While not billed as an LGBT show, the hit fashion show has prominently featured countless LGBT people in prominent roles, notably designer-mentor Tim Gunn and original judge Michael Kors, and made it work for mainstream viewers. The show, which has 15 seasons in the can and another three contracted, made the move from Bravo to Lifetime in and continues to serve as a template for successful and gay-friendly reality TV. This Sky One series followed six men wooing Mexican model Miriam Rivera in , but the twist was that no contestant knew her to be trans.
Contestants eventually sued producers, delaying the airing of its only season, but the show garnered high ratings when it debuted to British audiences in The Bravo show, which premiered in , followed the Bachelor format, but with out star James Getzlaff choosing among 15 suitors. The show would have a controversial twist, though, as some of the contestants were actually straight men pretending to be gay well, pretending something to someone.
Of course, in addition to generating some negative ink, the premise also made it hard to pull off a second season. The MTV show that invented the genre known today as reality TV, The Real World was based on the premise that a diverse group of somethings living together would generate drama even without a script.
While not an LGBT show exclusively, it proved historic in mainstream representation of gay people from its first season on by including out cast member Norman Korpi on the show, where he kissed a man and many viewers were surprised the world did not immediately end. The modeling competition show, which premiered on UPN in , revolves around the fashion industry, and from its launch included LGBT people among its regular staff of mentors and judges, notably creative director Jay Manuel and runway coach Miss J Alexander.
25 Reality Shows That Made LGBT History
The show through the years has migrated to VH1 and today features a very different cast but remains an inclusive show spotlighting LGBT people in the industry. The Bravo series as early as treated same-sex weddings as viable, if still novel, sources of drama. Over eight episodes, the show would follow two lesbian couples and two gay couples during the buildup to their big days, documenting troubles with family having a hard time accepting the unions but also showing the fabulousness involved when drag queens provide the entertainment at the reception.
The Logo TV series follows built cast members at the legendary gay resort spot. Consider it the trans version of Queer Eye. After years of success with the scripted drama The L Word, Showtime launched this docu-series following the lives of actual lesbians living in Los Angeles. The show aired for three seasons and offered a real-life version of the premium hit.
Finding Prince Charming - Wikipedia
This Viceland show, launched in , chronicles the genuine hardships LGBT still face around the globe. This Fuse show debuted last year and spotlights the lives of five trans women. Forget gender already. The Oxygen show over two seasons followed an African-American dance team, which includes gay and gender-nonconforming members. It showcased the dancers' professional and personal lives in the Deep South — Mobile, Ala. The series shattered all kinds of stereotypes both about and within the LGBT community. A fifth season of the show premieres in the fall.
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Transamerican Love Story. Queer Eye for the Straight Guy. The Chris and John Show. The Prancing Elites Project. Tuesday brings great news for reality-TV junkies everywhere—or, at least, the ones who get Logo TV in their cable subscriptions.
Because the network, which largely caters to L. But it does seem to be the first time a reality dating show about gay people will actually be about gay people dating—instead of what straight people think of them. It will premiere this fall. In the summer of , Bravo premiered Boy Meets Boy.
Like Finding Prince Charming, the show featured a gay bachelor sifting through several contestants in the hopes of making a match. The catch? Unbeknownst to the bachelor, his pool of potential matches included both gay men and straight men who were pretending to be gay. The show revealed this secret toward the end: As icky as that might sound, in a perverse way, you have to give the show some credit.
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At least it foregrounded a gay man trying to find love, instead of using gay men as humorous accessories—or potential roadblocks in the path of straight contestants. All of the gay men on the show had to pretend to be hetero. Unlike Boy Meets Boy, there was no chance in this one that a gay contestant could find love unless it was with another contestant.