Question: Can you believe it has been 20 years since QUEER AS FOLK debuted?

Scott Lowell: No, I can't. It truly has gone by in an absolute flash of time. It still feels very, very fresh. And it was an amazing experience, but I can't believe it's been 20 years.

Question: Did you know back in 2000, that there would still be this much interest in the show in 2020?

Scott Lowell: I wasn't thinking past each day of filming. No, I had no idea. I found out later how much Showtime was really putting behind the show. That they wanted QUEER AS FOLK to be their SOPRANOS. But that didn't really come until we were probably in the fifth or sixth episode of the show. We were already filming by the time I started to realize, "Oh, wow, this is gonna be a big deal." So I'm thrilled and honored that it still resonates with people. And it's still finding a new audience but could not have imagined way back then that this would happen. I didn't think we would get through the first season.

Question: Did y'all know how groundbreaking was going to be back then?

Scott Lowell: Yes, we did know that we were pushing the envelope on a lot of things. And we knew that the show was going to be important, especially to the gay community. And I used to think that Ellen [DeGeneres] with her sitcom [ELLEN] that she kind of started inching the closet door open by coming out like she did. WILL AND GRACE came up next and kind of pushed it open a little bit more. And then QUEER AS FOLK came along, and we were determined to kick the fucking closet door off its hinges -- just bust it wide open So we knew it was going to be groundbreaking, and it gave us kind of a rebellious spirit, the writers and the cast.

Question: How did this reunion come about?

Scott Lowell: Well, you know, the pandemic certainly puts one in the mindset of "What can I do? I need to do something. I can't just sit here. How can I help?" And we were texting with each other (the cast) and checking in with each other. And I raised the possibility of doing something like this, and everybody jumped on board very quickly. And the more we thought about it -- recognizing that it's coinciding with the 20th anniversary -- it kind of all formed around that. Once that idea hit me, I realized creating a cast and crew reunion event would be a great thing to do.

Question: What can fans expect from MAY DAY HOME DAY GAY PLAY?

Scott Lowell: What they can expect is not only to get to see some of their favorite main cast members. They're going to get to see those main cast members reunited with some of their favorite guest stars on the series. Some of the wonderful actors we got to work with who they don't often get to hear from. And it's a chance for us after such a long period of time to say hi to them again. And they're also going to get to hear from a lot of people whose names they see scroll by at the end of the show -- the writers, the directors, the executive producers, crew members. I want them to get to know that QUEER AS FOLK -- the experience of shooting it -- was a family affair for all of us. And I want them to get to know members of the family that they haven't met yet. So when they watch the show, and they see those names go by, they can go, "Oh, I know that person now."

Question: Who are you most looking forward to seeing?

Scott Lowell: Well, some of them I've already seen because I've pre-taped some interviews, but certainly members of the writing staff have been great. Seeing some of these great guest stars that we haven't seen in a while. We're thrilled that Rosie O'Donnell is going to join us. Peter MacNeill, I'm looking forward to seeing. I'm looking forward to seeing Harris Allen, again. And I'm looking forward to seeing Dean Armstrong, of course. So many wonderful people who we haven't seen in such a long time. And I just found out today -- and you'll get the scoop on this -- that Russell Davies is going to join us. We haven't decided if he's going to join the live feed, or if we're going to pre-tape an interview with him. But Russell Davies, the creator of the British version QUEER AS FOLK. We haven't seen him in a very, very long time, so I'm looking forward to seeing him.

Question: When was the last time you were all together?

Scott Lowell: All of us. Not since we shot with the wonderful photographer, Sammy Drazen, the photoshoot for Entertainment Weekly in 2018. But many of us get together. I saw Robert [Gant] and Peter [Paige] and Michelle [Clunie] back in Los Angeles in January. I see Randy [Harrison] a lot. He lives about a 10-minute walk from me here in Brooklyn. Sharon [Gless] I see all the time as well.

Question: Do Gale Harold and Thea Gill have a message for the fans since they won't be there?

Scott Lowell: Not one they've specifically given to me. So I don't want to put words in their mouth. But I know they are thrilled that the event is going on and are sorry that they can't be a part of it. And they they love the fans, but they haven't given me any specific message, so I'm hesitant to put anything out there about that.

Scott Lowell as Ted Schmidt (left) and Peter Paige as Emmett Honeycutt (right) on QAF.

Question: What has been the most memorable fan encounter you've had?

Scott Lowell: Oh, boy. There have been so many. I would say the most memorable one I've had would be the time I was walking through The Grove shopping center in Los Angeles. This was during the third season of the show when it was airing, and I guess Ted must have done something really awful to Emmett during that previous Sunday's airing. And as I was walking through The Grove with some group of friends, a group of guys walked by me and one of them reached out and smacked me in shoulder and said, "Stop it." And there was something about him that was very unnerving. He was so taken with the show and seeing me just triggered something in him that he was so upset with Ted at that time. It's just where the show was really resonating with people. It's a little crazy, but that's certainly the most memorable that I've never been struck in public by somebody because they were mad at my character.

Question: How did you choose CenterLink LGBTQ+ Community Centers?

Scott Lowell: We were considering some way of supporting people. The idea that came to my mind, as I was texting with the cast, was this feeling that during this crisis, some of you know obviously, we have a lot of money going to first responders and COVID people. But there's going to be a lot of other organizations out there that support their community. They're going to be in a lot of trouble right now that are already on the margins of going bankrupt all the time. These smaller LGBTQ+ centers throughout the country. There are large ones as well. But we thought at this time of year a lot of these centers have their big spring, fundraisers, their gala fundraisers, and this is where they make a lot of their budget up by doing these fundraisers. Obviously those weren't going to happen this year. And I started thinking, well, how could we throw them a fundraiser and we thought about focusing on maybe a few individual centers, but I had heard about CenterLink and loved the fact that they are essentially the hub for all the centers throughout this country, as well as in Canada, and overseas too. It seemed a lot smarter to raise money for them and let them find out which are the center's most in need of funding, and go that route. And they're an amazing organization. They're representing over 240 centers all over the country and outside of it as well, and we're really excited to help all these centers out there that do such vital work right now. Things like routine mental health and all the things they do for the gay community out there. It seemed a natural fit.

Question: What are some of the items that are going to be up for auction?

Scott Lowell: Some of them are costumes. We have one great costume piece from the show. A jacket that Brian Kinney wore during the AIDS ride episodes in the final season of the show. We have some crew gifts that were given to us: some beautiful leather roots bags from the second season of QUEER AS FOLK that have a QAF2 logo on them. I'm donating a lot of my personal items. Some of them are promotional items from Showtime from back in 2000 or 2001. I have a couple of props that I saved from the first season of the show that I'm going to be auctioning off, as well as some other items personal to me, that I kept with me all these years from the set that we'll be auctioning off.

Question: Have you all talked about doing a revival?

Scott Lowell: Yes. Well, we've talked about doing some form of a reboot. We would love to do that something combining our cast, who are now older, of course, with a younger, more diverse cast. Of course, we would like to do that. But so far there hasn't been any interest in that happening. There is a reboot happening of the British version of the show, supposedly. I think is going to be on NBC's new Peacock streaming service -- or at least they're developing it there. But none of us are involved with that. But we would love to do one. We just haven't had a studio or network or somebody who could actually pay to make it happen or have any interest in doing that. But we're all in if it's there.

Sharon Gless (left), Scott Lowell (middle), and Gale Harold (right) in ADOPTABLE.

Question: A few years ago, you did a web series with some QAF family members. Can you tell us about it? Will there be a second season where can people see it?

Scott Lowell: Yes, so I did a web series called ADOPTABLE which is very loosely based on the search I did for my birth parents. And I was fortunate enough to be able to write roles for Sharon Gless and Gale Harold in that show. I tried getting some other some other members of the family in it, but they weren't available. And it's a great awkward comedy. If you love THE OFFICE, it's kind of like the British version of THE OFFICE meets FLIRTING WITH DISASTER, that old film if you could, if you've ever seen that. It's a very awkward comedy; I'm very proud of it. It's six episodes, 15 minutes each. We're just starting to stream on a new streaming platform called StarBaby Network. You can find all the episodes there for free once you subscribe to the network. That's probably the best place to find it right now. If you're having trouble finding it there in the States, we are available on Amazon Prime as well. But I encourage people to go to StarBaby Network to watch it.

Scott Lowell

Question: How have you been holding up during this time?

Scott Lowell: I've been doing okay. I'm grateful to have my health, and most of my family and friends are healthy and doing well. And having this to focus on certainly has gotten me outside my own head. The thought of doing good for others is always a great way to help distract yourself from the challenges we're all facing.

Question: Any final thoughts for the fans?

Scott Lowell: Just that we're the entire cast and the crew and the creators of the show, we're also grateful to everybody that's kept this show alive. The fans are the ones who've kept the show alive for over 20 years now and and continuing,. You know, we find new generations all the time and it's so gratifying to know you've created something that resonates with people still, that matters to people still, that helps them through troubled times. And we're just very grateful for them. They're the ones who keep the flame alive. They're the ones who keep the thumpa thumpa going all these years and we hope it continues for many more.