The network let Queerty have a sneak peek at its upcoming programming slate for 2012 and there’s no denying there’s been a shift 
in focus: Greenlighted programs for the spring and fall include Design My Dog, a canine makeover series from the creators of America’s Next Top Model; Eden Wood’s World, an unscripted series about Toddlers & Tiara’s 6-year-old diva Eden Wood; and Wiseguys, a sort of Real Housewives meets Mob Wives show following a straight Mafia princess‘ adjustment to life in L.A.
Also on the schedule are pop-culture countdown shows Scandalicious and Outrageous, and two family/relationship-oriented series, the tough-love therapy show Love Lockdown and The Baby Wait, which follows various couples through the open-adoption process.
If you don’t see the pattern, this is the first time that Logo hasn’t developed any new programming with gay leads.
General manager Lisa Sherman says the network is simply evolving to accommodate the modem queer appetite. “I don’t think our mission has changed really,” she explains. Sherman, who was hired just three months before the network launched in 2005, recalls a saying staffers had in the early days: “We said we were going to allow people to see themselves and be themselves. And that’s still true.”
What’s changed, she believes, is the larger culture. Now gay viewers can see themselves all across the dial, from ABC’s Modern Family and Fox’s Glee to Ellen DeGeneres‘ syndicated talk show and Bravo’s Tabatha’s Salon Takeover. It’s no longer just about visibility.
“From our research, gay people are living far more integrated lives that before,” says Sherman (left), referencing a study Logo conducted with Starcom Mediavest Group that indicated 53% of LGBTs didn’t see showcasing their orientation as a priority and only 30% “preferred living and socializing in exclusively gay and lesbian communities.”
“Being gay is an important part of their lives but it’s not what they lead with,” she explains. “So if we’re going to keep to that idea of displaying their lives, we need to reflect that new reality.”
A former staffer in Logo’s development department whom we’ll identify as “John Smith,” is suspicious of this spin. He claims the channel is betraying its original mission of creating queer television: “They’re only developing shows with non-gay leads. They are trying to be Bravo—a gay best friend—as opposed to just being gay.”
Smith also says others at the network aren’t happy with the changes. “I was right there. I would hear the meetings and the phone calls. Not one new show has a gay lead. It makes everyone that works there sick to their stomachs, but they’re all afraid to say anything.”
So what’s motivated this major left turn? Joe Del Hierro, producer of Logo shows like Transamerican Love Story and The Big Gay Sketch Show, claims it’s a financial decision: “They need to appeal to a broader audience to get the numbers up, so they can charge more for ad revenues. It’s what Bravo did in its early years.”
But Smith disagrees: “I worked very closely with sales and there are tons of major brands [that] not only support LGBT programming, but are required to spend on LGBT-oriented material. Several huge corporations have that mandate.”
If money isn’t the prime factor for Logo’s shift then what is?
Smith says criticism about current and previous programming decisions is a factor: “Gay audience thinks [shows like The A-List are] offensive… but they still watch because there’s nothing else. As a result, Logo thinks gay-centric programming isn’t doing well. But, in reality… there’s never been a real shot at cracking the surface.”
On this last point, Del Hierro is in agreement.
“The biggest challenge is to strive for fresh programming without giving in to the temptation to feature stereotypes, [like the] bitchy fashionista,” he says. “A show with regular guys that just happen to be gay would be interesting and reflect the LGBT population.”
But the fact is people don’t turn on the TV to watch regular guys, no matter what network they’re tuning into: The January 30 season premiere of RuPaul’s Drag Race attracted nearly a million viewers, making it the highest rated premiere in the network’s history.
And while Drag Race features more than a dozen gay performers every season, its success is due more to its popularity with straight women. “Drag Race is very emblematic of the direction we’re going toward,” says Sherman. “It was clear from early on that it had a larger following than just a core gay audience. It offers a nice balance of campiness and entertainment but also some serious messages about empowerment and diversity.”
Not everyone agrees: Last year Drag Race was snubbed by GLAAD in the Outstanding Reality Program category. According to an article in The Advocate, the nonprofit “felt the show [was a] poor representations of LGBT people.”
Michael Serrato, a former cast me
mber on The Big Gay Sketch Show, believes Logo has a responsibility to provide original programming with queer leads for a primarily queer demographic. “That’s why they formed the network in the first place, right?”
Serrato (left, in character) says the mistake the network made with Sketch Show was playing it too safe.
“I think we could have been more aggressive and attacked bigger concepts in a fresh funny way. We should have been daring. When the network was just starting out, all the executives seemed nervous. “A man in a dress on television! My head’s going to explode!”
Things certainly seemed to have changed since then.
But looking beyond today’s announcement, what does this latest change mean for the future of the network? Sherman says Logo viewers won’t see reruns of Jersey Shore, Punk’d or other “straight” shows ust because they’re part of the Viacom family.
“We’ll always be most focused on the shows we make ourselves,” she clarifies. “There are shows that play across different parts of the family, of course, like the It Gets Better special airing on both Logo and MTV tonight. That’s perfect for both channels.”
Even though it will deal with sex and sexuality, Dan Savage’s upcoming MTV series, Savage U, won’t pop up on Logo. “It’s geared toward a younger audience—college kids. Our viewers are adults,” says Sherman.
We can’t help but notice all of the properties announced today are reality shows. Does that mean Logo is ditching scripted series in addition to broadening its scope?
Not just yet, says Sherman. “We have done scripted shows in the past—Noah’s Arc, Exes and Ohs—and I’m sure there will be a role for them in the future.” But the network’s new hotshot VP for original programming, Brent Zacky, has a resume packed with successful unscripted series from his tenures at E! and TLC. So it looks like at Logo—whether it’s straight, gay or somewhere in-between—reality will be king for the foreseeable future. (Or maybe that’s “queen”—Zacky says we can count on “an expanded vision for RuPaul’s Drag U” in the near future.)
Ultimately Sherman says she doesn’t anticipate any major blowback from the new programming slate and direction. “There may be people who are unhappy with this,” Sherman admits. “The majority, though, are telling us they want to see things with a broader perspective that still relate to our lives. And our obligation is to our audience.” She says Logo will continue to cover issues like the fight for marriage equality, HIV and bullying.
“But honestly,” she confesses, “some of the traditional stuff—The L Word, Queer as Folk—didn’t do so well. And [broader shows like] Buffy, Nip/Tuck and Bad Sex did very well. People vote with what they watch.”
We can’t argue with that.
Photos: Logo, Showtime, Cicciabella, LittleEdenWood.com
Pinky
AfterElton, which is owned by Logo, has already cut back on a lot of its gay content. While all the writers are still gay, there’s a lot of nongay shit on there these days. I used to go there every day, but now it’s just a couple a times a month. It used to be a place with a braincell but now its tween shit and every other item is about Glee.
QJ201
1) Logo’s programming has sucked since day one.
2) Their idea of “fresh programming” sucks.
3) The ONLY thing I watch on Logo is Drag Race, Drag Race: Untucked, and Drag U. Just turn the whole damn channel over to RuPaul.
Chad
I don’t get the logo channel but a few of my friends do. Everytime I watched it it was either Buffy the Vampire Slayer or RuPaul. I was hoping that the channel would start to include more gay themed shows or new shows around gay people. All their new stuff I can get on other channels….
GeoG
It’s not new that Logo’s programming has been shifting in the last couple of years from the “queer” perspective to the mass market. It’s a shame that LGBT issues are being pushed aside and are no longer considered important by the network that was created to serve our needs. Just imagine if BET changed its programming for the mass (white) market or the KKK if Queerty began posting articles and opinion geared towards members of the Family Research Council. Imagine the uproar?
This is how we can express our opinion: Tune Logo off.
Ronn
Ok I thought it was just me who has been saying for sometime now that the programming on LOGO is becoming less and less gay. I was dumbfounded and even got upset everytime I turn to LOGO only to see reruns of “16 and pregnant” or an episode of “True Life” which most of topics are based on str8 stories. Not that LOGO was ever a great can’t be missed station of GLBT programming but at least it was all geared toward GLBT folk in its infancy. As upsetting as it is that the one station (out of all of the hundreds of stations on cable tv) geared toward our community is now targeting teenage straight kids, it’s not s surprise when you think about it. LOGO is owned by MTV, which use to stand for Music Television but when was the last time you’ve seen MTV play music videos and/or concerts for more than an hour? Dump LOGO and switch to HERETV!!!
Mk_ultra_again
A mass boycott of logo is in order. It’s not a gay network and has done nothing for gays, except damage. There are Youtube channels with more gay creative inspiration. Worst of all, logo doesn’t serve it’s most first and foremost task of gay PR. It’s too far gone to save. We need a new network run by people who are actually capable.
Tony
It’s been going downhill for a long time. It’s filled with re-runs of shows owned by it’s owner Viacom. In other words cheap programming they already own.
And what little gay programming they’ve had lately was been awful.
This seems like the first step in making it into a completely different network. Remember, Spike TV (also Viacom owned) used to be The Nashville Network.
William
@Pinky: “but now its tween shit and every other item is about Glee”
You are so right.
GeoG
@Ronn: I agree that at least HereTV is geared towards our us, but how much should we have to pay to watch reruns of the same movies and shows over and over again. I used to subscribe to HereTV and cancelled my subscription once I realized that I saw every one of their programs over and over again. Nothing new or original there either.
Jason
Exes and Ohs, Rick and Steve, Big Gay Sketch, etc were all quite fun. On the other hand bad writing is bad writing and good writing is good writing, which is why Buffy and Nip/Tuck are popular shows, and Queer as Folk and Noah’s Ark weren’t. I think I’ve seen better premises for shows in Drag Race’s movie and tv show challenges.
Alexa
@GeoG: I already have turned it off. Logo used to be one of the first channels I checked if I was looking for something to watch, nowadays I rarely bother. It gave up being gay long ago, and the programming they run now is mostly crap.
@Ronn: Is Here better? We have DirecTV which doesn’t carry it.
Chris
It is like they distilled it to all the cultural baggage people try to shove on me because I like the cock.
Price Waterhouse
If the Gays have a wider culture and media to watch, why should they bother with this channel? Fail.
Ronn
@GeoG: Good point GeoG. I would cancel LOGO in a heartbeat but both LOGO and HERETV are part of my cable package and I can’t cherry pick certain stations.
christopher di spirito
“…an unscripted series about Toddlers & Tiara’s 6-year-old diva Eden Wood”
Are you fucking kidding me? Logo-TV infected with heterosexualism? I predict Logo-TV will be off the air in one year. Oh well, it was fun while it lasted.
JDSwell
Watch Bravo instead. It has consistently had more original queer-centric programming that LOGO. They lost me with that friggin A-List reality show.
JayKay
Logo is a cesspool that does nothing but perpetuate the absolute worst stereotypes about gay men.
stevoj
@Chad: oh my f’n gawd yes! every time i turned to LOGO it was either Buffy or Ab Fab… and they dare use the words “fresh programming”
and i don’t like how people try to throw RuPaul and A-List into the same boat. at least RuPaul gives these performers a platform to show what they do to the masses. A-List is simply the culmination of every Bravo housewives’ stylist, hairdresser, personal trainer and gay best friend. the only realty is that it’s stereotypical
little miss Mondo over on Lifetime showed more LGBTQ pride than half the shit they run on Logo
GAYJOCK 76
Eden Wood????? …as well as those disgusting 16 and pregnant whores, not to mention Real life, Buffy, Nip Tuck? Seriously LOGO Executives go fuck yourselves with this bull shit. Thank God Im not the only one who thinks you suck. Bullshit channel from hell must be killed with fire.
GAYJOCK 76
Oh and by the way, where is the ugly stick swamp they fished out the cast of “One girl 5 gays” at so I can go take a dump in it??? as if The A List franchise wasnt disgusting enough…. Ughhhhhhhhhhh!
GeoG
LET’S ALL START A BOYCOTT OF LOGO. IT’S AS SIMPLE AS JUST NOT TUNING IN AND STOP WATCHING THEIR NONSENSE ANYMORE!!!
danny
I hate LOGO, all I see on that channel is rupaul’s drag race. As if that’s what all our lives are—drag queens?? I don’t think so
lucifer
WTF!! I fucking hate kids! Watching future little whores prance around on a gay channel count me out! Why not LOGO 2 another channel. This doesn’t sit well with me and I know I don’t have to watch and I wont.
the crustybastard
LOGO must be staffed by the least creative homos in human history.
David
LOGO sucks and always has, if I want to watch quality shows that are new, fresh, and well written I’m not going to see them on LOGO or watch LOGO to see them.
Oh, ok.
LOGO was always a massive stereotypical joke anyway. I wasn’t aware anyone was actually watching it aside from straight women and the occasional sassy gay stereotype who found it “totes hilares lol”.
You would think with all the gay men and women in and behind Hollywood there would be one gay network that actually suited us rather than the bigoted perception of us.
Joetx
Like the HRC, Logo is irrelevant to most LGBT people.
223.FREE DOWNLOADS U WILL LIKE 18+
If the Gays have a wider culture
and media to watch, why should
they bother with this channel? Fail
Kirk
Logo is so awful I would be glad if people did not refer to it as the gay channel, it’s embarassing.
Harold Osler
I quit watching a long time ago. I knew this was coming years ago when I emailed them and asked why they cut certain scenes or blurred nudity and was told that it was because they had to be cognizant of the fact that “children” might see it. And after seeing adult-themed shows I liked (Rick and Steve; Noah’s Arc; Sordid Lives among others) not get renewed due to “funding” I didn’t even bother with it most of the time.
MEJ
A straight woman is programming shows that attract straight women, and claims gay men didn’t like the tiny amount of gay programming they had, because of some study they commissioned.
In two years LOGO will be indistinguishable from Lifetime.
The same thing happened with OutTV here in Canada when it was taken over by a straight couple–about 60% of their programming is straight centric.
Timmmeeeyyy
Wow, the comments here make it pretty clear. Nobody likes LOGO. Good riddance to bad rubbish.
William
Wait, do you people actually watch Logo?
I swear to God the last time I even LANDED on that channel was in 2008.
I don’t even know what channel it is anymore.
Kieran
Apparently the Logo channel’s idea of “gay programming” is interminable showings of hideous drag queen competitions and re-runs of “Buffy the Vampire Slayer”.
They would never think of putting on a Charlie Rose type talk show about, for, and by gay people and issues. Or how about even a half-hour news show each week dedicated to…..gay news.
Kyle412
Not a surprise this is happening…ms. sherman doesn’t know much about TV. I recall hearing that she came from a marketing background from a telephone company. She didn’t have the slightest clue about making TV. She says this is a channel targeting adults then why in the world is one of their new shows focusing on a 6 year old girl?
Not sure if this is true, but this Zacky guy I heard was straight. There aren’t any gay execs available to hire?
Sounds like Logo wants to be Bravo, E!, TLC, WE, Oxygen, Lifetime, etc. Isn’t this space already crowded?
Tom
I saw very little on the channel that the LGBT community could claim as our best. I would click on LOGO as I ran through the channels and it seemed for a while it was always Buffy and then it was always drag. I don’t know how the lady can say the programming is for adults. It does not look like it is for anyone with brain cells clicking. Of course, PBS can’t show an episode of In The Life until after midnight lest it ruffle feathers. Best Gay show? Rachel Maddow. That is not saying a whole lot as far as entertainment is concerned, but it is better than what’s on LOGO and it is a Lesbian working hard to make a difference in the world and thereby make us proud. LOGO is a slow go and probably going nowhere in the future. It’s a shame.
Ray
The A List Dallas was just an outright attack on the gay community in so many ways. Have right wing christians bought the network to destroy it from within?
Dave
Kieran LOGO should not be a channel just for gay men and some lesbians only they should focus on the GLBT community and have programs for and about bisexuals and trans people as well.
TR
The problem with LOGO is that its programming has always been subpar. I will 100% now NOT watch it when there aren’t any gay leads in their new programming. In order for me to watch LOGO, it would need programs like Modern Family where ther are gay leads or a program like Brothers & Sisters with gay leads in it, etc. As a gay man, I am offended by the stereotypical programming that they do have on the channel. I do not want to watch a bunch of men parading up and down in women’s clothing. No offense to the drag quees; it’s just not for me, but I do fully support them. I just don’t want to watch it on TV. And, that’s my choice. However, it seems that it’s a lot of other gays and lesbians choice too since LOGO feels the need to move towards a straight line-up of programs. Calling it anything less than straight programs not being honest. I can watch children acting like selfish spoiled grown ups wearing make-up and tiaras on another network, if that’s what I wanted to watch (which I do not), but I certainly do not want to watch it on a supposedly gay network. I would love to see LOGO partner with Sundance and others in the film industry to bring to the masses newly released films from film festivals. This would be of great appeal to me. I don’t see LOGO lasting too long if they keep up with the straight programming.
Chadboy
If Logo is supposed to be programming for adults then why did they get rid of CBS News on Logo a couple years ago? It was the only source for accurate GLBT stories on a weekly basis on TV. This exec sounds like she is talking out of both sides of her mouth.
Danny
Sherman needs to be fired and replaced by someone who knows what they are doing. There are gay series on the web like The Variants that are way more entertaining than Drag Race and Buffy reruns. And you cannot tell me that shows like The Variants cost more money to make than commercial revenue generated by showing them. If Sci-Fi Saturday movies can make money, then shows like The Variants, Inbetween Men, etc. could as well – with someone other than Sherman at the helm.
I’m not involved in shows like The Variants, Inbetween Men, etc. but I like watching them because they are entertaining.
You can see supposed “gay-inclusive” shows like Smash on NBC are really just shows created by women for women with the gay characters being token throw-ins. So dull and uninspired.
Then there are actual entertaining shows that are gay-inclusive and well done like Spartacus or Modern Family.
It’s not the gay-inclusive part that is the problem. It is whether they are crappy or good. And LOGO programming has leaned heavily towards the crappy. Absolutely Fabulous? Really. How old and senile do they think the audience is. Dear god, it’s 2012. Heck, even Sci-Fi channel has some great inclusive programs. Warehouse 13’s gay-male agent and how the others interacted with him was great, and Lost Girl with the bi-female-lead is really entertaining too.
LOGO does not need expensive GLBT productions. It needs thoughtful, well-done (i.e. well scripted and acted) productions. And dear god, not drag. Drag shows are for straight people live or on tv. Any GLBT person has already been bored to death going to drag shows at bars and pride.
Fred
Logo was always a mess from day one because there were 100 gay people involved with it, with 100 agendas. I know one of the programming people and he told me lots of stories. Won’t relay them here, but there was never a visionary thinker behind the network. Most of the original creators have moved on. They tried to do everything on the cheap. If they had developed something really revolutionary, like a gay sitcom at the level of “Seinfeld” or something, it could have gotten a lot of attention, but they played it very safe. Also, programming exclusively to gays just didn’t work, because gays watch everything. Blacks gravitate to BET because it offers lots of niche programming for a black audience and they’re loyal.
A friend is a gay stand up comic who pitched a show to the network – and they said, “It’s too gay.” This is a problem when you’re running a gay network.
There could have been a talk show with a gay host, an interview show that interviews important gay figures, shows of interest to gay couples, and on and on. But all they came up with was basic TV trash, and reruns. There were some interesting documentaries, but they were independently produced and Logo picked them up. Oh, well, they’re still trying.
dc
Every time I happen onto logo, they are showing 10 year re-runs. How can they possibly say they have been the least bit relevant? This next load of crap is no improvement. Dan Savage for program director! (added by Mobile using Mippin)
D.B.
I gave up on Logo a long time ago — it’s nothing but old reruns and endless drag shows. (Sorry, drag is just not my thing.) It’s kind of a shame — a true visionary could have really made something of this enterprise. Instead they have turned to the same cheap reality trash that everyone else does.
CBRad
Could you imagine the potential they could have had ? Imagine documentaries (a la A&E’s Biography) on Sophocles, Alan Turing, Hadrian, Grant Wood, Greta Garbo, Yukio Mishima, Truman Capote, Virginia Woolf, DaVinci….etc…….how great it could have been, instead of sinking into such junk like it did ?
Greybat
No wonder I gave up cable.
Danny
@Fred That interview show of GLBTA celebrities would have been cool. As far as talk show, it always seems strange that Rosie went on Own rather than LOGO.
@CBRad Those documentaries could have been cool.
A gameshow, like in the style of the Newlywed Gameshow, for gay couples would have been great. Or make it gay guy-straight girl best friends answering questions about each other.
Clint Riley
The only LOGO show that I enjoy watching is Graham Norton. Oh wait, that’s the BBC. Guess there really isn’t anything good on LOGO.
Joan Summers
@the crustybastard: The network is ran by self hating homos. When they learn to love themselves truly and freely they will be free.
marc
Sad to see that our community can not sustain bookstores, pubs, clubs, magazines, or networks that are intended to provide us relevant programing and services.
We have to subscribe to the gay channel here in Canada. It is filled with repeats of old shows and maybe has 4 hours a week of new programs (which are repeated endlessly). One show, featuring ‘men’s fashion’ is pretty much irrelevant to the the average gay guy.
They still show home decor shows from 10 years ago. Crazy to think the GAY community can’t produce a current home decor show.
BUT we only have ourselves to blame.
Stop watching crap. Tell the networks you don’t like their programming. Ranting on here does nothing.
Pat Duffy
@marc:
Yup. If the Fundies and the Hetrofascists can and get changes, why not us? After all, the nutjobs keep saying how the “Gay Dollar” is controlling the gov’t….maybe it SHOULD.
Ashlandian
Nothing in that new programming speaks to me as a gay man. Granted, I’m a middle-aged professional who has a variety of interests and would like to have a long-term, stable healthy relationship. Yep, nothing there for me at all.
Mrs. Robinson
People watch way too much TV.
Stupid
They’re going to “allow viewers to see themselves”? I’ve never seen myself or anyone I know on Logo. The channel is a joke. They say, “… gay people are living far more integrated lives that before … and 53% of LGBTs didn’t see showcasing their orientation as a priority.” Well, guess what, those assimilationist types already *have* their TV channels, from Lifetime to Bravo. It’s not that I want to see only LGBT shows, but if you’re going to be an LGBT channel, you need to have LGBT programming. Knock-off “Toddlers & Tiaras” and knock-off “Mob Wives” makes you just another channel with no personality that people flip through (like BBC America, which every time I flip to it is showing “Star Trek: The Next Generation”).
TooBad
That really stinks. There is already the disappearance of gay communities in the US. This channel should promote shows where gay is normal .. that should be the starting point of all of its shows. I also only watch the RuPaul shows. I did not watch Queer as Folk or L Word because I’d seen them all already. I love the occasional documentary that shows up on Logo that I have not seen. There are thousands of gay stories to tell.
Olive Austin
LOGO was never gay, just tacky.
Another Comment
@Pinky: I used to write for the AfterElton entity prior to its purchase by LOGO and they were very progressive and supportive of alternative approaches to GLBT culture–even when it camde to op-ed pieces that called us out on our own BS. Then they suddenly found some money and chucked it all out. They no longer wanted anything intelligent or controversial. It became fluff. I stopped bothering. As you tell it, it seems as if they managed to whip up even more fluff over the years. While I appreciate the full integration of GLBT characters into programming across the board (organically, of course), I must confess that I smell a rat here. This is about the almight buck and LOGO knows it. We already have Bravo (and look to what depths it has sunk over the years) and the one fellow’s observation about being the “gay best friend” is spot on. I felt the network’s programming was insulting prior to this change and now I just find myself completely disinterested in the concept of LOGO altogether.
Another Comment
I’m also blown away by something when it happens on Queerty: when everyone agrees. This is such a rare unicorn event that we should take note of them. In this case, pretty much the whole of the GLBT world hates this network and doesn’t watch it. That’s quite telling.
pedro
Now you all know how my black boyfriend feels when whites assume all blacks love BET or that BET is representative of black people in general, or something…He and his whole family despise that channel, his father in particular has a special hatred for everything BET. Yet many whites think that every black person must religiously sit infront of their t.v. consuming the crap they put on, just because it’s called Black Entertainment Television…
CBRad
@pedro: They just put on an act when you’re there. As soon as you leave I bet that whole family is rapping.
Timmmeeeyyy
“We said we were going to allow people to see themselves and be themselves. And that’s still true.”
I somehow don’t think I’ll see myself in a show about a six year old beauty queen and her psychotic mother.
Dick
The only LOGO shows I enjoyed were Queer As Folk(in the late night uncensored versions) The Tales Of The City saga(again in the late night version) and Rick and Steve. Oh, and they did have some comedy specials from Miss Coco Peru, Alex Mapa and Mario Cantone’s Laugh Whore Special(and why is that still not available on DVD???). I have nothing against RuPaul but there’s a limit. Not an all drag network please. And pleae PLEASE no more A-List. That show was the modern version of a minstrel show.
Jon Tom
I have dish and they list logo as an hd channel. It clearly is not broadcast in hd. Logo just has a cheap appearance to it. Matches the programming I guess…
lizcivious
Hey, it’s not my imagination! I’ve been noticing for a long time now that LOGO has been becoming more mainstream (less gay). It seems like it has become a dumping ground for junk that ran on MTV or other channels that LOGO “thinks” will appeal to gay viewers. I remember thinking, “Why the hell would any gay person want to watch ’16 and Pregnant’?” Now, I’m one of the straight women who has watched stuff on LOGO, guilty as charged, but I have been wishing for a long time that it would feature quality gay programming, like a PBS for gay viewers. Sure, I enjoy RuPaul, but there can be room for seriousness as well as fun. I would love to see documentaries like the one I saw on Sam Wagstaff, which LOGO had on in a morning slot (I DVR’d it). I’m sure it boils down to money, and those “reality” shows are cheap to produce. Even the main networks have dumbed everything down to mostly unscripted crap and game shows. We’ve lost most of our soaps because of money, or the lack thereof. (At least “Downton Abbey” has been a quality fix for those of us who watched soaps.) It’s sad. Gay viewers, and straight people like me, who are interested in gay culture, deserve much better. Besides, haven’t we had enough of Eden Wood? Let the poor kid grow up without a camera in her face all the time!
Tylertime
OMG this is awful!! Yeah, the gay marketplace in tv is changing but LOGO is a GAY channel. That’s like BET saying, “black people like watching shows with white people so we’re gonna introduce more white shows”!! It makes no sense!! It’s the ONLY place where the LGBT community can go to ensure they SEE themselves. This is a real shame!
Andy
So, according to Sherman, the programming changes are a result of our visibility on everything from Modern Family, to Glee; So based on this logic, since her new slate of programming includes no gay leads, the networks I should be watching are ABC and Fox. Kay. Gotcha. Just wanted to make sure I was on the same page.
So, what we have now, is a former gay-centric network, programmed by anyone except gay men, entering the already crowded lifetyle market that Bravo has pretty much cornered. And it’s not even in HD. Seriously Viacom, that must have been a thin stack of resumes you had to choose from.
And for the 5 millionth time, network programmers, gay men are not women. Just because you can attact a larger female audience with gay-centric programming, shouldn’t send a bell off in your heads that making your programming selections largely female-focused will attract a gay audience in much the same way!
Tim
Give Toddlers and Tiaras’ Alana (a.k.a. Honey-Boo-Boo-Chile) her own reality show! She is basically a drunk tranny stripper in a 6-year old child’s body.
Michael
Wow, never in my life have I read so much negativity. Each of you are exact stereotypes that you claim you are not, nasty, vindictive, gays who hate themselves. Walk out your door, open your eyes and realize that you are less than 15% of a population and in 2012 are living a fully integrated life unless you live in a gated, closed off gay ghetto. Modern Family is an amazing show but look at the stereotypes it portrays an over weight effiminate gay man and his neurotic partner who adopt an Asian baby. Glee’s Kurt is gayer than a christmas float and last night the jock could not take it and tried to kill himself. These shows are created by and written by gays. Why not focus your attention trying to mobilize against the hate mongers like the Christian evangelicals. Turn the TV on lately??? Rick Santorum is your enemy not Ms. Sherman and the staff at LOGO. You people are all pathetic. And for all you people that don’t realize it “John Smith” is a disgruntled former employee that probably was fired for being a total incompetent ass. Wake up Queerty readers.
Matt
@GAYJOCK 76: Your comment proves you obviously don’t get the concept of that show. You probably loved how the guys on A-List looked, too. So tedious and boring.
Timmmeeeyyy
@Michael:
So which of LOGO’s awesome new programs are you jazzed about, Mr Positive? You just knocked down Modern Family and Glee, which send very positive messages to America and the world that LGBT people are good, likable, and deserving of respect. LOGO’s A-List showed the exact opposite.
Yes, Rick Santorum is the enemy, but we’re smart enough to be able to like and dislike multiple things at once. Wake up Michael.
CBRad
I remember when Turner Classic Movies did a gay-subject month, where every weekend they showed pre-1960’s films that had homosexual characters, showed how they were presented, how some subjects were sneaked past the censors, etc. Was very interesting, as well as entertaining. Ideally, I would have hoped a gay network would have been more like that.
Mk_ultra_again
Michael, are you serious? “except the shit that is feed to you and shut up.” We’re consumers, idiot! It’s their job to market to us! Then you deride feminine gays ( yeah, let’s just kill them and put only masculine, Michael approved gays on tv), while ironicaly babbling about gay sterotypes. How dare we expect a gay network to market to us. Oh us gays, we are getting to comfortable not being beaten. It takes a wise head like Michael to put us on our place.
deltabadhand
@pedro:
But at least BET, (and TVOne and Centric) have black folks in the programs!
deltabadhand
My cable system includes Logo in an add on block that cost $20 extra a month. When we moved in 2005 and saw they had a gay channel we gladly paid extra for it. I loved begin able to turn it on and see gay movies I’d not heard of otherwise “Trick”, “Latter Days”, etc. And the cool programming, the documentary series. Even the between the commercial station ID things like the one where they’d show a gay couple from baby pictures through to “now” with them embracing. I think it was about 2009 when they started making the now obvious shift that they are finally copping to today. Last summer, I wrote letters complaining about how unhappy I was, and got all sorts of marketing mumbo jumbo that was telling me they weren’t degaying while actually saying they were. So I dropped the package and hoped I could find someone to take my $20! Still waiting. So now with Logo’s official statement and a really, really weasley worded similar one on the After Elton site this evening, I am done with AE too. Thank God for Queerty!
Can we havea message board and profiles here now too?
Queer Supremacist
I could have told you LOGO was going to get “straightened” out. Why? It is owned by Viacom.
They own MTV. When was the last time you saw a music video on MTV (leaving Beavis and Butt-head nothing to make fun of upon their return to the air)?
They no longer show any rare or classic TV shows on Nick at Nite or TV Land. Everything they show is available on DVD or was dumped by TBS two years ago.
Even the founder of BET hates what Viacom has turned BET into. I think the last thing I ever watched on there was a What’s Happening rerun in 1995, well before Viacom bought it.
And just try to name one show on Nickelodeon not starring a sponge without consulting Google.
And Tony, thanks for mentioning the Nashville Network, which later became the National Network, which is now Spike TV despite the efforts of filmmaker Shelton Jackson “Spike” Lee.
I am proud to say I never watched LOGO (what a stupid name) in my life. I may be out loud and proud, I may be aware that homosexuality is superior to heterosexuality, but I’d rather watch breeders suffer than suffer through anything they showed on that two-bit attempt at pandering. I don’t want my people associated with that crap.
This is why I don’t get cable. I don’t watch new seasons of the few current shows I watch until the Blu-Rays come out. I save money and time this way.
michael
@Timmmeeeyyy: reread my note, I did not tear down MF at all I just make the observation that they are perpetuating the stereotypes that all previous commenters have said they hate. But I guess it is acceptable because ABC does not target gays so it’s ok to bring those stereotypes to the forefront. Please read before you comment!
Based on the description I think Baby Wait is a brillant idea because it shows what our community as well as our straight friends go through on a daily basis. Have you ever experienced friends having a child taken from them in 30 days, I have and it is awful and should be brought to a national platform. Design My Dog what is so bad about that or why is that not gay enough, gays have dogs lots of gays like fasion, sounds good to. me. Let’s give these people a chance and stop starting from the negative and be thankful that we live in a place where we can have this kind of channel.
Anthie
I Agree 100%! Logo is suppose to be our channel! It’s like taking BET and putting on All white programming…. Bye Logo.. I am switching you off for good!
Peter
Lisa Sherman is insulting our intelligence here. Of course gay people are leading more integrated lives and of course that’s a good thing. That doesn’t justufy turning the channel over to a bunch of sub-Bravo dreck. It’s all business right? Apparently people want trash reality shows. In a ideal world Logo would be a network like a gay HBO with compelling dramas about gay lives in context. That would, for me, be a dream. These people don’t aim that high.
Peter
Lisa Sherman is insulting our intelligence here. Of course gay people are leading more integrated lives and of course that’s a good thing. That doesn’t justufy turning the channel over to a bunch of sub-Bravo dreck. It’s all business right? Apparently people want trash reality shows. In a ideal world Logo would be a network like a gay HBO with compelling dramas about gay lives in context. If it did that part of the time it’d be, for me, be a dream. These people don’t aim that high or don’t want to.
Ryan
FUCK LOGO. But fuck our community too. Think about it… Do we really watch gay shit or WANT to watch gay shit (that is isn’t porn)? I love supporting gay performers but the audience is mildly filled to empty… unless it’s a drag show. We can’t complain all we want that we want an “amazing gay show with real life gay people” but then we’ll be happy it’s made but then not watch it and call it boring. Then the next day we’ll buy our Kathy Griffin tickets, we’ll help Madonna buy her own country and assist Cher to take over the world. If we speak loud enough and start supporting home grown talent, as the so-called taste makers, we could make Sam Sparro a star, instead of Adele. Then a channel or god-forbid a gay channel will have to hear us and pick up a show with a home-grown star.
After reading this feed, I see it doesn’t get better in the gay community. Gays will tear down performers and reality stars saying their too fem, boring, a minstrel show, ugly, fat, a disgrace… No wonder a gay show can’t exist. We hate on each other so much and it saddens me. But when it comes to bare-back porn stars we’re all gaga over it.
If we want gay shows or a gay channel we have to unite to make stars. No wonder they’ve abandoned us. We’re too picky and hate everything because we’re not the stars of our own show. (that other people will hate too.) Just my humble opinion. Going to listen to Adele on spotify now to help her win some more Grammys. Sorry Sam.
Darlyne Baugh
I was one of the original staffers at Logo – there when it launched and watched as corporate fear ate it alive. The network was always afraid to be unapologetic about LGBT programming. It’s a shame! All the maverick energy walked out the door by 2007. Rupaul was pitched as a show in 2004 but Logo was terrified to put drag queens on the air for at least five years. Noah’s Arc was cancelled without cause. Their self-righteous devotion to corporate killed the channel and now the spin is about LGBT seeing themselves in a broader view. That’s ridiculous.
michael
@Mk_ultra_again: somebody meeds to take a chill pill. Far be it for another perosn to have an opinion and not be called an idiot. I guess those 4 years at University were dollars down the drain as I am an idiot. Just because you are a self-loathing person does not give you the right to tare down other people who wake up, go to work and try to do something good knowing that half the people will disagree and the other half will champion. We know what side you are on, I will take the high road and be a champion for the people that put themselves out for public scrutiny, don’t back down to all the bullies on here. Enjoy your gay ghetto that you live in because it is far from a reality becuase we don’t need it in our integrated life.
mikeandrewsdantescove
I’m so disappointed to learn of this format change. I’ve longed supported this network. RuPaul and The Alist shows are my favorite. I won’t be watching any of these new shows.
Mike Andrews
Music Featured on Alist
http://sfholidays.blogspot.com/2012/02/what-jakub-stefano-and-sex-have-in.html
ScaryRussianHeather
@Ryan:
Back in 2009 Adam Lambert got bashed right here for interviewing that Logo left alot to be desired in LGBT programming. He diplomatically stated that there was very limited LGBT specific programming and what was on there wasn’t exactly representative of the community. But nobody wanted to hear it because they were busy with their laundry list of complaints about why he was sub-par ghey.
Geo
It is now clear that LOGO is run by blithering ninnies. I’m canceling my cable package for LOGO and I suggest everyone else who’s as angry about this as I am does the same. They can take their “who gives a sh*t” dog show, their despicable toddle beauty pageants and their idiotic Mafia wives and shove them straight up their inept, tone-deaf a**.
Kyle412
Smart idea Geo. Logo is on a digital tier that costs extra. If people who added that tier to get Logo called their cable operators and cancelled that tier it would send a big message to Logo and would also help out your wallet.
Nakiah Cherry Chinchilla
@Darlyne Baugh:
Darlyne, you are AWESOME and have inspired me to use my own name as well.:) I also worked at Logo in the very beginning and think this is bullshit. If I were gay, I’d be mad as hell!! I’m a black woman and if someone told me that BET or TVONE were gonna show more “white” programming cause black people like white shows too, I would start a letter writing campaign the likes of which these folks have never seen. I believe, as well intentioned as Lisa may be, that she, and many other executives at MTV Networks and Viacom are missing the point. Logo wasn’t created to make massive amounts of money or have shows watched by 20 million people every night. It was created so people who live in the middle of nowhere or nowhere in the middle, where gay people are many times ostracized and picked on and, sadly, beaten or killed or driven to suicide can see that gay IS normal. It’s for those kids who have never heard a kind word spoken about a gay person, or seen another openly gay person, who know they are different and don’t know what to do or who to talk to. Logo is for them. Logo is there so they know they are not alone. Television is the one thing that unites all of us as Americans. Whether it was seeing black people hosed by police during the 60’s or children being napalmed in Vietnam in the 70’s or folks finally seeing black people can be doctors and lawyers on the Cosby show. it’s a way to bring another world into your home. It’s a way for straight folks who only perceive gay as one way to know that gay is EVERY way. DIFFERENT ways. That gay people are just regular people. There is no gay boogeyman. THAT’S what Logo is there for. The problem is that those who control what the channel creates and programs, have lost that idea. They’re so busy counting their diamonds and playing with their money, they’ve forgotten it’s original purpose. And I tell you what, replacing fully LGBT programming with a toddler preening for the cameras and being given chocolate by her Mama so she can dance like a slut, that is DAMN SHAME, not just for LGBT programming but for those people out there who REALLY need it. Cause now, they’re not gonna have any place to go. Real talk. xo
Mk_ultra_again
@michael: Michael, you joke, please. Your university must be so proud that their number 1 flunk out has such a limited vocabulary. On top of that you flatter yourself. Do you really call standing on the street corner, waiting for a trick, a “job”?
Let me remind you that you came in here, calling EVERYONE names. You put down a whole community because they’re not the type of gay you want them to be.
It’s you that needs to take a chill pill. Actually, make it cyinide. You deserve it champ.
michael
@Mk_ultra_again: Ah yes, my limited vocabulary will leave you with these parting words as I take my Cyinide pill shoved down my throat by a bully like you Mk_ultra_again….IT GETS BETTER
Darlyne Baugh
@Nakiah Cherry Chinchilla: You ROCKED at Logo and you ROCK the Queerty comment section. Logo was such a DISAPPOINTMENT for those of us on the inside. Besides the serious lack of diversity – that’s why I wrote BLACK GIRL @ THE GAY CHANNEL to get it out of my being – there was a serious lack of GUTS and PRIDE and CONFIDENCE. Remember those unspoken rules: no rainbows, no drag queens on air for 5 years, no Chelsea Boys. I’m really SERIOUSLY??!! Logo failed because fear permeated the soul of every executive walking the hallway. So sad. But so true!
Chadboy
Hi Ms. Baugh! I read BLACK GIRL and enjoyed it immensely. I wondered how much was real about the behind the scenes going ons at Logo. When I see big toes they now have new meaning.
Do you have any other books coming out?
Darlyne Baugh
@Chadboy: Hi Chadboy! Thanks for the shout-out. Yes, there are some veiled dynamics in the book relating to my experience at Logo. I loved have the character Jerome use his big toe to beat down corporate. Wasn’t that hilarious?! Anyway, too bad Logo has opted to cave in, instead of shouting out how fab my LGBT sisters and brothers are. Sigh. A new book coming out later this year!
wayne2k33
I smell a rat here. It’s far more than just low ratings that is causing this fundamental shift. Look at the political climate in our country right now… Presidential candidates openly campaigning AGAINST things like Birth Control, wanting to strengthen DOMA, reinstating DADT. There is an all-out assault on LGBT people and anything having to do with our culture. LOGO is “pulling a Komen”. They are caving to Conservative Political pressure to eridicate everything gay in our country. And we as a community need to stand up and say ENOUGH!!
Cuddy
It seems like a lot of effemophobia (spell check) goin on about A-List NY.There are gay men who live their lives like that. Same with Noah’s Arc and Queer as Folk. Dont knock logo for GAY reality tv shows when the majority of all tv is straight reality shows.
Basically gay white men are complaining about logo not being gay and white lol but for years there werent any lesbians or trans people or blacks (other than the straight girls accessory Rupaul).
The rest of the LGBT community abandoned logo years ago
Joe
The sad thing is that when LOGO eventually fails and goes off the air the pundits will crow that the “gay channel” failed. This would make it highly unlikely that a truly innovative channel geared to LGBT people will ever get a second chance.
ErganeFlood
Wow… maybe this is the moment we start to seriously think about how we have been harmed by living in a heterosexist society. A society designed to replicate itself so much that it can make those who aren’t heterosexual be heterosexist and fight for it.
Give me a second to build it: Basically, the thing that stands out to me in this piece is how gay people are not interested in watching gay people. I came out in the 90’s when everyone was HUNGRY for gay media. As an adult, I live in Seattle, my world — such that I can control it, is very gay — meaning I am around gay people (or all genders and as many different backgrounds as possible) and I feel positive about them and them about me, usually. I feel a kinship whether it is deserved or not. I watched _Noah’s Arc_, but I didn’t watch _Exes and Ohs_, but I couldn’t get into A-List because I couldn’t get into those kinds of reality TV shows. However, this whole everyday gay shit is pissing me off, too. I watch the HELL out of Drag Race. It is one of the BEST shows on TV. It delivers that kinda everyday gay, but in a drag way. For it to be seen as embarrassing really shows how we still have a divide in our community over what to do with our internalized heterosexual superiority shit. We think what hets do is great and what fags do is awful and terrible. We don’t give each other the same space or attention as heterosexuals.
And while one could argue numbers, we are more able to connect with each other than we ever have been in history. I can write this and feel many, many other gay and queer and trans people will read it — our forefolks didn’t have this.
Now, we have a channel… and it can’t even attract the people who wanted it with content directed to them! Now, I think the channel itself suffers under heterosexism because it cannot allow itself to just be free — always aware that heterosexuals are watching (are heterosexuals all that concerned about us watching? Freedom lies in doing like the dominant class without losing your values or connection to home and the positive things that feed you.) it pulls back and censors itself (before they have to). So, in a sense, it was never really our channel, it was always the channel of heterosexuals in homo drag… now it’s gender bending, showing itself, but I don’t believe it has to go the typical route… just need someone in programming with ideas (like me!) and vision.
BTW, why it doesn’t show the British “Skins” is beyond me…
Mario
When I first heard about Logo a few years back, I was excited because it was like nothing we had ever seen before. Needless to say it has been a complete letdown with their lack of innovation and choice of programming. I think they had an opportunity to do something really fantastic, and they failed. Now they are going to try their best to become BRAVO or every other network out there, full of unscripted shows. Let’s see how easy it is for them to redeem themselves after this!
TA
They won’t show Dan Savage’s show because it’s for college kids, but they have shown Daria. Ooookaaaaay.
RedNkBearOregon
I was so proud and amazed to hear we were going to have our own network. Programming wasn’t that bad at first. But now it’s just shit! I mind drag queens and I respect them actually! I just don’t want to watch fricken RuPaul god damned 24 hours a day! Once a week would be okay. Modern Family is damned hilarious whether you’re gay or straight! A didn’t mind the a list New York. It was mildly funny the first season. But please bring more gay programming back!! And although sorry I do like Buffy and also AB Fab I watched them 1000’s of times and it’s just not funny anymore. Okay I still watch Buffy. Hey how about a program with some Bears and Cubs as leads? And what’s with all the damned in fighting on here? You sound like a bunch of teen girls for Christ sake! And I am also tired of turning on BBC America and seeing Star Trek TNG and how many hours of Top Gear can one person stand? That said I will quit my bitchen too.