“Queer Eye ”announces Jeremiah Brent is replacing Bobby Berk for season 9
The esteemed interior designer joins Karamo Brown, Tan France, Antoni Porowski, and Jonathan Van Ness in the upcoming Vegas-set season.
Say hello to the new iteration of the Fab Five.
Netflix announced on Tuesday that interior designer Jeremiah Brent has been tapped to replace home design expert Bobby Berk in the upcoming season 9 of Queer Eye. Brent joins returning cast members Karamo Brown (culture), Tan France (fashion), Antoni Porowski (food), and Jonathan Van Ness (beauty) as they transform the lives of heroes in the upcoming Las Vegas-set season.
The beloved Berk, often touted by fans as being the hardest working of all five hosts (he once built an entire barn from scratch in just three days!), leaves big shoes to fill, but Brent comes with a resume that proves he has the chops to step into the role.
Brent, who got his big break as a styling associate to celebrity stylist Rachel Zoe on The Rachel Zoe Project, previously hosted the Oprah Winfrey Network's Emmy-winning design series Home Made Simple and served as the design expert on Netflix's sadly short-lived Say I Do. He's been married to fellow esteemed interior designer Nate Berkus for 10 years and together they've fronted TLC renovation series Nate & Jeremiah by Design, HGTV's Nate & Jeremiah Save My House, and most recently The Nate & Jeremiah Home Project, in which they helped families turn their existing spaces into dream homes. He's also shared his skills over the years on TODAY, The Kelly Clarkson Show, The Drew Barrymore Show, Good Morning America, and more.
Berk announced last fall that the New Orleans-set season 8 would be his last. He had been a staple since the reboot’s premiere in 2018. (The Emmy-winning series is a revival of the popular 2000s' Bravo reality series Queer Eye for the Straight Guy.) In conversation with Vanity Fair earlier this year, Berk revealed that his exit boiled down to contractual agreements as opposed to any on-set drama, though he did confirm a clash with costar France. (But more on that later.)
According to Berk, the Fab Five initially signed a seven-year contract that would’ve been fulfilled by September 2022. While Berk "thought we were done" and "started planning other things," he claimed Netflix opted to renew the series last fall due to content shortage caused by the Hollywood writers' and actors' strike. Berk decided not to renew his contract, claiming that his costars mulled the same route before ultimately deciding to move forward.
"With only one of us not coming back, Netflix felt [it] could recast one person," Berk said, admitting that the reversal initially upset him. "There were definitely emotions," he said. "But each one of us had our reasons why we did what we did. I can't be mad.”
Of the rumors of drama with France, Berk confirmed there "was a situation" between the two but it had "nothing to do with the show." He said he'd "always have a very special place in my heart" for France. "We became like siblings — and siblings are always going to fight."
Over the last eight seasons, Queer Eye racked up 11 Emmy wins and holds the record for the most wins in the Outstanding Structured Program category with six consecutive victories. Season 9 goes into production in Las Vegas later this spring 2024.
All eight seasons of Queer Eye are streaming on Netflix.
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