This was the first of many more explicit gay and lesbian sex scenes featured on the show. In the pilot, viewers are introduced to 17-year-old Justin Taylor, who loses his virginity to ad executive Brian Kinney - all within a span of 50 minutes. Protagonist Michael Novotny delivers this exact line to open the series: “The first thing you have to know is it’s all about sex.” And to a certain extent, he’s right. Complex, nuanced and deeply captivating, Ron Cowen and Daniel Lipman did not hold back when they recreated Russell T. Set in Pittsburgh, “Queer as Folk” follows the lives of five gay men and a lesbian couple. Sixteen years later, on the first day of Pride Month, I decided to revisit the show and binge its entirety on Netflix - a decision that has come to deeply alter my perception of the queer community. Scarred as I was, that may have been the moment I learned what being gay meant - and look where I am now.
I was first exposed to the series when I was 6 years old, after accidentally stumbling upon my brother watching a raunchy sex scene between two men from the show. But rewind to 2000, when Showtime premiered its groundbreaking drama “Queer as Folk.” With its historic five-year run, the show boldly revolutionized the portrayal of LGBTQ+ individuals in American media. HBO’s “Looking” came out in 2014, but it lacked the zest to make an impact on pop culture. While shows like “RuPaul’s Drag Race” and “Queer Eye” have made strides in highlighting queer culture and identity on the small screen during their respective runs, there is not yet a modern series specifically dedicated to the personal narratives of queer life. But what about a show solely focused on LGBTQ+ characters? Wouldn’t it be fascinating to watch a drama about guys using Grindr, meeting strangers in WeHo nightclubs or simply navigating their queer identities in 2018? Don’t get me wrong - I absolutely adore Kurt and Blaine, Ian and Mickey, Cameron and Mitchell, among other same-sex couples on primetime TV.
I often imagine the possibility of a TV series documenting the daily lives of gay people. The series, starring Gale Harold, Scott Lowell, Peter Paige and Hal Sparks, follows a group of friends navigating adulthood. Showtime series “Queer as Folk” aired from 2000 to 2005.