Ten years before SCOTUS ruled in favor of marriage equality---after Ellen DeGeneres came out on primetime but before Will & Grace finished winning over the heartland---there was Queer as Folk. Loaded with drugs, hair gel, and tons of promiscuous sex, it was everything network shows about LGBT people weren't. In short, QAF DGAF.
But it did. Throughout its unblinking five seasons on Showtime, Folk went deep on plotlines about gay bashing, the AIDS crisis, drug addiction, and—naturally—same-sex marriage long before other TV dramas would tread those waters.
And it all started with one kid's coming out. The series opens with teenage Justin Taylor (Randy Harrison, though if you watch the British version this character's analog is played by future Sons of Anarchy star Charlie Hunnam) is taking his first step into the gay club life of Pittsburgh. (That puddle he steps in is his baptism. Metaphors!) There he meets Brian Kinney (Gale Harold, though if you watch the British version his analog is played by future Game of Thrones star Aidan Gillen). They hook up and that same night Brian's lesbian friends Lindsay (Thea Gill) and Melanie (Michelle Clunie) give birth to Brian's biological son. And that's just the beginning.
After that there was love, death, amyl nitrate, and even comic book heroes. Here's how to binge-watch the show that changed how TV considered LGBT stories. Grab a cocktail and your most reflective shirt---it's time to watch all of Queer as Folk.
Number of Seasons: 5 (83 episodes)
Time Requirements: You're looking at roughly 65 hours of TV here, but it can go by surprisingly quickly. Give this one two months, watching one or two episodes a day (or cram more into weekend days).
Where to Get Your Fix: Netflix, On Demand. A word to the wise, though: some of the streaming versions don't have the same music as they did when the episodes aired on Showtime, presumably because of rights issues, so seek out DVDs if you can.
Best Character to Follow: The most interesting person on the show, easily, is Brian Kinney. He's a classic Anti-Hero-With-a-Code, but in a way that's never boring. It's no wonder that when his childhood best friend Michael (Hal Sparks) created a gay superhero, he modeled him after Brian. That said, Justin experiences the most growth over the show's course---but since Brian and Justin spend most of the show's run in various states of emotional entanglement, it's easy to follow them as a dynamic duo. Proceed.
Seasons/Episodes You Can Skip:
Generally speaking, all of Queer As Folk is watchable. And even though it came before the true advent of prestige television, it still has a long-arc format wherein little bits of every episode tie into both what's happening in the moment and what will happen in the future. The final two seasons get a little too dramatic at times—and maybe a bit improbable (Justin goes to Hollywood to work in the movies!)—but the finale pays off, so you'll want to know what got you there.
Seasons/Episodes You Can't Skip:
Seasons 1 and 2: There are a few can't-miss episodes below, but really, watch all of the first two seasons, everything you'll need to know to fall in love with these people—even the boring lesbians.
Season 1: Episode 1, "Premiere" This is where it all begins. Justin goes to Pittsburgh's gay district along Liberty Avenue and meets Brian. Brian does ecstasy. Brian has a baby. Brian and Michael play Peter Pan on the roof of the hospital. The house music plays. (Also, never forget Michael's opening voiceover: "The thing you need to know is, it's all about sex…")
Season 1: Episode 2, "Queer, There and Everywhere" Meet Michael's mom, Debbie (Sharon Gless). She's the poster PLFAG mom, and ultimate dropper of wisdom. Also, Brian objects the circumcision of his son, Gus, and thus establishes his favorite pastime of antagonizing Melanie while Lindsay defends him. Ted (Scott Lowell) hooks up with a guy whose drugs cause him to OD. (Remember this guy.) Ted winds up in a coma.
Season 1: Episode 7, "Spells Like Codependence" Justin's homophobic father attacks Brian. Justin moves in with Brian. (You'll soon learn that Brian has father issues.)
Season 1: Episode 10, "Queens of the Road" Brian throws Michael a surprise birthday party and outs him to a coworker. The dysfunctional/codependent nature of Brian and Michael's friendship will hit many peaks, this episode is just one of them.
Season 1: Episode 13, "Very Stupid People" Emmett (Peter Paige) has been trying to go straight. (Yeah, good luck with that.) It all comes to a head when Ted gives him one of the best speeches of the entire show: "… [God] created you in his image. At least that's what I was always taught. And since God is love and God doesn't make mistakes, then you must be exactly the way he wants you to be. And that goes for every person, every planet, every mountain, every grain of sand, every song, every tear... and every faggot. We're all his, Emmett. He loves us all."
Season 1: Episode 22, "Full Circle" While Michael packs up to move to Portland with his boyfriend, Brian shows up at Justin's prom. What happens after that is too important to be spoiled, but suffice to say it's the most emotionally-wrecking thing that ever happens on this show (and a lot of emotionally-wrecking crap happens on this show).
Season 2: Episode 6, "Mixed Blessings" Michael, now fulfilling his life's dream of owning a comic book store, gets a crush on a customer named Ben (Robert Gant). Ted is struggling to keep his new gay porn site up and running, so Emmett, um, helps.
Season 2: Episode 10, "Priorities, Please! (Beat the Time)" Debbie finds the body of a young man in the dumpster where she works, the cops don't seem to care (probably because it was a kid in a gay neighborhood). Emmett gets close with an older fan of his work on Ted's website.
Season 2: Episode 11, "The Wedding" Everyone, even Brian, helps pull Mel and Lindsay's wedding together. This episode is the reason the Supreme Court ruled in favor of same-sex marriage (probably).
Season 2: Episode 15, "Rage Against This Machine" Michael and aspiring artist Justin start a comic book together. Brian's jealous, but considering their hero Rage is basically a god they've created in his image, he shouldn't be. (Shortly after this, Justin will meet a violinist and start the most boring affair of this show.)
Season 3: Episode 5, "There's Nothing Noble About Being Poor" The police chief who didn't really bother investigating the death of the boy Debbie found runs for mayor. Brian, the love child of Ayn Rand and James Dean, helps run his campaign anyway. No one is really happy about this, except maybe Brian's accountant.
Season 3: Episode 11, "Poster May Lead to the Truth" Brian, the Hamlet of Pittsburgh, gets fired from Stockwell's campaign because he encouraged Stockwell to meet with the gay community, who just ask him about the death of "Dumpster Boy" (he probably knew he was setting up a mousetrap). Michael and Ben, now living together and taking care of a homeless gay hustler named Hunter (Harris Allan), tell Hunter he has HIV.
Season 3: Episode 12, "Drugs, Sex and Lies" Brian, the Sherlock Holmes of Liberty Avenue, investigates the death of "Dumpster Boy" himself to get revenge on his former employer. Emmett is worried about Ted, who has developed a crystal meth problem. Mel and Lindsay encourage him to have an intervention.
Season 3: Episode 14, "The Election" It looks like the homophobic Stockwell is going to win the mayoral election. Brian, the Robin Hood of well-heeled homosexuals, pretty much clears out his bank account buying ad time to expose him. Hunter's mother, a hot mess who Hunter says got him into prostitution, comes to reclaim him, so Michael takes him and runs away. Stockwell loses and there's a celebration in the streets. Emmett, still broken up by Ted's drug use, doesn't feel like partying. Debbie gives him the most wonderful advice: "A word of advice, my sweet Emmett—mourn the losses because they're many. But celebrate the victories because they're few."
Season 4: Episode 6, "Death in the Family" Michael's uncle Vic (Jack Wetherall), who has been living with HIV since the show began, passes away. Michael and Justin find out there is a Hollywood director interested in optioning their Rage comic. Brian finds out he has a lump on his testicle from a doctor he hooks up with.
Season 4: Episode 13, "Proposal of Two Kinds" This episode gets its name from the fact that the cop Debbie has been dating proposes to her, and Ben proposes to Michael. Also, Brett Keller—the Bryan Singer-esque director courting Michael and Justin to make Rage into a movie—proposes that Justin come to LA to take some meetings. (Fun fact: Michelle Clunie, who plays Mel, would go on to have a real-life baby with her real-life bestie, the real-life Bryan Singer. Her character is also pregnant in this episode.)
Season 4: Episode 14, "Liberty Ride" The gang completes their charity bike ride from Toronto to Pittsburgh. Newlyweds Ben and Michael get harassed at the Canadian border because, back before shows like Queer as Folk changed hearts and minds, same-sex marriages weren't recognized in all 50 states. Mel has her baby. Brian, still dealing with that whole testicular cancer treatment thing, barely finishes the bike race.
Season 5: Episode 10, "I Love You" Emmett's pro-football-playing lover Drew Boyd (Matt Battaglia) deals with coming out. A bombing at a political rally leaves Michael seriously injured and Brian realizing he might actually love Justin. Also, Cyndi Lauper is there. Bring tissues.
Season 5: Episode 13, "We Will Survive!" No series finale is perfectly satisfying, but this one comes pretty close.
Why You Should Binge:
Whether you watched it when it was on the first time around or not, going back and binging QAF is nothing if not a reminder of how revolutionary it was. (Even if it could've used a few more non-white characters.) And in light of the Supreme Court's recent decision, it's an amazing reminder of just how much things have changed in the 10 years since it went off the air.
Best Scene—Brian Shows Up at Prom:
"Literally can't even" is an understatement for how heart-stopping this scene is. This scene---and what comes after---is as good as QAF gets.
The Takeaway:
If you're gay, go out and be the best homosexual you can possibly be. (Also, you may never get that original opening credits sequence out of your head.)
If You Liked Queer as Folk You'll Love: For queer lives on Showtime, try The L Word. For a bold look at LGBT lives on any network, try any of the shows that kept going down the inroads QAF made, from Grey's Anatomy to Glee.
