Being Brendo - Season 1 to 7 (Queer As F**k) (Australia)

How had I never heard or known about this? With a tagline that says 'Being gay is just the beginning', Being Brendo peers into the lives of five gay men, taking an in depth look at their lives, ups and downs, relationships, sexual escapades and daily living. Formerly known as "Queer as F**k" for the first six seasons, the show began as pilot project in 2010 to deliver sexual health promotion via short webisodes on Social networking sites to gay men, in a collaboration between the Victorian AIDS Council/Gay Men's Health Centre, Burnet Institute, University of Melbourne and X:MACHINE Productions. The project aimed to engage audiences in online discussion, to explore how social networking sites can be used to promote sexual health. The makers decided to rename the show to make it clearer and to name it something more original and less similar to the popular UK and US TV show of the same name (a little too late, IMHO)

The show started with three friends Brendo, Aaron and Peter who are friends are starting to navigate through the gay life. One rtes course of multiple seasons we meet various men who enter their life, hook ups, love life, dealing with STD's, HIV scares, with a lot of laughs but education. Aaron, who sleeps around meets Jack who is HIV+. Aaron is shocked by this. Jack later ends up becoming Brendo's boyfriend while taking dogs at what a nutcracker Aaron is, when it comes to being aware of information surrounding HIV. There are a few funny episodes of this couple meeting Brendo's sister and mother. Brendo has also a best friend Davo and we see a few episodes with him and his partner, an older 'bear' and them trying to have a kid together with a girl who has secretly had a crush on Davo's partner. We then have Peter, an older guy , who has a chance meeting with Toby at a train station and soon they become lovers. This duo is the most mature of the whole group and make a beautiful couple. Things, intermittently become tricky, when Peter tests to be positive, but a group of supportive friends and a lover help him keeping things together. But he is way too much in his head which starts bring a strain in his relationship with Toby and goes traveling. Toby starts going in a spiral. Later, in season 5-6 there is a new entry Zalton, Brenda's co- worker who has a crush on Brenda. But since he is taken, he and Aaron start an affair but Zalton is convinced he is not gay despite going to bathhouses and orgies. Eventually he and Aaron have some on off relationship. The show ends on a sombre note.

The show is hilarious and educational at the same time. It shows working class gay men who aren’t basically cliches. So the situations are quite realistic, it takes a humorous approach to sexual health but it also includes some very serious issues. It is amazing how it balances the two. If you are used to the weird, dark, Australian humor (like Kath & Kim), you are gonna love this show. With over 100 episodes in 7 seasons ranging from 3-8 minutes each, its an easy but long watch. But trust me, its hilarious (once you get to the humor style after a few episodes of season 1). They have managed to get some great actors, whose camaraderie with each other is stupendous. Despite the fact that the last season was aired back in 2013, the show still manages to be relevant and evokes plenty of laughters while being proper at the same time. The characters, did such an amazing job not only with their acting, but connecting with me on many levels as a gay man and the way we have to deal with life and heterosexuals and with friends and everything else. They show you the "do's and don't of HIV". I loved all these characters, literally all of them, because they all had their specific character traits, their funny bits, their stupid bits, their individuality and they all bring in their quirk in their own unique way. I believe the engaging, informative and accessible manner in which the show presents itself encouraged discussions in the country around sexual health.

The dumb conversations between Davo and Brendo when they are together are the most fun; or whenever Brendo's mother comes into picture and everything she says and behaves is amazing. Toby is sarcastic yet one of the most loving character is very endearing. Jack is practical and handsome who almost passively teaches everyone around him to be comfortable in their own skin. Peter brings the maturity to the whole group. I had my most laughs in Season 4 but all the episodes are good fun to watch. Season 6 feels a bit dragged but then the second episode of season 7 is something that I laughed my head off. I'd say watch one season a day even though these are smaller episodes and you could potentially watch all 7 seasons together, but that may be too much. Enjoy this little funny, dark comedy gay show freely available on YouTube. (7/10)