Jesse Tyler Ferguson to play gay again when he joins ABC's "An American Family"
Actor Jesse Tyler Ferguson played a gay character in the late, unlamented FOX sitcom Do Not Disturb, but he will have a chance to put that dud behind him with his new role in the intriguing ABC pilot An American Family:
Steven Levitan and Christopher Lloyd's docu-style single-camera comedy Family, from 20th TV, revolves around three families: one comprised of a working dad, stay-at-home mom and two kids; another that includes a 60-year-old man who becomes a stepfather after marrying a Latina who is 30 years his junior; and the third, a gay couple who have just adopted a Vietnamese baby. Ferguson will play one of the gay dads.
It's a fresh idea, and with the pedigree of Levitan and Lloyd behind it (who have helped helm such classics as Frasier, The Golden Girls, and The Larry Sanders Show), it could turn out to be something special. Of course, those guys also gave the world Stacked and Back To You, so it may turn out to be another dud. There's no word on who will play the other gay dad, but I recommend Christopher Sieber. He's out, talented, and has played one half of a gay sitcom couple before, in It's All Relative. Who would you like to see paired with Jesse? Submitted by on Wed, 2009-01-28 15:32. |
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A little gay color
Whoever ends up with Ferguson, would it be too much to hope they are something other than of European descent. We could use little more racial diversity in our gay characters.
How about out hottie Guillermo Diaz? Not sure how much longer his character has left on Weeds, but this new show will probably not start shooting for awhile. He and Ferguson would make a great couple.
It's a tough time for sitcoms
There's a narrow line to walk when you're trying to be original and non-formulaic, but still trying to appeal to the widest possible audience so that the show gets decent ratings. Hopefully this will be a lot more successful than the painfully unfunny Do Not Disturb.
My choice for an on-screen partner for Ferguson would be Nelsan Ellis, but only if his run on True Blood is finished. I'd much rather see Lafayette continue his wicked ways, but if he's free, I think Nelsan's wry, sensual charm would be a great counterbalance for Ferguson's endearingly goofy earnestness.
An American Family
I think this sitcom has potential. It's an interesting way to "compare" families side-by-side. We have the old school nuclear family, the May/Dec (and I am thinking interracial since they didn't mention the ethnicity of the step dad) and the gay family. What better way to demonstrate there really isn't much of a difference among them. And it shows that a family can be anything you make it and doesn't have to conform to any "template".
The title gives me a major heart-tug
My first reaction was to
Other American Family members
Do you know that Grant and Delia Loud both work on Jeopardy. The both worked at Joe Allen's too.
That's all I am saying...
INSIDEGUY
An American Family
I have no idea who should play his partner... Someone mentioned Guilermo, and he seems like a good choice.
This show seems really good. Real and smart... Not one of the braindead sitcoms we have so many of these days.
I do hope it lasts past the pilot though.. Lots of shows are struggeling these days, and it's especially hard for new shows..
Harvey Milk: You gotta give 'em hope.
I would not bet on the Gay Couple....
Knowing all these shows and how gay people are depicted, especially in a family setting, I would not be surprised that the gay couple will be "barely there". I can just see them concentrating more on the straights like they did on the show "The Class".
I don't have faith in these gay storylines anymore even the ones done by gay directors and producers.
They will succumb to TPTB and make the gay couple appear on the first episode to tease us and then it will be all about the straights until a gay bashing episode or a wedding party of one of the starights and even then the gay couple will be background fodder.
I don't have high hopes for this show's gay content, just look at Desperate Housewives and other ABC shows. How many of their shows give gay people real representation?
Brothers and Sisters come close but how much screen time do Kevin and Scotty get and Desperate Housewives only show the gay couple periodically and not all that often.
I will watch only to see if the gay couple are front and centre like all the other characters but I probably will be let down.
Live Long and Prosper
Casting thoughts
How about David Blue formerly of UGLY BETTY. I would also love to see Peter Paige back acting on TV.
That's all I am saying...
INSIDEGUY
David Blue has a new gig already