“A League of Her Own” (November 17, 2017) For the second of the “off season” bonus episodes, Drew and Glen wanted to compare how a modern day, family-friendly sitcom compares with the classic versions they discussed in the first season. They picked ABC series Fresh Off the Boat, which in its fourth season had a prominent character — Nicole, the “Winnie Cooper” of this flashback series on whim the lead character has a crush — come out as a lesbian. The storyline is handled very well, and what’s m...
Oct 15, 2018•56 min•Season 1Ep. 13
A veteran sitcom writer, Stan Zimmerman is one half of the duo that penned the script for “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” the episode of Roseanne in which the main character is kissed by a lesbian. In this interview, Stan talks about the process of writing that episode and riding through the controversy surrounding it, but he also offers behind-the-scenes insight from his time on Golden Girls, the gay-centric Showtime series Brothers, his efforts to get his sitcom project Silver Foxes on a screen near ...
Oct 01, 2018•1 hr 13 min•Season 1Ep. 12
"Harley and Ivy" (January 18, 1993) In GEE’s first bonus episode, Glen and Drew focus on something that's not a sitcom but is nonetheless pretty damn gay — the Batman: The Animated Series installment that put a lesbianish aura around Poison Ivy and Harley Quinn, which extended to the comics and ultimately made the duo a full-fledged couple years later. Support us on Patreon ! Follow: GEE on Twitter • Drew on Twitter • Glen on Twitter Listen: iTunes • Spotify • Stitcher • Google Play • Google Pod...
Jul 30, 2018•50 min•Season 1Ep. 11
"The Boys in the Bar" (January 27, 1983) When Sam Malone makes a show of supporting his newly out former teammate, the regulars at Cheers worry that bar will suddenly go queer. It's another case of straight hysteria and straight histrionics, but luckily it's Diane Chambers to the rescue. The first season of Gayest Episode Ever closes out with a remarkable installment of one of Drew and Glen's favorite shows and singing of the praises of Shelley Long, patron saint of suffering creatives everywher...
May 10, 2018•57 min•Season 1Ep. 10
“The Outing” (February 11, 1993) Seinfeld won a GLAAD award for this episode all about how even the most well-meaning straight people would be horrified to be mistaken for gay. It helped popularize “not that there’s anything wrong with that” and, to a lesser extent, “single, thin and neat” as 90s-era gay catchphrases and also managed to spin a whole half-hour with minimal presence of actual LGBT characters. Emelie Burnette, copy editor to the stars, joins Glen and Drew to talk about what this ep...
May 03, 2018•1 hr 18 min•Season 1Ep. 9
"Killing All the Right People" (October 5, 1987) In one of the most devastating sitcom installments ever aired, Sugarbaker & Associates plans the funeral of a young gay man dying of AIDS. This is *VERY* *SAD* episode, and we want you to know that it might choke you up, should you be the type who listens at the gym. That said, there's a lot to learn from this episode of Designing Women, both in what a TV show had to do in 1987 to make straight audiences pay attention to AIDS and how TV has ev...
Apr 26, 2018•1 hr 5 min•Season 1Ep. 8
"Homer's Phobia" (February 16, 1997) Hot stuff, coming through! At long last, Homer Simpson asks the difficult question, "Hey, what if Bart is a homo?" This episode has none other than John Waters on hand as the primary non-Smithers Springfield queer, and the result is one of the better gay outings of the entire '90s. Learned person Dr. Bryan Wuest is on hand to help Glen and Drew talk through camp, kitsch and all manner of gayness. Support us on Patreon ! Follow: GEE on Twitter • Drew on Twitte...
Apr 19, 2018•1 hr 18 min•Season 1Ep. 7
"Rough Housing" (August 24, 1979) You probably remember The Facts of Life, but you may not know that the show's first season introduced a whole slew of characters who wouldn't make it to season two and also that the first-ever episode dealt with Blair's homophobia toward a tomboyish classmate that didn't even turn out to be a lesbian. Playwright and Supernatural writer Steve Yockey joins Drew and Glen to talk whether Blair is a monster, whether Mrs. Garrett crosses a line addressing Blair's mons...
Apr 12, 2018•1 hr 8 min•Season 1Ep. 6
"My Brother's Keeper (January 13, 1973) Actor and comedian Sam Pancake joins Glen and Drew to talk about this third-season episode of The Mary Tyler Moore Show, in which the last-minute revelation that Phyllis' brother is gay gets the biggest laugh of the show. That said, this is a sweet take on a gay episode that aired when most sitcoms didn't do them. Topics discussed include Bridget Loves Bernie, "Ode to Billy Joe," Murder by Death, the theme song to Phyllis' spinoff and how Gavin MacLeod's c...
Apr 05, 2018•1 hr 23 min•Season 1Ep. 5
"Judging Books by Covers" (February 9, 1971) At the very least, the fact that Richard Nixon hated this episode of All in Family should motivate you to consider why it's actually good. In it, Archie Bunker (Carroll O'Connor) fails to learn a lesson about who's gay and who seems gay. This Norman Lear-penned script has one of the first positive portrayals of an LGBT character ever in an American TV series, and Glen and Drew's discussion covers everything from TaleSpin to Carol Danvers to Luke and L...
Mar 29, 2018•55 min•Season 1Ep. 4
"Isn't It Romantic?" (November 8, 1986) An award-winning Golden Girls outing does in the mid-1980s what many '90s sitcoms failed to do by introducing a nuanced LGBT character who's not just a prop for the hetero regulars. Lois Nettleton scored an Emmy nom for her turn as Dorothy's friend Jean, who falls for Rose and who is introduced to the audience as being 100 percent comfortable with her sexuality. Everyone else? Not so much. Actor and comedian Tony Rodriguez joins Glen and Drew to talk about...
Mar 22, 2018•1 hr 12 min•Season 1Ep. 3
"Don't Ask, Don't Tell" (March 1, 1994) Roseanne's kiss with Mariel Hemingway wasn't the first instance of liplock between two women on American TV, but it was the most controversial. More than two decades later, Glen and Drew talk about this episode and how it discusses sexual gray areas, how Laurie Metcalf's Aunt Jackie always seemed kinda lesbian-y and why Roseanne was a pioneer for LGBT diversity... even if she's crazy now. Support us on Patreon ! Follow: GEE on Twitter • Drew on Twitter • G...
Mar 15, 2018•57 min•Season 1Ep. 2
"The Matchmaker" (October 4, 1994) Shortly into Frasier's second season, one episode made it clear once and for all that despite appearances otherwise, Frasier Crane was not gay. The episode features Eric Lutes as the dashing station manager who thinks he's going on a date with Frasier, and this first installment of the podcast has Glen and Drew talking about how the show slut-shames Roz, how Niles should have come out and why this particular episode got awards for doing a gay episode the right ...
Mar 09, 2018•53 min•Season 1Ep. 1
Gayest Episode Ever is a podcast hosted by Drew Mackie, a journalist, and Glen Lakin, a screenwriter. Each installment focuses a different LGBT-themed episode of a classic sitcom. Support us on Patreon ! Follow: GEE on Twitter • Drew on Twitter • Glen on Twitter Listen: iTunes • Spotify • Stitcher • Google Play • Google Podcasts • Himalaya And yes, we do have an official website ! And we even have episode transcripts courtesy of Sarah Neal . Our logo was designed by Rob Wilson . This is a TableC...
Mar 02, 2018•1 min
