"Mike & Molly" and "The Good Wife" Help CBS' Gay Visibility Catch Up – to 2001

For a network with some of the gayest TV show names – Two and a Half Men and Big Bang Theory – CBS has been consistently unimpressive when it comes to gay characters. But as CBS President Nina Tassler has herself admitted to AfterElton repeatedly, when it comes to actual gay characters, the network has its work cut out for it.

Last year, Tassler touted the fact that several of her network’s shows would be adding gay characters, and now $#*! My Dad Says has Tim, played by out actor Tim Bagley, who has made it into seven of the eighteen episodes aired thus far. Rules of Engagement has Brenda (Sara Rue) who has popped up twice as a lesbian acting as a surrogate for one of the straight couples. And over on The Good Wife, there is Owen Cavanaugh (Dallas Roberts) dropping by occasionally as backup for his sister Alicia.

And so far this year the network seems to at least be trying to up the gay ante. Last month, an episode of NCIS not only featured a pro-gay message, but only found it necessary to kill off one of the gay characters. Meanwhile, this week’s episodes of The Good Wife and Mike & Molly featured several gay characters, including some more Sapphic flirtations from Good Wife’s Kalinda (Archie Panjabi).

So CBS finally has some gay guys and gals who get some screentime, but except for Kalinda, the gay characters all lack their own story arcs, and exist almost solely to support the emotional progress of the leads. In the case of Rules of Engagement, the lesbian character is actually there to help the straight couple complete their family. It’s as if the network thinks it’s 2001 and not 2011. Even the “Very Special Episode” of $#*! My Dad Says that dealt with homophobia felt like a throwback to the ‘90s.

If CBS ever wants to get out of the GLAAD doghouse (the gay advocacy group gave the network an “F” last year for GLBT visibility in their programming), the network needs to follow the example of ABC which has actual gay leads on Brothers & Sisters and Modern Family as well as Fox's with Glee (the current Kurt-lite phase notwithstanding.)

On all three of these programs, the gay characters lead lives that are well integrated into the show, but also let the characters exist on their own as well. Most importantly, they don’t exist solely as ways for the heterosexual characters to work out their issues. Indeed, Kevin and Scotty on Brothers & Sisters, Cam and Mitch on Modern Family, and Kurt on Glee, are all fully three dimensional characters with their own dreams, interests and – gasp! – actual love lives!

Not so much on CBS.

The Good Wife is probably the best of that network’s offerings, but even so is just getting by, like the B student who’s happy just to pass. As one of the best-written procedurals on television, the show knows how to craft interesting storylines and characters, and Kalinda is truly a fascinating character – even if the lesbian side of her love life isn’t exactly front and center.

Dallas Roberts and Julianna Margulies on The Good Wife

Meanwhile, Owen, a pot-smoking math geek with a penchant for cheating and a love of gospel music, is interesting in the little we’ve seen of him so far. What did this week’s episode add to his character?

The episode kicked off with Alicia helping Owen move from Oregon to Chicago – in a car. (Seriously, a professor and a lawyer couldn’t afford movers?). After having cheated on his boyfriend, Owen is fleeing a bad break-up and moving to be closer to his sister and mother. So what’s the first topic of conversation? Alicia and her sexually charged relationship with her boss Will.

After Will calls Alicia due to a work emergency, Owen teases her for having a thing for her boss. A defensive Alicia briefly changes the topic to Owen’s ex. “Are you going to miss Kevin?” she asks. “No,” says Owen, who admits he’ll miss Oregon but likes “new beginnings.” In the spirit of new beginnings, Owen turns up the music, a spiritual, “Victory is Mine.”

It’s cute, but that is the extent of anything about Owen’s own life. He spends the rest of the episode counseling Alicia on whether she should or should not pursue her boss.

So, some improvement, but not much. But hey, at least now he’s living in the same city as his sister, so maybe we’ll see him a little more regularly.