Whether it was the revolutionary Queer As Folk in 1999 or the beyond important storytelling in It’s A Sin this year, Russel T. Davies has proven himself to be one of the most compelling and crucial storytellers in television today, specifically to tell the stories of the LGBTQ community. While Queer As Folk did deal with the HIV/AIDS epidemic during certain story arcs, It’s A Sin is Davies first show to focus solely on AIDS & the impact that it had on our community, specifically at the onset of the epidemic. Watching some of the characters complete and total indifference to the deadly virus, while others are becoming acutely aware and being directly impacted is especially haunting, especially with the backdrop of the actual pandemic that we are living in currently. While fans have fallen in love with characters like Colin, Ash, and Jill and would love to see their next chapter, Davies recently let fans know that he feels that the story of the residents of The Pink Palace have been definitively told. (Warning-Spoilers Ahead)!
When asked by The Hollywood Reporter about a second season of the landmark and important HBO Max drama, Davies said simply “There isn’t a second season. It was lovely. It said everything I wanted to say. The only long-running thing I’ve ever done is ‘Doctor Who’ and that’s because ‘Doctor Who’ is designed to be long running. I’m not quite sure [what’s next]. A couple of people have contacted me asking them to mentor them, which I’ve done. I love doing that; both of those shows have been picked up. Strangely, I find myself as a script editor after all this time. I will start writing. I don’t know how I follow something like ‘It’s a Sin.’ I think I’m just going to write something funny. I look at my career and I’m a bit puzzled on when I became such a tragedian, when I’m a really big laugh actually.
While we may not be seeing any further story from It’s A Sin currently, Davies recently revealed that there are three episodes of the series that are actually missing. Originally, the series was intended to run for eight full episodes, with the final three episodes jumping ahead decades into the future. Davies told Damian Barr’s Literary Salon “It could’ve been eight episodes long, and there would’ve been an extra flatmate, and he would’ve had adventures,” he told AIDS activist Ruth Corker Burks. “But I was offered four episodes, and that’s fine. Everything that I would’ve done kind of compacted inwards.” (Davies himself pushed for an extra episode to tie the story together, which was greenlit)
As it turns out, a great deal of the missing episodes focus on the character that many consider to be the purest heart of It’s A Sin, unexpected activist Jill Baxter. Davies went on to say “We’d catch up with Jill at the age of 55 and she’s still working in mental and sexual health. It’s too long a story to describe, but you get the feeling that she’s trapped in that world, actually.” In a sweet turn of irony, Davies still sees Jill working in musical theatre. “Going on cruise ships and to conference centers and singing songs on the West End with all her mates. And while she’s been away on one of her sexual health lectures, a booking was accidentally made for the Isle of Wight, which she’s never been back to since (the death of Ritchie)”
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