The Year in Gay Television: The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly Betty

Cable sitcoms not only featured more regularly occurring gay roles, but often did a better job of portraying them. Comedy Central added to their roster of gay characters already seen on Reno 911! and Drawn Together with The Sarah Silverman Program, which included one of the most unusual gay couples on television: Brian (Brian Posehn) and Steve (Steve Agee), a geek-obsessed fashion-impaired duo more likely to be seen at a Star Wars convention than on the streets of West Hollywood. Short-lived comedy Halfway Home also featured a Latino gay hustler main character (Oscar Nuñez, aka “Gay Oscar” on The Office).

Rex Lee continued to shine as Lloyd on HBO’s Entourage and if there was ever a role begging for a bigger part, this is it. However, it should be noted that Entourage stumbled badly when it came to a very offensive storyline involving a transgendered women who was treated as nothing other than a visual gag.

Other gay characters appeared on IFC’s The Minor Accomplishments of Jackie Woodman and The Business. While FX’s It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia didn’t feature any regular gay characters, one amusing episode did deal with the topic of twinks and bears (thoroughly horrifying a gay guest character) and one of the lead males was also involved with a transgender woman.

Comedy veteran Saturday Night Live even improved its generally spotty track record when it comes to gay characters and jokes (exception: that atrocious gay Dumbledore skit). And even Cartoon Network’s Frisky Dingo had one of its characters come out of the closet in 2007.

Reality programming keeps it real — mostly

When it came to reality programming in 2007 there were no major breakthroughs, just small advances while certain barriers remained firmly in place. While gay folks have appeared on the vast majority of reality shows — and even won some — the door still remains firmly closed when it comes to network shows such as The Bachelor, Beauty and the Geek, or any other show where the goal is to find love. The only exceptions to this rule remain on cable and include Bravo’s 2003 show Boy Meets Boy and MTV programs including Next and Parental Control.

Lifetime did have a new dating show, Gay, Straight or Taken?, but the gay men were present strictly as an obstacle to heterosexual love. That being said, the show did help break down certain stereotypes about masculinity and viewers did get to briefly see the gay couples at the end of each episode.

Out gay men were also again excluded from shows such as Dancing with the Stars, although Bruno Tonioli, one of the judges, is openly gay. And Fox’s American Idol continued on with its tradition of minimal gay visibility while still suffering from some homophobia. This season it was Sanjaya Malakar who was on the receiving end of some gay-baiting from fans and even Jimmy Kimmel, who compared the wannabe idol to My Little Pony and quizzed him about his sexuality. Fox’s Celebrity Duets did manage to include Queer Eye guy Jai Rodriguez as well as gay-fave Lucy Lawless of Xena fame.

NBC’s The Apprentice also included two gay contestants — Derek Arteta and Carey Sherrell — as well as a little bit of gay controversy when Carey was fired after designing a swimsuit that host Donald Trump deemed “gay”. And ratings juggernaut Extreme Makeover: Home Edition features out designer Eduardo Xol (who was previously an out pop star in Mexico) as the resident landscape expert.

Meanwhile, things were even gayer on cable television. Project Runway’s fourth season (currently airing) included seven out contestants along with mentor Tim Gunn and judge Michael Kors. The runner-up on Top Chef was Dale Levitsky and Ted Allen served as a sometime judge. Kathy Griffin kept up her gay inclusive humor on Kathy Griffin: My Life on the D-List while America’s Most Smartest Model featured Jesse who, alas, was not. Other shows featuring gay contestants, judges, or gay content include HGTV's Design Star hosted by David Bromstad, Top Design, Hey Paula, and Shear Genius. We even witnessed a coming out on The Janice Dickinson Modeling Agency when former Survivor contestant J.P. Calderon came out.

While reality programming is far from perfect when it comes to gay visibility, reality shows often outshine scripted programs when portraying the diversity of the gay community. Yes, gay men are probably over-represented when it comes to stereotypically gay jobs such as fashion designers, models, and hair stylists. But this year we still saw gay men as businessmen, chefs, Mormons, and more.