It’s All Relative Was ABC’s Attempt at a Will & Grace

Dec 18, 2024

“Pilot” (October 1, 2003)

Even NBC tried to replicate the success of America’s first popular gay sitcom, and this week we’re joined once again by Steven Capsuto to discuss an attempt to bring same-sex parents to prime time. It’s All Relative only lasted a season, but that’s actually longer than most LGBTQ-inclusive sitcoms that followed in Will & Grace’s wake, and for what it’s worth, its pilot shows a lot of promise.

Read GEE's write-up in Emmy magazine, which is basically the same thing as actually winning an Emmy.

Buy the revised edition of Steven’s book, Alternate Channels: Queer Images on 20th-Century TV.

Listen to Steven’s previous episode, about Tony Randall’s Love, Sidney.

Drew is pulling quotes from the following articles:

• “The gaying of TV / Advertisers step up as more shows step out”  (SFGate, Aug. 24, 2003)
• “Review: It’s All Relative” (Variety, Sep. 28, 2003)
• “It’s profitable to be a little bit gay” (LA TImes, Aug. 27, 2003)
• “Gays on TV: Hardly a Trend” (Chicago Tribune, Aug. 12, 2003)