"United States of Tara" Scoop! Meet the New Gays!

Keir Gilchrist and Toni Collette

Even though the second season of United States of Tara doesn't arrive for weeks and weeks, there is already a lot of interest thanks in large part to gay teen Marshall Gregson (Keir Gilchrist). And having seen the first two episodes of Season 2, I can say that interest is most definitely warranted.

And gay viewers especially have a lot to look forward to as USoT is adding three new gay characters. And we've got some casting news!

First up are the Gregson's new neighbors, gay couple Ted and Hany. Michael Hitchcock plays Ted and Sammy Sheik is Hany.

Michael Hitchcock and Sammy Sheik

Also new this season is Lionel, a classmate of Marshall's. But Lionel (Michael Willett) isn't just any kid he's the flag bearer for the out and proud at Marshall's high school. I won't give anything away, but let's just things are set up to play out in some interesting ways.

Michael Willett

I had the chance to talk with USoT's executive producer Diablo Cody about that was in store for Marshall this season. 

What is Marshall's main storyline for the season?

Last season we showed that his parents were totally supportive of his choices and just [didn't] make drama out of it as it often is on television. This season we figured it might be a different story with his peers. He's a kid growing up in Kansas. He definitely has a bit of an identity crisis in terms of his sexuality, what kind of kids he wants to hang out with and who he loves. That's kind of his major journey for the season.

Is the character of Marshall completely fictional or did Cody drawn on anyone she knew?

Certain characters are an amalgamation of people that you've known and other ones are this wonderful organic gift. And I think in this case, he just popped into my mind. You know what though, he was probably a lot less nuanced in my imagination than Keir Gilcrhirst has made him. Keir has brought him to life and people respond to that. Keir is a brilliant young actor.