Logo Finally Coming Out
Logo, MTV's gay network, is just two days from its long-delayed launch. (Sadly, they haven't taken our unsolicited advice and renamed the net "Dickelodeon" in the year since they've announced the channel.) But the folks at Logo want you to know that if you're in search of the HLA of The L Word, the poppers-and-stalls action of QAF, or the one-dimensional, preening eunuchs of Will & Grace, you're going to have to take your greedy eyeballs elsewhere:
"Don't go there" is the operative message for those looking for the titillation of sexy gay programs like Showtime's "Queer as Folk" and "The L Word" (though Showtime Networks, also owned by Viacom, is a sponsor on the new channel).
Brian Graden, president of Logo and MTV Networks Entertainment, explained the philosophy behind Logo's schedule. "When you tell a story about gay rodeo or gay surfers it's not a story about sex nor does it need to be," he said in an interview. "So much connects us beyond sexuality."
New series will include "First Comes Love," which begins July 4, a comedy makeover show in which the comedian Scott Thompson and a wedding planner help about-to-be-married gay and lesbian couples plan their nuptials in two weeks. Documentaries will feature a variety of gay lives: rugby players, surfers, rural dwellers, Cubans and Republicans.
You've been warned: While the gay rugby series Up and Scrummers 14 might sound like a sweaty romp, it's probably just going to be a touchy-feely, thirtysomething-style dramedy.