Darryl Stephens: Noah's Arc Returns! Celebrating 20 Years of the Groundbreaking Gay TV Show

"OK, well, if that show never comes back, it had its impact. That's not a terrible legacy. I'll just move onto something else."

In 2019, almost 15 years after the beloved TV show, Noah's Arc, cemented itself into queer history, its star, Darryl Stephens, was considering shifting his focus away from acting.

His subsequent roles were often met with the same response, fans expressing variations of "You'll always be Noah to me" and questions of "When's Noah going to come back?" If he couldn't do anything but remind people of Noah's Arc, Darryl thought, maybe he would do something else. "It had its impact. That's not a terrible legacy." Imagining a career focused behind-the-scenes coincided with the beginning of a new chapter in his personal life: the decision to become a parent. "And then interestingly enough, when we decided to have the kid, work picked up."

The groundbreaking show returns with Noah’s Arc: The Movie on June 20th, streaming on Paramount+.

On this week’s episode, originally recorded in 2021, Darryl Stephens talks about the enduring legacy of Noah’s Arc, the radical way that the show dealt with HIV, and becoming a new father.

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Much love,

Jeffrey
@jeffmasters1