Hot off the heels of the recent announcement that Kim Cattrall had joined How I Met Your Mother spin-off, How I Met Your Father for Hulu, comes more Cattrall casting news. She is also set to join a new US-version of Russell T Davies‘ Queer as Folk for Peacock. Cattrall may not be joining her Sex and the City co-stars for the new series, but she is clearly booked and busy.
Davies’ original British Channel 4 series – Queer as Folk – was aired in 1999-2000. It starred Aidan Gillen (Game of Thrones) and Charlie Hunnam (Sons of Anarchy) and was a groundbreaking depiction of the Manchester gay scene. It was quickly turned into an American version, set in Pittsburgh, which ran from 2000-2005.
The new ‘reimagination’ of the series for Peacock has already cast Ryan O’Connell, Jesse James Keitel, Candace Grace, Johnny Sibilly, Devin Way and Fin Argus. Cattrall’s character is described in Deadline as; “a martini-soaked, high-society Southern debutante with trailer park roots.”
The original series written by Russell T Davies followed Stuart (Gillen), a good-looking, hard-partying ad exec and his long-term best friend Vince (Craig Kelly), who is a more shy and reserved Doctor Who obsessive. They take 15 year old Nathan (Hunnam) under their wing.
The US version of Queer as Folk had a larger ensemble cast, but the characters were still based on the supporting players from the British version. Due to it spanning five years, the relationships had more time to evolve.
Kim Cattrall found fame in the 1980s, mainly in comedies such as Porky’s, Police Academy, Big Trouble in Little China and Mannequin. Her star dipped somewhat in the 90s until she landed the role of a lifetime in 1998 – that of Samantha Jones in Sex and the City – for which she won a Golden Globe, two SAG Awards and five Emmys.
Sex and the City is making a comeback to HBO in December 2021, but Cattrall is the only one of the four core cast-members who will not be returning.