Gays of our Lives (March 23, 2009)

Brothers & Sisters has been bestowed with an award from the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences, the folks responsible for the Emmys, with one of the eight Academy for Television Honors for the episode entitled ”Prior Commitments” in which Kevin (Matthew Rhys) and Scotty (Luke Macfarlane) were married.

The awards were instituted last year to recognize valuable work produced by the industry and will be handed out at a ceremony on April 30^th.

"We do share a tremendous pride about the positive, great impact television has on our culture, and why not celebrate it?” John Shaffner, CEO of the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences told the Associated Press. “It's great for us to stand up together and say, 'Look at what television can bring into the homes of our audiences that informs and educates.'"

The B&S episode was one of eight television recipients to be honored, with the shows having covered a variety of topics ranging from tolerance and adoption to gun control and questions of faith. Winners were chosen by a panel from the ATAS who reviewed over 150 different scripted shows, documentaries and reality programs.

As The World Turns’ Van Hansis (Luke) and Jake Silbermann (Noah)
at last year’s GLAAD Media Awards.

As previously reported, As The World Turns stars Van Hansis (Luke) and Jake Silbermann (Noah) will be attending the GLAAD Media Awards in New York on March 28^th. It has since been learned that the popular supercouple will present a video montage of the last 20 years of the event. At the first award ceremony, ATWT won the first Outstanding Daytime Drama award given to a soap for their gay storyline featuring Hank Eliot, played by Brian Starcher, who was daytime’s first openly gay male character.

Paolo Seganti

The big news on As The World Turns this week is the return of Paolo Seganti, who plays Damian Grimaldi, Luke Snyder’s biological father. When we last saw Damian, he was being rejected by his gay son after Luke learned that his birth father not only schemed to have him shipped off to a gay deprogramming camp, but was going to kidnap him to steal his inheritance.