Netflix replaces Bobby Berk with Jeremiah Brent for 9th season of 'Queer Eye'
The cast of Netflix's "Queer Eye" is adding a new pair of eyes.
Netflix announced Tuesday that interior designer Jeremiah Brent will join Antoni Porowski, Jonathan Van Ness, Karamo Brown and Tan France as a host for the Emmy-winning makeover show's ninth season.
Brent, 39, replaces Bobby Berk, also an interior designer. Berk announced his decision to leave the show on Instagram in November.
"It's not been an easy decision to be at peace with, but a necessary one," Berk wrote. "Although my journey with 'Queer Eye' is over, my journey with you is not. You will be seeing more of me very soon."
Brent is the founder of Jeremiah Brent Design and the lifestyle brand Atrio. Brent previously hosted "Home Made Simple" on the Oprah Winfrey Network and "Say I Do" on Netflix, and starred on the HGTV docuseries "The Nate & Jeremiah Home Project" alongside his husband, interior designer Nate Berkus.
Berk moved on not expecting ninth season
Berk explained that he did not believe "Queer Eye" would return after the cast's contracts expired in 2022, according to an interview with Vanity Fair. Berk had begun other projects when the show contacted him about a new contract, he explained. At that point, he said he couldn't return.
"The Fab Five and the crew, we all stood there, and we took pictures and cried," Berk said of the last day of filming. "We thought we were done. Mentally and emotionally, I thought we all moved on. I know I did, and I started planning other things."
Berk also confirmed that there was a conflict between himself and France.
"Tan and I had a moment," he said. "There was a situation, and that's between Tan and I, and it has nothing to do with the show. It was something personal that had been brewing − and nothing romantic, just to clarify that."
Berk said that the two had come to "better terms."
When will the ninth season of 'Queer Eye' come out?
The ninth season of "Queer Eye" − a revival of Bravo's "Queer Eye for the Straight Guy" of the mid-2000s − will begin production in Las Vegas this spring, according to the press release announcing the addition.
The filming in Las Vegas is quite different from the series' previous eight seasons, all shot in the South or Midwest in Georgia, Kansas, Pennsylvania, Texas and Louisiana.
No release date for the ninth season has been announced.