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Not long after Bravo canceled Queer Eye for the Straight Guy in 2007, the show\u2019s creators thought their showbiz careers were over. Despite masterminding one of the 21st century\u2019s seminal reality TV hits, David Collins, Rob Eric and Michael Williams \u2014 the team behind Scout Productions, founded in 1994 as a scrappy indie film outfit based out of Boston \u2014 were struggling to find another hit now that they\u2019d been rebranded as unscripted lifestyle guys. \u201cIn 2004, we won an Oscar for The Fog of War and an Emmy for Queer Eye,\u201d Collins says. \u201cTwo years after that, we could not get arrested. There was a moment where I was like, \u2018All right, am I going to become a barista?\u2019 \u201d<\/p>\n
Today, Scout is one of the most prolific nonfiction development companies in Hollywood \u2014 all thanks to a call Collins received in 2016 from WME agent Nir Caspi looking to shop titles that would satisfy Netflix\u2019s burgeoning foray into reality programming. Scout had wanted to reboot Queer Eye, but traditional networks couldn\u2019t overlook the series\u2019 Bravo ties. When the new, gentler, less coastal Queer Eye premiered on the streaming service in February 2018, it was an immediate smash, resuscitating Scout\u2019s pedigree and helping to make Netflix the reality hub it has become.<\/p>\n
In the half-decade since, Scout has produced and sold an upcoming ghost-hunting show executive produced by Kristen Stewart; the Max streetwear competition show The Hype; Netflix\u2019s MerPeople; Peacock\u2019s Amy Poehler-produced The Gentle Art of Swedish Death Cleaning; Roku\u2019s forthcoming Charlie Puth series; a Barney documentary; the canceled-too-soon ballroom pageant Legendary; what Eric calls an \u201cunbelievably fabulous\u201d competition involving Janelle Mon\u00e1e; and a four-part expos\u00e9 about the celebrity-friendly megachurch Hillsong that recently aired on FX.<\/p>\n
For Collins, that last one is personal. He\u2019d been a Hillsong member for a year and a half when a Sunday school teacher refused to acknowledge that the twin daughters he shares with Williams have two dads. Collins left the church immediately, and Scout soon partnered with Vanity Fair on what became The Secrets of Hillsong. Collins convinced disgraced pastor Carl Lentz \u2014 who famously befriended Justin Bieber and was a face of the organization until Lentz\u2019s children\u2019s nanny accused him of recurring sexual abuse \u2014 to participate in the documentary. It\u2019s the first time he\u2019s spoken publicly about his downfall. Without the restored success of Queer Eye, that might never have happened.<\/p>\n
Figuring out what Queer Eye should look like in a world at once culturally enlightened and politically rancorous was key. When the original version bowed 20 years ago, gay visibility marked a new frontier, buoyed by Will & Grace, Ellen DeGeneres and the term \u201cmetrosexual,\u201d which granted straight men permission to care about their appearance. The Fab Five \u2014 Ted Allen, Kyan Douglas, Thom Filicia, Carson Kressley and Jai Rodriguez \u2014 were portrayed as superheroes, swooping in with quips and commodities to transform the lives of hapless slobs. By 2018, the show required a softer ethos. It needed to reflect utmost civility in an increasingly uncivil America.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen we partnered with Scout to bring Queer Eye back to life, we were a little nervous,\u201d says David George, CEO of ITV America, which signed an overall deal with Scout before the revival premiered. \u201cIt\u2019s such a legendary show, and we did not want to be the ones that messed up the legacy of the franchise. Since day one, it\u2019s been an incredible ride with David, Michael and Rob, and they have been fantastic collaborators.\u201d<\/p>\n
The original Queer Eye for the Straight Guy team during the fifth season on Bravo, in 2007. Ted Allen, Thom Filicia and Jai Rodriguez.<\/p>\n
By design, the fresh Fab Five \u2014 Bobby Berk, Karamo Brown, Tan France, Antoni Porowski and Jonathan Van Ness \u2014 present themselves as sweeter and more vulnerable. Queer Eye\u2018s subjects are more varied, too, like a transgender man recovering from top surgery in season two and a former prisoner who works with the recently incarcerated in the seventh season, which came out in May.<\/p>\n
The original Queer Eye for the Straight Guy team during the fifth season on Bravo, in 2007. Left: Subject Larry Roth Sr. is flanked by Kyan Douglas and Carson Kressley.<\/p>\n
Berk recalls shooting the pilot episode, which starred a 57-year-old divorc\u00e9 with lupus. \u201cAs we were building him up, you could see the walls coming down around him,\u201d Berk says of forgoing wisecracks in favor of being supportive. \u201cThe original format was absolutely, 1,000 percent perfect for the time, but this is how our show evolves.\u201d<\/p>\n
Though Scout hasn\u2019t produced a theatrical film since 2008, Williams and Collins reference their early indie work as mainstays in everything they do. They first met on Little Man Tate (1991), and watching director Jodie Foster in action taught Williams and Collins that sets could be harmonious, hierarchy-free havens. \u201cIt was all women and gay men in her world, and she created such a safe, loving, fun, passionate family,\u201d Collins says.<\/p>\n
Along the way, their lawyer, John Sloss, introduced Williams and Collins to revered documentarian Errol Morris, which led to Scout making Morris\u2019 1999 film Mr. Death: The Rise and Fall of Fred A. Leuchter, Jr. and his IFC interview series First Person. IFC and Bravo shared a parent company at the time, and when Bravo was looking to reach younger audiences, Scout pitched a premise to the only TV producers they knew. After Williams and Collins witnessed a flock of gay men offering advice to a man who\u2019d been publicly excoriated for his attire by his wife, an idea was born. And it was an overnight sensation: The Queer Eye for the Straight Guy premiere became the most watched show in Bravo history.<\/p>\n
Subsequent seasons\u2019 ratings steadily dipped. Other shows Scout sold \u2014 ABC Family\u2019s Knock First, Sundance Channel\u2019s Big Ideas for a Small Planet and Logo\u2019s Sordid Lives: The Series, to name a few forgettable examples \u2014 largely fizzled, too, which makes their comeback story all the more impressive.<\/p>\n
When the Queer Eye revival launched, marriage equality had been legalized and pop culture was queerer than ever, but daily news cycles were mired in the hateful rhetoric that Donald Trump\u2019s presidency inspired. Queer Eye, focused on stories about coming together despite differences, felt like an antidote. And with the ongoing spike in anti-trans legislation targeting health care and other rights, its messages of harmony are especially resonant.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy plea for fans, especially our straight allies, is to take that parasocial connection that you feel when you watch us on TV into your own life,\u201d Van Ness says. \u201cIt\u2019s incumbent upon all of us to have these conversations. Do it with your friends, your family, your auntie and uncle that you\u2019ve cut off like a dead foot because you see them on Facebook saying X, Y or Z.\u201d<\/p>\n
Seven seasons later, Queer Eye is the longest-running reality show on Netflix, and among the longest-running of all its series. While a renewal hasn\u2019t been announced, with the Fab Five producing their own programs and products, one can\u2019t help but wonder about the franchise\u2019s future. \u201cWe passed the torch from the original guys to the new guys,\u201d Collins says. \u201cWho knows, maybe they\u2019ll pass the torch in the future. Anything\u2019s possible.\u201d<\/p>\n
View this article at The Hollywood Reporter<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" \u2018Queer Eye\u2019 Turns 20 at a Critical Moment: \u201cIt\u2019s Incumbent Upon All of Us to Have These Conversations\u201d: Not long after Bravo canceled Queer Eye for the Straight Guy in 2007, the show\u2019s creators thought their showbiz careers were over. Despite masterminding one of the 21st century\u2019s seminal reality TV hits, David Collins, Rob Eric
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