Yaaaaas, Queens! The Emmy-winning reality TV series “Queer Eye” is filming its third season in none other than Kansas City, Missouri.
For those uncultured swines among us, the show consists of five gay men – dubbed the “Fab Five” – who are food and wine, culture, fashion, grooming and design experts, respectively. Each week, the team “makes better” a deserving person they call a hero.
Heroes undergo an emotional journey while simultaneously being exposed to fabulous French tucks, bomber jackets, exfoliants and avocados.
While the show focuses on transforming individual lives, it often addresses important social issues like racism, religion, LGBTQ equality and political division along the way.
“Queer Eye” is a Netflix reboot of Bravo TV’s original “Queer Eye for the Straight Guy,” which aired from 2003 to 2007. While attitudes toward the LGBTQ community have changed since then, there is still plenty of room for improvement.
“The original show was fighting for tolerance,” said fashion expert and winner of tallest hair, Tan France. “Our fight is for acceptance.”
The first two seasons of “Queer Eye” took place in Atlanta, Georgia, which created a diverse setting that fueled unique conversations.
In season one, culture expert Karamo Brown had a discussion with a MAGA hat-wearing police officer about the strain between law enforcement and people of color. The Fab Five also helped a closeted engineer come out to his stepmother, while tackling the issue of homophobia within the Christian faith.
While the show has already “made better” their first woman and trans man, there is hope that season three will branch out even further. Designer Bobby Berk has said in interviews audiences should expect “a lot more diversity.”
“Queer Eye” magically unites different types of people in the hopes of finding some understanding while working toward a common goal. The show may be unable to solve the world’s problems one haircut at a time, but it has the ability to set an example of constructive civil discourse in a divisive society.
According to Kansas City film commissioner Stephane Scupham, Kansas City beat out several other cities to attract the show. A video of Mayor Sly James wearing a rainbow bow tie and a letter from Greg Razed – an openly gay state representative – were included in the pitch.
“The show will be taking advantage of the local incentive program that provides a 10 percent rebate for certain production-related expenditures,” Schupham said.
The Kansas City Council increased the rebate in November 2017 in order to provide employment opportunities to film crews.
Production on season three began July 16, but viewers will not be able to enjoy the resulting eight episodes until 2019. In the meantime, I recommend grabbing a box of tissues and rewatching seasons one and two or wandering aimlessly around the city in the hopes of glimpsing Jonathan’s luscious locks or Tan’s tasteful printed shirts.
Cover photo courtesy of Cosmopolitan.