Stephen Dunn has brought back Queer As Folk, but is a vampire-hunting classic next?
Dunn's new version of Queer As Folk moves the show to New Orleans and diversifies the cast, adding trans, disabled, and Black characters that the original didn't have, and casting them with LGBTQ+ actors. But not everything has changed. The new show still takes plenty of inspiration from the original.
In this new version, the character Julian (Ryan O'Connell) is a huge Buffy The Vampire Slayer fan and references the show. This is itself a reference to the original Russell T. Davies' version of Queer As Folk where the character Vince (Craig Kelly) is an obsessive fan of old Doctor Who episodes.
Fans of Doctor Who know that Davies went on from Queer As Folk to helm the revival of Doctor Who in 2005 starring Christopher Eccleston and Billie Piper. Could Dunn follow the same path? That's what Express asked the showrunner.
"That is a dream of mine, Buffy is my lifeblood," he said. "Julian definitely does channel a little bit of Vince, it's a huge part of it."
Dunn is such a huge fan of Buffy that the character is on his phone case to this day.
"I think sci-fi and that kind of storytelling is so steeped in queerness, despite the fact that it often hasn't always been super obvious," Dunn said. "Shows like Buffy for me... you know, Willow was one of my introductions to queerness outside of Queer as Folk."
Willow was a witch and close friend of Buffy's who initially dated a man, but later came out as a lesbian when she dated fellow witch Tara.
We first got news that Buffy might be rebooted back in 2018 when Agents of Shield writer and producer Monica Owusu-Breen was announced as a showrunner of the reboot. The plan was to have a Black actress as the new Buffy. However, there hasn't been much news since the idea for the reboot was announced.
Perhaps this new interest in the show will get the ball rolling on the Joss-Whedon-less Buffy reboot we deserve.
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