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Revisiting the Reality TV Shows of My Youth
‘Queer Eye’ and ‘American Idol’ have evolved alongside American culture — and maybe I have, too
Like everybody else on the internet, I am enamored with the Netflix Queer Eye reboot. When a new season is released, I binge-watch the episodes and shed happy tears for those who are finally embracing their true identities and imperfect lives. For the man who worked up the courage to come out to his family. For the adorable barbecue queen who got her teeth fixed and could finally smile without shame. For the trans man and the widowed father and the woman who hadn’t felt pretty or worthy since her brother died. And this year, for the first time in about 10 years, I have been keenly following every episode of American Idol. The episodes are released on Netflix UK the day after they air in the U.S.
I’ve spent the past decade pushing these kinds of shows away. They felt too American to me, too contrived, too sensational. There were better things to watch — I had Netflix and Amazon Prime and was very much alive and well in the Golden Age of TV. So why is it that I’ve returned to Queer Eye and American Idol, both of which I originally watched as a teen, now that I’m in my thirties?
It feels significant, somehow, to return to these shows as a different person in a…
