Will HBO’s “Miraculous Year” be The Gayest Show Since "Queer as Folk?"

***Warning*** This article discusses some potential plot points for the HBO pilot The Miraculous Year.

While the HBO drama has only been ordered to pilot as of now, a lot of star power is involved. The potential cast includes Frank Langella, Lee Pace, Norbert Leo Butz, Eddie Redmayne and Hope Davis, the pilot's director is Oscar winner Kathryn Bigelow (The Hurt Locker), and it was written by Tony winner John Logan (Red),

With that roster of talent it almost seems impossible that HBO won’t ultimately pick up the series for 2011. And that’s a very good thing for gay viewers.

Set in the theater world of New York City, The Miraculous Year is a family drama that has at its center Terry Segal (Butz), a gay man who also happens to be a Broadway composing genius. Around him revolve a large cast that not only include his lover Frank (Pace), but his gay nephew Cameron, as well as Connor (Redmayne), a young actor with whom Terry has an affair, Frederick Hunter, an aging Broadway composer down on his luck, as well as several other secondary gay characters. Additionally, Patti LuPone will reportedly play a Broadway diva in a number of episodes.

To quote Neil Patrick Harris from the 2009 Tony Awards, “this show couldn’t be any gayer if Liza was named mayor.”

Indeed, it’s been a long time since a drama featured so many gay male characters this prominently. While Brothers & Sisters currently has three out characters – Kevin, Scotty, and Uncle Saul – with B&S’ large cast, both Scotty and Saul have been known to disappear entirely for several episodes in a row. The same is almost as true for other shows featuring prominent gay characters such as Glee, Southland, and the recently canceled Ugly Betty.

Norbert Leo Butz, Lee Pace

Only Modern Family can claim to truly feature its gay characters prominently in every episode and even then 22 minutes of screentime is split between that show’s three different families.

But The Miraculous Year isn’t just noteworthy for having so many gay characters. What's truly significant is that it features such a complicated gay character as its main protagonist and it is around him the central drama of the show will swirl.

Based on casting sides for the show (these are portions of a script — in this case from the pilot — used by actors auditioning for different roles. Much can change about the sides, but they do give a good indication of what the show should be like) Terry is described as being a “charismatic, self-destructive composer” having “messy hair and beard. Body’s a wreck. Unhealthy lifestyle taking a toll. 40s.”

He also comes across as bitter, cynical and under a great deal of pressure as he’s attempting to mount an original Broadway musical he’s been working on for ten years. In other words, he's your tortured, brilliant artist, only gay.