Queer Eye is better off now that it's become self-aware in Season 4

Mashable

The fourth season of the Netflix reality show kicks off with a pep rally acknowledging the Fab Five's massive popularity. That's in contrast to past episodes, where they were virtual strangers. "Now that Queer Eye has gone on for three successful seasons," says Alexis Nedd, "the Fab Five come in to each new person’s story with their schticks established to the point of being expected." Nedd adds that the Fab Five's "five-part system is visually effective and entertaining, but the Queer Eye 'thing' has become so ubiquitous over the past year that the Season 4 heroes feel less like ordinary people changing their lives with expert help and more like sweepstakes winners lucky enough to spend a week in the presence of superstars. Because the Queer Eye experience is so well known, the heroes of Season 4 act differently than those in previous seasons. There’s no way someone like Season 2’s Ari, who infamously sulked and whined through his episode, could get away with seeming ungrateful for the Five’s help these days. Nearly all of Season 4’s heroes come to their episodes prepared to work through their stuff and open up about mental illness, grief, body insecurities, and the roots of important traumas within hours of meeting the Fab Five."