In the closet? Let Showtime help you find the "Way Out"

Showtime is launching a search for people ready to come out to their loved ones ... on TV. The new documentary series Way Out will follow gays and lesbians as they take the first significant steps out of the closet. From the press release:

The production team of Way Out was alarmed by the recent San Francisco State University study about family response to a teen’s coming out and its conclusion that "teens who experienced negative feedback were more than eight times as likely to have attempted suicide." The glimmer of hope the study offered however was that "parents who take even baby steps to respond with equanimity instead of rejection can dramatically improve a gay youth's mental health outlook." By raising awareness and visibility, Way Out hopes to help people take those "baby steps" or better.

The show will offer subjects a forum in which to show what life in the closet is like, to explain why they’ve chosen to come out now and to accompany them during this transformational event. The producers will treat the people profiled and their loved ones with the utmost care, dignity and respect and will provide a support system of counselors and therapists throughout the process.

To learn more, check out the interview advocate.com did with casting producer Adam Drucker, and if you're interested in participating, you can apply at their website.

This sounds intriguing, but it'll be interesting to see how can they avoid seeming exploitative. I'm just glad it's on Showtime and not, say ... Fox.

Is this something you'd watch, and more importantly, would you have wanted your coming out process to be televised? Would it have been a boring Disney movie, or like mine, a gothic fever dream ala Carson McCullers ... with a little Baby Doll thrown in?