or


[05/12/05 - 12:00 AM]
TV Land Gives a Wink to Gay America When Network Presents Inside TV Land: Tickled Pink

[via press release from TV Land]

TV Land Gives A Wink To Gay America When Network Presents Inside TV Land: Tickled Pink

One-Hour Special Examines How Gay Americans Have Created and Viewed Television

Kelsey Grammer, Sandra Bernhard, Bruce Vilanch, Marc Cherry, Carson Kressley, Rue McClanahan, Mario Cantone and Others Featured

New York, NY, May 12, 2005 � From Maude and The Golden Girls to Xena, The Warrior Princess and Will & Grace, certain television shows throughout the last forty years have strayed from the straight and narrow and given a wink to Gay America. TV Land takes an in-depth look at celebrated television personalities and characters that gay viewers have either gravitated towards or closely identified with in Inside TV Land: Tickled Pink, premiering on June 1, 2005 at 11 p.m. ET/PT. Notables Kelsey Grammer, Marc Cherry, Sandra Bernhard, Diahann Carroll, Rue McClanahan, Mario Cantone, Carson Kressley, Judy Gold and others are featured in interviews and discuss why gay viewers have always been drawn to TV shows where camp and comedy are celebrated. Inside TV Land: Tickled Pink is produced for TV Land by Linda Ellerbee�s Lucky Duck Productions. Sal Maniaci, Vice President, Development and Production, TV Land & Nick at Nite, serves as Executive Producer.

�Several TV shows and characters that the country has embraced -- from �Uncle Arthur� on Bewitched to the ladies of Sex & the City -- have also meant a great deal to gay Americans� states Larry W. Jones, President, TV Land and Nick at Nite. �TV Land is thrilled to provide our viewers with this in-depth look at how gay Americans have had their own way of watching and creating classic comedy.�

Throughout this 60-minute journey, TV Land takes a look at how various characters and series became �homosensational.� From female characters in sitcoms such as The Mary Tyler Moore Show, Maude, The Golden Girls and Designing Women, gays took solace in the independence of women who dared to define the rigid roles of the time. The gay community saw these characters as strong, independent and outrageous, and the bond with their friends resonated with their own lives. The TV landscape continued to evolve as characters like Tony Randall�s portrayal of �Felix� in The Odd Couple and Paul Lynde�s �Uncle Arthur� on Bewitched strayed slightly from the straight and narrow. Even the dynamic duos Kate & Allie and Batman with �Robin� resonated with gay Americans. In the 1990�s, as gay visibility began to increase, sitcoms like Friends, Ellen and even The Simpsons had more and more fun playing on their audience�s new awareness of all things gay. Xena, Warrior Princess was hugely popular with lesbians as they looked to her as someone who was strong on the outside but also sensitive and loving and they began to play up her relationship with her best friend. This original special examines how gays embraced the aesthetic of many of these shows, making them more visible for others to be �Tickled Pink.�

Among the watershed television shows, characters and moments discussed in the special are:

Paul Lynde of Bewitched does not suppress his sexual orientation and uses double entendres on Hollywood Squares to push the envelope.

The series Maude stars Bea Arthur as a tough, outspoken woman, a rarity in TV at the time.

For her television series, Cher wins over fans with her extravagant ensembles created by gay icon Bob Mackie. Her outlandish appeal taps a primal urge in countless gay men.

Gays are drawn to TV�s crime-fighting dynamic duos like �Ponch� and �John� on Chips, Starsky and Hutch and �Batman� and �Robin.�

The Golden Girls is embraced by homosexuals for its gay sensibility and how the characters� friends ultimately become their family.

The outrageousness of the characters on Designing Women, particularly �Suzanne Sugarbaker,� resonates with the gay community.

Shows like Laverne and Shirley, Kate & Allie and Cagney & Lacey appeal to lesbians because of the strong bond between women. This was the closest thing there was at that point to any sort of representation of a lesbian relationship.

Gays identified with characters like �Samantha� on Bewitched, �Diane Prince� on Wonder Woman and �Buffy� from Buffy, the Vampire Slayer because these women struggled with revealing their personal secrets.

Dynasty is filled with strong women who were unapologetic and bitchy � one of the campiest shows on television.

The revelation of Ellen DeGeneres on her sitcom, and in real life, that she was gay changed the TV landscape and was a huge step forward for homosexuality on television. In the years before DeGeneres and her gay character came out, some of the funniest moments on Ellen came from winks to viewers indicating her true orientation.

Gays and lesbians embraced �Xena� and respected her strength. In addition, her relationship with her best friend was filled with innuendo which creators had fun implementing into the storylines.

Sex and the City is filled with bawdy humor and puts female friendships first.

Sassy diva �Karen� on Will & Grace is embraced by gay males for just being fabulous.

Lucky Duck Productions is an award-winning and critically acclaimed television production company renowned for producing primetime specials, documentaries, limited-run series and children's programming for network and cable television. The company is owned and operated by journalist, producer and author, Linda Ellerbee and Rolfe Tessem.

TV Land Productions was created in 2003 to develop original programming that complements the network�s successful acquired programming slate. TV Land Productions has also produced The TV Land Awards Show: A Celebration of Classic TV (March 2003, 2004 and 2005), the Emmy-nominated The Dick Van Dyke Show, Revisited, the network�s first original special for broadcast, which premiered on CBS in May 2004, the Emmy-nominated Still Brady�After All These Years reunion special in September 2004 and Chasing Farrah (Spring 2005), the original reality series that followed iconic Hollywood actress and sex symbol Farrah Fawcett. For more information about TV Land�s original Wednesday night line-ups, visit www.tvland.com.

Now seen in over 85 million U.S. homes, TV Land�s program mix features popular dramas, sitcoms, westerns, Retromercials and a TV-referential interstitial environment, all programmed with a specific audience in mind � the first generation of Americans to grow up watching television and features all-time Classic hits like All in the Family, I Love Lucy, The Andy Griffith Show, The Carol Burnett Show and Bonanza.

MTV Networks, a division of Viacom International Inc. (NYSE: VIA, VIA.B), owns and operates the following television programming services -- MTV: MUSIC TELEVISION, MTV2, mtvU, VHI, NICKELODEON, NICK at NITE, COMEDY CENTRAL, TV LAND, SPIKE TV, CMT, NOGGIN, MTV INTERNATIONAL and THE DIGITAL SUITE FROM MTV NETWORKS, a package of 12 digital services, all of which are trademarks of MTV Networks. MTV Networks also has licensing agreements, joint ventures, and syndication deals whereby all of its programming services can be seen worldwide.





  [may 2005]  
S
M
T
W
T
F
S


· BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER (UPN)
· WILL & GRACE (NBC)
· XENA: WARRIOR PRINCESS (SYNDICATION)





[03/18/24 - 01:59 PM]
Chrissy Metz, Jaime Ray Newman, Katie Lowes, and George Ferrier Join as Series Regulars for Starz's New Drama "The Hunting Wives"
Production on the thrilling new series has started in Charlotte, North Carolina.

[03/18/24 - 11:30 AM]
Video: ALLBLK Releases Trailer for the World Premiere of New Thriller, "The Influencer" Premiering Thursday, April 4
The original film stars Christina Cooper as Niecy Fields, a social media influencer on the cusp of stardom.

[03/18/24 - 10:06 AM]
E! Announces Trendsetting Guest Judges and Pioneering Disruptors for New Cutting-Edge Design Competition Series "OMG Fashun" with Julia Fox
Handcrafted is the new haute couture on "OMG Fashun" as Julia inspires pioneering fashion disruptors to upend traditional style convention, break the rules and redefine cool.

[03/18/24 - 10:00 AM]
Video: Peacock Debuts Trailer For New Original Documentary "Bray Wyatt: Becoming Immortal" Premiering April 1
The documentary looks at the remarkable career of the late Windham Rotunda also known as Bray Wyatt, one of the most skillful, tenacious, and creative WWE Superstars of all-time.

[03/18/24 - 10:00 AM]
NBC Is the Official Home of Competition and Games This Summer with a Slate of Powerhouse Hit Series
NBC is the summer home for both the Paris Olympic Games and high-stakes competition with a robust lineup of returning powerhouse favorites, including "America's Got Talent," "American Ninja Warrior," "Password," "The Wall" and "Weakest Link."

[03/18/24 - 09:02 AM]
Netflix Announces News About 26 Upcoming Nordic Titles - Including 12 Brand New Titles
Plus: the streamer offers new looks at "Deliver Me," "The Helicopter Heist," "Ronja the Robber's Daughter," "Billionaire Island" and season two of "Baby Fever."

[03/18/24 - 09:01 AM]
Video: "Rebel Moon - Part Two: The Scargiver" - Official Trailer - Netflix
The rebels gear up for battle against the ruthless forces of the Motherworld as unbreakable bonds are forged, heroes emerge - and legends are made.

[03/18/24 - 09:01 AM]
Video: Disney's "Wish" - Streaming April 3rd - Disney+
Walt Disney Animation Studios' "Wish" is an all-new musical-comedy welcoming audiences to the magical kingdom of Rosas, where Asha, a sharp-witted idealist, makes a wish so powerful that it is answered by a cosmic force - a little ball of boundless energy called Star.

[03/18/24 - 08:01 AM]
Video: "Our Living World" - Cate Blanchett - Official Trailer - Netflix
This stunning nature series narrated by Cate Blanchett explores the intelligence, resourcefulness and interconnectedness of life on our planet.

[03/18/24 - 08:00 AM]
Acorn TV Fan-Favorite "Harry Wild" Returns Monday, May 13
Season three consists of six episodes and will be available on Acorn TV in the United States, Canada, New Zealand, Australia, and the United Kingdom.

[03/18/24 - 08:00 AM]
Prime Video Orders "Beast Games" from MrBeast and Amazon MGM Studios
Based on his already successful YouTube show, "Beast Games" is set to become the biggest reality competition series ever with 1000 contestants competing for a $5 million dollar cash prize which will be the biggest single prize in the history of television and streaming.

[03/18/24 - 07:14 AM]
ESPN+ Original Series "Full Court Press" Presented by State Farm Featuring Caitlin Clark, Kamilla Cardoso and Kiki Rice to Premiere May 11 & 12 on ABC and ESPN+
From Iowa's historic preseason game that broke attendance records all the way through the WNBA draft in April, the series uses unparalleled access, exclusive interviews, and unique game footage, to transport audiences into the lives of these exceptional athletes.

[03/18/24 - 06:01 AM]
Video: "Scoop" - Official Trailer - Netflix
Inspired by real events, this fictional dramatization gives an insider account of how the women of Newsnight secured Prince Andrew's infamous interview.

[03/18/24 - 06:01 AM]
Video: Apple TV+ Debuts Trailer for Season Two of Iconic Emmy Award-Winning Series "Fraggle Rock: Back to the Rock," Premiering Globally March 29
Award-winning season two cast includes the return of Daveed Diggs alongside Ariana DeBose, Brett Goldstein, Catherine O'Hara, Adam Lambert and K-pop group aespa in guest star roles.

[03/18/24 - 04:01 AM]
Video: "Joy" - First Look Teaser - Netflix
Starring Thomasin McKenzie, James Norton and Bill Nighy, the new film based on the story of the birth of IVF.