Remember True Detective (sure you do) when Rust Cohle paraphrases the Nietzschean idea of eternal recurrence? In an instantly memorable delivery, Matthew McConaughey says, “Time is a flat circle.” Let’s pretend he was talking specifically about TV show revivals. Everything comes back around eventually. It might be repackaged slightly differently so that, even where the years have condemned, age shall not appear to weary them. Shout-out to Twin Peaks’ resurgence and the triumphant return of Will & Grace. Even Roseanne, the sitcom about poor, working-class white Americans that I watched and loved as a kid, has been exhumed. Someone thought: this is what 2018 needs! Hollywood loves retreads as much as it loves awards shows: it’s all part of the ol’ razzle dazzle.
One retread that I have found surprisingly effective, though? Queer Eye on Netflix. You may remember the original, in which five gay men performed a superficial life makeover for a helpless and hapless straight man, and made him better by virtue of their stylish gayness. Like so many makeover shows of a certain era, it should feel like a dinosaur. The twist here is that it’s (mostly) a bloody delight. OK, so there are some crashingly obtuse moments involving an ill-judged “police stop” stunt that’ll make you yell, “Jesus Christ, no, what are you doing?” But this incarnation of the Fab Five feels somehow looser than their forefathers, and the result is largely twee but achingly sincere. Observe the men testing beds with Tom in episode one, for example, and try not to giggle along with them. There is a sweetness oozing out of this revival’s every pore. And in 2018, I need that.
