Gay TV is not just for gays anymore
When is a TV channel like a bar? When it’s gay.
Logo, America’s first gay TV channel, is transitioning. When it launched in 2005, Logo aired news segments, sketch-comedy shows and original scripted dramas focused on the lives of gay people. Now, in the age of openly gay — and who you might call openly closeted — talk-show hosts, news anchors, and actors, Logo has embraced the slogan “Beyond Labels” and is shifting away from shows about gays to programming for gays (and the people who love them).
Just as that venerable institution the gay bar has undergone a fundamental transformation now that gays and lesbians have more places, real or virtual, where they can socialize, Logo, too, is evolving away from separatism and toward integration. “A lot has changed in seven years in terms of this community being accepted and more fully integrated into the world,” Lisa Sherman, Logo’s executive vice president and general manager, told me. “We feel that if we’re going to be true to our audience, we have to have programming that reflects their lives today.”
That means reruns of series like “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” and “Reno 911!.” Sherman says they’re a good fit for Logo because, in the case of “Buffy,” “the show is not about being gay, but it has a gay character and a gay sensibility.” Then there are series like “Absolutely Fabulous,” “Nip/Tuck,” or “Golden Girls,” which Logo will air starting in spring of next year. They don’t necessarily have gay characters or gay storylines, but as Sherman put it, they’re “a little outrageous, and they’ve got a lot of heart.” They’re camp, in other words. The most surprising part of the new Logo lineup is the imports from sister channel MTV. What appeal do shows like “16 and Pregnant,” “Teen Mom” and “True Life” have for gay viewers? According to Sherman, “They give you a peek at situations where underdogs have struggled to rise up against a society that’s condemning their circumstances. That’s a theme all gay people can relate to.”
This new attitude is also on display in one of Logo’s own shows, “RuPaul’s Drag U,” now in its third season. Earlier seasons felt like filler programming intended mostly to remind viewers about the fabulous queens who had won their hearts in “RuPaul’s Drag Race” — the warmest, sweetest, bitchiest reality contest on television — which is Logo’s biggest hit. “Drag Race” favorites became “Drag U” faculty members, tasked with teaching biological women how to get in touch with their inner divas. The contestants were given drag names, donned over-the-top outfits, strutted their stuff on the catwalk, and lip-synched to boost their Drag Point Average. This year, the focus is more down-to-earth. The women are offered makeup tips they can use in real life. They’re even given clothes they can wear on the streets, as well as their extravagant “dragulation” gowns.
Of course, there’s a practical reason for these decisions. Logo doesn’t have a monopoly on gay TV programming anymore. Every weekday morning, “After Ellen” and “After Elton” (both of which are owned by Logo) publish recaps highlighting same-sex subtext and generally draw attention to “lesbianish” or “gayish” television, most of which, these days, airs elsewhere on the dial.
If the rest of television has become more gay-friendly, is it any surprise that Logo should become more straight-friendly? When I asked Sherman if Logo would ever bring back the gay newscasts that were once part of the lineup, she told me that while the channel will do some specials — around the presidential election, for instance — “Gay news is on CNN and CNBC now. Gay people are consuming their news elsewhere. I just don’t think that’s something we could do as well as those other 24/7 networks.” Recently, there was little evidence on Logo that it was Gay Pride Day in New York and other cities — but the parade was all over my local TV news.
Last year, when I wrote about gay bars, I realized that while I rarely patronize them, I’m still grateful they’ve survived. They provide a much-needed refuge in tough times or when I simply want to be with my own people. I feel the same way about gay television. Logo is prospering by providing programming that gay people can connect with, but sometimes I want to see shows that are for, by, and about the community.
Thomas is a cultural critic at Slate.