Tan France became an overnight household name in 2018 as the fashion expert for Netflix’s “Queer Eye” reboot, which just ended its 10-season run in January.
Three months later, and he’s already back with a plethora of projects under his French-tucked belt — including Season 2 of “Deli Boys” on Hulu, “Clashing Through the Snow” for Amazon MGM, “The P Word” in London and “Honorable Gays,” his new digital comedy series with Rob Anderson and Eric Sedeño.
“I work really well as an ensemble, it’s my preference,” France told TheWrap. “I like working with people more than I like working on my own. I just bounce off people well and I have more fun. So with this being my own creation, spearheaded by my own production company, it would have been very easy to just do it alone.”
“I loved their work, both of them. I thought Eric was just ludicrous in the best way, and then with Rob, his friends are my friends, so I’ve known him for a long time and he does these wrap-ups of like his take on ’90s movies or sometimes ’80s and how ludicrous the storylines were. So with both of them, I was already a fan,” he continued. “To be fair, and to be very honest, there was one other person who I really wanted, but who couldn’t do it.”
France starred alongside Antoni Porowski, Karamo Brown and Jonathan Van Ness for all 10 seasons of “Queer Eye,” as well as the “We’re in Japan” special event series, with Jeremiah Brent replacing Bobby Berk for the final two seasons. But even though it was “one of the most successful unscripted shows in history,” as he put it, you never know what’s coming next.
“After nine years, I felt like, ‘Oh, we’re pretty much part of the establishment.’ We won every Emmy that one could win, our show was successful, it was a global hit, the longest-running show on Netflix. It should have felt like an easy thing for all of us to be like, ‘Okay, we’re set,’” France explained. “But it just goes to show how much the tide has turned, because we’re still, at the end of the day, queer talent; Brown and queer foreign talent. There’s no guarantee.”
“In 2018 when it came out, it felt like there was hope for niche queer shows, shows that showed people of color who were also queer, shows about non-binary folk, drag queens — there seemed to be an excitement of what could be when it came to unscripted projects and what we’re served. That seems to have really changed over the last three or four years, maybe even since COVID,” he noted. “The industry’s really going through it, so they’re doing what they think is commercial: ‘Let’s make it as white as possible, straight as possible, so that it’s an easier sell.’ But I think people are turning away from streamers because it no longer represents the many, it just became like linear television, which we all moved away from because of the excitement of streamers, where we could hear different stories, see different people. We’ve kind of gone back 10 years, and I think that that’s really sad.”
Still, thanks to his self-referential French Tuck Media banner, France is focusing on digital-first programming as the younger generations move away from long-form storytelling.
“I like the control. I fund the series myself right now, so I kind of love not having to answer to anyone. I say what I want to say, I produce the way I want to produce, I’m going to have what talent I want to have and no one gets to dictate that. In every other part of my career, studios get to dictate how I’m edited, how I’m viewed, what press I do,” he shared. “The younger audience isn’t really watching streamers the way my generation did; they’re getting their content through social and YouTube. They’re not looking for something that’s over 15 minutes, so I kind of love doing something that super serves that audience … and I don’t have half an hour to spare, so I’m really leaning into the digital space as a viewer and a creator.”
But that doesn’t mean he’s completely given up on scripted entertainment. France will be back as Zubair in “Deli Boys” Season 2 on May 28 after making his acting debut in Season 1: “It’s not just for Brown people. It’s got Brown people in it, but it’s in English. It’s for everybody. It’s an American show for an American audience.”
It’s a similar sentiment he shares while flexing his producing skills with the Olivier-winning play “The P Word” over in London.
“In the U.K., anyone who’s Brown is accosted with the P-word, no one seems to care about nuance,” France added. “So being able to help highlight this production and being able to tell the audience: This is the kind of show you should watch, because it’s not just for the P-word, it’s not just for Pakistani audiences. People who have never experienced something in the U.K., or ever experienced an Asian community and don’t understand who we are, this is the show for you.”
