The Queen of Ireland’s series is finally being developed with Sky.
Currently under the working title PantiBar, the series will be a drama written by and starring gay rights activist and drag queen performer Rory O’Neill, better known as Panti Bliss.
Described as a mix between “Queer as Folk and Cheers”, the series will be set in the ‘accidental’ activist’s bar, PantiBar, on Capel Street in Dublin.
Due to be developed by Sky and the UK production company Playground Entertainment, PantiBar has not received a full green light to start production just yet, but the head of drama at Playground, Sophie Gardiner, has said that its chances are high since O’Neill has generated interest internationally in recent years.
“It’s a really interesting and transgressive show about what drag means and what happens when you’re in a place where everyone feels liberated”, Gardiner said.
Excited to be working with @PantiBliss, @McMahonPhilly and @mrjohnbutler! https://t.co/vT8q2Li1IJ
— Playground (@PlaygroundEnt) December 6, 2017
Playground Entertainment, which has previously worked on the theatrical version of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, acquired the rights to O’Neill’s memoir, ‘Panti: A Woman in the Making’ in early 2017, saying the show “will bring her provocative perspective on contemporary culture and the unspoken challenges that face the gay community to a mainstream television audience”.
“Panti Bliss is known as the Queen of Ireland because she was crucial in the campaign for marriage equality”, Gardiner said at the announcement yesterday. “She’s the most wonderful drag queen, is quite politically engaged and we came across her in a TED talk.”
O’Neill will co-write the show with long-time collaborator and theatre producer Philip McMahon and co-writer John Butler.
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