August 19, 2021
New 'Queer as Folk' to Star Trans, Non-Binary Actor Jesse Jemes Keitel
Kilian Melloy READ TIME: 1 MIN.
NBC's streaming platform Peacock is showing its rainbow feathers with the casting of transgender, non-binary actor Jesse James Keitel in the upcoming reboot of "Queer as Folk," Deadline reports.
Keitel – a distant relative of renowned American actor Harvey Keitel – has signed on for a role as a series regular, Deadline said. Their character will be "a trans, semi-reformed party girl who is struggling to grow up."
Keitel is familiar to viewers as a regular from Season One of the David E. Kelly drama "Big Sky," which airs on ABC. Keitel will return in a recurring capacity for Season Two of "Big Sky," Deadline reported.
Keitel's "additional credits include the Showtime original film 'Fluidity' and the Netflix original 'Alex Strangelove,' " Variety recalled.
The original "Queer as Folk" was a British drama that premiered in 1999. Written by openly gay "It's a Sin" creator Russell T. Davies, the series was adapted into an American series that was set in Pittsburgh and ran on Showtime for five seasons, from 2000-2005.
The reboot will reportedly follow a group of LGBTQ+ friends in contemporary New Orleans. "Original creator Davies is on board the new project as an executive producer," Variety noted.
