Read The Prime Time Closet: A History of Gays and Lesbians on TV Online
Authors: Stephen Tropiano
| A-TEAM, THE (NBC, Action Drama, 1983-1987) | “Cowboy George,” Boy George guest stars (2/11/86) |
| ABSOLUTELY FABULOUS (Comedy Central, Comedy, 1994- ) | Rec : Justin (Christopher Malcolm), Edina’s ex-husband; Oliver (Gary Beadle), Justin’s lover |
| ACTION (Fox, Comedy, 1999; F/X, 2000) | Reg: Robert “Bobby G.” Gianopolis (Lee Arenberg), studio head; Stuart Glazer (Jack Plotnick), assistant; Cole Ricardi (Richard Burgi), actor |
| “Blowhard,” Action star Cole Ricardi comes out (9/30/99) | |
| ADAM AND YVES | Proposed gay sitcom from writer/producer Danny Arnold (1979-1980) |
| ADVENTURES OF BRISCO COUNTY, JR. (Fox, Western, 1993-1994) | “No Man’s Land,” All-female western town (9/10/93) |
| ALFRED HITCHCOCK PRESENTS (CBS, Anthology, 1960-1965; NBC, 1964-1965, 1985-1986) | “An Unlocked Window,” Nurse killer on the loose (2/15/65) |
| “An Unlocked Window,” Remake of 1965 episode (5/5/65) | |
| ALICE (CBS, Comedy, 1976-1985) | “Alice Gets a Pass,” Alice falls for gay ex-pro football player (9/29/76) |
| ALL IN THE FAMILY (CBS, Comedy, 1971-1979) | Rec: Beverly La Salle (Lori Shannon) (1975-1977), female impersonator |
| “Judging Books by Covers,” Archie discovers friend is gay (2/9/71) | |
| “Archie, the Hero,” Archie saves Beverly’s life (9/29/75) | |
| “Beverly Rides Again,” Beverly helps Archie play joke (11/6/76) | |
| ALL IN THE FAMILY (cont.) | “Cousin Liz,” Edith learns cousin Liz was gay (10/9/77) |
| “Edith’s Crisis of Faith” Pt. 1, Beverly is murdered (12/18/77) | |
| “Edith’s Crisis of Faith” Pt. 2, Edith questions her faith in God (12/25/77) | |
| ALL MY CHILDREN (ABC, Soap Opera, 1970- ) | Reg: Dr. Lynn Carson (Donna Pescow) (1983); Michael Delaney (Chris Bruno) (1995-1998), high school teacher; Kevin Sheffield (Ben Jorgensen) (1995-1998), student; Dr. Bradford Phillips (Daniel McDonald) (1996-1997); Rudy (Lance Baldwin) (1995-1998), assistant at TV station; Bianca Montgomery (Eden Riegel) (2000-), Erica’s daughter; Sarah Livingston (Elizabeth Harnois) (2000-2001); Mary Francis “Frankie” Stone (Elizabeth Hendrickson) (2001) |
| ALL THAT GLITTERS (First-run syn., Soap Opera, 1977) | Reg: Linda Murkland (Linda Grey), male-to-female transsexual |
| ALLY MCBEAL (Fox, Legal Comedy/Drama, 1997-) | Rec: Cindy McCauliff (Lisa Edelstein) |
| “Boy to the World,” Ally befriends young transvestite (12/1/97) | |
| “The Inmates,” Hetero waiter fired for not being gay (4/27/98) | |
| “Buried Pleasures,” Ally “dates” Ling (11/1/99) | |
| “Pursuit of Loneliness,” Ally falls for bisexual judge (2/21/00) | |
| “The Oddball Parade,” Discrimination lawsuit (2/28/00) | |
| “Prime Suspect,” Ally plays detective (3/20/00) | |
| “Girls’ Night Out,” Transgender Cindy is fired (10/30/00) | |
| “Two’s A Crowd,” Mark learns truth about Cindy (11/6/00) | |
| “Without A Net,” Mark breaks up with Cindy (11/13/00) | |
| “Love on a Holiday,” Men bid on Fish in charity auction (12/4/00) | |
| “Hats Off to Larry,” Cindy sues to legally marry (2/5/01) | |
| “Judge Ling,” Dame Edna Everage guest stars (11/5/01) | |
| “Neutral Corners,” Dame Edna, Part II (11/12/01) | |
| “I Want Love,” Elton John guest stars (11/26/01) | |
| ALRIGHT ALREADY (WB, Comedy, 1997-1998) | “Again with the Laser Surgery,” Vaughn pretends he’s gay (10/5/97) |
| AMERICAN FAMILY, AN (PBS, Reality, 1973) | Reality series about the Loud family includes gay son, Lance (1/11-3/29/73) |
| AMERICAN HIGH (Fox, Reality, 2000/PBS 2001) | Reg: Brad Krefman, high school student |
| “Who Am I?” Robby recalls when Brad came out to him (8/2/00) | |
| “Boogie Nights,” Brad choreographs dance show (8/9/00) | |
| AMERICAN JUSTICE (A&E, Reality, 1992-) | “The Life and Death of Teena Brandon” (9/29/00) |
| AMERICAN PARADE (CBS, Anthology, 1976) | Rip Torn and Brad Davis as Walt Whitman and Peter Doyle (3/9/76) |
| ANY DAY NOW (Lifetime, Drama, 1998-2002) | “It’s Who You Sleep With,” Lesbian couple can’t marry in public’park (11/3/98) |
| “Family is Family,” Renee’s gay bro visits with son and lover (10/17/99) | |
| “Who Abandoned Who?” RuPaul guest stars (3/12/00) | |
| ANYTHING BUT LOVE (ABC, Comedy, 1989-1992) | Reg: Jules “Julie” Kramer/Bennett (Richard Frank), magazine editor’s assistant |
| ARCHIE BUNKER’S PLACE (CBS, Comedy, 1979-1982) | “The Cook,” Archie discovers his waiter Fred is gay (11/4/79) |
| “Archie Fixes Up Fred,” Archie tries straighten out Fred (2/10/80) | |
| ARE YOU BEING SERVED? (Syndicated, Comedy, 1972-1984) | Reg: Mr. Humphries (John Inman), department store salesman |
| ARGUMENT (KTTV- TV/Los Angeles, Talk, 1962) | “Society and the Homosexual,” Los Angeles talk show (5/13/62) |
| ARLI$$ (HBO, Comedy, 1996- ) | “Man of Our Times,” Ice skater plans same-sex wedding (8/10/96) |
| “Athletes ARE Role Models,” Player mistakenly has sex with drag queen (8/28/96) | |
| “My Job is to Get Jobs,” Football player rumored to be gay (6/14/98) | |
| ASK HARRIET (Fox, Comedy, 1998) | “Pilot,” Sexist hetero sportswriter dons drag as female columnist (1/4/98) |
| ASPHALT JUNGLE, THE (ABC, Police Drama, 1961) | “The Sniper,” Lesbian sniper guns down young girls (4/30/61) |
| ASSOCIATES, THE (ABC, Comedy, 1979-1980) | “The Censors,” Writer vs. network censor over sitcom dialogue (4/10/80) |
| AS THE WORLD TURNS (CBS, Soap Opera, 1956- ) | Reg: Hank Elliot (Brian Stracher) (1988-1989), designer |
| BABYLON 5 (First-run syn., Sci-Fi, 1992-1998) | Reg: Lt. Cmdr. Susan Ivanova (Claudia Christian) (1994- 1997); Talia Winters (Andrea Thompson) (1994-1995) |
| “Divided Loyalties,” Ivanova’s strong attraction to Thalia (10/12/95) | |
| “Racing Mars,” Frank and Cole pose as newlyweds (4/24/97) | |
| BARE ESSENCE (NBC, Drama, 1983) | Rec: Robert Spencer (Ted LePlat); Tim (Jim Negele), pro- football player |
| BARETTA (ABC, Police Drama, 1975-1978) | “The Sky is Falling,” Baretta helps teen hustler (10/26/77) |
| BARNEY MILLER (ABC, Comedy, 1975-1982) | Rec: Marty (Jack DeLeon), shoplifter; Daryl Driscoll (Ray Stewart), marty’s lover; Officer Zitelli (Dino Natali) |
| “Experience,” Marty is arrested (1/30/75) | |
| “Vigilante,” Wojo arrests transvestite teamster (3/20/75) | |
| “Discovery,” Man posing as cop harrassing gays (10/30/75) | |
| “Quarantine 1 & 2,” Precinct is quarantined (9/30/76, 10/7/76) | |
| “Asylum,” Marty is caught with marijuana (2/24/77) | |
| “Inquisition,” Lt. Scanlon hunts down precinct’s gay cop (9/13/79) | |
| “The Child Stealers,” Daryl tries to get his son back (1/24/80) | |
| “ Movie Pt.1 ,” Wojo outs Officer Zitelli, (1/29/81) | |
| BAXTERS, THE (First-run syn., Drama, 1979-1981) | “Homosexual Teachers,” Family discovers son’s teacher is gay (10/31/79) |
| BEANES OF BOSTON (Pilot, Comedy, 1979) | Reg: Mr. Humphries (Alan Sues), salesman |
| “Pilot,” American version of Are You Being Served? (5/5/79) | |
| BECKER (CBS, Comedy, 1998- ) | “The Princess Cruise,” Becker is booked on gay cruise (2/5/01) |
| “You Say Gay Son, I Saw Godson,” Becker’s gay godson asks for help (4/8/01) | |
| BEDTIME (Showtime, Comedy-Drama, 1996) | Reg: Donna (Felicity Hoffman) and Liz (Susan Gibney) |
| BEGGARS AND CHOOSERS (Showtime, Comedy, 1999-2001) | Reg: Malcolm Laffley (Tuc Watkins), TV network casting director |
| “The Velvet Curtain,” Malcolm outs himself on TV (8/7/99) | |
| BEGGARS AND CHOOSERS (cont.) | “The Naked Truth,” Malcolm wants gay actor to play Dodi Fayed (7/25/00) |
| BELTRAN, LOS (Telemundo, Comedy, 1999-2000) | Reg: Dr. Fernando Salazar (Gabriel Romero) and Kevin Lynch (James C. Leary) |
| “The Coming Out of Fernandito,” Fernando’s father comes four a visit (2000) | |
| BERNIE MAC SHOW, THE (Fox, Comedy, 2001-) | “Stop Having Sex,” Bernie discovers Jordan’s friend’s dad is gay (4/17/02) |
| BETTE (CBS, Comedy, 2000-2001) | Reg: Oscar (James Dreyfus), Bette Midler’s accompanist |
| BEVERLY HILLS, 90210 (Fox, Teen Drama, 1990- 2000) | Rec : Kyle Connors (David Lascher) (1991-1992); Allison Lash (Sara Melson) (1994-1995); Jimmy Gold (Michael Stoyanov) (1996); Andrew Emery (Robb Derringer) (1999) |
| “Summer Story,” Kyle comes out to Kelly (7/25/91) | |
| “A Competitive Edge,” Brandon investigates steroids at school (1/23/92) | |
| “Blind Spot,” Steve discovers frat brother is gay (4/6/94) | |
| “Up in Flames,” Kelly and Allison trapped in fire (11/30/94) | |
| “Girls on the Side,” Kelly discovers Allison loves her (5/3/95) | |
| “P.S. I Love You Pt. 1,” Allison admits feelings for Kelly (5/24/95) | |
| “P.S. I Love You Pt 2,” Rumors spread about Kelly and Allison (5/24/95) | |
| “A Mate for Life,” Kelly befriends Jimmy, gay man with AIDS (9/4/95) | |
| “Disappearing Act,” Kelly takes HIV test (9/11/96) | |
| “Pledging My Love,” Jimmy dies (9/18/96) | |
| “Santa Knows,” David befriends homeless gay teen Ben (12/17/97 | |
| “Crimes and Misdemeanors,” Steve and Brandon “date” lesbian couple (2/4/98) | |
| “The Nature of Nuture” Mother vs. gay couple over custody suit (3/18/98) | |
| “I’m Back Because,” Samantha comes out to son Steve (12/2/98) | |
| “The Following Options,” Samantha is fired because she’s gay (12/9/98) | |
| “The Loo-Ouch,” Samantha brings lover to Steve’s party (10/20/99) | |
| “Baby, You Can Drive My Car,” Dylan and Andrew are gay bashed (11/10/99) | |
| “Family Tree,” Dylan helps Andrew get his job back, (11/17/99) | |
| BIG BROTHER II (CBS, Reality, 2001) | Reg: Bill “Bunky” Miller, 7th contestant evicted from house |
| BIG EASY, THE (USA, Police Drama, 1996-1997) | “Cinderfella,” Murder victim involved with a drag queen (8/25/96) |
| BLOSSOM (NBC, Comedy, 1991-1995) | “Double Date,” Joey’s teammate is his secret admirer (1/31/94) |
| “It Happened One Night,” Nick is matchmaker with Blossom and friend’s son (3/13/95) | |
| BOB CRANE SHOW, THE (NBC, Comedy, 1975) | “A Case of Misdiagnosis,” Bob treats old pal, a rich gay activist (5/8/75) |
| BOB NEWHART SHOW, THE (CBS, Comedy, 1972- 1978) | “Some of My Best Friends,” Gay man joins Bob’s therapy group (10/9/76) |
| BOLD ONES, THE: THE LAWYERS (NBC, Legal Drama, 1969-1973) | “Shriek of Silence,” Politician framed for murder (11/30/69) |
| BOLD ONES, THE: THE NEW DOCTORS (NBC, Medical Drama, 1969-1973) | “Discovery at 14,” Teenager fears homosexuality is genetic (3/5/72) |
| “A Very Strange Triangle,” Male doctor falls for lesbian (10/31/72) | |
| BOSOM BUDDIES (ABC, Comedy, 1980-1984) | Reg: Kip Wilson/Buffy (Tom Hanks), hetero in drag living in women’s hotel; Henry Desmond/ Hildegarde (Peter Scolari), Kip’s hetero roommate |
| BOSTON COMMON (NBC, Comedy, 1996-1997) | “Streetcar Named Denial,” Wyleen falls for acting partner (9/15/96) |
| BOSTON PUBLIC (Fox, Drama, 2000- ) | Rec: Jeremy Peters (Kaj-Erik Eriksen) (2001- ), high school student |
| “Chapter 3,” A high school jock is the target of gay rumors (11/16/00) | |
| “Chapter 29,” Guber discovers Jeremy Peters is gay (12/10/01) | |
| “Chapter 30,” Jeremy’s mother finds out he’s gay (12/17/01) | |
| “Chapter 31,” Guber, Jeremy, and his mom go to therapy (1/14/02) | |
| “Chapter 36,” Jeremy dates Brooke Harper (2/11/02) | |
| BRIAN BENBEN SHOW, THE (CBS, Comedy, 1998) | Reg: Billy Hernandez (Luis Antonio Ramos), weatherman |
| BRONK (CBS, Detective Drama, 1975-1976) | “The Deadlier Sex,” Female cop accused of molestation (1/18/76) |
| BRONX ZOO, THE (NBC, Drama, 1987-1988) | “Crossroads,” Closeted gay student decides to get married (6/16/88) |
| BROOKLYN SOUTH (CBS, Police Drama, 1997- 1998) | “Doggoneit,” Bickering gay couple lose their dog (4/13/98) |
| BROTHERS (Showtime, Comedy, 1984-1989) | Reg: Cliff Waters (Paul Regina); Donald Maulpey (Phillip Charles Mackenzie) |
| BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER (WB, Teen Drama/Horror, 1997- 2001; UPN 2001-) | Reg: Larry Blaisdell (Larry Bagby III) (1997-1999), high school jock; Willow Rosenberg (Alyson Hannigan), witch; Tara (Amber Benson) (1999- ), witch/Willow’s girlfriend |
| “Phases,” Larry comes out to Xander (1/27/98) |