Gayest Episode Ever

"Scared Straight" (December 10, 1988) When Blanche's brother comes over and comes out, Blanche shows that southern hospitality has its limits. It's a classic story about homosexuality being accepted — but only to an extent. Burgeoning podcast star Tony Rodriguez joins Glen and Drew to talk about the best-ever gay-focused episode of a sitcom to also have a B plot about a death premonition dream. Read Drew's interview with Golden Girls writers Check out A Love Bizarre, Los Angeles' new queer art space 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.

"Maude's New Friend" (December 2, 1974) And then there's Maude! Bea Arthur teaches us all a valuable lesson about how liberals can also be prejudiced in this third-season episode that's all about Maude trying and failing to celebrate a newfound homosexual acquaintance. This episode is pretty wild, as Glen puts it, and it holds up better than a lot of TV airing ten and twenty years later. #breadsandwich Check out A Love Bizarre, Los Angeles' new queer art space 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.

"There's Always Room for Cello" (December 14, 1990) What smells like Wario + Newman + extra farts? It's Roy Biggins, the chuckling villain of Wings, an NBC sitcom that is a solid B but which has a reputation for being a C minus. In the second season, Roy's son came out and Roy was given — and totally biffed — a chance to act like a grown-up. Jonathan Bradley Welch, host of that *other* gay TV podcast, A Special Presentation, is on hand to discuss growing up in Massachusetts, the charms of Crystal Bernard and which Hackett brother is hotter. Listen to Jonathan's *other* gay TV podcast, A Special Presentation Drew's Animaniacs-focused episode of A Special Presentation: Check out A Love Bizarre, Los Angeles' new queer art space 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.

"The Ballad of the Betty Lou" (November 27, 1963) In this shorter episode, Gayest Episode Ever is looking at The Dick Van Dyke Show, a beloved series that is never explicitly gay but it occasionally features some implicitly gay elements — and may also once made a semen joke. Watch a clip of the apparent semen joke Check out A Love Bizarre, Los Angeles' new queer art space 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.

"Lez Be Friends" (April 28, 1997) For a lot of '80s kids, Amanda Bearse was one of the first gay people they ever heard about. And while Bearse came out in 1993, she got to put LGBT themes in the spotlight in a 1997 episode in which she plays both Marcy D'Arcy and her lesbian cousin, Mandy. It's a product of its time, for sure, but at its heart is a fairly thoughtful depiction of a happy, function person who's better off for having come out of the closet. Bonus points for Elaine Hendrix. Watch the 1994 Amanda Bearse interview segment on Network Q Listen to Drew's other podcast talk about Amanda Bearse in Fright Night Check out A Love Bizarre, Los Angeles' new queer art space 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.

"Lamont, Is That You?" (October 19, 1973) Norman Lear for the win! This podcast probably won't go in depth on '90s classics like Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, Family Matters or A Different World because many black sitcoms of that era didn't do gay episodes. Back in 1973, Sanford and Son did, however, and the result is classier and more interesting than what you'd see on shows ten and twenty years later. Check out A Love Bizarre, Los Angeles' new queer art space: 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.

"Double Date"(January 31, 1994) Whoa. Blossom was famous for two things: hats and Very Special Episodes. And while its gay episode is suspiciously lacking in hats, it seems like its several Very Special Episodes rolled up into one. In addition to featuring Joey Lawrence's character as the recipient of a love letter from his male teammate, it also features teaching moments about childhood racism and butt touching (respectively). Does it work? Kinda no, but it's interesting how much it packs in and how it treats its coming out moment like it's no big deal… which it isn't, comparatively. Watch the pilot for Molloy, the Mayim Bialik sitcom that could have been 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.

"The Peggy Horror Picture Show" (January 28, 2007) When Peggy Hill mistakenly shops at a store for drag queens, she gets mistaken for one. And while that might seem like hokey sitcom setup, this eleventh-season King of the Hill episode manages some real emotions and some perspectives on gender you wouldn't have seen on TV at the time. Sam Pancake's podcast, Monday Afternoon Movie TalKing of the Hill's first episode What a Cartoon's King of the Hill episode The model sheets cautioning against Shapely Peggy Support us on Patreon! Follow: GEE on Twitter • Drew on Twitter • Glen on Twitter Listen: iTunes • Spotify • Stitcher • Google Play • Google Podcasts • Himalaya 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.

"Rebecca's Lover... Not" (April 23, 1992) Gayest Episode Ever kicks its hiatus into the gutter with the first installment of it second season. And yes, we're back in Boston with Cheers, but it's a very different show in its tenth season — and featuring not Shelley Long but Kirstie Alley as the barmaid having to address her feelings about homosexuality. Harvey Fierstein guest stars in an episode that has connections to both She-Ra and Fright Night, and that makes for a big gay win Listen to Drew and Tony's podcast, You Have to Watch This Movie 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.

"A League of Her Own" (November 17, 2017) For the second of the "off season" bonus episodes, Drew and Glen wanted to compare how a modern day, family-friendly sitcom compares with the classic versions they discussed in the first season. They picked ABC series Fresh Off the Boat, which in its fourth season had a prominent character — Nicole, the "Winnie Cooper" of this flashback series on whim the lead character has a crush — come out as a lesbian. The storyline is handled very well, and what's most surprising is that in 2017, a coming out story on a mainstream show isn't controversial in the least. 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.