Rating: 9/10

The Emmy award-winning, emotional Netflix original “Queer Eye” returned with its seventh season on May 12.

Antoni Porowski, Bobby Berk, Jonathan Van Ness, Tan France and Karamo Brown, better known as the “Fab Five,” took their expert advice to New Orleans for this season.

Although I’ve been excited about “Queer Eye” coming to New Orleans since it was announced, I was also hesitant about it. I’ve watched the show since its first season, so I was anticipating a pretty cheesy, cliche portrayal of the city.
However, I was pleasantly surprised at how tastefully the show integrated elements of Louisiana and New Orleans throughout the season without making it too overwhelming. (In fact, there were several times when I would forget the episodes were taking place in New Orleans).

In one episode the Fab Five help out a woman who is a massive Saints and Pelicans fan, Antoni teaches several people featured on the show how to make staple New Orleans dishes and each episode opens with a jazzy rendition of the show’s original theme song.

Instead of being cringe, the show ended up providing a nice representation of the city and why people love it.

“Queer Eye” is well-known for being an emotional, tear jerking show, and this season is no exception.

In this season, the Fab Five help makeover a woman who was incarcerated for 12 years and a  young disabled man who lost his mother, aunt and ability to walk in a car accident.

These episodes were both emotional rollercoasters, but ultimately very heartwarming to watch.

But the standout episode for me this season was definitely the first episode, in which the Fab Five help makeover an entire frat house of University of New Orleans students.

You would never expect to see Louisiana frat boys on a “Queer Eye” episode and have it go well, but it ended up being one of the Fab Five’s best transformations yet. 

I wasn’t expecting to enjoy this episode as much as I did, but the whole thing was just so entertaining. It’s worth a watch just to see how Bobby Berk turns a filthy, stale pizza-covered frat house into a pleasant, luxury-looking home (featuring a popcorn maker).

My only grievance with this season was that it was the shortest season of “Queer Eye” so far, with just seven episodes. The optimism and joy I feel from watching this show is unmatched by anything else on TV, so it’s always nice to have that last for as long as possible.

If “Queer Eye” makes a return to New Orleans, I think they should take a pit stop in Baton Rouge. I could always use a haircut and a new wardrobe (and god knows my editor could use one too).