Including gay characters on your TV show is good, unless it's two lesbians who fall in love with a straight man, as they do in a storyline on New Amsterdam. FOX learned that the hard way when they received a failing grade from GLAAD (The Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation) on their second annual GLAAD Network Responsibility Index. The index measures the "quantity, quality and diversity of images of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people on television."Even though GLAAD gave FOX a failing grade, the network's cable counterpart, FX, received top honors for cable channels. The advocacy group praised them for including the most original programming that featured members LGBT community. Special notice was given to Nip/Tuck, which had a gay, lesbian, or bisexual character in every episode. Rescue Me's commitment ceremony storyline was also viewed favorably by the group.
It was ABC, however, that received the highest praise for featuring a gay wedding on the season finale of Brothers & Sisters. The marriage between Kevin and Scotty marks the first wedding between gay or lesbian series regulars on a primetime network scripted program. ABC was also recognized for its inclusion of LGBT characters on its other primetime shows, such as Ugly Betty and Desperate Housewives. ABC received the highest score of all of the nets on last year's index as well.
In addition to Fox, NBC received a failing grade for its lack of inclusion. The exit of lesbian character Dr. Kerry Weaver from ER contributed to GLAAD's assessment. GLAAD is urging both networks to include more LGBT characters in their programs and to portray them in a more positive light.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
7-14-2008 @ 7:18PM
Dwacon said...
There is always the LOGO network...
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7-14-2008 @ 7:22PM
Midnight13 said...
Wait, wait. Didn't an episode of "Roseanne" have a gay wedding in it? If I'm not mistaken.
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7-14-2008 @ 8:14PM
Eric said...
That's right! Fred Willard married Martin Mull!
7-14-2008 @ 7:53PM
Nightfall said...
"The marriage between Kevin and Scotty marks the first wedding between gay or lesbian characters on a primetime network scripted program."
Friends had a lesbian wedding early in the series run. I forget what the name of that episode was.
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7-14-2008 @ 8:39PM
GLAAD said...
Yes, yes, there was Roseanne and Friends and Northern Exposure but those were all guest stars or recurring characters....Brothers & Sisters remains the first broadcast network show where gay series regulars married.
We did a timeline of television weddings here:
http://www.glaad.org/publications/resource_doc_detail.php?id=4360
7-15-2008 @ 12:25AM
Andrew said...
I'm wondering if you were joking about not knowing the name of the Friends episode because the name of the episode was, "The One With the Lesbian Wedding."
7-14-2008 @ 7:57PM
jx12 said...
Good thing GLAAD weren't around when that brilliant comedy Arrested Development aired on Fox... First line of pilot: "Look what the homosexuals have done to me!", followed by pretty much every scene of Tobias!
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7-14-2008 @ 8:15PM
Eric said...
They were around... they were just too busy laughing, like the rest of us gays who loved "AD".
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7-14-2008 @ 9:44PM
jx12 said...
Hehe coolo. Did you hear there might be a movie? I'm straight, but I'd do anything for a movie... Even if it means me taking a chubby, I will suck it up!
7-14-2008 @ 8:27PM
willy the impeached said...
Funny its the reverse of the group str8! ABC fails and FOX and NBC are on top. errr .... they do better.
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7-14-2008 @ 8:59PM
Pudge said...
I love it how the networks fail if they don't have any gay characters on their shows. Soon, there will be other organizations like this demanding more Hindu characters, more Portuguese characters, more transsexual characters, till every show has so many little caveats to fill that they forget to make it entertaining.
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7-15-2008 @ 9:41AM
Rocketboy said...
As a red-headed human, I was appalled by the "Ginger Kids" episode of South Park. We need more Positive Red-Headed role models, not less.
Oh wait, I don't care, and appreciate a good joke.
7-14-2008 @ 9:15PM
Mary said...
One day, those with Same-Sex Attraction will be handing out A+'s to shows that have the courage to address the issue with Truth and Compassion. I have hope in that future:+) check out www.narth.com if you need help.
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7-14-2008 @ 9:55PM
Gina said...
I'm a big fan of Brothers & Sisters, and I like the way they handled the gay marriage line. This is a hot topic in politics and in Hollywood right now with celebrities like Ellen Degeneres finally able to marry who they please. It is nice to see GLAAD recognize the series.
Gina
http://celebritytoday.today.com
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7-15-2008 @ 12:03AM
MERVE-THE-PERVE said...
I'll watch anything thats got a few girls going after each other in it. And to jx12 - Be careful what you wish for, you just may get it.
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7-15-2008 @ 1:05AM
erica said...
Actually,
On New Amsterdam, it was only *one* lesbian, NOT two.
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7-15-2008 @ 7:09AM
Ashley Boyd said...
Does Nip/Tuck have a gay, lesbian or bisexual character in every episode because of Julia and her indecision as to what she is? As technically she could be argued to cover all three.
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7-15-2008 @ 9:46AM
Earl said...
I thought I watched every episode of New Amsterdam, but I can't remember this at all. Which episode was it?
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7-15-2008 @ 10:23AM
Dave said...
Yeah, me too. I know I watched every episode. Was this some throwaway moment in some episode?
7-15-2008 @ 5:35PM
erica said...
The episode was the last one, "Love Hurts". The crime was that a woman was killed by her lesbian lover after she was going to marry a man.