

Gayest Episode Ever
Drew Mackie & Glen Lakin
Back in the day, a major sitcom doing a gay episode was a big deal. A proper gay episode would get headlines, but it would get the attention of two young guys who were still figuring things out — sexuality-wise and culture-wise. Gayest Episode Ever has screenwriter Glen Lakin and stay-at-home journalist Drew Mackie going through the great and not-so-great gay episodes of sitcoms past.
Episodes
Mentioned books

Feb 26, 2020 • 1h 36min
¿Es Joe Un Homo?
"Joe Goes to Heaven" (Date Unknown, 1979) The United States' first bilingual sitcom and PBS's first attempt at a 30-minute comedy, ¿Que Pasa USA? proved to be a regional hit in Miami, where a local PBS affiliate created and produced the show, and then across the country as a whole. Overall, it plays out like a lost Norman Lear series centered around a Cuban-American family, and this episode revolves around the possibility that strapping young Joe may be gay. GEE regular Tony Rodriguez makes his first non-Golden Girls appearance to explain this show that is beloved by PBS-watching Latinos but may be wholly new to gringos whose PBS stations weren't lucky enough to air it. Support us on Patreon! Follow: GEE on Twitter • Drew on Twitter • Glen on Twitter Listen: iTunes • Spotify • Stitcher • Google Play • Google Podcasts • Himalaya • TuneIn And yes, we do have an official website! And we even have episode transcripts courtesy of Sarah Neal. Our logo was designed by Rob Wilson. This is a TableCakes podcast. This episode's outro track is "Vamos a la Playa" by Righeria.

Feb 19, 2020 • 1h 17min
Frank Lambert Is Worried His Son Is a Hairdresser
"Frank & Son" (October 18, 1991) Is Step By Step a classic sitcom? Glen says yes, but Drew says no. Listen to an episode that a different podcast that prompted us to examine paternal homophobia and a long-running but perhaps non-classic TGIF sitcom, which Drew prefers to shorthand as "shitbag Brady Bunch." Listen to the episode of You're Making It Worse that inspired this episode. Support us on Patreon! Follow: GEE on Twitter • Drew on Twitter • Glen on Twitter Listen: iTunes • Spotify • Stitcher • Google Play • Google Podcasts • Himalaya • TuneIn And yes, we do have an official website! And we even have episode transcripts courtesy of Sarah Neal. Our logo was designed by Rob Wilson. This episode's outro track is "Happy Song" by Baby's Gang, featuring Boney M.

Feb 12, 2020 • 47min
Drew and Glen Rank the Sexiest Sitcom Dads
Two announcements: No. 1, Drew is tired and he is wanting to take a week off with an episode that requires less editing; and and No. 2, this podcast is launching a series of Patreon-only episodes where Drew and Glen discuss subjects unlikely to arise in their typical episodes. In this one, they both list off their picks for the hottest dads in sitcom history. And if you're seeing this for the first time on the main, non-Patreon feed, then there's already another one of these ready for your rabid consumption. Hit the link to our Patreon below to listen. Want to see the dads we're discussing in this episode? Check out the gallery on the episode page. The logo for this Patreon-only series was designed by Jeff Hinchee, who is awesome. See more of his work on his website. Listen to Fruitbowl, a podcast that is an oral history of queer sex, hosted by Dave Quantic. If you haven't yet, please give us a rate & review on iTunes. Support us on Patreon! Buy or rent Glen's movie, Being Frank, on iTunes Check out A Love Bizarre, Los Angeles' No. 1 best queer art space: Follow: GEE on Twitter • Drew on Twitter • Glen on Twitter Listen: iTunes • Spotify • Stitcher • Google Play • Google Podcasts • Himalaya • TuneIn And yes, we do have an official website! And we even have episode transcripts courtesy of Sarah Neal. Our logo was designed by Rob Wilson. This is a TableCakes podcast. This episode's outro track is "Daddy Joe" by Tasha.

Feb 5, 2020 • 1h 26min
Grace's Father-in-Law Is Gay… And Also Dead
"Emmet's Secret" (December 6, 1995) and "Emmett, We Hardly Knew Ye" (December 20, 1995) Even those of us who came of age in the 1990s might be surprised to find out how big a deal Grace Under Fire was in its day. The show was a huge hit, and even if it burned too bright and too quickly, it deserved its popularity because it was funnier and more heartfelt than a lot of longer-lived TV series. In this installment, we talk about two consecutive episodes that outed Grace's father-in-law and then killed him off. It's not boring. Because it never hurts to point it out, the number for the National Suicide Prevention Hotline is 1 (800) 723-8255. There's also an online chat option. If you haven't yet, please give us a rate & review on iTunes. Support us on Patreon! Buy or rent Glen's movie, Being Frank, on iTunes Check out A Love Bizarre, Los Angeles' No. 1 best queer art space: Follow: GEE on Twitter • Drew on Twitter • Glen on Twitter Listen: iTunes • Spotify • Stitcher • Google Play • Google Podcasts • Himalaya • TuneIn And yes, we do have an official website! And we even have episode transcripts courtesy of Sarah Neal. Our logo was designed by Rob Wilson. This is a TableCakes podcast. This episode's outro track is "Baby, I'm Burnin' (Disco Mix)" by Dolly Parton.

Jan 29, 2020 • 1h 7min
Edith Bunker's Cousin Is a Lesbian… And Also Dead
"Cousin Liz" (October 9, 1977) After two years and more than a few negative comments, Drew and Glen once again focus their gaze on All in the Family, a sitcom about America's favorite ignoramus. This episode is a sweet and it is elegant, and it shows how readily Jean Stapleton's Edith can accept that love between two women isn't at all different from her love for her husband. There's no B plot and only three characters, yet this is one of the best episodes GEE has reviewed so far. If you haven't yet, please give us a rate & review on iTunes. Support us on Patreon! Buy or rent Glen's movie, Being Frank, on iTunes Check out A Love Bizarre, Los Angeles' No. 1 best queer art space: Follow: GEE on Twitter • Drew on Twitter • Glen on Twitter Listen: iTunes • Spotify • Stitcher • Google Play • Google Podcasts • Himalaya • TuneIn And yes, we do have an official website! And we even have episode transcripts courtesy of Sarah Neal. Our logo was designed by Rob Wilson. This is a TableCakes podcast. This episode's outro track is "Time and Love" by Tea for Two.

Jan 22, 2020 • 1h 32min
Susan's Dad Had a Gay Affair With John Cheever
"The Cheever Letters" (October 28, 1992) Poor Susan Ross. If she only knew what her association with George Constanza would ultimately cost her, she would have run screaming. Early in the show's fourth season, Susan got a glimpse of what George was capable of when he indirectly caused her dad to be outed — if not as gay then at least certainly as a one-time lover of John Cheever. Mike Ciriaco joins Glen and Drew to discuss how this episode is a Seinfeld sleeper classic, both because of and in spite of how nonchalantly it deals with Mr. Ross's sexuality. If you haven't yet, please give us a rate & review on iTunes. Support us on Patreon! Buy or rent Glen's movie, Being Frank, on iTunes Check out A Love Bizarre, Los Angeles' No. 1 best queer art space: Follow: GEE on Twitter • Drew on Twitter • Glen on Twitter Listen: iTunes • Spotify • Stitcher • Google Play • Google Podcasts • Himalaya • TuneIn And yes, we do have an official website! And we even have episode transcripts courtesy of Sarah Neal. Our logo was designed by Rob Wilson. This is a TableCakes podcast. This episode's outro track is "Fire" by Radiorama.

Jan 15, 2020 • 1h 15min
Homer Moves Into the Gayborhood
"Three Gays of the Condo" (April 13, 2003) Six seasons after its inaugural gay episode, The Simpsons revisited the subject matter in the age of Will & Grace, and the end result sent Homer to live with two guys in Springfield's gay district. This one exemplifies what it meant to do a gay sitcom after the point in time when it was no longer enough to just showcase straight characters being surprised that gay people exist, but is this a worthy successor to "Homer's Phobia"? Drew and Glen talk though the good and the bad and the Weird Al. Watch the video for "Do the Bartman" (and look for the gay part). The Dennis Miller interview with Matt Warburton. Listen to Drew's episode of the Talking Simpsons podcast. Also, if you haven't yet, please give us a rate & review on iTunes. Support us on Patreon! Buy or rent Glen's movie, Being Frank, on iTunes Check out A Love Bizarre, Los Angeles' No. 1 best queer art space: Follow: GEE on Twitter • Drew on Twitter • Glen on Twitter Listen: iTunes • Spotify • Stitcher • Google Play • Google Podcasts • Himalaya • TuneIn And yes, we do have an official website! And we even have episode transcripts courtesy of Sarah Neal. Our logo was designed by Rob Wilson. This is a TableCakes podcast. This episode's outro track is "Everybody Is Gay" by Latin Rose.

Dec 18, 2019 • 1h 32min
A Very Brady Christmas Is Gay Enough, Say Drew & Glen
We're celebrating the holidays and closing out 2019 with one of our all-time favorite Christmas specials: A Very Brady Christmas, a 1988 TV movie that reunited all of the original cast that matters. If you've seen this special, you may be wondering what's gay about this family holiday outing. Some stuff, we say, but perhaps most subtly the use of racecar-driving as a metaphor for Bobby Brady's reckless homosexual lifestyle. Just go with us on this one. Listen to our interview with Stan Zimmerman, who wrote the two Brady Bunch movies. Also, if you haven't yet, please give us a rate & review on iTunes. Support us on Patreon! Buy or rent Glen's movie, Being Frank, on iTunes Check out A Love Bizarre, Los Angeles' No. 1 best queer art space: Follow: GEE on Twitter • Drew on Twitter • Glen on Twitter Listen: iTunes • Spotify • Stitcher • Google Play • Google Podcasts • Himalaya • TuneIn And yes, we do have an official website! And we even have episode transcripts courtesy of Sarah Neal. Our logo was designed by Rob Wilson. This is a TableCakes podcast. This episode's outro track is "Beautiful Noise" by Florence Henderson.

Dec 11, 2019 • 1h 32min
Ross's Lesbian Ex-Wife Gets Lesbian Married
"The One With the Lesbian Wedding"(January 18, 1996) Carol and Susan forever! In our previous look at Friends, we concluded that the ten-season sitcom put homosexuality in a bad light. Around the same time, everyone else concluded that as well, but what if season two's "The One With the Lesbian Wedding" actually doesn't suck so hard? Emelie Burnette Battaglia Balenciaga returns to talk about the episode the second Friends episode that ties LGBT issues with a recently deceased old lady. "So Was Friends Homophobic?" by Kelsey Miller "Homophobic Friends," a 50-minute supercut of Friends' lamest LGBT moments Support us on Patreon! Buy or rent Glen's movie, Being Frank, on iTunes Check out A Love Bizarre, Los Angeles' No. 1 best queer art space: Follow: GEE on Twitter • Drew on Twitter • Glen on Twitter Listen: iTunes • Spotify • Stitcher • Google Play • Google Podcasts • Himalaya • TuneIn And yes, we do have an official website! And we even have episode transcripts courtesy of Sarah Neal. Our logo was designed by Rob Wilson. This is a TableCakes podcast. This episode's outro track is "Nobody's Bride" by Peggy & The Pills.

Dec 4, 2019 • 1h 7min
Everybody Loves Raymond's Possibly Gay Brother
"What's With Robert?" (January 10, 2000) Drew had never seen an episode of Everybody Loves Raymond before Glen pulled a gun on him and forced him to watch this one. To Drew's surprise, this ostensibly family-friendly CBS sitcom handles gay panic a lot more thoughtfully than other shows of the era, even if it hinged around the ridiculous proposition that a man as tall as Brad Garrett might be homosexual. Support us on Patreon! Buy or rent Glen's movie, Being Frank, on iTunes Listen to Underbelly L.A., the new TableCakes true crime podcast that Drew helped produce Check out A Love Bizarre, Los Angeles' No. 1 best queer art space: Listen to Fruitbowl, Dave Quantic's oral history podcast about gay sex Follow: GEE on Twitter • Drew on Twitter • Glen on Twitter Listen: iTunes • Spotify • Stitcher • Google Play • Google Podcasts • Himalaya • TuneIn And yes, we do have an official website! And we even have episode transcripts courtesy of Sarah Neal. Our logo was designed by Rob Wilson. This is a TableCakes podcast. This episode's outro track is "Hawai" by Hawai


