NEWS -  RIP, non ci sono più i gay effeminati di una volta...

Post di Nico Lang per PolicyMic

"A couple of years ago I sat in the audience for a panel discussion on queer representation in entertainment; the presentation included a breezy tour through the gay history of the media, complete with Powerpoint slides of Rosie, Ellen and old People magazines from when you needed to be on the cover of something to come out. The overview was greeted warmly, until we got to Will and Grace, where one of the show's characters, Jack McFarland, proved a sticking point. Jack, a sassy sidekick whose flamboyance towed the line between camp and parody, has long been a lightning rod of discussion in the community. You could feel that discomfort in the room.

Our tour guide diffused the tension by reminding the mostly-male audience that Jack might be a stereotype, but many of us know a Jack in real life. The audience laughed with delight and recognition. They nodded to friends as if to say, "Oh, yes. That's true." What he didn't say is that many of us are Jacks, but I wondered how many people would laugh at that statement.

I thought of this moment after NBC announced that the network would be pulling Sean Saves the World, the freshman sitcom starring Sean Hayes, who played Jack on Will and Grace. For those who haven't seen the show (read: all of you), Sean Saves the World was about a father forced to take sole guardianship of his estranged (yet adorable!) daughter after her mother abandoned her. The show was NBC's attempt to relive its glory days by borrowing from what worked in the '90s, with Hayes playing nearly the same character, a little older and wiser, but with all the trademark pitfalls. Even the stilted laugh track made it sound like the laughter was echoing in from 15 years ago.

 But in getting (rightly) cancelled by NBC, audiences weren't just leaving '90s sitcoms behind. They were leaving behind the Jack McFarlands, a relic of the Queer as Folk era of gay TV, when a show like Queer as Folk (for all its whitewashed issues) could give us three effeminate gays in its lead cast: Emmett, Ted and Justin. The recent television movement has been a push toward post-gay representation, creating male characters who just so happen to be gay. On the critically lauded Brooklyn Nine-Nine, that's the entire point of Andre Braugher's Captain Holt. His sexuality is as inscrutable as the rest of his persona, a hard-ass who has learned to blend in to survive in a homophobic workforce. The recent new HBO addition Looking was celebrated for the same thing. Although many critics chided it for being dull (which it is), defenders of the show found it liberating that gay characters got to be boring on television just like everyone else.

However, there's a certain type of character that gets the privilege to be post-gay, guys whose sexuality doesn't stand out in the same way that Jack's did. In order to get on television today, gay characters are butching it up, becoming like Captain Holt to prove they can hang with the boys, camouflaged with masculinity. Looking's characters are all fit hipster bros who call each other "dude" a lot. On the recently departed Happy Endings, the schlubby, hairy Max acted as a deconstruction of gay stereotypes. It was a running joke that Max was "less gay" than the show's straight dudes, much like gay characters on Nashville and GCB. This might be what it takes to fit in, but it looks awfully heteronormative.

Even recent shows that depict effeminate male characters use them primarily as the butt of the joke, a Lucy character who is always causing trouble. They act in counterpoint to a straighter man, who is seen as the voice of reason. The now-cancelled Ryan Murphy sitcom The New Normal provided Bryan — a shallow, judgmental television executive — primarily as a counterpoint to his angelically understanding partner David, a doctor who watches football and has no other character traits. David's role is "The Problem Solver." On Modern Family, Mitchell and Cameron have a similar dynamic, but Mitch seems to increasingly resent Cam for his effeminate tomfoolery. Their growing animosity has led many viewers to wonder if they secretly hate each other.

More than Mitchell, it's the community that has a complicated relationship with flamboyancy, much like the guys that I sat on the aforementioned panel with. It's a lot easier to pretend the queens don't exist than try to represent them, or we'd have to admit we have something in common. I remember that my mother once told me how much I reminded her of Jack and I remember how much it bothered me. I never stopped to ask myself why.

In being the newest gay show on TV, many will look to Looking to fix the problems surrounding gay representation and fill in the gaps in our media spectrum. Such is the inherent burden of representing a community, but we need to recognize why those cracks exist in the first place and why certain character types might push our buttons when it comes to masculinity and internalized homophobia. Fixing one TV show won't solve a problem that's bigger than HBO. With True Blood’s Lafayette and Glee's Kurt Hummel on shows that are on their last legs, our effeminate males are quickly becoming an endangered species.

On Girls, Lena Dunham's Hannah recently mourned the death of her complicated and quick-witted editor, David Pressler-Goings, played by the ever-androgynous John Cameron Mitchell. As David ascended to TV heaven to be with Sean Hayes, Hannah recalled that he had been her champion, the only one who believed in her work. TVs Davids, Jacks and Emmetts need champions too. They might not be represented on the air anymore, but it doesn't mean they aren't still here in real life and wondering what happened to their television counterparts".

NEWS - Compilation! Tutte le serie cancellate e rinnovate fino ad oggi!

Tutte le #serietv cancellate e confermate fino ad oggi tvline.com/2013/01/04/tv-… #telefilm
— AccademiaTelefilm (@AcademyTelefilm) 11 maggio 2013

NEWS - Clamoroso al Cibali! Ryan Murphy passa a HBO per la provocatoria nuova serie "Open" (i legami sessuali post "Nip/Tuck" son troppo osè per la tv generalista?)

Notizia tratta da "Deadline"
After fielding interest from multiple networks, Open, the racy new drama spec from Glee and American Horror Story co-creator Ryan Murphy, has gone toHBO, which has given it a pilot order. Casting is expected to begin shortly for filming in the fall. Open, which Murphy co-wrote with Dexter co-executive producer Lauren Gussis, is described as a modern, provocative exploration of human sexuality and relationships. It hails from Fox 21, the cable division of 20th Century Fox TV, where Murphy is under a rich overall deal. This marks the first project at HBO for 20th TV/Fox21, whose maiden project at fellow premium cable network Showtime was the Emmy-winning drama Homeland. “Gary (Newman), Bert (Salke) and I have been looking for the right opportunity to be in business with HBO for awhile, and this show represents the exact right opportunity,” said 20th TV chairman Dana Walden. “Its provocative storytelling and Ryan’s trademark production values and rich, layered characters make it a perfect fit for the HBO brand.”

Open expands HBO’s relationship with Murphy, where he is directing a passion project of his, the film adaptation of Larry Kramer’s celebrated Broadway play The Normal Heart. It is through that movie that HBO president Michael Lombardo got to know Murphy and observe his talent first-hand. Then he got the call from 20th TV and was given the Open script. “I was hooked,” Lombardo said. “I think it is a perfect marriage of an idea and execution. This is an area we’ve been talking about doing something in for some time, and Ryan did it in a way that is enormously engaging. We’re thrilled doing this project with him, Dana and Gary.”

Open revolves around five lead characters, including a married couple of thirtysomethings, the husband’s male co-worker and a woman in her 40s who is a yoga professional. Murphy said he had been bouncing ideas about a show exploring human relationships when Dante Di Loreto of his company, Ryan Murphy Prods, heard about Gussis working on a similar project and put them together. “She was great fresh voice and energy,” Murphy said about combining his efforts with Gussis. The two worked on the script in December, marking the first time Murphy had written a project on spec instead of selling a pitch. As for the spec landing at HBO: “I’m thrilled about it,” Murphy said, noting his great relationship with Lombardo through Normal Heart and calling HBO a perfect home for Open. “They have great projects, and this is really an adult show that is very frank in its depiction of sex.” But that depiction never feels gratuitous, 20th TV chairman Newman adds. “It is a very honest exploration of relationships and intimacy, and the sex feels organic to the subject matter,” he said.

HBO previously tackled the subject of relationships and sexuality with Tell Me You Love Me, though I hear Open takes a completely different approach. “It is a challenge how do talk about relationships and monogamy without feeling navel-gazing and neurotic, and (Murphy and Gussis) figured it out,” Lombardo said.

For Murphy, Open adds to an already full plate that includes three series on the air, which he co-created and executive produces: Fox’s Glee, FX’s AHS and freshman NBC comedy New Normal. A fifth-season renewal for Glee is pending, and Murphy just unveiled that the upcoming third installment of AHS will be titled American Horror Story: Coven and will star Kathy Bates in addition to Jessica Lange, Sarah Paulson and Taissa Farmiga. Additionally, CAA-repped Murphy is working on Normal Heart for HBO, with Julia Roberts and Mark Ruffalo starring.

Walden vouched full support for Murphy and is not worried by his enormous workload. “He’s demonstrated over and over that he is capable of handing volume in an extraordinary way,” she said. Gussis, repped by CAA and Circle Of Confusion, also worked on ABC’s Once Upon A Time. Fox 21′s slate includes the Emmy-winning Homeland for Showtime; FX’s Sons Of Anarchy; A&E’s Those Who Kill; and the FX pilot Tyrant, from Howard Gordon, Gideon Raff, and Craig Wright, which recently tapped Ang Lee as director.

Stracult e Stracotti - …ovvero la serie che questa settimana va su e quella che inevitabilmente va giù. Parola di Stargirl!

Quando lo scorso anno Apartment 23 debuttò sulla Abc con la prima (ahimè brevissima) stagione, bastò una manciata di episodi appena per definire la comedy di Nahnatchka Khan (American Dad, Malcom in the Middle) come uno stracult indiscusso.

A seconda stagione inoltrata, non posso che confermare il mio parere iniziale sullo show, che si contraddistingue nel panorama delle sitcom per l’umorismo politicamente scorretto, la sagacità e un’ironia fuori dall’ordinario. L’unico dettaglio su cui devo invece in parte ricredermi, riguarda la protagonista della serie. Mi spiego meglio: Krysten Ritter nei panni della “bitch” Chloe è a dir poco irresistibile, e come già affermato in passato, magnetica come poche altre attrici del piccolo schermo. La puntualizzazione riguarda semplicemente il suo ruolo all’interno di Apartment 23: se lo scorso anno infatti pensavo fosse lei il centro focale di tutto, dopo i primi quattro episodi della season 2, mi trovo “costretta” a sottolineare l’importanza dell’inimitabile James Van Der Beek, che grazie al ruolo (di sé stesso) interpretato nella comedy, è riuscito a mettere da parte i panni (noiosi e sfigati) del buon vecchio Dawson. Messo da parte lo sguardo stucchevole da teenager, James brilla finalmente in tutto il suo talento. È lui l’arma vincente di Apartment 23, con la sua ironia, il suo prendersi in giro con leggerezza, la sua capacità di capovolgere lo stereotipo del “divo della tv” per diventare macchietta di sé stesso e allo stesso tempo un uomo nuovo e irresistibile.

A Ryan Murphy piace distinguersi: lui ama il chiasso, le chiacchiere, i rumors, i pettegolezzi.

Gli piace che in giro si parli di lui, nel bene o nel male.

Lo ha dimostrato, seppur velatamente, anni fa con Popular, ne ha dato ulteriore riprova con Glee per poi sottolinearlo definitivamente con American Horror Story.

Ed eccolo qui anche quest’anno, con The New Normal, a turbare la “quiete altrui”, i benpensanti, i bacchettoni, i qualunquisti, gli stessi che a tempo debito non si risparmiarono dall’additare Modern Family e Fisica e Chimica quali serie “politicamente scorrette”.

E in un attimo, già prima del debutto, il suo The New Normal è stato censurato nello Utah, dall'emittente KSL-TV, ha suscitato lo scontento e l'indignazione delle One Million Mom, ha fatto esplodere un polverone e ancora prima che andasse in onda, ha fatto sì che si parlasse di Murphy e del suo voler sempre render solito l'insolito.

Partiamo dall’inizio: la nuova comedy del creatore di Glee, in onda dall’11 settembre sulla NBC, racconta le bizzarre vicissitudini di una coppia gay decisa a tutti i costi ad adottare un bebè e ad affittare così una madre surrogato.

Dopo un’accurata analisi, la scelta dei due ricade su una giovane disoccupata incasinata e alquanto bislacca già madre di una bambina, la fotocopia della piccola (e indimenticabile) protagonista di Little Miss Sunshine.

A completare il surreale quadretto familiare, la nonna delle due, la classica donna poco propensa a invecchiare, coi capelli ossigenati, le perle al collo e l’ironia di un serpente a sonagli.

Nel ruolo di David e Bryan, i futuri papà, rispettivamente Justin Bartha di Hangover e Andrew Rannells; in quello della madre surrogato Georgia King, mentre la sua tenera canaglia Shania, è interpretata dall’irresistibile Bebe Wood, e dulcis in fundo, nei panni della terribile granma, una strepitosa Ellen Barkin.

Il tono della sitcom è fresco, leggero e godibile e i personaggi deliziosi, ma il plot, nonostante l’iniziale polverone, non è per nulla originale: il tema della coppia gay, dell’adozione con tutti gli annessi e connessi, lo avevamo senza dubbio già visto in Modern Family, e anche la humour, diciamocelo, non è certo quella che lascia il segno. Troppi e a volte eccessivamente stucchevoli i cliché, che fan sì che The New Normal si conquisti il titolo di stracotto della settimana.