Queer as Folk was a joint venture between Showtime and Temple Street Productions, developed for American television by Ron Cowen and Daniel Lipman, and it was based on the British mini-series of the same name. It premiered on Showtime on December 3rd, 2000 and ran for five seasons. Based in Pittsburgh, PA, it was filmed in Toronto, ON in Canada and the show itself used several Canadian directors famous for their work in independent movies. One of the most used locations - called Liberty Avenue in the show - was in the Church and Wellesley area of Toronto.

The series follows the lives of five gay men - Brian, Justin, Michael, Emmett and Ted - a lesbian couple - Lindsay and Melanie - and Michael's mother Debbie. Two more regular characters were added in later seasons, Ben and Hunter. The show is noted for it's depictions of gay lifestyles and sex; it was not afraid to shy away from showing that the characters were human and di have sex and slept around, just like everyone else.

Throughout the five seasons the show had strong ratings on both Showtime and Showcase (in Canada). Originally most of the cast had contracts for six seasons, however, they were renegotiated after the first season. The producers of the show, Cowen and Lipman, stated that they didn't feel there were any more stories they could have told with the original characters. However, production was rumoured to be shorter in the final three seasons because of the rising strength of the Canadian Dollar which led to rising prodution costs.

In the Pilot episode, Brian, Michael, Emmett and Ted are at Babylon, their most frequented gay club on Liberty Avenue. Brian meets Justin, and takes him back to his apartment. Justin reveals he's a virgin after Brian realises he's younger than he says. However, they are interrupted by the birth of Lindsay and Melanie's child, of which he is the father.

It is clear that Michael is in love with Brian from the first episode, and after Justin forces his way into their lives he becomes resentful of Justin and it affects his and Brian's relationship. After Ted takes a drug overdose, he discovers that Ted has been harboring a crush on him. This is never mentioned again and Michael begins to date David Cameron, and at the end of the season plans to move out of Pittsburgh with him. However, Michael never leaves Pittsburgh - on the night of Justin's prom, the night he is meant to leave, Justin is bashed in the head with a baseball bat and is taken to the hospital. Season one ends with the image of Brian and Michael sitting in the hallway.

At the start of season two, Justin is left with limited ability to draw with his right hand due to the incident. He is also afraid of bein outside and is unwilling to let other people than Brian touch him. This leads to his mother asking Brian if Justin can stay with him, and he reluctantly agrees. With the help of a specialised computer program, Justin regains the use of his hand function. However, he also meets a violinist called Ethan at PIFA, and eventually leaves Brian to start a relationship with Ethan and his promises of a real relationship.

Ben is introduced as a character, and Michael starts dating him. Ben then reveals he is HIV positive and Michael breaks up with him. After several dates with other people, he realises he's already fallen for Ben and they start dating again.

When Ted is fired due to watching porn at work, he starts his own website, jerkatwork.net. He eneds up having to use Emmett as one of his stars asnd the site becomes a huge sucess. The two become closer than best friends and end up as lovers, however, when Ted ends up with a criminal record after hiring an underage assistant, he loses all of his money and becomes depressed. He gets heavily involved in drugs and becomes addicted to crystal meth. After stealing money from Melanie and Lindsay, he checks himself into rehab.

Justin discovers that Ethan is cheating on him and breaks up with him. He gains a position at Brian's firm for his internship and the two reunite on Brian's desk. Brian ends up losing his job when he starts helping Justin with his campaign against one of the firm's biggest clients. Justin is also kicked out of university whe it's revealed he is having an affair with his boss.

Melanie and Lindsay decide they want another baby, and Melanie is impregnated with Michael's sperm. She tries to have a contract signed so he foreits all parental rights but Michael refuses to sign it. Melanie eventually relents and allows Michael to retain some rights. Lindsay cheats on Mel with a man she meets at the art studio and it leads to Melanie and Lindsay seperating. They then get locked in a custody battle for their daughter which involves Michael.

Brian starts a new advertising agency and employs a newly clean Ted as his accountant. The business is highly successful as Brian brings over a large portion of the clients from his old firm and he ends up purchasing Babylon from it's previous owner.

The final season is when the show really grows up. Proposition 14 threatens to outlaw same-sex marriage, adoption and other civil rights. The group fight against the proposition but are met with staunch opposition, discrimination and hatred from the rest of the public. Near the end of the series, a bomb explodes in Babylon, and it kills 7 and injures a further 67 people.

The events cause Brian to finally tell Justin that he loves him and proposes marriage. However, Justin receives an offer from an art gallery in New York, and Brian, realising that Justin might give up his dreams, lets him go. However, they tell each other that they'll be back for each other. Melanie and Lindsay relocate to Canada so their children can grow up with safety and without fearing for their lives. Michael and Ben adopt hunter into their home.

The show ends with Michael and Brian in Babylon, dancing to Heather Small's Proud, almost a mirror image of the first scene in the show.

This was based on the wikipedia entry for Queer as Folk.