Queer as Folk star Jesse James Keitel has opened up about the close bond she has with co-star Devin Way after meeting on the new drama, which landed on StarzPlay in the UK this weekend.
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Chatting to HELLO! ahead of the release of the show, which has been adapted from the original 1999 series created by Russel T. Davies and the 2000 US follow-up created by Ron Cowen and Daniel Lipman, the actor, who plays Ruthie, revealed their on-screen closeness translated to real-life.
WATCH: The trailer for the 2022 reboot of Queer as Folk
"The beauty of it is [the cast] did [build a strong bond] and I think it's so special," she began, adding: "Devin Way, who plays Brodie, is my best friend on the show and he's quickly become one of my real-life best friends that I've ever had."
Jessie continued: "And the rest of the cast too, we really did become our own little friend group and it's so special and the moments of joy between us are very real."
Friendships and bonding through a shared experience are just one of the important themes that run through the show and are something the series has received wide praise for.
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Jesse James Keitel and Devin Way have become best friends from being on the show
One person wrote on Twitter: "It was probably the most progressive show I've seen in a long time in terms of the representation of different types of queer people #QueerAsFolk."
A second said: "My experience reacting to #QueerasFolk has been an incredible journey, I felt so connected to the characters and the community created within the show. As someone who only recently truly found his community it was nice to follow this journey of reclaiming what was taken."
Jesse's co-star, CG, who plays Shar, Ruthie's partner, also noted the "safe space" that was created by the cast. Speaking to HELLO! during the same interview, she said: "I am a person who is in a shell who comes out when I feel like it's safe. And sometimes that can be a little stand-offish."
Jesse plays Ruthie on the show
CG continued: "But because of what Jesse has just said about the joy... I never felt like in this group of people that I wasn't enough or felt like judgments were passed, it was really just a safe space. And that is very new and odd to say and mean."
The synopsis for the eight-part drama reads: "Queer as Folk is a vibrant reimagining of the groundbreaking British series, exploring a diverse group of friends in New Orleans whose lives are transformed in the aftermath of a tragedy."
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