‘Queer Eye’ stars thought show was entering its ‘sunset era’ before Jeremiah Brent was cast
The “Queer Eye” cast is feeling fabulous again, and it’s all thanks to their new co-star, Jeremiah Brent.
In February, Netflix announced that the 40-year-old interior designer would be replacing Bobby Berk on the series. Now, with Season Nine out on Netflix as of Dec. 11, the Fab Five members talk to TODAY.com about how Brent helped the series enter its renaissance era.
“It’s crazy how after I thought, when we did seven years, that you can’t really go back,” Tan France says. “But after seven years of doing your job, it’s so hard to feel renewed energy again. And I was like, ‘OK, this is our sunset era, like this might be done.’
“And then, as soon as we started shooting again, and Jeremiah reminded us all of just how special it is, what we’re doing … it felt like the first day of joy again,” he continues.
In November 2023, Berk announced with a “heavy heart” that Season Eight would be his last on “Queer Eye,” which was rebooted in 2018 with a new cast after the initial run of Bravo’s “Queer Eye for the Straight Guy” in the early 2000s. The design expert explained the reason for his departure in a January 2024 Vanity Fair interview and confirmed that there had been tension between him and his co-star France.
That, paired with an explosive Rolling Stone exposé in March that alleged controversy between the “Queer Eye” members, left them in a difficult place as they began to film Season Nine. But Jonathan Van Ness recalls Brent showing up to shoot in March and creating a “safe” and “vulnerable” space.
“Jeremiah really just went out of his way to be like, ‘You’re safe here,'” the stylist describes. “He gave us all of these quartz just to signify transparency and openness and safety and, like, I’m a big rock girl.”
Brent also acknowledges his love of crystals during the first episode of Season Nine, which takes place in Las Vegas.
Karamo Brown chimes in to say he’s ready for “another seven years” of the series as they start this new beginning with Brent, who feels just as excited about his new “family.”
Brent says that he hopes the new season reminds viewers of how “great” his castmates are.
“I sat there every day (of filming) in complete awe of what they do, you know, watching people create, love, connect, share, build, grow. It was just wild,” Brent recalls. “And they’re so much better than you think they are, like, they’re even better.”
“Queer Eye,” which centers around improving the lives of people with moving backstories, premiered six years ago with France, Berk, Van Ness, Brown and Antoni Porowski. In Season Nine, Brent brings his interior design experience to the table, which is just one piece of his already impressive resume that includes starring in several TV series alongside his husband, Nate Berkus, and authoring his first book, “The Space That Keeps You.”
In a December episode of “Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen,” Brent revealed that he had no contact with Berk after he was announced as his replacement, and that they’ve never met.
During his TODAY.com interview, Brent says it “was not hard” to jump right into his inaugural season of “Queer Eye,” due to his co-stars being masters of their specific trades.
“My only job when I started here was making sure that they knew that I was going to earn their trust,” he says, to which Brown responds, “And did he do the work.”
