"Brothers & Sisters"' Proposition 8 episode to air the week after the election. Uh-oh...

When I interviewed Brothers & Sisters' executive producers and showrunners Alison Schapker and Monica Owusu-Breen last September, one of the storylines they filled me in on was built around California's anti-gay Proposition 8, the fate of which is being decided today. Said Schapker at the time: “We are, as a show, addressing gay marriagespecifically with a storyline around Proposition 8."

Those viewers who tuned into last Sunday night's episode expecting to see that storyline might have found themselves saying "WTF? I didn't see anything about gay marriage! Heck, I didn't even see Scotty!" So what happened to that episode?

Learn the answer after the jump!

 Monica Owusu-Breen and Alison Schapker

Turns out that after production had begun, ABC moved Brothers & Sisters' start date to what the network deemed a more favorable date. What no one took notice of at the time was that by moving the date, at least two episodes — the Proposition 8 and Thanksgiving episodes — would no longer air when they were meant to.

That means the Prop 8 episode won't air until next Sunday and that the Thanksgiving episode won't air until after Thanksgiving. Contacted for a statement, Schapker, who clearly felt awful about the mix-up (hari kari was mentioned), officially had this to say:

"We feel that it was true to the character of Kevin, and true to our show as well, to address this issue of Proposition 8 head-on.  It is always a risk to write an episode tied to a specific date, because air dates do change throughout the year.  And we knew that going in and decided it was worth the risk to go forward with an election-timed episode anyway. Unfortunately, for reasons that were out of our control, air dates did shift.  And that means this episode will no longer air in a timely fashion. Which we deeply regret. But it will be on the following week.  In the meantime, I hope Proposition 8 is defeated on Tuesday so I can continue sleeping at night."

While it's unfortunate that this happened, it's hard to believe the episode could've had that much effect on the outcome. Frankly, it's even hard to imagine too many folks who watch the show would be in favor of banning gay marriage anyway. 

Furthermore, I certainly can't be too hard any of those involved given that ABC is by far the most gay-inclusive network and Brothers & Sisters itself is the most pro-gay and gay-inclusive show on television. So if you're reading this, Alison, please sleep tonight no matter the outcome! Sometimes stuff happens!

Alison also shared some other good news about Brothers & Sisters: the network just gave the show the go-ahead for a two-hour special to air immediately after next year's Oscars. This is a big marketing push for the show and it's a coup for B&S to get the coveted post-Oscar slot (bumping Desperate Housewives) though I hope they have planned for the Oscars to run long!

Editor's note: I followed up with Schapker and she clarified her original comment about the two-hour special which does air the week after the Oscars.