AUSTIN, Texas — They’ve walked among us for months now. Finally, we’ll get to see what happened when the “Queer Eye” team came to Austin.
Season 6 of the Netflix reality show, filmed in Austin. Here’s what we know so far about the Fab 5 — grooming expert Jonathan Van Ness, stylist Tan France, foodie Antoni Porowski, designer Bobby Berk and lifestyle coach Karamo Brown — and their time in town.
When does Season 6 of ‘Queer Eye’ drop?
The new batch of episodes premiered Friday on Netflix.
When did ‘Queer Eye’ film in Austin?
Production officially started in March 2020. In December 2019, clues emerged that the Fab 5 were making their way to Austin. Guests at Van Ness’ ACL Live show back then received flyers soliciting nominations for the TV program. The flyers read: “Howdy Texas! Queer Eye is casting in Austin, Texas! Accepting nominations in Austin & Central Texas.” Other flyer sightings circulated on social media.
Shortly after, Austin Justice Coalition, a local advocacy group focused on equity issues, said that producers for “Queer Eye” approached its team for help with nominations. The producers were looking “for deserving people, couples, families, friends and coworkers within a ninety-minute radius of Austin who could truly benefit from a ‘make-better.’”
In March 2020, Netflix announced the new Austin-set season, complete with photos of the cast in front the El Arroyo sign. Then, as the pandemic shut down productions across the world, “Queer Eye” had to stop working with just a day left of filming on the first Austin episode, according to Entertainment Weekly.
In February 2021, Berk announced on Twitter that casting had resumed for the show. By April, it looked like production was back in gear in the Texas capital.
“Let’s try this again y’all!” the show posted on Instagram. “We’re SO EXCITED to step our cowboy boots back in Austin to film Queer Eye: Texas! Can’t wait to bring more smiles (and tears) to your faces!”
“I literally had 5 tacos yesterday,” Porowski wrote on Instagram, “also queer eye is back, y’all!” Brown, France and Berk also posted about it.
Where did ‘Queer Eye’ film in Austin?
A trailer offered a sneak peek at a few of the crew’s filming locations. One is the Broken Spoke, where they took country dancing lessons from Terri White, daughter of the Spoke’s late founder, James White.
There’s also a segment filmed at Navarro High School involving the school’s prom. Other local spots visible in the trailer include Eastside Pedal Pushers bike shop and the Long Center Terrace.
A social media post on Monday from the Other Ones Foundation, a nonprofit focused on helping people experiencing homelessness, revealed that executive director Chris Baker also will appear.
