The Queer as Folk trailer is here, queer, powerful, and, of course, very steamy -- we're already obsessed.
This marks the second time the British series has been reimagined for American audiences. This time, the action movies from Pittsburgh to New Orleans to follow a new group of friends navigating the joys and struggles of living their best, most unapologetically queer lives.
The new location was important to creator Stephen Dunn, who wants the series to reflect queer culture in a new, authentically modern way.
"I wanted to create a new groundbreaking version of this show for this moment," he said in a statement shared by streaming service Peacock, which will air the series. "Our new Queer as Folk is set in New Orleans -- one of the most unique queer communities in North America -- and I am immensely proud that the new series is comprised of an electric ensemble of fresh characters that mirror the modern global audience."
This means a cast of characters and actors comprising a spectrum of gender identities, sexualities, and abilities. For Dunn, it's important to touch people's lives the way his was when he saw the original series, an experience he says was the first time he ever felt really seen.
"If there's one person who is able to see Queer as Folk and feel less alone, or who now feels more supported and seen, our job is done," he said.
It's a mission executive producer Jaclyn Moore shares. "I believe deeply in the power of storytelling to make people feel seen, but all too often I feel as though queer and trans representation in art is limited to extremes. We are either shown as saintly heroes bravely surviving a bigoted society or two-dimensional queer-coded villains that feel airdropped in from some previous era. With Queer as Folk, we aimed to depict queer characters who live in the messy middle," she explained.
Audiences will finally get their glimpse of what that looks like for the series as the trailer is finally here.
As the trailer opens, Brodie (Devin Way) has recently returned to New Orleans and begins connecting with friends old and new. Enter Mingus (Fin Argus), who's getting ready for their first drag performance on the club stage. The festivities come to an abrupt end when, in a moment ripped from the headlines, a man with a gun enters the club similar to the massacre at Pulse nightclub in Orlando, Fla. What follows is a story that will be familiar to many queer people finding joy and resilience in the wake of tragedy and pain.
Appearing alongside Brodie and Mingus is a cast of characters including Ruthie (Jesse James Keitel), a trans, semi-reformed party girl who's struggling in the wake of the tragedy, and her partner, Shar (CG), a nonbinary professor who's working to put her punk roots behind them as they transition into parenthood. Noah (Johnny Sibilly) is a successful lawyer whose exterior hides the fact that he's not as together as he presents himself to be. Julian (Ryan O'Connell) is a young queer man with cerebral palsy who craves more independence.
Kim Cattrall and Juliette Lewis also see their characters debut in the trailer. Cattrall plays the role of Brenda, a "martini-soaked, high society Southern debutante with trailer park roots," while Lewis stars as Mingus's single mom and best friend, Judy.
The series will debut on Peacock June 9. Check out some additional first-look images of the cast below.
