‘Queer as Folk’ star says Hollywood shifted away from gay content

Ryan O’Connell, the Emmy-nominated actor and writer known for his role in Peacock’s “Queer as Folk,” says Hollywood has moved sharply away from gay-themed content since the show aired — and that the change is visible across the industry.

“That show came out only three or four years ago and Hollywood has changed so radically since then,” Mr. O’Connell told Out magazine in an interview published this month. “It is a miracle that it ever got made, for real. It’s Tim Allen’s world again and we’re just living in it. So much of what’s getting made in Hollywood does not represent the world we’re living in today at all. I think that’s a real shame.”

Mr. O’Connell made the remarks while promoting his forthcoming essay collection, “Inspiration Porn,” due Tuesday from St. Martin’s Press. The book, his third, follows “I’m Special” and “Just by Looking at Him” and continues his reputation for candor about navigating cerebral palsy, building a satisfying sex life as a disabled gay man, and breaking into a Hollywood system that had long been resistant to stories like his.

“Queer as Folk,” in which Mr. O’Connell starred and served as co-executive producer, was canceled by Peacock after a single season. Despite the cancellation, he said he remains grateful the project reached audiences at all, given how the entertainment landscape has since shifted.

The hardest section of the new book to write, he said, dealt with his Hollywood experiences.

“It’s so vulnerable to talk about moments where you feel like you failed,” Mr. O’Connell told Out. “There was an earlier draft that was much more angry and bitter. When I reread it, I was guns blazing it. It was not chic. I’m proud of where it ended up.”

Mr. O’Connell also criticized what he called a tendency among gay-themed books to feel “sanitized” or aimed at women rather than at gay readers themselves. “I make gay things for gay people,” he said. “I’ve always been that way.”

Mr. O’Connell first gained wide recognition for “Special,” a semi-autobiographical Netflix series he created and starred in about a gay man with cerebral palsy navigating life in Los Angeles. The show earned him Emmy nominations for his work as a writer and performer.