A new series better than the original would understand that for many queer people, the club is political. In an era where young people are "sober curious" and meeting on apps, the physical, sweaty, collective space of a dance floor is more radical than ever. A new QaF should dedicate entire episodes to a single night at the club—following different characters as they hook up, break up, do drugs, and find transcendence under a disco ball. No other show is doing that right now. That would be its superpower. You cannot make a better Queer as Folk without addressing the elephant in the room: the characters. The 2000s show had a perfect storm of casting. Gale Harold’s Brian was a masculine, emotionally unavailable icon; Randy Harrison’s Justin was the wide-eyed artist; Scott Lowell’s Ted was the desperate romantic; Peter Paige’s Emmett was the effervescent queen.
A new series can be better than the original because we have 20 more years of history, culture, and technology to draw from. We have trans stories to tell, economic collapses to critique, and a new wave of puritanism (from both the right and the left) to push against. The perfect Queer as Folk for this decade is out there, waiting for a network or streamer brave enough to fund it. queer as folk new series better
That is a show with stakes, conflict, and a specific sense of place. The 2022 Queer as Folk was not a failure of the IP. It was a failure of courage. It tried to be everything to everyone—a safe, educational, trauma-informed piece of queer media that would not offend streaming algorithms. In doing so, it forgot that the original Queer as Folk was offensive . That was its genius. A new series better than the original would
Until then, we have the original—still streaming, still shocking, still a masterpiece of its time. But a new, better version? It would not just be nostalgic. It would be a bonfire in the dark. And right now, that’s exactly what queer art needs. No other show is doing that right now
Queer as Folk: Babylon Falls Setting: A mid-sized American city (e.g., Columbus, OH or Providence, RI)—not NYC or LA, because real queer life exists in the margins. Cold Open: A crowded, sweaty club. Bass drops. A nonbinary DJ plays a remix of a 2000s pop song. We meet our protagonist, LEO (mid-20s, trans masc, chaotic). Leo is snorting something in the bathroom with his ex, JASMINE (Bisexual, cynical). They argue about who gets to keep the dog.
Modern queer media has trended toward the wholesome ( Heartstopper , Red, White & Royal Blue ). While those stories are vital, they represent a specific, sanitized corner of queer life. A new Queer as Folk must reclaim the as folk part of the title—meaning ordinary, vulgar, messy, and real. A better series would recognize that not every queer person wants to be an activist; some just want to dance, drink, and make terrible decisions. To surpass the original—not just match it—a hypothetical 2025/2026 Queer as Folk revival would need to build on the foundation while addressing the 2000s show’s blind spots. Here are the five pillars. 1. Restoring Sexual Bravery (Without the Predation) The original QaF featured explicit sex scenes that were integral to character development. The 2022 reboot was remarkably chaste by comparison. A better new series would bring back the heat, but with a crucial difference: enthusiastic, negotiated consent.
Gentrification, dating apps, and the housing crisis have decimated traditional gayborhoods. A modern Brian would be a 35-year-old who still has roommates. The nightclub would be struggling to pay rent. The characters would be doing gig economy work, not just chilling at Babylon every night. This grit would re-introduce the struggle that defined early queer life. When a character loses their apartment because of a landlord converting the building into condos, that’s a story about modern queer precarity that the original never had to tell. The 2022 reboot had trans and nonbinary characters, which was a strength. But many critics noted they were often used as "wise sages" or vessels for trauma. A better iteration would give trans characters the same license to be flawed that cis gay men had in the 2000s.