Has Gay Television Finally Grown Up?

***Warning*** This article reveals the identity of the gay character on SyFy's upcoming series Caprica. 

The portrayal of gay male characters on scripted television this fall is so good that AfterElton.com no longer has anything to complain about.

Just kidding!

I suspect there will always be something to get our writers and readers at least a little worked up. (Brothers & Sisters alone will keep us in business for at least another three years!)

And – ahem! – part of what we do is praise great gay characterizations, not just criticize bad ones.

If that’s the case, we’ve got our work cut out for us this fall, because gay TV characters are suddenly richer and more diverse than ever before.

Don’t believe me?

Right now, we’re watching the unfolding of a gay love triangle on the ABC soap opera One Life to Live, Oliver looking on jealously as his college ex, Kyle, moves on to date a guy named Nick.

A. Gay. Love. Triangle. On daytime television.

One Life to Live's Kyle (Brett Claywell),
Oliver (Scott Evans) and Nick (Nicholas Rodriguez)

Think about that. Such a thing was virtually unimaginable even two years ago, when we were still in the midst of the 211-day moratorium on on-screen same-sex kissing on As the World Turns.

And fifteen years ago, the nighttime Fox soap Melrose Place was still relegating its gay character to “barely there” status, existing mostly to occasionally offer his shoulder for the other characters to cry on.

These days, however, Calvin on Greek is getting some action just like his frat-mates. There’s also been a surprising amount of same-sex romance (or at least same-sex sex) on The Young and the Restless. And As the World Turns still has Luke and Noah in the thick of things.

Greek's Grant (Gregory Michael) and Calvin (Paul James)

Yes, we still have a ways to go before most television shows treat gay sensuality and romance the way they do heterosexual romance, but hey, it’s a start.