Big gay TV comebacks and what they mean for the LGBTQ community

The gay television renaissance is officially upon us. First came word that Will and Grace would be making its return to the small screen and next Netflix announced a reboot of Queer Eye for the Straight Guy. But is this good news for the gay community and do these romanticized relics belong on TV today?

Will and Grace made its debut in 1998. This was the year after Ellen Degeneres came out on television and the year Bill Clinton and Monica Lewinsky had parents explaining oral sex to their children. Both were considered massive scandals and while those stories would make news today the shock factor would likely be considerably less.  Things have changed.

While there was, of course, resistance to the portrayal of homosexuality on TV, Will and Grace, was a bonafide hit, going strong for eight seasons before ending in 2006. Then, last September we got a 10 minute reunion show inspired by the American election.

It's like they hadn't skipped a beat.  Everyone looked the same (botox probably). Everyone sounded the same and the timeless comedic rhythm reminiscent of The Golden Girls picked up right where it left off. Over a decade later, this carries the potential to not be a good thing. The gay TV landscape has changed drastically. Today, not all exposure is good exposure. Gay men and women had to make sacrifices to get into the spotlight, now we must be careful with it. Audiences should demand a more well rounded Will. Society and the gay community have evolved since the show's debut.  To re-introduce a one dimensional Will, one that is sexually sterile, one that avoids discussion or displays of true intimacy risks us moving backwards.  An argument can be made that many mainstream sitcoms avoid topics of great intimacy.  That's true but the dynamics and pervasiveness of hetereosexuality do not require the same scrutiny.

Queer Eye for the Straight Guy on the other hand is a reboot.   So you won't be getting another taste of the original "Fab 5".

Instead, the streaming service says you will get an all new group of gays and that this cast will venture far beyond its original confines in New York and into Trumpland with a plan to "turn red states pink…one makeover at a time".   This already seems promising in terms of an update.  It's confronting a very modern hot button issue… right wing politics and homosexuality.  Anything that generates discussion on that and shows those two groups interacting is a good thing. I do, however, hope these yet to be announced cast members are getting danger pay.

If these shows are going to find success again, both have some work to do. The original versions of these hits were undoubtedly designed to be palatable for straight audiences. To do that they took the sexual out of homosexual and often relied on simple non-threatening stereotypes.  However, they did do some important work. While some gay men and women may resent the normalization of their sexuality, it was an effective way to humanize gay people to a massive segment of society. These gay characters, even if they were caricatures, did much to disarm the false but foreboding image of sex-obsessed, diseased gay people hell bent on destroying traditional society.  In a cruel twist of fate the openness, understanding and education these shows helped foster may be the thing that prevents their success today if they return in their original form.

Gay culture and gay life is much more varied and liberated than it was 10 to 15 years ago and these shows would do well to take a cue from today's more modern gay narratives.

Today, a lot more gay people and gay performers are unapologetically out. Not only that, they are unafraid to speak their minds.  Rick Mercer's viral rants come to mind.

Gay characters and gay sex (something you would never see on the Will and Grace of old) have become a regular occurrence in mainstream shows.

How To Get Away With Murder,  Orange Is The New Black, Nashville...  it's becoming strange not to see non-traditional relationships integrated on television today.  That results in a more varied understanding of sexuality.

The question is...do we need to see gay sex on Will and Grace?  The answer is yes.  I'm not saying we need to see Will engaged in hardcore acts or passionate steamy love scenes like the shows listed above but he does need to express his sexuality beyond innuendo.   This is a sitcom and physical affection has its limits but even a PG inclusion of gay affection is a must. More importantly, it needs to reflect an updated understanding of sexuality… and that goes way beyond gay and straight.

Perhaps one of the best examples of modern sexuality on television comes from Schitt's Creek.   While the show is mostly suggestive when it comes to sex, Dan Levy's "David" sends an important message. The character identifies as pansexual.  In case you are unfamiliar, a pansexual person is someone who is  "not limited in sexual choice with regard to biological sex, gender, or gender identity."  Dan explains it best. If the ancient Larry King can understand it, so can you.

We as human's have a tendency to love labels, especially binary ones. The beauty of David is that he defies that urge and instead puts forth an understanding of sexuality as an evolving spectrum. That's the most honest definition of human sexuality, not A or B or A+B but the whole alphabet. The fact that he discusses this idea hilariously is a bonus.

The formula for Will and Grace and Queer Eye have a place is history but if they want a place in the future they are going to have to tackle the new questions surrounding sexuality that are being discussed openly today.  More people are out which means more people in society are familiar with the complexities of gay relationships and of gay people.  As a result, even the straight community (or at least a larger number of straight people) can recognize a hyperbolic or oversimplified gay stereotype when they see it.  Two men or two women kissing is no longer a shocking tv moment but it would be a good place to start for Will and Grace. The subject of homosexuality has been so widely explored and the audience so desensitized to what used to be taboo that the market demands more well rounded gays and lesbians (and pansexuals).  I'm sorry to say that Jack McFarland's cheap jokes and pirouettes will need an upgrade.  Something tells me we aren't going to see Jack getting any real action on Will and Grace 2.0 but simple sterilized stereotypes just won't do anymore.     

Either way, the announced return of these shows is good news for the gay community, even if they fail.  The fact that gay-themed programming now evokes nostalgia is a milestone, a chance to reflect on very long and hard fought victories. Before these shows there was little to look back on in the mainstream media landscape, only an empty void filled with occasional villainized gay characters.  Sure, this may be a bastardization of well established brands to turn a profit but man, look how far we've come.  The portrayal of LGBT people on television is far from perfect but we're heading in the right direction. These originals deserve their victory lap, let's just hope they don't damage the road they helped pave and find new paths forward.