LOS ANGELES, Sept. 2 — As the curtain comes down on summertime with a resounding, post-Labor Day thud, it’s time to face the fact that TV’s biggest hit to emerge during the past three months came to us from — of all places — Bravo. THERE ISN’T MUCH debate that “Queer Eye For the Straight Guy” is a genuine phenomenon. Since premiering in July, it has made weekly sport of rewriting the Bravo ratings record books (not that tall an order, if truth be told) and set new marks that are double and triple the previous 18-49 and 25-54 demo standards. Kressley is the blond man in the middle, the wisecracking, pithy clotheshorse with the effortlessly witty patter. It’s hardly surprising that the 33-year-old from Allentown, Pa., is already beginning to field movie and TV offers and has enlisted an agent despite the fact that “Queer Eye” is his first work in front of the camera.
“It’s all very surreal,” says Kressley, who is also a nationally ranked equestrian. “We’re the reality show that could. All five of us are pretty blown away by this kind of attention, let me tell you. I always thought I had a face for radio, but ... well, go figure. I just did a ‘Good Morning, Miami’ (guest spot), and it looks like there’ll be a lot more. It’s safe to say that yes, I am the breakout star.”
Kressley admits he couldn’t have imagined “in 2 million years” that the show would strike the cultural nerve that it has. “It’s happened because we have no political agenda. We’re all just about having a good time and making people feel better about themselves ... I’m also pretty amazed at how much we’re able to get away with on this show. An awful lot gets left in. And I have the restraining orders to prove it.”
He has found that one unanticipated fringe benefit is the way “Queer Eye” appears to have helped open up a dialogue for some closeted gay men.
“I know one 19-year-old kid who watched the show with his parents,” Kressley says, “and when he saw how positively they were reacting to us on the show, he felt comfortable enough to come out to his mom and dad. How amazing is that?”
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