Those who watched the Tony Awards last Sunday night might have been mildly surprised that a show with gay puppets (Avenue Q) was the big winner of the evening. Gay puppets on Broadway? Somewhere, some archconservative is wondering how to legislate the separation of felt and flesh, lest it lead to civil unions between humans and puppets. The “g” word. It’s everywhere.
Gay culture, at least the version prepared for popular consumption, is here to stay. Now that Showtime dramas like The L Word and Queer as Folk have shown success attracting and nurturing this audience, plans are being made for even more gay TV.
Whatever that means.
What makes something “gay” or “gay friendly”? Is it just about sexual preference, the pursuit of fabulousness, or something else entirely? TV execs, from all ends of the dial, hope to find the answer through a variety of efforts.
The Sundance Channel has named June Out Loud month. In addition to gay-themed films throughout the month, Margaret Cho‘s newest one-woman show, Revolution (alas, not her best work), is the centerpiece of the network’s programming.
MTV (a Viacom company) is making plans for what’s described as “a gay TV service,” while Trio’s OutZone block will become part of the pop culture network’s regular programming in September. And it’s not just programming blocks. Now, fledgling networks from Q Television to Here! TV to the Viacom-owned Logo are not only in pursuit of the gay viewer, but a broader palette of programming that will attract gay and other viewers 24/7.
While Showtime deserves some credit, Bravo could be credited with igniting the whole movement. Following the huge, unexpected success of Queer Eye for the Straight Guy, everyone saw that gay and straight men can play well together as long as couture is involved.
When will it peak and die? Don’t count on it any time soon. With the population possessing a large disposable income and the current debate over gay marriage in an election year, the profile of this large audience share should stay high.
As always, stay tuned.
Show Me the Funny –
Encores of the reality competition Last Comic Standing air on Comedy Central Saturdays at 7pm. New episodes air Tuesdays at 7pm on NBC.
How could I neglect mentioning the season premiere of Reno 911!? The improvisational series follows a group of inept cops as they go on patrol, chase down shirtless guys, and blow stuff up, not necessarily in that order. It airs Wednesdays at 8:30pm on Comedy Central, but look for encores.
Bravo goes to Beverly Hills with Blow Out, a new unscripted drama following the opening of an upscale salon. The series airs Tuesdays at 8pm.
– And the Not So Funny
The press release for Good Girls Don’t promises a “new, distinctly female take on … life and sexuality as they actually are: messy and complicated.”
The release is from Carsey-Werner-Mandabach, the same group that brought us The Cosby Show, Roseanne, and 3rd Rock From the Sun. Though Laverne & Shirley and Sex and the City are invoked to describe Good Girls Don’t, it lacks the physical humor of the former and the sassy smartness of the latter. Not to mention the sharpness of Kath & Kim (an Australian import with a mother-daughter duo that Trio aired earlier this year).
There is a bright spot. Former Austinite Joy Gohring plays Jane, the “fat girl” of a gal-pal twosome, a cringe-worthy role that is beneath her obvious comedic talent. Playing Marjorie, the “smart girl” of the duo, is Bree Turner. When Jane and Marjorie are not drinking or man-hunting, they’re hanging out with their insipid friends.
There are some ha-has. The episode where a guy dates Jane because he thinks she’s pregnant is mildly amusing but doesn’t fully reach for the absurdity of the situation, as BBC’s Coupling does so brilliantly.
Good Girls Don’t airs Fridays at 8pm on Oxygen.
Last Word on the Tonys
Emmy may have overlooked Clair Huxtable, but Tony didn’t ignore Lena Younger. Phylicia Rashad never got so much as an Emmy nomination for playing Clair. Last Sunday, not only did Rashad receive a Tony award for playing Lena Younger, the matriarch in A Raisin in the Sun, she became the first African-American actress to win a Tony Award for a dramatic leading role. Is that hell I feel freezing over?
This article appears in June 11 • 2004.