The man behind Queer as Folk and the revival of Doctor Who, producer Russell T. Davies, has never shied away from taking a risk on television. So have no doubts about it: His latest venture is as crazy as they come. Crazy and fantastic.
It all started with Cucumber, a story about a middle-aged gay man at the start of a personal revolution. But instead of approaching a network with one idea and be asked about spinoff possibilities, he figured, why not create my own from the start?
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"I knew that much more so than when I created Queer as Folk 16 years ago, this time the clamor and the righteous demand for stories would be very, very loud... It's just the way of the world now," he told Mashable. "I genuinely thought that publicly, politically and in my heart that there would be a demand for more stories. So Banana comes ready to fire."
Whereas Cucumber, starring Vincent Franklin, is a drama, spinoff Banana is a comedy that skews younger. At least on paper.
The truth is, both have equal parts heart-wrenching drama and belly-aching laughs. On Cucumber, Franklin's Henry Best is a complicated man with a biting wit, and Banana's stories are largely laugh-out-loud hilarious but also carry serious weight. The show functions more as an anthology, with different central characters every episode.
Both series have started airing in Britain on sister channels, but stateside, the shows will air back to back on Logo starting April 13.
For a look at how the two fit together, watch the exclusive trailer below, which features scenes from both:
Davies added that he's happy to be telling new stories about LGBTQ characters, like Queer as Folk (the show on which the Showtime adaptation was based) did back in its time. Sure, they're a little political, but above everything else, they are human.
"I think Cucumber is tougher [than Queer as Folk]. I think it asks some tougher questions," he said. "It's less easy. It's grown up the way I've grown up."
Cucumber and Banana premiere April 13 on Logo, and the network will air a Queer as Folk marathon ahead it of, airing the 10 hours of programming in two halves on April 4 and April 11 starting at 9 p.m. ET/PT.