Bobby Berk’s contribution to the hit show “Queer Eye” causes the other members to pale in comparison, but he gets by far the least recognition and screen time.
“Queer Eye” is a home and lifestyle makeover series on Netflix. The “Fab Five”, consisting of Tan France, Bobby Burk, Jonathan Van Ness, Karamo Brown, and Antoni Porowski, all specialize in different aspects of life to help turn around the participants’ lives.
Bobby’s specialty is design.
The group usually only has about a week to finish their makeover. In this incredibly short time span, Bobby does a complete remodeling of the person’s home. In just a week.
Now don’t get me wrong, the other members are valuable to the show, but Tan throwing a couple of beige cardigans into their wardrobe, and Antoni teaching them how to make a single dish is nothing compared to what Bobby does for these people’s lives.
Bobby being a heavy hitter isn’t the problem. The problem is the lack of respect this man gets.
Throughout the course of the episodes, it feels like we maybe get five minutes of Bobby screen time, while we get what feels like 15 minutes of Jonathon throwing product into the participant’s hair that they’ll never buy again. And the screen time isn’t even really of him, it’s just montages of him completely transforming a living space.
To dismiss the guy who renovates the space participants reside in, and in turn raises their net worth by thousands as just a side character, is unreal.
Now to be fair, this structure is what makes the show unique. There is an obscene amount of home makeover shows available to consume. It feels like TLC has at least 700 on its own, so not focusing on this aspect is what makes the show such a fun, and standout viewing experience. The show is all about using their specialties to connect with the participant on an emotional level, and it’s hard to do that throughout designing a home. A little more Bobby love would not hurt anyone though.
This criticism of Bobby doing the most and being seen the least is nothing new. Fans of the show have shed light on this fact for years now. Interviewers have even brought it up to Bobby himself.
He of course responded cordially. Bobby essentially said he loves the image of being a hard worker, and that he is ok with the lack of screen time. His job is just too tasking on a time crunch to be available for the extra time in front of the camera.
The show seems to have internalized the criticism. In the newest season aired in 2021, it felt like Bobby had a much bigger role in the participant’s life.
With season seven currently in development, us fans of the show are anxiously waiting to see if Bobby and his relentless hard work awards him more time on the screen.
