Exclusive: Queer as Folk stars say show isn’t ‘watered down for straight people’
Johnny Sibilly and Devin Way hope the new Queer as Folk reboot “broadens the view of what is possible in terms of queer creation.” The 2022 reimagining of Russell T Davies’ iconic gay drama of the same name premiered in June to critical acclaim.
Following a diverse group of friends whose lives are transformed in the aftermath of a shooting at a queer nightclub, the series has been celebrated for its more authentic depiction of the LGBTQ+ community.
Thanks to the queer talent in-front and behind the camera, which is still not the case with many LGBTQ+ productions across television and film, Sibilly tells GAY TIMES that queer people are “finally getting our due when it comes to telling our own stories”. “I remember reading the script and thinking to myself, ‘Oh wow, they’re actually writing the way gay people talk and our inside jokes and our colloquialisms,’ and it’s a breath of fresh air,” says the star, who plays Noah Hernandez, a grief-stricken lawyer and ex-boyfriend to Way’s charming (yet complicated) protagonist Brodie Beaumont.
Referencing recent well-received queer stories such as Hulu’s Fire Island and Netflix’s Heartstopper, Sibilly continues: “When you have queer people in front and behind the camera, there’s no way it’s not authentic, and I think that’s why we’re so excited with all these stories that are coming out.” The series is not “watered down for the safety of straight people” adds Way, who also praises the Queer as Folk writers for the reimagining’s more accurate representation of the way LGBTQ+ people act, such as the way they ‘talk, kiss and have sex’. “It’s true to how we feel.
