Last year, out gay designer David Bromstad emerged victorious on HGTV's knockdown, drag-out home decorating competition reality show, Design Star. Bromstad's prize was his own show, Color Splash, which became a runaway hit, has been picked up for three more seasons, and made Bromstad a near-household name. But is America ready for another out gay design star?

Apparently HGTV thinks so, because this season the cast includes not one but two out gay contestants: Josh Johnson, a long, lean blond with a Tennessee twang whose audition presentation looked like a very tasteful – and expensive – version of Barbie's dream house, and Scott Corridan, an event planner from Santa Barbara, CA, who arrived on set clutching his own personal espresso maker.

Since the stock in trade of so much reality TV is the brutal body blow, it's not surprising that gay contestants might worry about homophobic attitudes and comments from their cast mates.

“I guess I did go into it very fearful because I didn't know what kind of personalities were going to be there,” said Josh. “I knew that I was going to stay true to me, but I didn't know if I was going to be abused or ridiculed, all those things you see on reality television. That was my major fear, but then I walked in and, you know, there was that first instance where you meet everyone and we got to know each other in the first day or so, I was like, oh my gosh, these are great people! These are wonderful people on every level, on their talent level, their personality level, their spiritual level, everything.”

Having another gay man in the cast was a big relief to Scott. “I still didn't know who these other characters are, what their political perspectives are going to be,” he told AfterElton.com. “I thought, okay, if anybody is going to take any bows and arrows, Josh is the perfect one to take it because not only can he withstand it, he's going to educate, and he's going to put it back in their face, and he's going to make these people become bigger people and grow up.”

Did knowing the last “Design Star” was an out gay man make either of them worry they'd have less of a chance this season? Not at all, said Scott; it reassured him that the only things that mattered were the talent and personality of the designer.

“David is such a kind, hugely-hearted, very soulful, deep guy,” he said. “It's obvious he's gay – he's gorgeous, drop the shirt, that definitely gets ratings – but beyond and before any of that stuff, he's such an incredible human being. And … he's said it to me, and I know it's out there in print, that he was scared, at certain points, that he wouldn't get picked because he was gay, that the HGTV audience was more conservative, more middle-America, and that that would work against him. And I think it's proof-positive, even with an HGTV demographic, that people were looking for the best designer.”

Josh agreed that following in Bromstad's talented footsteps made it easier for other gay designers. “David set the precedent, the standard, to tell people, it's just a part of me, that's just a part of me, it's not all of who I am,” he said. “It's great that David is gay and won this tremendous honor, but the overall picture is that he won it because he's a great designer; he deserves it.”

Bromstad said in an interview with AfterElton.com earlier this year that he thought long and hard before making the decision to be out on the show, but ultimately realized he couldn't play it any other way. "I went in there, and I just wanted to be myself," he said. "I could not not be myself."

Did either Scott or Josh hesitate to be equally open? “No,” said Josh. “I was not going to let the show or the exposure dictate to me what I already was and how I was already living. I'd already decided that if it came up and I was asked – I mean, there are certain qualities that I'm sure people recognize…”

He hesitated, and when supplied with “Your fabulousness?” he laughed. “I like that. I decided that if it did come up … I'm not bothered by it, I've already lived that, I've already been through that, I'm not going to walk back through that for any exposure or television show. I was selected because of who I am and what I bring. I wasn't going to say, oh, maybe I shouldn't tell. I'm so past that, thank God.”

Scott never considered not being out, either. “I've been out since I was 18,” he said. “I am, in general, confident, assertive. I'm a business owner; I'm a successful person. That precedes anything and I think, when there are other gay people in any community that I find myself stepping into, I hope I have respect and… I know this sounds borderline arrogant and psychotic, maybe they can model themselves after me. It's really not so much about being gay; it's about being a great human being. And then when you introduce the gay factor, it's so easily accepted at that point because you're a great human being.”

Home makeover and design shows have long been some of television's most gay-friendly real estate. Between the casual acceptance of lesbian and gay participants and contestants, and the queer sensibility of so many decorators, designers, and landscapers, every day's a gay day on HGTV. Did that make it easier on the two men to consider trying out for Design Star?

"I think the great thing is that they don't say anything about it, it's just kind of treated as a normal facet of being an individual in society,” said Josh. After all, he asked, what would happen to their ratings if they alienated the gay viewing audience? “They have to know that we're watching, and it's stuff that we care about. They have to embrace us as individuals, in our relationships, and in our lives. I'm glad to see that that happen, and it's just kind of not spoken about, not kind of pulled out of the mainstream. If they're making it more mainstream, to me, that's very impressive and very hopeful about what's to come.”