The news that the next series of Desperate Housewives is to feature a suburban gay couple living on Wisteria Lane for the first time hardly came as a shock.
In the post Will & Grace era, “Housewives” is probably the “gayest” mainstream show out there. It has already featured a gay character (and his boyfriend), the creator Marc Cherry is openly gay, and let’s face it there are more than one or two gay viewers among the audience.
I think the fact that this didn’t come as a surprise to anyone is a sign of progress. It seems a logical next step for the show and I doubt it will raise many eyebrows. I do not want to overstate the significance of this but it will be good to see gay life away from the urban village portrayed in a mainstream show. Of course there will be some clichés and stereotypes but I think we should be relaxed about that as ultimately it is a comedy drama and is not meant to represent real life. It is great when TV shows break down stereotypes but in this kind of genre it is perhaps too much to expect a “realistic” portrayal of gay life in the burbs and there will no doubt be some degree of sensationalism.
For me the most significant element of this news was not the arrival of the first gay couple on the show, but the fact that it is yet another example of a gay writer on a mainstream show integrating openly gay and lesbian characters into the storyline.
Of course some of the motivation for this decision will have been to appeal to the loyal gay fan base for the show, but at first it is often the efforts of gay writers to include gay characters that seems to have broken down barriers and persuaded TV executives to take the plunge.
I think there are lessons here for communications. While companies are increasingly seeing the power of the gay market and the need to attract gay employees, the catalyst for this can also often be a recognition that it is the right thing to do. Whether this is a philanthropic motivation or the decision of a communications executive who is gay, it can I think often be the starting point before companies realise that there is also a significant commercial opportunity here.
It is the trailblazers who have long been supporting community events and engaging with gays and lesbians, for both social responsibility reasons and for commercial advantage, that are now reaping the financial rewards.
In the same way while it has been gay writers who have been at the forefront of including gay and lesbian characters in mainstream shows, many TV executives are surely now realizing that this has created a loyal, and powerful fan base. It required the efforts of writers to make television take those tentative first steps to get to the stage where having gay characters in shows is regarded as a smart commercial move.
When I looked at some of the TV shows of recent years featuring gay and lesbian characters I was surprised at just how many have been created by openly gay writers. Doctor Who (Russell T Davies), Will & Grace (Max Mutchnick), Desperate Housewives (Marc Cherry), Six Feet Under (Alan Ball), Ugly Betty (Silvio Horta) and Bad Girls (Maureen Chadwick) are just a few examples. Even the episode of Skins which I discussed in a post earlier this year was co-written by openly gay comedian Simon Amstell and the groundbreaking “gay storyline” on British soap a few years ago was masterminded by a gay writer Daran Little.
Of course writers are inspired by their own experiences but the contribution of these creators to integrate gay and lesbian characters into mainstream culture should not be underestimated. It is now not only expected if a show is to be considered realistic, but for many TV executives there is also a loyal fan base to be tapped into if the character is portrayed in the right way. They deserve credit for being the pioneers who have made this happen often in the face of resistance from TV companies initially concerned about the response from advertisers.
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