The short version: I just really love television! The slightly longer version is that, in my career, I’ve had a very unusual perspective on both entertainment and activism. My first jobs out of college were at companies like Lucasfilm and The Jim Henson company, where I saw first-hand just how important pop culture and fandom can be for audiences. And I also worked extensively on queer causes, eventually making activism my full-time job when I joined the team that brought marriage equality to the US Supreme Court. Through that work, I became more and more interested in the ways that pop culture – particularly television – has been a tool for advancing civil rights.
I wrote
Hi Honey, I'm Homo!: Sitcoms, Specials, and the Queering of American Culture
An absolutely exhaustive catalog of queer milestones on television, I’m constantly consulting this amazing book.
There’s no more authoritative examination of the people, shows, and trends that shaped queer representation in broadcast media over the 20th century. Exhaustively researched, it’s not just a must-read – it’s a must-read-multiple-times.
I own two copies, each one jam-packed with bookmarks and notes to myself about the best bits.
Definitive, vibrant, and utterly fascinating, Alternate Channels traces the monumental growth of gay, lesbian, and bisexual images on radio and television from the 1930s to the present. Splashed against the tumultuous backdrop of the McCarthy witch hunts, Stonewall and the gay liberation movement, the birth of the 700 Club and the religious right, the outbreak of AIDS and the arrival of in-your-face queer activism, this chatty, authoritative broadcast history tells the stories of such notorious and noteworthy moments as
- 1947: Radio gays--A bitchy fashion photographer throws fits at the drop of a designer hat on the adaptation of Moss…
This is an utterly spellbinding collection of personal interviews with people who shaped history’s most groundbreaking television.
If there was a boundary to be broken or taboo to be smashed, the story of how it happened can be found here. Every time I flip through this book I find myself rushing to watch the episodes described by the pioneers in its pages.
In the 1950s, Lucille Ball couldn't even say the word “pregnant” on TV. But by the 1990s, Carrie Bradshaw and her posse could say everything there is to say about sex—and demonstrate most of it. How have broadcast standards changed from the dawn of television till today? Through interviews with the creators of landmark shows, author Allan Neuwirth traces that history, revealing how the upheaval of the 1960s led to edgier fare such as The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour; how counterculture baby boomers made Saturday Night Live-style satire possible; how stand-up comedians changed the sitcom landscape; how UPN and the…
This book is set in Montauk, under looming threat from a warming climate and overdevelopment. Now outsider Clancy, a thirty-six-year-old claims adjuster scarred by his orphan childhood, has inherited an unexpected legacy: the power to decide the fate of Montauk’s last parcel of undeveloped land. Everyone in town has a…
Although this book is about film, rather than television, it’s impossible to understand the TV landscape without also understanding what was happening at the movies.
And then there’s Vito Russo’s incredible research and activism, which made this book possible – an inspiration for anyone interested in how media can make the world a better place.
Praised by the Chicago Tribune as "an impressive study" and written with incisive wit and searing perception--the definitive, highly acclaimed landmark work on the portrayal of homosexuality in film.
Along with Kathryn Montgomery’s book Target: Primetime, this book is a fascinating peek into the furious fights over sex and violence on television.
It shines a light on a mostly-invisible struggle between creators, executives, censors, and the public. I love how vividly this book is written; it really feels like you’re right there on the front lines.
And the fact that it was published in 1978 means that it’s possible now to see the repercussions of this fight, nearly fifty years later.
From Simon & Schuster, See No Evil is Geoffrey Cowan's fascinating exploration of the backstage battle over sex and violence in the television medium.
In See No Evil, Cowan offers a probing investigation into the history, impact, and politics of television censorship, examining network programming, and such controversial practices as the Family Hour.
Constance is a wild, stubborn young girl growing up poor in a small industrial town in the late 1800's. Beneath her thread-worn exterior beats the heart of a dreamer and a wordsmith. But at age twelve, she’s orphaned. Running away to join the circus—like kids do in adventure books—seems like…
It’s hard to pick just one of Jim Colucci’s books to put on this list, but this one is probably my favorite. (He’s also written excellent books about The Golden GirlsandWill & Grace, among other topics.)
It’s an incredible insider’s look at the making of one of the most important television programs ever made, with lots of original documents, interviews with creators, and insights that yield an even greater appreciation for this groundbreaking show.
Television was changed forever in 1971 with the premiere of All in the Family. Archie Bunker (Carroll O Connor), his wife Edith (Jean Stapleton), daughter Gloria (Sally Struthers), and son-in-law Mike Meathead Stivic (Rob Reiner) instantly became and half a century later still are four of the most iconic characters in television. Here, Norman Lear shares his take on fifty episodes that exemplify why All in the Family remains as funny and relevant as ever. Its boundary-pushing approach to hot-button topics is examined with commentary from its costars, writers, directors, and guest stars. With previously unseen notes from Lear, script…
For decades, amidst the bright lights, studio-audience laughs, and absurdly large apartment sets, the real-life story of American LGBTQ+ liberation unfolded in plain sight in front of millions of viewers.
From flamboyant relatives on Bewitched to closely-guarded secrets onAll in the Family, from network-censor fights over Soapto behind-the-scenes activism on the set ofThe Golden Girls, from Ellen’s culture clash to Modern Family’s primetime power-couple,Hi Honey, I’m Homo!is the story not only of how subversive queer comedy transformed the American sitcom, from its inception through today, but how our favorite sitcoms transformed, and continue to transform, America. Accessible, entertaining, and informative, Hi Honey, I'm Homo! is filled with exclusive commentary and interviews from celebrities, behind-the-scenes creators, and more.
Crushed under writer’s block and a looming deadline, Mack escapes from New York to Seattle. She meets Charlie, a beautiful, generous, nearly bankrupt coffee shop owner recovering from heartbreak. For the first time, Mack has a muse. And then Mack starts using Charlie’s private stories in her novel…
