# Queer as Folk (1999)

> Two gay best friends in their late twenties navigate nightlife, unrequited love and the arrival of a brash young man who upends their lives.

Canonical page: https://ember.film/tv/2268

## Facts

- Seasons: 2
- Episodes: 10
- Episode runtime: 32 min
- Status: Ended
- Genres: drama
- Created by: Russell T Davies
- Network: Channel 4
- Cast: Aidan Gillen, Craig Kelly, Charlie Hunnam, Esther Hall, Denise Black, Andy Devine, Alison Burrows, Caroline O'Neill
- TMDB rating: 8.2/10
- IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0185102/

## Ember's analysis

- Pacing: brisk
- Intensity: strong
- Complexity: accessible
- Violence: mild
- Tone: witty, candid, wistful, sincere, raw, sardonic

## What critics say

Acclaimed for its frank, witty and emotionally honest portrayal of gay life and friendship in Manchester's clubbing scene, though its second season is viewed as less sure-footed.

## Synopsis

Queer as Folk (1999-2000) is a British national-television drama miniseries created by Russell T Davies for Channel 4. Stuart Jones (Aidan Gillen) is a rich, magnetic gay man who has everything he wants on the surface, while his best friend Vince Tyler (Craig Kelly) is funny and warm but quietly convinced he is nothing special, and has loved Stuart for years without saying so. Their nights revolve around the clubs and bars of Canal Street in a northern English city, where they are fixtures of the scene. Their settled routine is disrupted when Nathan Maloney (Charlie Hunnam) arrives, young, wild and newly out, pushing into their circle and forcing both men to confront what they want from their lives and their friendship. Across ten episodes split over two short seasons, the series moves through nightlife, romance, family pressure and the messy business of coming out, with a frank, unsentimental approach to sex and desire. Its tone blends witty banter and sharp humour with raw emotional honesty and an undercurrent of longing. Fans of the American Queer as Folk, Shameless and Looking will find kinship in its candid portrait of gay urban life and friendship.

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