Number one: the Fab Five don’t actually live in the uber-stylised loft on location. The industrial space is a faux home set tacked onto the end of the production team’s office, and the boys set up camp in an apartment block (different flats) close by. Number two: the first two seasons were filmed back-to-back in Atlanta over four-and-a-half months, not separately. The fivesome spent almost five days with each of their makeover subjects, and the crew filmed constantly. Number three: the episodes were not aired chronologically, as Netflix chose the most captivating stories for season one to ensure it garnered a loyal global audience immediately.
Filmed in secrecy, France had no idea that the reboot of the 2003 Bravo series, Queer Eye for the Straight Guy, would become a cultural phenomenon. “People think we are lying when we say that, but there truly was no way of knowing just how massive this would become in a heartbeat,” France tells Vogue. “I thought it would be a niche programme that girls and gays would get behind. We couldn’t have been more wrong.”
One thing the Fab Five, made up of France, fashion expert; Antoni Porowski, food and drink expert; Karamo Brown, culture expert; Bobby Berk, design expert and Jonathan Van Ness, grooming expert, could bet on was their friendship. When they met at the audition, they hit it off right away, peeled off from the other applicants and created a text thread called, yep, the Fab Five: “It was super arrogant, but we didn't think we would get the gig,” he recalls. The energy between them was tangible enough for the casting panel to notice, and they hired what France affectionately calls his “bunch of idiots”.
Indeed, the energy between them is so high-octane that Netflix employed an on-set wrangler to make sure that filming went smoothly. “An actual child wrangler who makes sure we sit and behave between scenes,” France laughs. “What you see in the show is only a tiny representation of how much we truly love each other, because we're focusing on the hero [the subject of the episode].” Follow each of them on Instagram, and you’ll see he’s serious from the constant liking, commenting, sharing and photobombing of each other’s posts.
One thing the Fab Five, made up of France, fashion expert; Antoni Porowski, food and drink expert; Karamo Brown, culture expert; Bobby Berk, design expert and Jonathan Van Ness, grooming expert, could bet on was their friendship. When they met at the audition, they hit it off right away, peeled off from the other applicants and created a text thread called, yep, the Fab Five: “It was super arrogant, but we didn't think we would get the gig,” he recalls. The energy between them was tangible enough for the casting panel to notice, and they hired what France affectionately calls his “bunch of idiots”.
Indeed, the energy between them is so high-octane that Netflix employed an on-set wrangler to make sure that filming went smoothly. “An actual child wrangler who makes sure we sit and behave between scenes,” France laughs. “What you see in the show is only a tiny representation of how much we truly love each other, because we're focusing on the hero [the subject of the episode].” Follow each of them on Instagram, and you’ll see he’s serious from the constant liking, commenting, sharing and photobombing of each other’s posts.
Friendship and fame (his Insta following is a healthy 654,000 and counting) was not the motivation behind his Queer Eye audition. “I didn't really care about the entertainment industry, that wasn't my life,” he explains of his business-owner background. “I wanted to show the world a version of me and everything that I represent, because I represent a lot that’s never really been seen before: an Asian person on American TV, who's British, gay and follows a certain religion.”
Though "Americans still call [me] Middle-Eastern rather than Asian", he is happier Stateside than back in the UK because, “I don't get called the same names as I did at home in the north of England. I would often get called a ‘Paki’, and that's sickening in this day and age. It was really important for me to have open dialogues on the show to break down these misconceptions about what I might represent.”
On day two of filming, he was asked by Tom Jackson (episode one) whether he was a terrorist. “It was very shocking and very jarring,” he remembers. “That set the tone for me and made it clear why I was doing the show. I wanted to set the record straight.”
So, how does France, who was scouted for the show via his blogger friend’s Instagram pictures, break down the barriers between himself and the Queer Eye subjects? “I get to see men in their underwear in the changing rooms, and that breaks down barriers like nothing else!” he says of the shopping trips, which typically take five hours. “Seeing guys in their most vulnerable state talking about their bodies gives me an opportunity to talk about everything. Once they open up about their appearance then usually they are willing to open up about pretty much everything.”
Though "Americans still call [me] Middle-Eastern rather than Asian", he is happier Stateside than back in the UK because, “I don't get called the same names as I did at home in the north of England. I would often get called a ‘Paki’, and that's sickening in this day and age. It was really important for me to have open dialogues on the show to break down these misconceptions about what I might represent.”
On day two of filming, he was asked by Tom Jackson (episode one) whether he was a terrorist. “It was very shocking and very jarring,” he remembers. “That set the tone for me and made it clear why I was doing the show. I wanted to set the record straight.”
France was the only one of the five who had not worked in TV before, but lack of media training did not hamper him in these situations: “I've experienced racism and homophobia my whole life, so I’ve trained myself to just deal with it calmly, to not cause a scene and to find a way to calm the situation down. When somebody says something stupid to me, I usually alleviate it with laughter and humour. I make light of it to educate people on why it’s inappropriate.”
When the Fab Five’s car is stopped by a police vehicle in episode three, it divided the team because “people don't understand the feeling of being pulled over when you're a person of colour”. Likewise, he says, the production team couldn’t understand the cultural significance of France and Neal Reddy – the Indian contestant in episode two – working together on a TV programme that would be filmed in Asia. “Those sorts of shows are usually banned out there, but they can’t ban Netflix, so it was really important to talk about cultural things that weren’t just relevant to Western society.”
When the Fab Five’s car is stopped by a police vehicle in episode three, it divided the team because “people don't understand the feeling of being pulled over when you're a person of colour”. Likewise, he says, the production team couldn’t understand the cultural significance of France and Neal Reddy – the Indian contestant in episode two – working together on a TV programme that would be filmed in Asia. “Those sorts of shows are usually banned out there, but they can’t ban Netflix, so it was really important to talk about cultural things that weren’t just relevant to Western society.”
The response has been worth it. In the months following the show’s February air date, France received almost 1,000 DMs a day. “People thanked me for changing their parents’ perceptions of the Pakistani people down the street, their gay neighbours… the conversations in peoples’ homes have completely changed because of the show, and that’s amazing.”
So, how does France, who was scouted for the show via his blogger friend’s Instagram pictures, break down the barriers between himself and the Queer Eye subjects? “I get to see men in their underwear in the changing rooms, and that breaks down barriers like nothing else!” he says of the shopping trips, which typically take five hours. “Seeing guys in their most vulnerable state talking about their bodies gives me an opportunity to talk about everything. Once they open up about their appearance then usually they are willing to open up about pretty much everything.”
And there lies the show’s success: “I don't call our show a ‘makeover show’, it’s a 'make better show', but even that doesn’t do it justice. We don’t just make things pretty. We connect with people on an emotional level, and I think that’s why it’s become such a big hit.”
“A lot of them were really hesitant to say what they thought of style, because they thought it wasn't important,” he adds. “But when they started seeing themselves looking better, and their partners looking at them in a different way, something switched. I have a saying that sounds frank, but it’s true, I want men to feel desirable and to get laid by their wives.” And that candour is why Queer Eye has won over not just Vogue, but Netflix-devotees worldwide.
“A lot of them were really hesitant to say what they thought of style, because they thought it wasn't important,” he adds. “But when they started seeing themselves looking better, and their partners looking at them in a different way, something switched. I have a saying that sounds frank, but it’s true, I want men to feel desirable and to get laid by their wives.” And that candour is why Queer Eye has won over not just Vogue, but Netflix-devotees worldwide.
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