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

It’s a decision that Fuller said was dictated solely by “story engines, ” and the executive who advised the change, himself gay, did suggest that private investigator Emerson Cod - a character with arguably more screen time - be made gay instead. It was a suggestion Fuller declined, having a heterosexual back-story for Emerson that he didn’t want to give up.

So lesbian Olive, devoid of potential romantic scenarios of her own, easily gave way to straight Olive – who the creators believed better served the plotlines of the heterosexual characters around her.

Bryan Fuller (left) and the de-gayed Olive Snook (Kristen Chenoweth)

Inaccurate assumptions get in the way

But the discussion of gay sexuality and Standards & Practices highlights another recurring theme in these conversations: inaccurate assumptions that may be affecting writers’ choices. Many of the creators interviewed believed that there had still not been male same-sex kissing scenes on network television, Scrubs creator Bill Lawrence expressing: “I don’t think anybody’s crossed that network taboo really.”

But in fact Will & Grace showed gay male kissing during the final years of that series and Will & Grace co-creator Max Mutchnick said S&P never tried to intervene, “not once.” While Will & Grace is a broad comedy, a GLAAD nominated episode of CBS drama Cold Case from 2006 also showed male same-sex intimacy. And gay character Kevin Walker on ABC’s Sunday night drama Brothers & Sisters routinely has full-on make-out scenes with his various male love interests.

Both Berlanti and Brothers & Sisters creator Jon Robin Baitz said there were no S&P interferences with those scenes, and that there was one standard across the board for both gay and straight sexuality on the show. Baitz expressed shock at even the idea that it would be otherwise, “I would have hit the roof, are you kidding!!”

Brothers & Sisters' Scotty (Luke MacFarlane) (left) & Kevin (Matthew Rhys)

But given the lack of same-sex kissing on any present network series besides Brothers & Sisters, it’s still unlikely this overdue equality is found everywhere. And writers may be less likely to create integral gay characters if they believe intimate scenes aren’t an option. Fuller described creating his lesbian Republican within the no intimacy S&P guidelines at a 2005 FOX as being “handcuffed,” a sensation most showrunners would probably choose to avoid in their creative life.

[AfterElton.com requested a response re S&P policy regarding same-sex vs. opposite-sex intimacy from all five networks. The networks either explained they don’t disclose specifics about S&P practices – or they did not respond.]

Actors and the long-term commitment to gaiety

Another issue fueling creators’ beliefs that gay characters are not welcome is the reluctance of many actors to play those characters, especially in series television. Paris Barclay, an Emmy winning director and producer on high-profile dramas like NYPD Blue, CSI and Law & Order, explained that unlike movies which an actor can do as a “one-off,” playing a gay character on a series is “a long-term commitment to gaiety” with contracts that run 5-7 years. Barclay said for these actors, “You are going to be looked at as a representative of the gay community, and possibly as gay. And not a lot of straight men want to take that risk.” Nor do some gay actors.

Baitz reports that for Kevin Walker on Brothers & Sisters “there’s a list of actors that we’d go out to to play guest star boyfriends, and it would come back, doesn’t want to play gay, doesn’t want to play gay.” In fact, the first actor cast in the role of Kevin had to be replaced, in part because of the restrictions he imposed on intimate scenes with other men. Barclay said that on a recent pilot he created, Hate, the lead character, a gay detective, was hard to cast because when potential actors found out the role was gay, “it diminished the field dramatically.”

But actors’ reactions can be even worse if the sexuality of a character is communicated to them after they’ve been playing the role. Occasionally showrunners hold back the information that a character is gay from the audience, hoping to use it as a “reveal” later on to aid the show’s dramatic momentum. In the interest of avoiding “spoilers,” this often means the actors too are left in the dark.

Jonathan LaPaglia (left) & Thomas Dekker

On NBC’s Heroes, this type of surprise led to the end of gay Zach (Thomas Dekker), best friend to lead character Claire Bennet (Hayden Panettiere). Tim Kring, Heroes creator, said he saw the gay character as an opportunity to model for Claire the idea of accepting one’s self “for our unique differences and for our unique abilities.” And Kring said that when he and his creative staff had settled on the character’s sexuality and how it would play into the show’s themes, there was some excitement: “We all felt pretty good about it.”