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What ACLU’s ‘Modern Family’ Marriage Campaign Says About Our Politicized, Wedding-Obsessed Culture

By Tyler Coates on

Yesterday, ACLU Action launched an online campaign urging producers of the massively popular sitcom Modern Family to incorporate a gay-wedding narrative in the show’s sixth season. In an era when no major network shows feature an openly gay character (this season saw the cancellations of The New Normal, Partners, Happy Endings, and Smash), Modern Family stands out in that it features two gay characters who are in a monogamous relationship and are raising an adopted daughter. The ACLU’s campaign argues that the couple should be wed, just like the two heterosexual couples on the show. Despite the good intentions on display, the campaign is completely absurd. … Read More

Media

What Bret Easton Ellis’ GLAAD Rant Gets Right (And What It Gets Wrong)

By Tyler Coates on

Out has published a long rant from novelist and occasional Internet provocateur Bret Easton Ellis that covers at length the following subjects: Jason Collins, the former NBA player who came out as gay two weeks ago with a controversial Sports Illustrated cover story, the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) and the organization’s annual media awards, openly gay actor Matt Bomer, a defense of AIDS jokes, and the phenomenon he calls “the Gay Man as the Magical Elf.” Strap in folks, because there’s a lot to parse in this nearly 3,500-word screed in which Ellis places himself at the heart of a great debate about the nature of today’s gay man — a topic on which the writer seems to play both sides. … Read More

Television

Why Lesbians Need a Character Like ‘Happy Endings” Max Blum

By Anna Pinkert on

I didn’t want to like Happy Endings. Every fall, at least one network tries some dark magic in an attempt to resurrect Friends “for a new generation,” unleashes it on an unsuspecting public, and then blames some poor showrunner when it burns down the whole village in a fit of stupidity.

But Happy Endings charmed me. Mostly, Adam Pally charmed me as Max Blum — a hairy, horn-dog, no-good single gay dude. Max was the first gay man I’d seen on television who spent more time eating Cheez Whiz than applying “product.” The only gay thing about Max is that he sleeps with men — which is much closer to the real gay men I know. Not everyone is a Cam or a Mitchell, a Will or a Jack. In a weird way, Max is my TV avatar, too. Max dates men — and also likes the Bulls! I date women — and I also like pedicures! … Read More

Television

10 TV Cliques We’d Like to Hang With

By Michelle Rafferty on

One of the qualities of a good hang-out show is getting to live vicariously through the crazy adventures of a group of friends that are far cooler than we’ll ever be, for their quick-witted banter, complex schemes, unlimited brunch/booze budget, and ability to sleep with one another without getting weird. And because Happy Endings — one of the most underrated hang-out shows on TV, in our opinion — is returning tonight, we decided to pay tribute to some of the most awesome friends in TV history. Is there a clique you would like to hang (or not hang) with? Let us know!  … Read More

Television

Exclusive Supercut: 50 TV Characters in Hilarious Halloween Costumes

By Michelle Rafferty on

It’s no secret we’ve spent a lot of October covering DIY Halloween getups. But for those who would rather live vicariously through others, or who are still looking for some inspiration, we’ve rounded up some of if the funniest costumes in TV history. Also, if anyone can explain how Penny and Max’s “mom-and-baby” costume works (see opening clip), would you mind dropping us a line in the comments? We’ve been scratching our heads on the logistics of that one for a while. … Read More

Television

The 15 Funniest TV Characters Right Now

By Judy Berman on

Is Andy Dwyer the funniest character on TV? We know we struggle to keep a straight face every time Chris Pratt is on the screen in Parks and Recreation, between his sweetly doofy lines and his perfectly timed pratfalls. (As our colleague Kim Gardner reminds us, he makes an excellent FBI agent, too.) Our love of Andy got us thinking about who else might qualify as television’s most hilarious character right now, so we surveyed the Flavorpill staff to get their picks. See the 15 they shouted out — including now fewer than three more Parks and Rec characters — after the jump. … Read More

Television

25 of the Best Dance Numbers in TV History

By Michelle Rafferty on

Amy Sherman-Palladino’s Bunheads is having one of those freshman seasons where everything is struggling just a little bit to come together. But since this isn’t an uncommon attribute of other shows we’ve come to love (Parks and Recreation, for starters) and because we are really enjoying the show’s ballet numbers (which are surprisingly seldom), we’re sticking it out. Having found ourselves unexpectedly enthralled with the dance aspect of the show, we’ve decided to highlight our favorite performance so far (an environmental allegory!) as well as the other dance sequences in TV history that have left us amazed, amused, and flat-out inspired to get up and move our legs in time. Have a favorite we missed? Let us know in the comments! … Read More

Television

Flavorpill’s Favorite TV Shows of the 2011-12 Season

By Judy Berman on

If the weather was as warm where you were as it was in New York over the long weekend, you probably didn’t spend much of the past few days watching TV. But Memorial Day isn’t just the beginning of the summer season — it also marks the end of May sweeps month, the official close of the television season, when network programming packs it in until September and we’re forced to make do with generally crappy filler, reruns, and the occasional fantastic basic or premium cable series. What this means (besides that we should all step away from the screen and get some sun) is that it’s time to crown our favorite TV shows of the 2011-12 season. Our picks, featuring the astute input of Flavorwire’s editorial staff, are after the jump. … Read More

Television

Everything You Need to Know About the Fall 2012 TV Season

By Judy Berman on

Is it just us, or have the past few weeks of network television renewals, cancellations, and new series pickups been particularly dramatic? More than any other previous year, the anticipation and anxiety surrounding upfronts has been at fever pitch, with fans of imperiled cult favorites glued to their Twitter feeds for news and a slew of new shows that already have critics and readers talking. The onslaught of announcements has been so intense that even those of us who follow pop culture for a living have had trouble keeping up — so, for the sake of our sanity and yours, we’ve dug through the reports to compile a list of the biggest and most interesting news about the 2012-13 TV season, including trailers for some of the most talked about new series. … Read More

Television

10 TV Sex Dreams to Live in Infamy

By Michelle Rafferty on

Last week’s How I Met Your Mother pregnancy-induced sex-dream plot fell short, and it wasn’t just because it took place after the

Buffy: The sex dream that started it all 

At the beginning of Season 5 we see Spike hopping mad after another failed attempt to kill his arch-nemesis, raving: “Buffy, Buffy, Buffy. Everywhere… Read More