‘Tales of the City’ is back — in a much different San Francisco

Even after the show’s 18-year absence onscreen, the producers of Armistead Maupin’s San Francisco treasure “Tales of the City” came quickly to their strategy of how to approach the fourth installment of the series on Netflix.

They tabled the idea of re-creating the original 1994 miniseries, which generated a strong following on PBS but also drew protests from those who objected to a publicly funded network airing a TV show depicting gay sex lives in San Francisco. They also nixed trying to time-travel back to the ‘70s, when the initial “Tales” was set. Instead, they agreed to set the 10-part series, which begins streaming June 7, in today’s different — and costly — Bay Area environment.

With Laura Linney signed on to return as the show’s likable protagonist, Mary Ann Singleton, executive producers Lauren Morelli (“Orange Is the New Black”) and Alan Poul — who has worked on all four “Tales” installments, two of which were on Showtime — knew they were on the right course.

But they had another goal, wanting this series to address the “divide between the generations of queer people” while encouraging a “cross-generational dialogue that wasn’t happening.”

“In terms of people like us,” said Poul, “who lived through the AIDS epidemic and  younger people who don’t want to be labeled as gay, straight, lesbian or anything — I’m just queer — it was one of our major aims. … It was also to bring the show to a younger generation that might not be aware of ‘Tales of the City.’”

Cast and crew members were interviewed April 10 in San Francisco, after the new installment’s first episode kicked off the San Francisco International Film Festival.

The Netflix series introduces numerous new characters, including a trans man Jake (played by non-binary trans actor Garcia, a standout), Mary Ann’s unwelcoming daughter Shawna (Ellen Page) and a sweet younger man Ben (Charlie Barnett of Netflix’s “Russian Doll”) who becomes the lover of series favorite Michael “Mouse” Tolliver ( “Looking’s” Murray Bartlett). Other cast newcomers include Bob the Drag Queen, trans actress Daniela Vega (“A Fantastic Woman”) and May Hong. Many original castmates reprise their roles, including Olympia Dukakis as Anna Madrigal, the 28 Barbary Lane trans landlady possessing secrets and a heart of a gold. Also back is Barbara Garrick as the hilarious and well-to-do DeDe Halycon Day and Paul Gross as Brian, Mary Ann’s ex-husband.

The show, which was shot in San Francisco as well as sets mostly around Los Angeles, finds Mary Ann returning to Barbary Lane, where the past haunts the present, and younger generations meld with older generations.

There’s a sense of pride everyone attached to this production speaks about. Not only does it sport a team of all-queer writers who collaborated with Maupin, but the cast is made up of mostly LGBTQ talent.

“It was a mission as much as it was a job,” said Garrick. And that extended to everyone. “So the level of commitment was huge, like a production assistant who was getting a roll of toilet paper had seen all the series and was a huge fan. It was a mission.”

It also created a liberating environment.

“When I go on a set and I’m allowed to be upfront (and) to be open and I can talk about my partner, it gives me a sense of freedom,” Barnett said.

All three agree they loved being a part of “Tales” and the issues the series brings up.

“You see in the show a younger generation coming to terms with an older generation and an older generation coming to terms with a younger generation,” said Bartlett, who stepped into the role of one of the series’ most indelible characters, Michael “Mouse” Tolliver. “It has a lot of different perspectives that I think people will be able to key into.”

But he adds there are many inroads still to be made.

“Part of the reason why there’s not a lot of diversity in general is that in the world and in film and TV guys get all the jobs, so there’s not any experience for women and the only way you’re going to give them experience is if you give them opportunities.”

So what is it about  the mystique of “Tales,” which originated as a Maupin newspaper column that the San Francisco Chronicle in 1976 decided to start running from another paper — that makes it popular worldwide?

“It’s sort of a bit like Chekov in a way,” Bartlett said. Like others in the cast, he read the books or listened to them on tape. “There are characters that you laugh at, you laugh with and you cry with. They’re just these human characters that speak to all of us. What’s also wonderful about these characters is that it is a love of LGBTQ characters and there isn’t that many characters in literature, film and TV that are fleshed out in that complete, amazing human way.”

Maupin says the series tagline best sums up its universal appeal — “Home is a Feeling.”

“People crave having a place where they sense they belong. And Barbary Lane is sort of cleverly constructed to be that way,” he said.

Since a lot in San Francisco has changed in the 18 years since the last series came out — skyrocketing housing costs, gentrification, an influx of young, rich and largely white tech workers, to name a few — it’s a legitimate question as to whether 28 Barbary Lane could even exist in the San Francisco of today?

“Well, we’re imagining it in this series,” said Maupin, adding there are S.F. groups preserving the essence of what’s portrayed in the show.

As a non Bay Area resident who has visited the city over the years, Poul notes the city has “changed enormously in the last 25 years since the original series. But the beating heart of the San Francisco that we love and wrote about in the first series, is still here. There’s just a lot of glitz and money on top of it.”

But the wealthy do want to keep that “Tales” magic alive, Maupin finds.

“They want to celebrate that idea even though it’s not conducive to that when you’re with a giant tech corporation. It’s not that they’re bad people, any of them. I used to say, in recent years, we have the best millionaires in the world,” he said, pausing for just a beat.

“I guess I need to remember to say billionaires.