The ‘Queer Eye’ Cast Says Season 2 Will Feature the Makeover of a Trans Man
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It was only recently announced that we won’t have to wait long for a brand-new season of Queer Eye, as the Netflix reboot is returning to the small screen on June 15, right in time for Pride Month. But not only are we getting more episodes — those episodes will be more diverse, too. A Queer Eye trans man makeover will take place during the show’s second season, in addition to the makeover of a woman.
At a recent L.A. event put on by Netflix, the entire Fab 5 — Antoni, Bobby, Jonathan, Karamo and Tan (along with Season 1 subject AJ and show producer David Collins) — sat down to discuss moments from the first season, highlights of the now-around-the-corner second season and more. One thing that came up was the fact that the Netflix reboot was a deliberate departure from the show’s original 2003–2007 run.
“From the beginning, when we came to Netflix, we knew we had an opportunity to be very different,” says Collins. “To definitely show the format and to show the guys in a new way, in a new light. We knew we wanted to get out of New York City and head down into the heartland. That’s when we landed in Atlanta, which is amazing.” (He produced both the show’s original run and the reboot.)
Collins sites the many strides of the LGBTQ community as one reason why the show needed to change. “A lot has happened in LGBT rights, right? The Q rights have been amazing, quite frankly,” he says. Another reason was the lack of commercials on Netflix. Because of that, Collins says, “We got to have story and connection. An opportunity where we get to really have a connection with our episodic heroes. … We get to know about Bobby and Jon, and Karamo and Tan and Antoni. And see them as individuals and who they are and learn about their stories.”
But the stories told on the show are about to get much more diverse, particularly because a woman will get a makeover on the new season’s first episode. And this season will see a Queer Eye trans man makeover during episode 5.
Prior to its third season the original series was called Queer Eye for the Straight Guy. Though the series hasn’t been called that for years, it’s great to see the show finally embracing all aspects of the “queer” community.
“Queer Eye, indeed, was a broad stroke, right?” says Bobby Berk, the show’s Design Guy. “It’s Queer Eye; it’s all of us. Gay, straight, men, women, husbands, wives, families. We’re excited what’s coming up in the next season.”
“We’re expanding our boundary to help more people,” says Karamo Brown.
And though the series hasn’t been all that diverse in front of the camera, Grooming Guy Jonathan Van Ness insists the show has been more so behind the camera. “The crew that you guys don’t get to see in the show is so diverse. There’s every color, every size, every sexual orientation. And everyone that is there — I just can’t speak enough to how high on our priority inclusivity is and how by those decisions being made, we could all shine our best because we were all being represented, and you can’t preach what you don’t practice.”
