“I just wanted to be able to co-exist with the rest of the world,” she adds.
LGBT characters are co-existing on so many programs that your DVR will get quite a workout trying to keep up with all of the shows this spring. Here are a few highlights that are making this television season one of the queerest ever:
“Glee”
Tuesdays at 8 p.m. on Fox
The Super Bowl of gay programming is just a few days away, as two of the biggest forces in gay pop culture — Lady Gaga and “Glee” — merge on April 26. All of that queerness could not possibly be squeezed into a single hour, so the show is granting 90 minutes to Mr. Shuster’s class performing Gaga tunes.
“Modern Family”
Wednesdays at 9 p.m. on ABC
Not to be outdone by another hit show, “Modern Family” also has a Lady Gaga-themed episode planned for this spring.
Jessie Tyler Ferguson, who plays one half of the adorably dopey gay couple Mitchell and Cameron on the breakout sitcom, gave a teaser during a recent appearance on “Live with Regis & Kelly.”
“Mitchell, my character, wants to go to the Lady Gaga concert, and Cameron is supposed to go with me but he’s sick in bed and he’s expecting me to stay home and take care of him,” Ferguson says. “And so I kind of, maybe, drug him a little bit so I can sneak out and go to the concert.”
“The Fabulous Bleekman Boys”
Tuesdays at 10 p.m. on Planet Green
Veering off the beaten channel, “The Fabulous Bleekman Boys” just started its second season on Planet Green, an affiliate of the Discovery Channel. While it’s supposed to be a reality series about a pair of gay city slickers who move to upstate New York to operate a farm, the stars — Josh Kilmer-Purcell and Brent Ridge — seem as unfit for each other as they are for farm life, and their epic relationship struggles are what reality TV junkies crave.
“Nurse Jackie”
Mondays at 10 p.m. on Showtime
Troubled relationships are also on the horizon on “Nurse Jackie,” which features several lesbian characters and story lines. With all of the euphoria surrounding gay marriage these days, it can be easy to forget that gay and lesbian relationships can be just as screwed up as straight couples.
Leave it to “Nurse Jackie” to remind us, as one of the main characters, Dr. Fitch Cooper (Peter Facinelli), prepares to face trauma caused by his lesbian mothers.
“We’re going to have some problems with Coop and his gay moms, and it destroys him, because parents are parents whether they’re gay or they’re straight,” co-creator Brixius told TV Guide.
“Drop Dead Diva”
Season 3 premieres in June on Lifetime
In a ripped-from-the-headlines storyline, the upcoming season of “Drop Dead Diva” will include an episode about a lesbian teen encountering resistance to her plans to take a female date to prom, with lesbian comedian Wanda Sykes guest starring.
“The Glee Project”
Premieres Sunday, June 12, on Oxygen
Reality TV was credited at the beginning of this article with amping up the gay presence on television, and on June 12 “The Glee Project” promises to take queer programming to new heights. The new series on Oxygen is a nationwide search for campy singers, with the winner scoring a recurring guest role on the next season of “Glee.”
Top photo: The Super Bowl of gay programming is just a few days away, as two of the biggest forces in gay pop culture — Lady Gaga and “Glee” — merge on April 26. (publicity photo)