If you haven’t seen “Queer Eye” on Netflix, you’re truly missing out on a part of what might actually be some of the greatest reality television in history. The third season of “Queer Eye” took place right here in Kansas City, and the Fab Five truly served us all the looks and emotions that we’ve been needing.

The team of guys, consisting of food expert Antoni Porowski, grooming guru Jonathan Van Ness, fashion stylist Tan France, culture guide Karamo Brown and designer Bobby Berk swooped in to Kansas City and offered up their life changing services to eight lucky residents this season. While a lot of really great areas in the city were showcased in the show, including the Plaza and the Glam Room salon, what really stood out about this season was the connections each member of the Fab Five made with the people on the show.

“Queer Eye” is always pretty emotional, but this season really pulled at the heartstrings. If you watch it, you’re definitely going to want some tissues next to you. A lot more of the Five’s personalities and personal stories were shown, connecting them deeply to the people they helped.

In episode five self-dubbed “lumberjack lesbian” Jess from Lawrence, KS, discussed how she was kicked out her home by her religious parents after coming out, and designer Berk shared his similar experience. Berk moved out of his home at 15, largely because his parents also weren’t accepting of his homosexuality. The Fab Five taught Jess that her family didn’t have to be blood but also reconnected her with her biological sister and introduced her to her baby niece.

Episode three gave us the lovely Jones sisters, Mary and Deborah, owners of Jones Bar-B-Q in Kansas City. The funny and dedicated sisters were given the self-love and confidence they needed to further their business and teach themselves that it’s okay to take time for yourself.

In episode six viewers met Rob Elrod, whose wife passed away from breast cancer two years ago – leaving him to take care of his two young sons. This episode was a tearjerker, as Elrod’s positivity and willingness to keep his wife’s memory alive while learning to move on was not only inspiring but pushed the Five to work extra hard to make the best experience they could for him.

This season was everything good and wholesome and, most importantly, showed off all of the amazing people that live in our community. The overall focus of the show is promoting inclusivity and diversity, something done really well in this season. There’s a Japan special coming out, and rumors have it that season four might also be set in Kansas City. Watch season three, and look at all of the beauty and diversity that we have right here in our city.

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.

The show’s new Fab Five includes (in a completely unbiased order): Karamo Brown, the dreamy, personable culture expert, Antoni Porowski, the gorgeous and unbelievably sweet food guy; Tan France, the witty and eagle-eye fashion guru; Jonathan Van Ness, the over-the-top and slightly problematic grooming specialist; and Bobby Berk, the quiet, bland and generally unloved interior designer.

The show is funny and easy to watch due to the Fab Five’s wild banter between themselves and with the men they help. While definitely not as raunchy or as problematic as the original, particularly Carson Kressley, the fashion expert, the new show has a good bit of levity, including its fair share of masturbation jokes.

What the new show lacks in the r-word and pedophile jokes, it makes up for in its political messages. As the trailer for the reboot said, while the original Queer Eye was about tolerance, the new version is about acceptance. The show does a good job of countering misconceptions and tackling some of the issues raised by its setting in Atlanta and its more rural—and more conservative—suburbs.

Although I do love the show for its humor and uplift, I have two problems with the premise. First, the show revolves around queer people doing labor to help help straight people reimagine themselves. Queer people are constantly marginalized by society and now they are required to help straight people make themselves better? Not a great thing. But, if there was straight eye for the queer guy it would just be about how to wear basketball shorts and eat Buffalo Wild Wings so maybe this setup is best for now. Along with this problem, there is the issue of the “Queer Eye,” the supposedly inherent good taste that queer people have. This show quells this misinformation, but it is still present in the show’s premise and the name.

The second problem I have with the show is the issue of class. Most of the show involves a house remodel and a complete wardrobe change, both of which can be costly. In a way, this equates having money with having style or being confident. The reboot of the series is much more conscious of this issue than the original. The original food expert, Ted Allen, had his straight guys make foie gras with truffles and buy expensive chocolate boxes to put mousse in. While this is certainly many steps up from Antoni’s uninspiring grapefruit and avocado salad and hot dogs (yes, you read that right), it was most certainly NOT price conscious. Just something to think about.

In the first episode of the series, titled “You Can’t Fix Ugly,” the Fab Five helps Tom, a lonely thrice-divorced truck driver living in a basement apartment. As the first episode in the season, it sets the tone for the show as a confidence-builder. Tom is constantly self deprecating, calling himself “a dumb old boy from Kentucky” and “butt-ugly.” The Fab Five work their magic, helping Tom regain his identity and get the courage to ask his ex-wife and true love, Abby, out to a car show. This first episode does a great job of setting the tone not only as uplifting, but also as political. In one scene, Tom ask Bobby, the design expert, who is the man and who is the woman in his marriage. Bobby and Jonathan help tom “unpack” that misconception, calling out the sexism in the statement and saying that even in straight relationships gender roles continue to be blurred.

The second episode of the season, “Tackling Sasquatch” helps Neal, an app developer with obscenely long hair and low confidence. The central moment in this episode is the heart-to-heart between Tan, the fashion expert who is of Pakistani descent, and the subject, Neal who is of Indian descent. Tan and Neal bond about their common heritage and one can see that Neal, ever self-critical, gains confidence from hearing from someone who understands the struggles of being second generation and navigating cultural tension.

The third episode, “Dega Don’t” is probably my least favorite of the season. This episode features Cory, a disgusting, slobby and Trump-supporting cop whose wardrobe consists of gym shorts, t-shirts and slides and whose main form of culture is Nascar. The episode starts with the Fab Five driving to the subject’s house, like normal, except that they get pulled over. Karamo, who is black, is driving, and as the sirens start, his face drops. He tells the rest of the car, “I’m very aware of this type of cop,” and when the cop asks him to step out of the car, everyone becomes uncomfortable. After asking what they are doing, the cop then reveals that he is Cory’s nominator. Everyone laughs and yells, and Tan says “You can’t do that to brown people.” This scene basically sums up this episode. Cory is a Trump supporter and part of the episode is dedicated to him having conversations with the Fab Five, Karamo especially, about some hot-button issues. Although these conversations are important, I don’t really care about what Cory the Trump supporter has to say about police violence because he is complicit in the system, and even though he might say police are going to far, he is doing absolutely nothing in the way of real change. One the one hand, it is important that people like Cory have these conversations, but having them on TV means that they’re surface-level and coupled with no actual change.

What I did like about this episode is the idea that Cory needs to put in the same effort to his appearance that his wife puts into hers. In most of the episodes in which the subject is married, this theme crops up, that it’s not unmanly or stupid to put effort into one’s appearance. If only all the boys on campus who wear athletic clothes everyday while their girlfriends wear dresses and heels would learn this.

The fourth episode, “To Gay or Not Too Gay,” is probably my favorite. This episode is the reason the show is no longer called “For the Straight Guy.” This episode features AJ, a gay black man in Atlanta. The goal of this episode is to boost AJ’s confidence generally and, specifically, to help him come out to his step mom. The climax of this episode comes near the end when AJ begins the conversation with his step mom. The actually coming out goes smoothly, aside from the ugly crying that lasts for five minutes. This scene is incredibly touching, but it might have been a bit too personal to air in entirety. Nevertheless, if you’re just going to watch one or two episodes, I recommend this one and the first one.

The fourth episode, “Camp Rules,” is also a crowd favorite. This episode features Bobby and Vera, devout Christians and parents of six children. The highlight of the episode is the heart-to-heart between Bobby, the interior designer, and Bobby, the featured straight. Bobby (straight) makes sure that Bobby (gay) knows that, in this house, homosexuality is accepted. Although sweet and maybe a little curated, you’re left wondering if he’s actually accepting or if it’s a love the sinner, hate the sin situation. Overall, it’s sweet and probably pretty genuine. This episode also cemented the fact that Bobby’s designs look like bougie seaside-village McDonalds and also that open cabinets are NOT A GOOD IDEA, particularly when coupled with poor organizational skills!!

The fifth and sixth episodes are more of the same, but the featured straights are not as memorable. The highlights of the fifth episode are the garish colors and crazy murals in the house pre-Bobby. In the sixth episode, I honestly felt like they made him look bad and for a 30+ year old stand-up comedian, he was cringy.

The final episode, “Hose Before Bros,” was a perfect one to round out the series. A little different than others, this remodel was for an entire fire department. The Fab Five certainly enjoyed this episode, featuring beautiful heroic firefighters and an all around good time. The downfall of this episode came in the form of Antoni’s hot dogs, which were, for some reason, cut down the middle to be made more appealing?

Overall, I give the reboot of Queer Eye 4.5 out of 5 stars for being at once hilarious, diverse and political. If you’re looking for a show in which you can cry from humor and sadness while watching five queers roast—but ultimately help—straight men, this show is for you.

Photo courtesy of PopSugar.