NBCUniversal gets rights to "Queer as Folk" reboot

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August 18, 2019 | Arts / Entertainment

NBCUniversal gets rights to "Queer as Folk" reboot

Queer as Folk

The entertainment world is obsessed with rebooting shows from the past, from Roseanne to Magnum PI to Will & Grace.

And now you can add the ground-breaking British series Queer as Folk to the list. The series first aired in 1999 and ran for 10 episodes (over two seasons). In 2000, the show was recreated for a North American audience and lasted for several seasons.

Two new versions of QAF are being worked on.

One version will launch next year on NBCUniversal’s still unnamed streaming service. The show's original creator, Russell T. Davies, will be back to executive produce, and Canadian Stephen Dunn is slated to write, direct and executive produce.

Not much is known about the update, except that the show will follow a different group of characters following some tragedy, and take place in a different location. Whether or not any of the original cast will return is also unclear.

In 2017, Charlie Hunnam, who played schoolboy Nathan Maloney, revealed he would love to be part of the new series. “I’d be game for a reunion,” he said. “It’s a long time ago, I’m an old bastard now -- that was 20 years ago.”

A second reboot is being developed for French television for this fall.

“It will not be a strict adaptation of the characters and intrigues of the [British] Channel 4 series,” explained producer Joris Charpentier from Telfrance.

“However, the story will take place within the world of Queer As Folk, and will inherit the show’s corrosive, insolent, touching and deeply relevant tone, continuing and honouring Russell T Davies’s powerful and uniquely human style.”

“We fully trust the creative team to produce a beautiful series that will reflect the spirit of our program and France today,” said Davies.

The show was known for pushing the envelope; we wonder how far these reboots will have to go to top the original.