50 Fun Facts About Queer as Folk

The original 1999 Queer as Folk was set and filmed in which English city?

Its gay village around Canal Street was the real location; the same street later featured in the 2001 drama Bob & Rose.

Who wrote the original British Queer as Folk?

He went on to revive Doctor Who in 2005 and later wrote It's a Sin, his first script to focus on AIDS.

The title comes from a Northern English saying, 'there's nowt so queer as folk', which means what?

The script had originally been titled Queer as Fuck before cooler heads prevailed.

Which British broadcaster aired the original series?

The writer fell out with the channel after it cancelled the spin-off Misfits and did not work with it again until Cucumber in 2015.

Who played the sexually voracious advertising executive Stuart Alan Jones in the UK series?

He was nominated for the Best Actor BAFTA in 2000 and later played Littlefinger in Game of Thrones and Tommy Carcetti in The Wire.

Which actor, the writer's first choice for Stuart, declined over his age and suggested a friend?

He would later be the first Doctor when Doctor Who returned in 2005.

Vince Tyler, Stuart's long-suffering best friend with a crush on him, was played by whom?

He later joined a long-running ITV soap; the character's mother Hazel was played by Denise Black.

Charlie Hunnam played the schoolboy Nathan Maloney. How old was Nathan supposed to be?

Hunnam himself was 18; the premiere's depiction of Nathan with an older man drew 136 complaints to the broadcasting watchdog and criticism from Mary Whitehouse.

How many episodes did the first British series run for?

A two-part follow-up, Queer as Folk 2, aired in 2000 and closed the story on 22 February that year.

Which firm, then owned by the writer's friend Nicola Shindler, made the UK series?

The show had a budget of about £3 million and drew roughly 3.5 million viewers an episode.

After a car salesman makes homophobic remarks during a test drive, Stuart does what with the Jeep?

He also blows up a car belonging to his friend Alexander's hostile mother; the producers called the trio archetypes rather than characters.

Which brewery sponsored the first four episodes and then pulled out halfway through the run?

After a backlash from the gay community the company offered to sponsor the second series, and the producers turned it down.

Which composer wrote the UK theme and won an RTS craft award for the score?

He would later score the revived Doctor Who for over a decade.

The soundtrack album to the first UK series sold about how many copies?

It ended up the 50th biggest-selling compilation of 1999 and features OT Quartet, Ultra Nate and Blondie.

Antony Cotton, who played Alexander Perry, went on to play a gay character in which soap?

The role of Alexander was originally written for TV producer Phil Collinson during his brief acting career.

The 2000 sequel Queer as Folk 2 was driven by which family event?

It ends with Stuart and Vince leaving for another gay scene in a pastiche of Grease, with Nathan inheriting the scene.

In 2010, where did The Guardian rank Queer as Folk in its list of the 50 greatest TV dramas of all time?

On release the gay press criticised it for ignoring AIDS; the writer said he refused to let gay lives be defined by the disease.

The writer says he wrote Queer as Folk to what kind of music, for its 'sheer clubland drive'?

He wrote Doctor Who to action-film scores and Bob & Rose to Moby's album Play.

The American remake was set in Pittsburgh but mostly filmed in which city?

Not a single shot of the real Liberty Avenue was used; the gay-village scenes were filmed around Church and Wellesley.

The American series was co-produced by Showcase in Canada and which US cable network?

It quickly became the network's number-one show, and a large share of the audience turned out to be straight women.

Which writing duo developed and ran the American version?

They admitted in 2015 that the backlash that surprised them came not from the right but from parts of the LGBT community.

Which Australian director, best known for Highlander, directed the American pilot?

Later episodes used Canadian indie directors including Bruce McDonald and John Greyson.

Who played Brian Kinney, the American counterpart of Stuart?

He and Scott Lowell refused to discuss their own sexuality in the press during the first season to avoid distraction.

Randy Harrison played Justin Taylor. What nickname does Debbie give him because of his bright smile?

Justin is 17 when he meets Brian, is bashed with a baseball bat at the end of season one and later becomes a visual artist.

Michael Novotny, played by Hal Sparks, is obsessed with which fictional comic-book hero?

He starts as a manager at the Big Q department store and eventually opens his own comic shop.

Michael and Justin's comic book from season two stars a superhero based on Brian. What is it called?

Justin appears as JT, the hero's lover and sidekick, and Michael as Zephyr, his best friend.

Peter Paige's flamboyant Emmett Honeycutt originally hails from which state?

His jobs over five seasons include shop assistant at Torso, porn star, naked maid, party planner and TV correspondent.

Ted Schmidt, played by Scott Lowell, works in what profession?

His storyline runs from constant rejection at the clubs to a criminal record from a porn website and a crystal-meth addiction.

Sharon Gless, formerly of Cagney & Lacey, played Michael's mother Debbie. Where does Debbie work?

A proud PFLAG member, she treats all the boys as family and takes in Justin when he runs away from home.

Ben Bruckner, Michael's long-term partner from season two onward, has what job?

Ben is HIV-positive, which is why Debbie initially opposes the relationship; the couple marry near the end of season four.

Michael and Ben adopt a teenage former hustler who is also HIV-positive. What is his nickname?

James Montgomery first has a crush on Brian before falling for a girl named Callie.

What is the name of the advertising agency Brian founds after leaving Vangard?

Justin came up with the name; its success lets Brian buy the club from its bankrupt owner.

What is the name of the gay dance club at the centre of the American series?

There was a real bar of that name in the city where filming took place, but it was a sit-down martini bar; the dance scenes were shot at a club called Fly.

Brian becomes a father in the very first episode. What is his son called?

Lindsay conceives through artificial insemination; in season three Michael fathers Melanie's daughter Jenny Rebecca the same way.

The show-within-a-show that Brian despises, a dull and politically correct gay drama, is called what?

It was the series poking fun at its own image in the gay community; it is eventually cancelled.

The final season is dominated by the fight against which anti-gay ballot measure?

A benefit against it at Brian's club is bombed, killing seven people in all and injuring 67, which finally pushes Brian to declare his love for Justin.

In the final scene, Brian dances alone to which Heather Small song, first heard in the pilot?

Michael's closing narration quotes Gloria Gaynor: 'We will survive'.

The American series' original opening theme, used for the first three seasons, was 'Spunk' by which act?

Seasons four and five switched to 'Cue the Pulse to Begin' by Burnside Project, with new opening credits.

Pittsburgh characters repeatedly mention a river that actually flows through eastern and central Pennsylvania. Which?

Pittsburgh was chosen as the closest parallel to the UK show's industrial setting, but the writers took plenty of geographic licence.

Which closeted star quarterback comes out by kissing Emmett live on the news?

The kiss gets Emmett fired from his Queer-Eye-style TV job.

Which of the American cast members came out as gay in The Advocate three months after Larry King had described him as straight on air in 2002?

Thea Gill came out as bisexual in 2004; the producers said that in season one even they did not know several actors' orientations.

The 2022 reboot relocated the story to which city?

Creator Stephen Dunn set it there as a tribute to his late friend, the drag performer Chi Chi DeVayne.

The 2022 series was released on which streaming service, which cancelled it after one season?

It had originally been developed for Bravo in 2018; low viewership ended it on 23 September 2022.

Which Sex and the City star played Brenda Beaumont, mother of Brodie and Julian, in the 2022 reboot?

Juliette Lewis played Mingus's mother and Ed Begley Jr. the rich father; the writers' room was assembled during lockdown in a condo in Newfoundland.

At the start of the American series, Hal Sparks's comic-loving character manages what kind of business?

The store is called the Big Q; he later follows his dream and opens a comic-book store of his own.

What is Lindsay Peterson's profession in the American series?

She takes time off to care for her son Gus, and her WASP parents are ashamed of her relationship with Melanie.

Who fathers Jenny Rebecca, the second child carried by Melanie?

Melanie, a lawyer, dislikes Brian for much of the series partly because Lindsay is so affectionate towards him.

Ted Schmidt eventually struggles with an addiction to which drug?

His on-and-off partner Blake, once an addict himself, turns up sober in season 4 as Ted's counsellor at a rehab clinic.

Who created the 2022 reboot, with Russell T Davies as executive producer?

He said he used the original British series as a jumping-off point and did not consider the Showtime adaptation at all.

The 2022 reboot was first put into development in 2018 at which network before moving to Peacock?

The writers' room was assembled during the pandemic from a condo in St. John's, Newfoundland, and was entirely queer save one assistant.