I play "Dungeons and Dragons" every week at a friend's apartment, and one week they had a show playing as background noise. Me, being immediately intrigued by everything, watched a good chunk of it while the conversation eventually turned to the show.
The show, Netflix's original "Queer Eye," is basically five gay men, called the Fab Five, going around helping dudes get their lives together.
Cool, I thought, maybe I'll check it out some time.
That "some time" happened to be on Sunday when I was in a cleaning mood and put the show on as background. I ended up watching the first three episodes with minimal cleaning happening and tears for each one.
I don't want to spoil anything for anyone who chooses to watch it, but they aren't just helping straight men find girlfriends. They're helping old men feel better about themselves, gay men come out of the closet and better the lives of family men (and their families).
All of this while subtly addressing pressing social issues.
The Fab 5 are fairly diverse - a Polish man from Canada, a Muslim Pakistani from England, a black activist, a man raised highly religious in the Bible Belt, and a very feminine gay man. All of the men have their own experiences, their own issues, and they use those in the show to connect with the men they're helping change.
I want to add this important note about the Fab Five: they never force anyone to change too far outside of their comfort zone.
A little? Yeah, sure, stop wearing that baseball cap and wear this cap that shows your face better. Here, let's cut your hair shorter so it looks better groomed, but not so short that you feel like just another corporate man. Let out your bit of flamboyance, but not so much that you feel too gay.
These are all things that they have done for the men they have worked with, and let me say: I cried during four of the nine episodes on Netflix.
I don't usually cry at reality TV, but I was bawling during some of these episodes. They get real.
Again, I don't want to spoil anything, but they go over the stigma of being gay in certain cultures, the tension between cops and black people and the disconnect between religion and being gay.
Despite the heavy stuff though, the Fab Five and the men they help are hilarious. Everyone has a favorite (or two) of the Fab Five they want to be best friends with, and during each episode you come to really feel for the person they're helping. The show is lighthearted and fun, and I highly recommend it for everyone.
It doesn't matter if you're gay, trans, straight, bi, or anything else: watch this show.
The very first episode, the Fab Five talked about what this show was supposed to be about. The original "Queer Eye" (which I had never heard of and have never watched) was about the ways they were different; their "Queer Eye" is about the ways they are just like everybody else.
I can't say it enough:
Watch this show.
