269 episodes

Back in the day, a major sitcom doing a gay episode was a big deal. A proper gay episode would get headlines, but it would get the attention of two young guys who were still figuring things out — sexuality-wise and culture-wise. Gayest Episode Ever has screenwriter Glen Lakin and stay-at-home journalist Drew Mackie going through the great and not-so-great gay episodes of sitcoms past.

Gayest Episode Ever Gayest Episode Ever Pro

    • TV & Film
    • 4.9 • 496 Ratings

Listen on Apple Podcasts
Requires subscription and macOS 11.4 or higher

Back in the day, a major sitcom doing a gay episode was a big deal. A proper gay episode would get headlines, but it would get the attention of two young guys who were still figuring things out — sexuality-wise and culture-wise. Gayest Episode Ever has screenwriter Glen Lakin and stay-at-home journalist Drew Mackie going through the great and not-so-great gay episodes of sitcoms past.

Listen on Apple Podcasts
Requires subscription and macOS 11.4 or higher

    Daria Should Have Kissed Jane Instead of Tom

    Daria Should Have Kissed Jane Instead of Tom

    “Dye! Dye! My Darling!” (August 2, 2000)
    Spend a little time in a Daria fan community and you’ll find folks who ship the title character with her best friend, Jane. The show actually never does a gay episode and only gets the slightest bit queer in the first movie, Is It Fall Yet?, which has Jane affirming her heterosexuality despite how very queer she might seem. In this episode, we’re discussing the nonetheless existent lesbian vibes between Daria and Jane — and who better to offer input on this than Talking Simpsons cohost Bob Mackey? Sure, he’s straight, but it turns out that straight men can relate to female characters too. (We were shocked!)
    As it turns out, Bob and Henry’s What a Cartoon podcast covers not only the Daria episode that immediately precedes this one, “Fire!” and also “The Misery Chick,” which as we discuss is a crucial turning point in the development of Daria Morgandorfer.
    This week, Glen and Drew are guests on Talking Simpsons, discussing "Three Gays of the Condo" and why it's not great! If you need more of our voices in your life, have a listen here.
    Go shop at our TeePublic store!
    Follow: GEE on Facebook • GEE’s Facebook Group • GEE on Twitter • GEE on Instagram • Drew on Twitter • Glen on Twitter
    Listen: Apple Podcasts • Spotify • Google Podcasts • Himalaya • TuneIn
    And yes, we do have an official website! We even have episode transcripts courtesy of Sarah Neal. Our logo was designed by Rob Wilson. This episode’s art was designed by Ian O’Phelan.

    • 2 hr 28 min
    Lucy Meets a Drag Queen

    Lucy Meets a Drag Queen

    “Lucy and Jim Bailey” (November 6, 1972)
    Basically, Lucille Ball did a solid for one gay performer, but in doing this, she also helped make gays a little less scary for America. Jim Bailey was a female impersonator who who had already made appearances on late night TV for this uncanny ability to turn himself into female celebs. Lucy, however, gave him a showcase on her popular prime time sitcom, showing her viewers that not only were drag queens not scary, but in fact they can be a lot of fun.
    Watch the episode of The Lucy Show where Lucy almost drowned on Tubi. And read the book that details both versions of the story on Archive.org.
    What the episode of the Desilu-produced game show You Don’t Say.
    Go shop at our TeePublic store!
    Follow: GEE on Facebook • GEE’s Facebook Group • GEE on Twitter • GEE on Instagram • Drew on Twitter • Glen on Twitter
    Listen: Apple Podcasts • Spotify • Google Podcasts • Himalaya • TuneIn
    And yes, we do have an official website! We even have episode transcripts courtesy of Sarah Neal. Our logo was designed by Rob Wilson. This episode’s art was designed by Ian O’Phelan.

    • 1 hr 37 min
    A Queer History of SNL, Part Four: The Lost Years

    A Queer History of SNL, Part Four: The Lost Years

    People use the term “the lost years” differently when speaking of Saturday Night Live, but this podcast is using it specifically from the time Lorne Michaels left the show after season five up until season eleven. Aside from Eddie Murphy’s presence on the show, these are the sketches that are less remembered today because they weren’t rerun on Comedy Central in the 2000s as much and they’re largely absent from the cache of episodes preserved online today. And that’s too bad, because this is when the show boasted some legends in the cast — Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Billy Crystal, Joan Cusack, Robert Downey Jr., Martin Short and Damon Wayans among them, as well as queer cast members Terry Sweeney, Denny Dillon and Danitra Vance.
    The sketches (and click here if you want to watch them):
    “SoHo Lesbians” (S6E10: Debbie Harry) “Little Richard Simmons” (S7E1: No host) “James Coburn Is a Homosexual” (S7E11: James Coburn) “Focus on Film: Making Love” (S7E12: Bruce Dern) “Penny Lane” (S10E11: Roy Scheider) “Pinklisting” (S11E1: Madonna) “Mr. Monopoly” (S11E12: Griffin Dunne) Monologue (S11E16: Catherine Oxenberg) “Lesbian Pick-Ups” (S11E18: Anjelica Huston) Go shop at our TeePublic store!
    Follow: GEE on Facebook • GEE’s Facebook Group • GEE on Twitter • GEE on Instagram • Drew on Twitter • Glen on Twitter
    Listen: Apple Podcasts • Spotify • Google Podcasts • Himalaya • TuneIn
    And yes, we do have an official website! We even have episode transcripts courtesy of Sarah Neal. Our logo was designed by Rob Wilson. This episode’s art was designed by Ian O’Phelan.

    • 1 hr 49 min
    American Dad Does a Meta Backdoor Pilot

    American Dad Does a Meta Backdoor Pilot

    “Top of the Steve” (March 18, 2019)

    Animated sitcoms like playing with corny TV conventions more than live-action sitcoms do, and maybe none has more fun with the sitcom genre itself than American Dad. In this episode, Steve nearly spins off into his own series, but unlike every other entry in our Backdoor Pilots series, he’s actually aware of what’s happening to him. It’s a weird one-off that gets meta in the way that’s very typical of Seth MacFarlane show.

    And this is the last of the Backdoor Pilots series — this one is technically a bonus episode — so we’re making it available to everyone who supports us on Patreon or Apple Podcasts. The rest are behind the pay wall. New bonus series coming!

    The theme song to this series was composed and performed by Meika Grimm.

    Sex and the City Meets an Effeminate Heterosexual

    Sex and the City Meets an Effeminate Heterosexual

    “Evolution” (August 19, 1999)
    If you came of age in the late 90s or early 2000s, you live in a world informed by Sex and the City — whether you realize it or not. It’s probably one of the most influential TV shows to air during our lifetimes, and so it’s more than time that we look at one of its many LGBTQ-themed episodes. Joining us to discuss Carrie, Samantha, Miranda and Charlotte is returning guest Gwynedd Stuart, who has big feelings about why this show matters.
    Listen to Gwynedd’s previous episode about Soap.
    Most of Drew’s background on how SATC ended up at HBO comes from this Vulture article. And here is the 1991 New York Times article about Woody Allen and Mia Farrow waving at each other from across Central Park.
    Listen to Drew discussing Bowser, King of the Koopa, on the Retronauts podcast.
    Go shop at our TeePublic store!
    Follow: GEE on Facebook • GEE’s Facebook Group • GEE on Twitter • GEE on Instagram • Drew on Twitter • Glen on Twitter
    Listen: Apple Podcasts • Spotify • Google Podcasts • Himalaya • TuneIn
    And yes, we do have an official website! We even have episode transcripts courtesy of Sarah Neal. Our logo was designed by Rob Wilson. This episode’s art was designed by Ian O’Phelan.

    • 2 hr 21 min
    Newhart Meets a Gay

    Newhart Meets a Gay

    "Homes and Jojo" (May 1, 1989)
    Newhart is a show about white people who live in the snow, and while 70s-era Bob Newhart sitcom is the one pop culture remembers better, this is the longer-lived, more-Emmy-nominated of the two. What the 80s-era Bob New1hart sitcom has working in its favor are future Simpsons showrunner David Mirkin, who gives a host of wacky townspeople not unlike what you’d find in Springfield, and the duo of Julia Duffy and Peter Scolari, who male a perfect yuppie couple worthy of mockery. It’s great. Here, learn about it.
    Listen to Smart Mouth, GEE”s sister show, and in particular check out the episode “Queer Food” with John Birdsall, because if you’re listening to this podcast you’re probably queer and probably also you eat food.
    Go shop at our TeePublic store!
    Follow: GEE on Facebook • GEE’s Facebook Group • GEE on Twitter • GEE on Instagram • Drew on Twitter • Glen on Twitter
    Listen: Apple Podcasts • Spotify • Google Podcasts • Himalaya • TuneIn
    And yes, we do have an official website! We even have episode transcripts courtesy of Sarah Neal. Our logo was designed by Rob Wilson. This episode’s art was designed by Ian O’Phelan.

    • 1 hr 39 min

Customer Reviews

4.9 out of 5
496 Ratings

496 Ratings

OpenMoose ,

Five stars

This is a five star review.

3 Chomping Teeth ,

Love this podcast!

I have been listening for awhile and it’s always, for me, a great trip back to my gay youth watching tv and getting lost in the great world of sitcoms and pop culture. The hosts, even though they are slightly younger then myself, and sometimes don’t have the same fondness for certain shows or genres I grew up loving, I always enjoy their great banter and how they incorporate theme songs into every podcast. I’m a fan for life!

Quasipox ,

My Happy Place (As a Podcast)

I found this show thanks to Matt Baume's Youtube videos, and after listening to a few episodes, I fell in love with it. I also came out as bisexual around the same time; so coincidence? You decide.

Honestly, I really do love the show and appreciate the effort Drew and Glen put to giving the backstory behind a piece of cultural canon, while still being extremely entertaining. I always look forward to the new episodes (and highly recommend the Patreon series as well) and can't say enough about it. I've discovered some shows (finally went back and watched all of Frasier) and have appreciated the shows I already knew even more.

Thank you both for being so awesome.

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