Russell T. Davies' 'Queer As Folk' gets US reboot featuring gay bar shooting - see first-look trailer

Russell T. Davies' groundbreaking TV series Queer As Folk is about to launch a US reboot, with the first trailer showing a terror attack on a gay bar.

The original UK series from the It's A Sin creator began in 1999 and aired for two series, following the lives of three gay men living in Manchester.

Read more: It's A Sin snubbed at Baftas despite receiving most nominations

But a reimagining of the series by Stephen Dunn sets the story in New Orleans and tackles the issue of US mass shootings, inspired by the horrific gun massacre in 2016 at gay nightclub Pulse in Orlando.

A first trailer for the series, which will air on Starzplay from July, shows the cast of young queer characters struggling to cope in the aftermath of a similar attack on a club where they had been enjoying a night out.

Dunn told Variety: "It’s really important to tell these stories because it happens so much that it’s so exhausting and we just move on to the next one. It’s important to tell the stories of people who don’t get to necessarily move on and what that experience is like."

The series will come with a content warning card in the US, as did the recent launch of Stranger Things season four on Netflix in the aftermath of the school shooting at Robb Elementary School in Texas in May.

Read more: Lorraine calls Britney's ex 'a total arse'

Dunn spent five years creating his version of Queer As Folk and consulted survivors of the Pulse attack whose experiences heavily influenced his storyline, which follows the characters trying to adjust to what has happened to them.

Cast for the reboot include Kim Cattrall, whose character's adopted son is one of the survivors of the attack, Juliette Lewis and Ed Begley Jr.

The series stars Devin Way (Grey’s Anatomy) as Brodie, Fin Argus (The Gifted) as Mingus, Jesse James Keitel (Big Sky) as Ruthie, CG as Shar, Johnny Sibilly as Noah and Ryan O’Connell as Julian.

It will run for eight episodes from Friday, 1 July on Starzplay with two new episodes available each week.

Watch: Russell T. Davies reacts to Ncuti Gatwa casting in Doctor Who