Jan 25th, 2006
Yes, MTV show is a go.
I have confirmed via a reliable source that tomorrow’s MTV episode about having gay parents is indeed going to air. I’ve had some questions come my way since I posted about it previously, and there is still no mention of the episode on MTV’s site. Questions were also raised in the TV column at Planet Out:
Prepare to be confused, not about the show, but whether it is going to air and what it’s about. Here goes: According to almost all the listings “True Life: I Have Gay Parents” is to air on MTV at 10 p.m. Note the almost: The only listing, at the moment, where this show doesn’t appear is on MTV’s web site. But MTV’s Web site is notorious for having incomplete information concerning program content. In other words, shows listed are correct, but the episode information is either too broad, incomplete or erroneous. The only information available for this show is that there are three teens with gay parents and that Leisha Hailey (you know, Alice from “The L Word”) and Logo are involved. Now the show could be a rehash of the “Raising Teens” episode that aired on Logo, or it could be completely different. Yes, it’s all very confusing, but better you should know … if it actually is being broadcast.
Rather than speculate and feed more rumors, I went directly to someone who would know: Lara Spotts, one of the producers for the episode. In our phone conversation she stated that she spoke with MTV today and there is no reason to believe True Life will not air the episode. She wants to make clear that whatever seeds of doubt have been planted are completely false.
PlanetOut’s zygote of a rumor has the potential to grow into a full grown rumor because recent TV history shows us how plausable it is that a show featuring gay parents will get yanked. Most recently, a reality TV show was pulled allegedly because among the several families competing to win a home, the winning family was headed-up by two gay dads. (See NYT Article:Television Cul-de-Sac Mystery: Why Was Reality Show Killed? [free registration required]) Last year, “Postcards from Buster” caused a firestorm all the way up to the Secretary of Education just because a girl from Vermont had a mom and an “other mom.” Some local stations chose to air it, others didn’t. The entire episode is conveniently omitted from Buster’s website of “everywhere” Buster has traveled. (Bonus link: Emma writes at Rainbow Rumpus about the national response to her family.)
It’s discouraging to see our families made invisible because some people find our mere existance contraversial or offensive. It’s more discouraging to see networks and producers pressured into making us invisible. In this case, however, MTV is not to be included among those who bend under the pressure.
So I end this entry with Lara Spotts’ final words before she hung up: “Set your VCR.”