DEADLINE: Returning for its fifth season in June, Netflix’s Queer Eye reboot clearly has continued to resonate both with viewers and TV Academy voters. Why do you think that is?

HISHAM ABED: I think that its honesty and nonjudgmental approach to finding out how to help people is one of the main strengths of the show. I also think that in a time of political turmoil and difference, that when people are able to find common ground, it offers hope, and just to see people grow and be helped by the Fab Five speaks to some larger universal truths that we all find within ourselves. Everybody needs to be heard and seen, and when we see that in other people, there’s this sort of universal connection, not just between what you’re watching, but also within yourself. I think it can open the door to wider acceptance and appreciation of everybody’s struggles in life.

Read the full interview here.