Andy DehnartNetflix is reviving Bravo’s 2003 to 2007 reality series Queer Eye for the Straight Guy, though it will not be with the original cast of Ted Allen, Carson Kressley, Kyan Douglas, Thom Filicia, and Jai Rodriguez, who were known as the Fab Five.
The new team will not make over straight men in New York City, but instead make over straight men in “red states,” according to Netflix. Eight episodes will go into production this spring.
The company is framing the relaunch not about nostalgia, but about a solution for our cultural disconnections and political anxiety:
“In a time when America stands divided and the future seems uncertain, a team of five brave men will try to bring us closer together with laughter, heart, and just the right amount of moisturizer. The Emmy Award winning Queer Eye is back and ready to Make America Fabulous Again. With a new Fab 5 and the show’s toughest missions to date, Queer Eye moves from the Big Apple to turn the red states pink… one makeover at a time.”
Original production company Scout Productions and the show’s creators/executive producers David Collins, Michael Williams, and Rob Eric will return, and the show is being co-produced by ITV Entertainment.
While the original show ran its course, and some of the original Fab Five didn’t quite have a well-defined role (cough, Jai, cough), I’m still a little disappointed that there will be an entirely new cast.
Why not, say, bring Ted and Carson back to anchor a new team? They’re the show’s most well-known TV stars, with Ted hosting Chopped and Carson appearing as a regular judge on RuPaul’s Drag Race and the current season of The Celebrity Apprentice, and doing things like providing commentary for Eurovision last summer.