Queer as Folk | |
---|---|
Genre | Drama |
Developed by |
Ron Cowen Daniel Lipman |
Starring |
Michelle Clunie Robert Gant Thea Gill Gale Harold Randy Harrison Scott Lowell Peter Paige Chris Potter Hal Sparks Sharon Gless Jack Wetherall |
Opening theme |
Seasons 1–3: "Spunk" by Greek Buck Seasons 4–5: "Cue the Pulse to Begin" by Burnside Project |
Country of origin | United States Canada |
Original language(s) | English |
No. of seasons | 5 |
No. of episodes | 83 (list of episodes) |
Production | |
Running time | 44–58 minutes |
Production company(s) | Tony Jonas Productions Cowlip Productions Temple Street Productions Warner Bros. Television |
Release | |
Original network |
Showtime Showcase |
Original release | December 3, 2000 | – August 7, 2005
Chronology | |
Related shows | Queer as Folk (UK) |
Website |
Queer as Folk is a drama television series. It is an American–Canadian co-production. The series ran between December 2000 and August 2005 and was produced for Showtime and Showcase by Cowlip Productions, Tony Jonas Productions, Temple Street Productions and Showtime Networks in association with Crowe Entertainment. It was developed and written by Ron Cowen and Daniel Lipman, who were the showrunners, and also the executive producers along with Tony Jonas, former President of Warner Bros. Television.
Based on the British series created by Russell T Davies, Queer as Folk was the first hour-long drama on American television to portray the lives of gay men and women. Although it was set in Pittsburgh, PA, much of the series was actually shot in Toronto and employed various Canadian directors known for their independent film work (including Bruce McDonald, David Wellington, Kelly Makin, John Greyson, Jeremy Podeswa and Michael DeCarlo) as well as Australian director Russell Mulcahy, who directed the pilot episode. Additional writers in the later seasons included Michael MacLennan, Efrem Seeger, Brad Fraser, Del Shores, and Shawn Postoff.
The series follows the lives of five gay men living in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Brian (Gale Harold), Justin (Randy Harrison), Michael (Hal Sparks), Emmett (Peter Paige), and Ted (Scott Lowell); a lesbian couple, Lindsay (Thea Gill) and Melanie (Michelle Clunie); and Michael's mother Debbie (Sharon Gless) and his uncle Vic (Jack Wetherall). Another main character, Ben (Robert Gant), was added in the second season.