‘Queer as Folk’: How the Pulse Survivors Helped Shape the Peacock Series

Lesley Goldberg
·2 min read

Welcome to the 172nd episode of TV’s Top 5, The Hollywood Reporter’s TV podcast.

Every week, hosts Lesley Goldberg (West Coast TV editor) and Daniel Fienberg (chief TV critic) break down the latest TV news with context from the business and critical sides, welcome showrunners, executives and other guests, and provide a critical guide of what to watch (or skip, as the case may be).

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This week, Dan and I are joined by Stephen Dunn, the creator of Peacock’s Queer as Folk, the third incarnation of Russell T Davies’ groundbreaking British series. Other segments include a look at Disney’s shocking decision to fire Peter Rice and at this year’s Peabody Award winners.

Here’s how the episode plays out:

1. Headlines
J.J. Abrams, Colin Farrell, Kathryn Hahn, Carol Burnett, Jon Hamm, Juno Temple and What We Do in the Shadows highlight some of the week’s biggest headlines.

2. Disney bombshell
Peter Rice, the head of Disney’s sprawling TV portfolio, was shown the door this week in an abrupt firing that shook the town.

3. Peabody winners
The winners for the 82nd Peabody Awards are in and there’s a couple of TV’s Top 5 favorites in the midst, including We Are Lady Parts and Reservation Dogs.

4. Showrunner Spotlight
Queer as Folk creator Stephen Dunn joins the show this week to discuss Peacock’s “reimagining” of the British original and subsequent Showtime update. Dunn opens up about meeting with Pulse survivors for the show’s central storyline about a community rebuilding itself following a tragedy. Plus the Closet Monster screenwriter details the ways in which his show elevates transgender and disabled characters in the groundbreaking fashion of his predecessors. “This isn’t a bingo card of queerness aspirational thing; this is what my community looks like,” says Dunn.

5. Critic’s Corner
As usual, we wrap with Dan’s look at what to watch (or skip) this weekend. This week, he weighs in on Ms. Marvel, For All Mankind, Evil and The Old Man.

Hear it all now on TV’s Top 5. Be sure to subscribe to the podcast to never miss an episode. (Reviews welcome!) You can also email us with any topics or Mailbag questions you’d like addressed in future episodes at TVsTop5@THR.com.

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