7 surprising and somewhat problematic observations I made rewatching Season 1 of ‘Queer As Folk’
Whether you watched the show chronologically when it first aired in the early 2000s or unapologetically recorded episodes on your parent’s TiVo as a closeted teenager like me, Showtime’s Queer as Folk was a major milestone in LGBTQ entertainment.Upon discovering the show eight years after the final episode aired, I had never seen anything like it.
Throughout its five seasons, the narratives and storylines promoted safe sex, displayed the harms of drug use, highlighted plotlines of gay bashing, and brought to the forefront the importance of same-sex marriage.And for a hypersexual 15-year-old like me, it also had some of the hottest gay sex scenes on premium cable.With Peacock releasing its reboot later this week, I decided to rewatch the original American series’ entire first season, which highly captivated my 15-year-old imagination, and dissect those memorable moments at age 25.
Like many shows and films of that era, certain elements of Queer As Folk haven’t aged so well. While certain other elements remain timeless.(Caution: MAJOR SPOILERS AHEAD, but it’s been 17 years since the last episode aired, and if you’re reading this you’ve probably already seen it, so… Oh well, I guess?)In the pilot episode, viewers are transported to the Babylon, a booming nightclub for the circuit queens of Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, and no, they weren’t serving it ancient city style.
Still, the boys with frosted tips and 501 jeans were a serve. We are introduced to the most interchanging yet chaotically synchronous relationship between Brian Kinney and Justin Taylor.
