Relax “Brothers & Sisters”’ fans: Kevin and Scotty are in good hands

Shortly after Kevin and Scotty’s ceremony was shot, the California Supreme Court recognized the right of same-sex couples to marry. Might the show reflect that change by having Kevin and Scotty wed again?

According to Schapker the answer is no, at least not right away. “We didn’t feel the need immediately in Season 3 to then give them a big wedding. I think they felt like they had the wedding that they wanted at that time. Now does that mean we’re closed to them renewing their vows at some point in the future and doing it in a different way? No. We’re completely open.”

This isn’t to say the show will ignore the political realities of what is happening in California right now. For those not following the news, this November, California voters will decide the fate of Proposition 8, a ballot initiative which will amend the California constitution to take marriage rights away from gay and lesbian couples.

Again, Schapker: “We are, as a show, addressing gay marriage specifically with a storyline around Proposition 8. So we’re still trying to intervene politically in that issue by telling good stories and I think that if in the future Kevin and Scotty decide, for whatever reason, they want to renew their vows and have a big ceremony, we would love that if that became organic to their storyline. We’ve also talked about a big honeymoon episode where they never really had the honeymoon they wanted.”

One of the fears expressed by many Kevin and Scotty fans is now that they are officially civil unioned, much of the drama will drain out of their relationship. But both Schapker and Breen say there is plenty of drama in store for the couple. Says Breen, “I feel like together they are going to be going through a lot of the same things that every newlywed couple goes through: the adjusting to the in-laws, the merging of families, reestablishing the rules. We just did an episode where they revisit their financial situation, which sounds like a mundane sort of experience, but it’s something that couples do. And this has been a huge issue between these two, the difference in their income and the difference in where they are in their lives.”

Scotty's parents Bertha (Jayne Brook) and Wally Wandell (Michael O'Keefe)

Schapker adds, “And how do we grow, which might sound hokey, but how do we grow together because when you’re in a couple and you’ve committed legally to one another for life, not to mention emotionally and spiritually, but things change.”

Might one of those things that change be Kevin’s feelings for Scotty? If any one issue defined Kevin during the show’s first two seasons, it was his inability to commit.

Both Breen and Schapker are emphatic Kevin’s commitment-phobia won’t be resurfacing any time soon. Says Schapker, “One of Kevin’s chronic problems in the early part of the series was committing and I think that what was so incredibly beautiful about his proposal to Scotty and the commitment ceremony that followed was that we had lived with that chronic problem and then we all experienced the catharsis of Kevin overcoming that. So we really believe that is a genuine step Kevin has taken in his life. So we’re looking to explore different aspects of his relationship with Scotty that doesn’t center so much around commitment, but centers more around how do you make a relationship work.”

Kevin's previous boyfriends Jason McCallister (Eric Winter ) and Chad Barry (Jason Lewis)

Another common issue for newlyweds is the topic of children. Even though the majority of gay couples don’t have children, might that come up this season for Kevin and Scotty? Breen says yes, but adds it really only comes up tangentially, but isn't really a serious option just yet. “It will be discussed and it’s discussed around another event that happens.”

That event centers on the paternity of Elizabeth, Tommy and Julia’s daughter who is the biological child of either Kevin or Justin. According to Schapker, a crisis involving Elizabeth will force “Kevin to examine his feeling about fatherhood. Such as ‘that’s your biological daughter, but it’s Tommy’s daughter’. What feelings does that bring up? And so through that storyline, Scotty and Kevin are going to have – I think it’s one of the best episodes like a journey around facing those feelings of wanting to be a father.”

Nonetheless, viewers shouldn’t expect to hear the pitter-patter of little feet around the Walker-Wandell house any time soon.