CBS responds to gay criticisms
Friday, March 5 2010, 7:12am EST
By Dan French, TV Editor
CBS will make a conscious effort to introduce gay characters into its shows, network president Nina Tassler has confirmed.
Last year, the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation criticised the Eye network for its lack of gay characters, while it was recently reported that CBS had rejected adverts from a gay dating site.
"Any show can have gay characters," Tassler told The Hollywood Reporter. "We're conscious of that as well. This year one of our pilots, Quinn-tuplets, has gay characters. Any series can.
"This year we made a concerted effort to suggest to producers, if not in pilot, then as we go forward."
Tassler added: "Diversity has always been a priority. It is a conscious choice across the board to pay attention and to add diversity any way we can."
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On entirely different note, remember that Jack, in Three's Company, had to pretend to be gay in order to live with Chrissy and Janet? That was weird now that I think back on it--how he *acted* the caricature of gay when the landlord came by--very swish etc...
Oh, and I couldn't watch Soap (conservative Catholic upbringing as well) b/c of it's *adult content* -- remember Billy Crystal played a gay man named Jodie?
Those are two of my earliest memories regarding TV and this issue.