Queer as Folk is a North American television series that was produced for Showtime Entertainment and Showcase by Cowlip Productions, Tony Jonas Productions, and Temple Street Productions in association with Channel 4 Television. It was developed and written by Ron Cowen and Daniel Lipman (Sisters, An Early Frost), who were the showrunners, and also the executive producers along with Tony Jonas, former President of Warner Bros. Television.
Based on the British series created by Russell T Davies, Queer as Folk was the first hour-long drama on American television to portray the lives of gay men and women. Although it was set in Pittsburgh, PA, interior scenes were actually shot in Toronto and employed various Canadian directors known for their independent film work (including Bruce McDonald, David Wellington, Kelly Makin, John Greyson, Jeremy Podeswa and Michael DeCarlo) as well as Australian director Russell Mulcahy (Highlander) who directed the pilot episode. Additional writers in the later seasons included Michael MacLennan, Efrem Seeger, Brad Fraser, Del Shores, and Shawn Postoff.