022.