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| Showtime’s steamy hit ‘The L Word,’ featuring Jennifer
Beals (left) and Laurel Holloman, kicked off gay television
offerings in 2004 and returns in February.
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HOME > ENTERTAINMENT > TELEVISION
By: Brian Moylan COMMENTS
 
THE BIG NEWS in gay television in 2004 wasn’t who was gay on the small screen,
but where to find them.
The year marked a number of endeavors looking to woo gay and lesbian viewers
with programming and stations meant just for them. The biggest announcement
came in May when MTV Networks announced its plan to launch LOGO, an all-gay
basic cable channel, on Feb. 14.
In July, the channel made its programming plan clearer, saying it would initially
focus on reality programming and movies, with some scripted content. LOGO also
announced it is scheduling an impressive lineup of celebrity appearances, including
shows with Alan Cumming, Margaret Cho, Scott Thompson as well as Cher and Chastity
Bono.
Also gaining ground is here!TV, which offers several gay-themed pay-per-view
movies a month through satellite providers DIRECTV and Dish Network. On Dec.
1, DIRECTV began offering here! as a subscription channel with 24-hour content.
Q Television is also screaming for gay attention. Q is a 24-hour digital cable
channel available on RCN in Boston, New York and San Francisco as well as on
some satellite providers. After just signing the rights to air the Gay Games
in 2006, stay tuned for more from this channel.
ALSO IN 2004, cable continued to lead the pack of gay characters and content
over network television. A smattering of mostly white male gay characters still
remains on the networks, but the best place for gay viewers to find representations
of themselves remains on cable.
Currently, there are only six gay regular characters on network dramas and
comedies, the lowest since the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation
started keeping track in 1996.
As an exception to the rule, HBO’s gay favorite “Sex and the City”
by gay creator Darren Starr, bowed out this summer. But “Desperate Housewives,”
ABC’s runaway smash by gay creator Marc Cherry, filled the void.
Other than that, cable holds most of the gay favorites.
In January, Showtime added “The L Word,” a lesbian serial soap,
to its lineup that already included the male-oriented “Queer As Folk.”
“L Word” proved to be appealing to enough viewers to win a return
for a second season beginning on Feb. 20.
Comedy Central scored a hit in the summer with “The Graham Norton Effect,”
the gay British talk show host’s queer (but tamer) version of his BBC
smash. The channel also did well with gay characters on “Reno 911”
and “Drawn Together.”
Bravo solidified itself as the unofficial home of gay programming. Following
the 2003 success of “Queer Eye for the Straight Guy,” Bravo brought
viewers the gay-inclusive reality shows “Manhunt: The Search for America’s
Most Gorgeous Male Model” and “Project Runway.” The network
also aired (and re-aired, and re-aired) a concert special by gay rocker Elton
John.
New travel episodes are expected to boost sagging ratings on the “Queer
Eye” third season. Starting Jan. 11, the Fab Five visits the U.K. for
two episodes and doll up a number of guys in the conservative Lone Star State.
On Jan. 12, “Queer Eye for the Straight Girl” debuts, with three
gay guys and a woman remaking women.
THE TWO “QUEER EYE” shows highlight the ever-increasing number
of gay cast members in reality television on both cable and the networks. “Manhunt”
and “Runway” each had three gay contestants, and CBS’s “Survivor”
left its first two lesbian castaways stranded on an island.
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