Russell T Davies’ LGBTQ mini-series ‘Banana’ is now on Netflix
The sister show of 2015's 'Cucumber' is a heart-warming look at queer life and love.
By Will Stroude
Queer as Folk creator Russell T Davies’ is set to return to the world of gay TV drama with the Olly Alexander-fronted It’s a Sin in early 2021 – but if that still seems too far away for you, you can get another queer TV fix in the form of his heart-warming mini-series Banana.
Starring the likes of Fisayo Akinade and Letitia Wright, the sister show to Davies’ Channel 4 drama Cucumber first aired on E4 back in 2015 and explored in greater depth the lives and loves of some of Cucumber‘s supporting characters.
The eight-part series loosely tied into the events of Cucumber, but with each episode focusing a different individual storyline, it still serves as an uplifting standalone series half a decade later – and it’s now available to watch on Netflix in the UK.
After months of hype, Cucumber divided audiences when it premiered on Channel 4 in January 2015 with its story of a middle-aged gay man (Vincent Franklin) who finds his life blown apart after splitting with his partner of almost a decade (Cyril Nri).
But, with its diverse cast of characters, focused anthology format and and shorter episode length, Banana won almost universal acclaim – even landing a GLAAD Media Award nomination for Outstanding TV Movie or Limited Series.
As well as exploring issues like revenge porn and Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD), the series will forever stand as the first show on British TV to cast a transgender actr in a transgender role in the form of Bethany Black’s Helen.
Cucumber copped a fair amount of flack from LGBTQ viewers who didn’t feel they were represented by the tale of a gay man having a mid-life crisis – but Banana, provided such an array of laughs, drama and learning that there was something for everyone to take from it.
The number of LGBTQ series and stories being told has exploded in the six short years since Banana first burst onto screens, but with its new home of Netflix, it’s more than worth the re-watch – if only as a reminder that despite some of the initial critcism that surrounded the Cucumer/Banana project, Davies really was still ahead of his time…
All eight episodes of Banana are available to stream on Netflix now.