Queer Eye has proven to clean up quite nicely, with the unscripted television franchise having collected 12 Emmy wins from 38 total nominations. It landed its first Emmy for its debut season after initially launching as Queer Eye for the Straight Guy on Bravo during the summer of 2003.
Focusing on five gay men known as the "Fab 5" who dole out makeovers and life advice to straight dudes in need of some guidance, it was a culture-defining hit right out of the gate. The series set Bravo ratings records in its inaugural run and turned the five charming stars — Carson Kressley ("Fashion Savant"), Ted Allen ("Food and Wine Connoisseur"), Kyan Douglas ("Grooming Guru"), Thom Filicia ("Design Doctor") and Jai Rodriguez ("Culture Vulture") — into ubiquitous figures. "The concept is hot," noted THR's initial review, which deemed the show "splashy and spirited."
Competing against it for outstanding reality program that year were fellow nominees Colonial House, Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, Penn & Teller: Bullshit! and Project Greenlight. Ahead of the ceremony, series creator David Collins told THR that the nom "boosts everyone's confidence, from the Fab 5 to the crew. It makes us even more motivated, if that's possible, to make great shows." As to what he credited for the success, Collins chalked it up to "honesty and spirit. People appreciate how real we are, and how warm and generous people can be."
The program ran for five seasons, then Netflix revived it in 2018 with a new cast. But the original version's stars are still passing along their wisdom, with Kressley serving as a judge on RuPaul's Drag Race and Allen having hosted Food Network's Chopped since its 2009 launch. Meanwhile, Rodriguez pursued an acting career, with such recent credits as the 2022 rom-com Bros and a recurring part on Awkwafina Is Nora From Queens.
In 2014, the TV Academy split the reality category into structured and unstructured; the current iteration of Queer Eye has won the former every year since 2018.
This story first appeared in a June standalone issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine. Click here to subscribe.
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