Gays in Primetime -- A Special Investigative Report: Part I

Dancing with the Stars executive producer Conrad Green told AfterElton.com that in fact “We’ve asked out gay celebrities to be on the show … The ones we’ve been interested in booking have said no so far.”

What about some ABC synergy by booking transgender star Candis Cayne, currently being seen on that network in Dirty, Sexy Money? Green said being transgender “wouldn’t be a bar to consideration,” that the only issue across the board was “hitting that right moment” with a celebrity who could bring on board their own buzz or fan base.

ABC president McPherson is asked the potentially more provocative question – would they consider a same-sex couple on Dancing? “Yeah,” said McPherson, “I think there’s no reason not to.” Asked the same question, Green responded similarly, “I wouldn’t be against it,” his only caveat being, “where the difficulty comes is we try to duplicate the real competition rules,” which dictate opposite-sex partners.

“But,” added Green, “we are an entertainment show. So we’re not necessarily bound by that.” He turned the idea over. “It’s an interesting thought. It would make quite a statement in a way. I’m sort of open to it, but curious about the implications of it.”

The judges of Dancing with the Stars (left) and Candis Cayne

The most striking void of openly gay reality contestants comes courtesy of Fox’s juggernaut American Idol. Only two AI finalists have ever come out: Jim Verraros and RJ Helton, both from Season One, and both did so long after they were eliminated from the show. The first serious openly gay contender came just this year in Leo Marlowe of Charlotte, Iowa, who made it to Hollywood, but was eliminated before the viewing audience had the opportunity to weigh in.

AfterElton.com wanted to know: Would AI be comfortable with a contestant who chose to be out during the show? Have any contestants been counseled behind the scenes to keep their sexual orientation quiet? Do AI producers believe they could market an openly gay American Idol winner successfully, as they have done in the U.K.?

After repeated requests over a three-month period, AI executive producer Nigel Lythgoe eventually declined to speak for this article. At one point his representative said that Lythgoe would respond to email questions, but after those questions were received, that same representative then said no American Idol producer could be found to respond.

During his interview, Fox president Reilly did give intelligent and thoughtful answers to our questions regarding American Idol. However, three minutes into those comments, a media rep broke in and insisted that no American Idol questions could be used for attribution, citing the integrity of the competition which is based on democratic audience vote.

Gay possibilities

All five of the executives interviewed here indicated that next year could see significant improvement in gay visibility on their networks judging by the number of GLBT characters in potential development scripts. Reilly said he is definitely seeing GLBT “victories” on the page, and Tassler said the same, expressing hopefully, “our fingers [are] crossed that those are indeed the scripts that pan out.” Would Tassler be concerned if two or more of those gay-inclusive shows were going to air? “I would love that,” she said.

Though all the executives said it’s against policy to discuss projects not yet greenlit, Reilly revealed that one FOX pilot, Hackett, directed by Barry Sonnenfeld, features a lesbian best friend to the male lead, and Tassler disclosed that a potential CBS ensemble script, from The Hours Pulitzer prize-winner Michael Cunningham, prominently includes a lesbian couple.

AfterElton.com also brought up the possibility of future gay characters on the highly rated procedural crime dramas. These shows often have GLBT people as victims or criminals, but not as the crime-solving leads. If CBS’ CSI franchise needed to replace a lead, what about a gay or lesbian investigator? Tassler responded she “would be 100% comfortable with that.” Silverman similarly said he would “absolutely” okay a GLBT investigator or prosecutor on the NBC Law & Order franchise.

In his email response to AfterElton.com, Dick Wolf, executive producer of all the Law & Order shows, seconded Silverman regarding GLBT leads on the franchise, and alluded to the “out” gay prosecutor that did exist for a single episode: “Since I did have a gay character, Serena Southerlyn, on Law & Order, I'd certainly have no problem with it. And while ADA [assistant district attorney] Southerlyn did not reveal her sexual orientation until her final episode, I'd have no problem with a gay or lesbian lead whose sexual orientation was revealed at the start of their run."

Dick Wolf (left) and
Law & Order character Serena Southerlyn (Elizabeth Rohm)