What's On

The Real Sean Hayes

by Jenny Stewart, PlanetOut Network

Fans of Sean Hayes' sarcastic Jack character on "Will & Grace" may be surprised to see the star in nice-guy mode -- supportive and sincere -- in his cable television debut Tuesday as executive producer and star of "Situation: Comedy," a new reality series airing on Bravo.

The eight-episode series started with a contest where any average Joe could submit a script for a situation comedy. By the end of the first episode, 10,000 submissions have been whittled down to two finalists. Pilots for those two shows will be produced by separate teams over the course of the series. At the end of the series, viewers will see both pilots and get to decide which one should get the green light. The winner nabs a $25,000 prize and the possibility of the show getting picked up by NBC.

With Bravo's similar "Project Greenlight" already on the air for three years, the premise isn't a new one, but "Situation: Comedy" will prove interesting to anyone who's even a little curious about how and why a sitcom pilot makes it on the air.

Between choosing the right script, pitching, casting, revising, finding a director, et cetera, it's fascinating to see what a meticulous, tedious, political and creatively controlled process it is to get a pilot launched.

It also makes for great television. In the premiere episode, five semifinalists are escorted into a room where they will make an all-important third pitch to a panel of NBC execs, including Kevin Reilly, president of NBC Entertainment.

In what can only be described as one of reality TV's most painfully uncomfortable moments, contestant Jennifer Doerr bombs miserably while pitching her script, "The Rev." It's not surprising, really, considering Reilly's prepitch remarks: "The guys kind of liked it [the script], but they said your pitch was terrible. They said you were meandering and kind of all over the place and, honestly, they just got bored. We're giving you one last shot here to say something, why you really think this is funny or compelling and why you think it should be on the air."

"It doesn't have to be always playing it safe," replies a befuddled Jennifer, who in her previous pitch has similarly explained what the show doesn't have to be. "There can be elements of it that are more ... on the edge, more ... exciting." Fake smiles all around.

A future episode, which centers on casting, is equally compelling. It reveals what all working actors know (and audiences suspect): that the network system will pass over the guy with the chops for the guy with the face. Even the director doesn't always get the final say: Guest director Amanda Bearse (the openly lesbian actress and director who played Marcy on "Married ... With Children") finds herself struggling with the choices. "Personally, I do think it's a more interesting choice to go with Richie," she says, referring to an auditioning actor, "But in terms of 'the network,' John is a very handsome face."

It's such peeks into the inner workings of "the network" that make "Situation: Comedy" so tantalizing. By peeling back the layers of the so-called creative process, the show exposes the formulaic and somewhat stifling environment in which new ideas and exciting approaches to entertainment are watered down until they are merely shells of themselves. The kicker is that we all happily tune in, and the network machine keeps giving us what we want -- which we in turn complain about.

And make no mistake: This atmosphere certainly isn't limited to the NBC studios. The names may change, but the song remains the same at ABC, CBS and Fox. Perhaps the next iteration of "Situation: Comedy" could show how the same script fares at different networks, and how the final results differ ... or not.

The Emmy's Have It!

Josh Tager, PlanetOut News Network

The sitcom style wars have begun! "Will & Grace" and "Desperate Housewives" each received 15 Emmy nominations, proving that slutty can be funny when it's done right, and even funnier when it's done with a catty edge by deeply neurotic people.

In a perfect world, Will, Grace, Jack and Karen would parachute into the "Desperate Housewives" neighborhood for a bloody catfight against Bree, Susan, Lynette and Gabrielle. After all, Tootie from "The Facts of Life" once visited Arnold in his penthouse mansion on "Diff'rent Strokes." But the networks don't do much cross-pollination these days.

But that's not stopping us from throwing them all together into a pit for a crazy style war fueled by their diagnosable behavioral disorders. Who's prettier, Jack or Susan? Who's more capable of reducing Chewbacca to tears in 10 seconds or less: Karen or Gabrielle?

There's an unproven theory that the TV shows with the most style (from fashion to entertaining to personality) win the most awards. Read on for a head-to-head pairing between the two casts, vote!, and help predict who will bring home the most Emmys this year.

Josh Tager, PlanetOut News Network

Logo Comes Out in 13 Million Homes
AJ Burton, GFN.com

Logo.The name mystified, noted one media pundit; it just didn’t seem so, well, gay. No pink triangles or ubiquitous Mork-like rainbows (score one for good taste). Could this actually be a fresh take on something so unabashedly gay?

Call it what they like, the much-ballyhooed cable network of entertainment programming geared for the gay community, has at last arrived after three years in the works, and in a big way: the largest cable operator in the U.S., Philadelphia-based Comcast Corp., has reached an affiliation agreement with Viacom-owned MTV's pink pet project.

Last year, Viacom CEO Sumner Redstone told investors Logo will cost $30 million to launch, and if the initial programming is any indication, one could see where they money went (hang on, we’ll get to that in a minute).

On Thursday San Francisco, appropriately, became the first of the cable company's systems to run the new channel on digital cable Channel 146. The slow rollout, which officially launched late last week into some 13 million homes (and more to follow we’re promised), will be put on Comcast's Digital Plus cable package tier in selected cities in the next 90 days.

Brian Graden, president of Logo, and president of MTV Networks Entertainment, told the Philadelphia Inquirer: "Our goal is to reach a critical mass of homes. There are various ways to get there," he said. "Getting there with Comcast is a smart way," said the gay early-40-something.

With Comcast already in some 21.5 million homes “smart” may be seen as a coy understatement. In a press release, the two companies did not disclose the exact number of homes in which Logo would be carried on Comcast systems, but insiders say not to expect all of Comcast’s 21.5 million homes to get the new offering right away … that is (although no one from the company is uttering this thought) without freaking out all those Red State subscribers.

Though Comcast is the largest cable outlet to play ball with Logo, they’re hardly the only ones. Adelphia, Time Warner, RCN (DC-area.), Atlantic Broadband, Cablevision (New York City) and Charter cable (St. Louis and Denver), are signed up for the June 30 launch.

Logo has also announced that satellite television provider DIRECTV will carry the channel. The addition of DIRECTV marks Logo’s only true national presence. Logo is being added to the DIRECTV programming line-up on channel 263, in its Total Choice Plus and Total Choice Premier monthly subscription packages.

“DIRECTV understands our creative vision for Logo and the value of the gay and lesbian audience,” said Logo’s Graden in a written statement. “This partnership gives Logo its first national distribution platform and allows virtually everyone in our community across the country long-awaited access to the channel.”

In the same statement Dan Fawcett, executive vice president of programming acquisition at DIRECTV enthused: “Logo is unique and it’s clear that MTV [Networks] has developed yet another compelling network that is certain to resonate with its target audience.”

Perhaps Mr. Fawcett is referring to the estimated buying power of this target audience -- some $610 billion annually projected for 2005, which could explain why Logo has already signed up numerous national advertisers for its launch, including: Miller Lite, Motorola, Tylenol PM, Lions Gate Films and Showtime Networks. While many major corporations pay more annually for paperclips than to reach the gay market, Logo may, at long last, help shift that imbalance.

What’s on Logo?

What can we expect to see? Some very intriguing offerings heretofore unseen in any regular format on any other station, cable or network. At first blush, the new network seems to have solved the quantity problem, as in: will there be enough content to support an all gay, all the time, network. Quality is the other unknown, but that will be known, as they say, posthaste.

Documentaries and reality TV appear to make up a great deal of Logo’s original programming. (Somewhere along the way the line between “documentary” and “reality TV” blurred to the point of invisibility.) Shows like “Momentum,” will focus on first-person experiences of real-life gay folk. Profiles of a gay rugby team, gay rappers, lesbian surfers, as well as gay Muslims and Latinos –- some 20 profiles in all -- are set to air in the first season.

Touted as a “reality series,” the channel will serve up “Open Bar,” an original series that follows one man’s coming-out process as he works to open a West Hollywood, Calif., gay bar.

The network will also present shows that include actual pen-to-paper writing, like the comedy “Wisecrack,” the dramedy “Wonderfalls,” and the drama “Noah’s Arc,” which features an African-American gay man “navigating love and life in Los Angeles with his three best friends” (though as of this writing all mention of this new series has mysteriously disappeared from the Logo Web site).

Tony-award winner (“Cabaret”) star Alan Cumming will bring back the variety show format hosting “Out on the Edge,” while comedian Graham Norton will host a New York-based talk show that promises “A-list celebrities” where “no one is safe.”

“First Comes Love,” a comedy/reality series from Canada hosted by actor/comedian Scott Thompson of “Kids in the Hall” will attempt to fulfill the wedding dreams of nervous gay couples in just two weeks.

But wait, there’s more … much more.

Numerous concerts are scheduled to play during the first few weeks of Logo’s broadcast, including shows by the Indigo Girls, Melissa Etheridge and funny people Margaret Cho and Mario Cantone. Classic gay movies expected to air early on include “Bent,” “Jeffrey,” “Torch Song Trilogy” and “Night is Falling.” (Logo has assembled a library of more than 200 movie titles, from the majors to the independents.)

Logo also will present the first-ever telecast of the GLAAD Media Awards, featuring the likes of Jessica Lange, Alan Cummings, Marcia Cross, Felicity Huffman, Margaret Cho, Liza Minnelli and John Stamos.

Pass the popcorn, I’ll be tuning in.

PlanetOut Partners with Here! to Offer Gay Internet TV
Gfn.com News

PlanetOut Inc has reached an agreement with gay television provider Here! to supply content for PlanetOut Video.

Launching in September, PlanetOut Video will offer a broadband entertainment service with multi-media programming aggregated from TV networks, movie studios, independent film producers and individual artists. The service will be available on Gay.com and PlanetOut.com, Web sites with a combined monthly reach of more than five million unique visitors.

"We believe the future is about customizable targeted news and entertainment that moves control from the producer to the user, something the Internet does best,” said Mark Elderkin, president of PlanetOut.

Here! Networks will supply highlight clips and behind-the-scenes footage from several of their upcoming original series, including "Third Man Out," starring Chad Allen as gay detective Donald Strachey in a gritty series of crime stories based on the popular novels by author Richard Stevenson; and "Dante's Cove," a show about the sexy, young residents of a peaceful beachside town who are plunged into a world of intrigue, secrets and shifting romantic ties when their town's sinister, supernatural past comes alive.

"As Here! Networks continues to expand across the country, we couldn't be more excited about our partnership with one of the world's most important LGBT Web destinations," said Paul Colichman, Here! CEO and founder.”

PlanetOut Video will kick off in September with the premiere of "TransGeneration" - a Sundance Channel mini-series which follows four mid-gender transition college students, as they balance schoolwork, campus life and family, with their commitment to gender reassignment.

With editorial programming tailored to entertain a diverse gay and lesbian audience, PlanetOut Video will feature video clips and behind-the-scenes footage from original programs, syndicated programs and films. Discussion boards will provide a way for members to participate and share their comments about videos shown on PlanetOut Video, and a Gay TV Guide will allow viewers to search for LGBT shows available on cable and network television. Award-winning short films from the "PlanetOut Short Movie Awards" will also be featured on PlanetOut Video.

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