Fridae

Queer Eye for the Straight Guy, the latest TV sensation in the States, is about to hit Australia. Australia's Network Ten has closed a groundbreaking deal with NBC Enterprises (NBCE), the distributor of the quirky Bravo-NBC makeover show, where five gay men transform the wardrobe, home and overall style of a straight guy on each episode.

According to the Hollywood Reporter, NBC has called the deal its "biggest deal yet" for the show with the Australian network. The unusual deal will not only see Network Ten produce its own Australian version of the reality show but will entrust NBCE to sell that version to other broadcasters internationally.

The show, which was originally produced by the once-obscure relatively highbrow arts cable channel, Bravo has since been acquired by NBC for the show. The phenomenally successful show has broken Bravo ratings records for three weeks in a row and for six of the last eight weeks. Last week's episode of Queer Eye drew 3.35 million viewers, crushing the show's previous record of 2.9 million. The high rating also topped every other show in its Tuesday time slot except an NBC repeat of Law & Order.

Network Ten also has licensed the original series from NBCE for a launch next month and will go into preproduction of the local version at the same time.

Show creator David Collins, a gay man and its developer, David Metzler, a straight man who were instrumental in choosing the buoyant talent for the American version will be brought in to choose the five Australian gay maestros. NBCE also will have an active role in the Australian production and will jointly select and have joint approval over that production entity.

On top of that, NBCE also has carved an extra viewer tier for the show in Australia, with a pay TV window to follow the over-the-air broadcast.

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So far, NBCE has sold the licensing of the American version and local production to Flextech in the United Kingdom and to Scandinavia's Viasat while New Zealand's TVNZ also has signed up for the American episodes, with an option to produce a local version. The show has been sold to Iceland and Finland and NBCE is currently finalising negotiations with broadcasters in France and Germany.

Some gay activists have criticised the show saying that the roles of the "Fab 5" only serve to comic relief and perpetuate the stereotype of the campy, hysterical, prissy, shopaholic gay man. While the men are sought after to beautify things for heterosexuals, they are promptly disposed of when the job is done and before they start talking about their rights or start doing something useful for themselves.

In related news, the San Francisco Examiner has reported last week that Blair Boone - the original culture guy - was replaced with current mainstay Jai Rodriguez by the show's producers, who felt Boone's straight-laced demeanour did not jive with the funky, queer eye vibe.

Blair Boone had reportedly filed a lawsuit against the show's producers for breach-of-contract. Boone is asking for US$105,000 in damages as he claimed to have quit his fulltime job as an ad manager and writer at Metrosource magazine to join the show. Each of the five is currently paid US$3,000 per episode.

Will a show like Queer Eye, however entertaining, further perpetuate the stereotype of the campy, hysterical, prissy, shopaholic gay man? Post your comments by clicking the forum link below.