‘Queer As Folk’ Showrunner Stephen Dunn on Updating the Gay TV Classic for Modern Times
Wilson Chapman editorThe new Peacock drama “Queer As Folk” opens with a video of naked men dancing in front of a psychedelic backdrop.
As it loops, the camera pans out to reveal the TV screen its playing on and show the main lead of the series, Brodie (Devin Way), in the middle of a particularly messy hook-up.For many viewers, the video might ring some bells to them — it’s similar to the opening sequence of the original U.S.
version of “Queer as Folk,” which aired from 2000 to 2005 on Showtime. For Stephen Dunn, the co-showrunner (with Jaclyn Moore) of Peacock’s reimagining of the series, it was one of his first exposures to the queer community, and he wanted the opening to pay homage to it, before introducing them to one that’s completely new. “There’s definitely a tongue-in-cheek energy with that opening scene,” Dunn tells Variety.Dunn, a Canadian filmmaker best known for his 2015 coming out horror film “Closet Monster,” was a child when the Showtime “Queer As Folk” first premiered.
Growing up in St. John’s, Newfoundland, he would watch the show in his basement with the volume turned down, an experience he described as “terrifying,” but also one that helped him feel less alone.
