The Fab Five are back to take Vegas − only this time, the “Queer Eye” cast is the one getting a makeover.
Jeremiah Brent, an HGTV alum who hosted two shows on the network with husband Nate Berkus, is the latest addition to the show, replacing original interior design expert Bobby Berk. He kicks off Season 9 of the show, released on Netflix Wednesday, and steps into the show with no illusions about the shoes he’s trying to fill.
Brent insisted there was “no drama” and that he understood the “loyalty” fans felt to the show’s original cast, in an interview with Entertainment Weekly published Wednesday.
Jeremiah Brent visits SiriusXM Studios on Feb. 15, 2024 in New York City, New York.
“People don’t know me. People are used to their friend group the way it was, but I’m happy to earn people’s respect and I’m happy for them to get to know me and for me to get to know them,” he told the outlet.
Brent revealed to EW that he was in contention originally for the role Berk ultimately came to fill, but “the timing wasn’t right.”
He approached the opportunity tepidly the second time around, he told the outlet, aware that he would be entering an already tight-knit cast. Ultimately, he said they embraced him and he hasn’t looked back. “I knew two of them already and they were dear friends of mine,” he said in the interview. “But then we all met and hit it off immediately.”
Brent told EW that he has “a tremendous amount of respect for what he did in the show.”
Berk’s exit was made public against the backdrop of a scandal that alleged the cast, portrayed on screen as a quirky and fun-loving found family, was actually riddled with tension.
Bobby Berk explains leaving ‘Queer Eye,’ confirms drama with Tan France: ‘We will be fine’
Bobby Berk, Tan France drama and Jonathan Van Ness Rolling Stone article set stage for new season
Berk in particular was alleged to have had a falling out with Tan France, the show’s clothing expert. Berk confirmed the spat in an interview with Vanity Fair, saying: “There was a situation, and that’s between Tan and I, and it has nothing to do with the show. It was something personal that had been brewing.”
Jonathan Van Ness, the show’s bubbly hair stylist (or grooming specialist, formally), was also alleged to have created a toxic work environment. In a Rolling Stone article, several production sources on the show accused Van Ness of emotionally “abusive” behind-the-scenes behavior. Van Ness denied the claims.
The cast of “Queer Eye” with their Emmy Awards for Outstanding Structured Reality Program at the Creative Arts Emmy Awards on Sept. 14, 2019 in Los Angeles, California.
Berk detailed his decision to leave the show to Vanity Fair, explaining that at the time that he had been under the impression the entire cast which also includes Karamo Brown and Antoni Porowski, would be moving on. He declined to renew his contract in 2022 as a result, and when the rest of the cast surprised him by re-signing he was already involved in other projects he was not comfortable abandoning.
‘Queer Eye’ Season 9: Premiere date, time, streaming and new Fab Five member
An integral part of the original fivesome that revived popularity for the 2000s show “Queer Eye for the Straight Guy,” Berk helped anchor the modern reboot which axed the longer name for a pithier “Queer Eye.”
Fans often joked that he was the backbone of the show, deconstructing and reconstructing a subject’s home while the other members whisked them off for fashion and food excursions.
Now, Brent will be tasked with the same tight-timeline transformations as a new class of Las Vegas “heroes” turn to the “Queer Eye” cast for fashion and life advice as well as a remodeled home, of course.
Contributing: KiMi Robinson
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: ‘Queer Eye’ cast introduces Jeremiah Brent after Bobby Berk exit
