Community’s Gay Dean Is Not Actually Gay
Gayest Episode Ever
“Queer Studies and Advanced Waxing” (March 31, 2015) In its sixth and final season, Community decided to explore the series-long running joke about Dean Pelton’s mysterious, complex sexuality. once again joins us to discuss how the dean is not actually gay — he may be a pansexual imp, after all — but in forcing him to pick a tidy label, this show does a good job showing how many queer people end up pigeonholing themselves in a way that doesn’t fully express who they are. Listen to Henry’s podcast, . Listen to his episode about on Podcast: The Ride. . The trailer for , which is...
info_outline
Drew Carey Has a Cross-Dressing Brother Who Just Might Be Trans
Gayest Episode Ever
“Drew’s Brother” (November 19, 1997) We finally did it! We not only found the perfect guest for this episode — writer, performer and UCB alum — but we also got the chance to tell the world that The Drew Carey Show deserves to live it. It’s not only the most successful Friends clone but also the only one that sustained a whole series about working class young people. And in its third season, it introduced Drew’s brother Steve (John Caroll Lynch) who is a cross-dresser who might just be a transwoman. What’s more, the show pairs Steve off with Mimi Bobeck (Kathy Kinney),...
info_outline
The Associates Meets a Gay Joke It Doesn’t Like
Gayest Episode Ever
“The Censors,” (April 10, 1980) James L. Brooks followed up the hit Taxi with another workplace ensemble that skewed decidedly fancier: The Associates featured a young and unknown Martin Short among a group of fresh hires at a Wall Street law firm. The show didn’t work and is almost forgotten today. But its second-to-last episode did feature a trip to the Hollywood set of a sitcom where a producer battles an overzealous censor. There’s a gay sublot, but the overall story is a cautionary tale that applies to people making TV today just as much as it did four decades ago...
info_outline
How I Met Your Mother Meets a Gay Brother
Gayest Episode Ever
"Single Stamina" (November 27, 2006) Now that HIMYM has been off the air for a full decade, it’s worth considering how this show holds up better than most from the early 2000s did. Not only did it give us Robin Sparkles, it just might be the only TV show to compare equally well to both Friends and Lost, as improbable as that sounds. This episode has Wayne Brady playing a gay character in a bit of stunt casting that worked a lot better before he came out, but it also just might be the thing that convinced Neil Patrick Harris to finally come out as well. Listen to t, all about Conan: The...
info_outline
What’s Gay About Jeopardy(!)?
Gayest Episode Ever
What if we broke format to discuss America’s favorite smartypants game show? Well, we did it. And special guest joins us to discuss Amy Schneider, who became Jeopardy’s second-longest-running winner ever — and as a result became a household name and a trans icon. Listen to Emily’s Jeopardy podcast, What Is…? A Jeopardy! Podcast on or ! Listen to Peaches Christ and also Drew on ! Follow: • • • • • Listen: • • • • And yes, we do have ! We even have courtesy of . Our logo was designed by ....
info_outline
Amen’s Closeted Sitcom Star Smackdown
Gayest Episode Ever
“The Courtship of Bess Richards” (October 4, 1986) The second episode of Amen concerns Sherman Hemsley’s Ernie trying to land his choir a new singer in Nell Carter’s Bess, and the result is a comedy of errors in which both he and she perform romantic interest that neither is capable of actually feeling. The result is a WWF-style wrestling match between these two iconic sitcom stars, and we’re joined once again by to discuss how this is rendered all the stranger because Hemsley and Carter both were closeted and therefore all too accustomed to acting out hetero identities different...
info_outline
Mary and Phyllis Date a Possible Homosexual
Gayest Episode Ever
“Menage a Phyllis” (November 2, 1974) In the third-season episode “My Brother’s Keeper,” Rhoda famously said the word “gay,” turning a plot about her association with Phyllis’ brother on its head. Two seasons later, Phyllis shows up in another episode that discusses gay issues but weirdly doesn’t say that word. Regardless, there’s perhaps more to be made of the newsroom’s opinions about what codes as gay, and returns to discuss this and what we’ll call the “Murray Slaughter problem.” Read Dead Buckley’s 2018 piece Episodes referenced: Dan’s previous...
info_outline
Facts of Life Does a Covert Gay Episode With Cousin Geri
Gayest Episode Ever
“Cousin Geri” (December 24, 1980) Fun game for listeners: Take a shot every time Drew mentions the phrase “gigantic bitch” in connection with Lisa Welchel’s Blair, who is in rare form this episode as she shuns her disabled cousin Geri for reasons that aren’t the ones you’re probably assuming. In this discussion, we bring up why Geri Jewell is a trailblazer as far as being queer and also one other thing and also why “actress recurring on Deadwood” is lowkey code for lesbian. Erin Fletcher, we want you back for that Saved by the Bell episode. Follow: • •...
info_outline
Drawn Together Forces Xandir Out of the Closet
Gayest Episode Ever
“Gay Bash” (November 10, 2004) For better or worse, Drawn Together represents a very real trend in mid-2000s humor. It specifically sought out to tell the most offensive jokes it could get on air, but that’s what makes it surprising that the episode where Xandir admits he’s gay isn’t the parade of easy jokes you might expect. The B plot sucks rancid balls, to the point that we don’t even use clips from it in this discussion, but you might be surprised how this animated reality show makes its token gay a sympathetic guy. Check out with series creators Dave Jesser and Matt...
info_outline
Daria Should Have Kissed Jane Instead of Tom
Gayest Episode Ever
“Dye! Dye! My Darling!” (August 2, 2000) Spend a little time in a Daria fan community and you’ll find folks who ship the title character with her best friend, Jane. The show actually never does a gay episode and only gets the slightest bit queer in the first movie, Is It Fall Yet?, which has Jane affirming her heterosexuality despite how very queer she might seem. In this episode, we’re discussing the nonetheless existent lesbian vibes between Daria and Jane — and who better to offer input on this than Talking Simpsons cohost ? Sure, he’s straight, but it turns out that...
info_outline“Coldhearted Uranus: Makoto in Danger” (May 14, 1994)
It’s a new year, and we’re giving you a new episode of Sailor Moon — now with 200 percent more lesbian content! This third-season episode not only showcases Haruka/Sailor Uranus and Michiru/Sailor Neptune, but also uses them as a way to explore how Makoto/Sailor Jupiter is the most queer-coded of the core five Sailor Guardians. What’s most notable about this episode, however, is the fact that the Viz dub of it actually re-writes the original Japanese dialogue to seem less homophobic than the original version was.
Read Drew’s Thrilling Tales of Old Video Games post if you want to know how the connection to Rose of Versailles.
And check out the lengthy Twitter thread posted in response to the first Sailor Moon episode, about why it wasn’t surprising to have a same-sex couple in the first season of the show.
Watch the clip comparing Molly’s original DiC accent to Mia Farrow’s.
And here’s the Reddit thread looking into how the Viz dub played down the homophobia of the original version of this episode.
Listen to the first Sailor Moon episode, about Zoisite, on the main feed *or* if you’re fancy listen to the new Sailor Moon episode, about Fisheye, on the Patreon feed.