Let me get this straight: On May 25, MTV announced it will
launch a new cable station that will show programming aimed at gay
and lesbian audiences. The station, named Logo for no apparent
particular reason, will premiere in February, and “will
follow in the trail blazed by such shows as “˜Will &
Grace,’ “˜Queer Eye for the Straight Guy’ and
“˜The L Word,'” according to a Los Angeles Times
article.
I have no problem with the existence of such a station; cable
television is the television of niche markets, and the fact that
MTV feels confident enough to back Logo speaks as a testament to
the widening support and acceptance of gay and lesbian issues.
Sure, a lot of it has to do with allowing advertisers to reach
the estimated $400 billion in buying power that the gay and lesbian
community has nationwide, but that’s television. What’s
more impressive is that MTV isn’t deterred by conservative
groups, and is going ahead with Logo’s launch anyway. The
Rev. Louis P. Sheldon, head of the Traditional Values Coalition,
complained that the new station was “bad news for American
families,” but was generally ignored, as he should be in this
case.
But the question isn’t whether or not such a station
should be on the air (it should) or even if it will be successful.
(I’d guess it will.) The question that I can’t get over
is: What will Logo show on the air for 24 hours a day, seven days a
week?
If the station really hopes to follow in the footsteps of
“Will & Grace,” “Queer Eye for the Straight
Guy” and “The L Word,” it must be careful in
walking the line between original programming for gay and lesbian
audiences and stereotypical programming about them for straight
audiences.
“The L Word,” although not as stereotypical as the
other two shows mentioned, has been successful largely because
it’s on Showtime, a premium cable channel that doesn’t
have to worry as much about reaching wide audiences to please
advertisers. Meanwhile, the argument can be made for both
“Will & Grace” and “Queer Eye for the
Straight Guy” that they cater more to straight audiences
wanting to tap into gay and lesbian culture than gay and lesbian
audiences watching themselves. Because Logo will rely on
advertisers to stay afloat, the station’s choice of
programming will need to be sincere enough to remain credible, but
wide enough to remain on the air.
So far, with the limited information currently available, Logo
seems to be doing a good job. According to the Los Angeles Times,
the station will get 75 percent of its content from already
existing sources at its launch, filling the other quarter of time
with original programming and specials. It has also acquired the
rights to 100 movies, including “What Ever Happened to Baby
Jane?” and “Gods and Monsters.”
The film selection is both impressive and encouraging. And while
the titles of a few films aren’t much to go on, they’re
the only specific pieces of programming information the station has
released so far. At least they’re not showing Nathan
Lane’s performance in “The Birdcage” on repeat
for a week.
But what will set Logo apart, either for good or bad, will be
its original programming, which we don’t know anything about
yet. If it’s anything like “Gods and Monsters,”
it could be some of the best stuff on television. If the station
goes for ratings and develops its own version of “Will &
Grace,” it could be some of the worst.
We won’t know until February. The few film titles are
encouraging, as is the station’s existence in the first
place, but without knowing what Logo’s original programming
will be like, it’s too early to know which way the station
will swing.
E-mail Tracer at jtracer@media.ucla.edu.