In 1999, “Queer as Folk” burst into prime time on British television. Overnight, its creator, Russell T. Davies, became his country’s most famous gay writer. The first episode featured a 29-year-old man having sex with a beautiful 15-year-old boy, an image that produced just what Davies wanted: nearly universal outrage. It started in the ninth year of the AIDS epidemic, but it never mentioned AIDS because Davies didn’t want gay lives to “be defined by disease,” he said. The result is “It’s a Sin,” a highly-autobiographical five-part series arriving Feb. 18 on HBO Max.

Source: New York Times February 07, 2021 15:00 UTC