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Who’s Laughing Now? Shows To Fill TV’s Gay Comedy Void

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The gays are not laughing next season now that a spate of LGBT characters have been yanked off the broadcast network stage by one of those comically long canes. Just as they were getting into a good soft shoe, too.

However, two new series with two openly gay male leads give us a little hope — Sean HayesSean Saves the World on NBC and HBO’s untitled dramedy starring Jonathan Groff. So can Hayes and Groff fill the void left by Happy Endings and The New Normal, not to mention Don’t Trust the B in Apartment 23 and the ill-fated Partners?

Short answer: god no.

The New Normal couldn’t quite hit its stride and though the gay couple at the show’s center were applauded for their loving and affectionate relationship, Ellen Barkin’s acerbic Nana couldn’t quite ascend to the Sue Sylvester levels of evil genius from Glee‘s first, and by far best, season. On the positive side, The New Normal‘s cancellation leaves the door open for Anderw Rannells’ return to Girls on HBO. Start cutting up the lines, Lena Dunham:

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Partners stumbled and did a prat fall on its face immediately out of the gate and no one cared. Because no one saw it. CBS’ lone gay comedy  seemed decades behind much smarter and funnier shows, like ABC’s Happy Endings and Don’t Trust the B. To wit, the wit of Don’t Trust the B‘s Luther:

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Then of course, there’s the brilliance of Happy Endings‘ Max:

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Don’t Trust the B managed to get halfway through a second season before getting axed midseason, though the remaining eight episodes will be available online starting May 17.

Happy Endings hung on as long as it could, but critical praise and low ratings made this its last season on ABC. But as the revivals of Cougar Town and Arrested Development have taught us anything, cancellation isn’t always curtains — USA has expressed interest in picking up the show’s fourth season. Psych! As in it would be great paired with USA’s underrated gem, Psych.

But Partners never stood a chance and CBS barely gave it one. Maybe it just wasn’t meant to be for David Kohan and Max Mutchnick. Remember Good Morning, Miami?

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Of course you don’t.  KoMut tried to reproduce the success of Will & Grace after it took off — to no avail. In fact, the Will & Grace connection has been more gift than curse with the cancellation of Debra Messing’s Smash. No one’s seen or heard from Eric McCormack in ages. Thankfully, Megan Mullally has guest starred her way onto practically every show and stolen every scene in the process.

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And Sean Hayes has kept his wallet well-padded as a producer of TV Land’s Hot in Cleveland, supplemented with recurring roles on…Smash and Up All Night. Well, those are both behind us and now Hayes is taking the lead as the titular Sean in Sean Saves the World — a gay divorced dad who has to juggle his 14-year-old daughter, a sassy mother and a pain-in-the-ass boss. If the previews are any indication, the curse continues.

Or maybe not. Across the pond, Vicious by former Will & Grace writer and producer Gary Janetti has been picked up for a second season. Starring queenly thespians Sir Ian McKellen and Sir Derek Jacobi, the traditional, multi-camera, “filmed before a live studio audience” sitcom has garnered mixed reviews. But, honestly, who didn’t think two old queens throwing shade at each other wouldn’t be a hit? It’s basically what Downton Abbey is if you took out all the war and jazz.

Also, Kohan and Mutchnick are developing shows for TBS and Showtime; the TBS one sounds like a TBS show so we’re moving on to the Showtime project, which actually sounds pretty interesting:

an untitled single-camera comedy project —an Upstairs/Downstairs dark comedy that centers on a self-made first generation American billionaire, his family, and the staff that serves them.

Meanwhile, Showtime’s cable competitor HBO has given the greenlight to a dramedy starring Groff, Frankie J. Alvarez and Murray Bartlett. Weekend‘s writer-director Andrew Haigh will serve as one of the producers of the show based on Michael Lannan’s feature script Lorimer. According to  The Hollywood Reporter:

The untitled entry will revolves around the three friends in San Francisco who explore the fun and sometimes overwhelming options available to a new generation of gay men.

Haigh also directed the pilot, which for anyone who’s seen Weekend is probably exciting news. And if you haven’t seen Weekend, it’s one of the best gay films…ever.

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So maybe there’s some hope after all. Of course, what hope is there really in a world without Stefon?

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