Bravo will launch a second gay-themed series later this month, but executives
said the arts-oriented channel will not become a repository for gay-lifestyles
programming.
The new reality series, Boy Meets Boy, is a new strain of the popular
Bachelor and Bachelorette shows in that 15 men will vie for the
affections of one man, the network said.
Among the plot twists of the six-part series, debuting July 29, is the fact
that several of the suitors are straight men posing as gay. If the contestant
does not inevitably choose a gay mate, the straight man chosen will receive a
$25,000 cash reward.
Boy Meets Boy follows the debut of another gay-themed show on the
network, Queer Eye for the Straight Guy, which bows July 15.
Yet despite the two shows, Bravo president Jeff Gaspin said the network is
not moving toward an all-gay-programming format.
"In reality, these shows represent only 20 hours of original programming on a
cable network that programs 7,000 hours per year," Gaspin said. "What it shows
is that we're not afraid of controversy. We want to create noise with shows that
are innovative, take risks and set precedents."
Yet Gaspin admitted that such shows may not sit well with everyone around the
country, although he doesn't expect any backlash from viewers or operators.
Still, the network -- unlike for Queer Eye -- will not ask NBC
affiliates to air spots for Boy Meets Boy due to its controversial
nature.
Earlier this month, several network affiliates said they were uncomfortable
running spots for Queer Eye due to the show's premise of five guys
providing a lifestyles makeover for a straight man, although Gaspin said
affiliate dismay about the spots was more over Bravo's request to carry spots
for the skein featuring exact airtimes and dates. The NBC affiliate board was
expected to meet this week to discuss the day-and-date ads for Queer
Eye.
"None of the affiliates has told us they object to [the content of Queer
Eye ads]," Gaspin said. "The message that we've gotten is consistent with
the message that we've gotten when we've put day-and-date [ads] for CNBC and
MSNBC."
In other Bravo news, the network announced several new pilots it its
considering for possible series ideas.
But I Play One on TV places real actors in the jobs their characters
performed on TV; underExposed pits two up-and-coming filmmakers given the
same script against each other to develop the best short film; reality show
Read, Set, Van Gogh! showcases "extreme arts" fare; and Rewind
flips the Biography genre by telling a celebrity's story in reverse, from
the present to the past.
