Dear LOGO,
It’s unfortunate that you never catered to the LGBT community in the past very well, but now you seem to have abandoned them all together, with the exception of your Drag Race fans.
Your latest offering – In The Big House looks to be another travesty. And while you are touting this as the “real life” Modern Family, the truth is, this is anything but a bunch of straight mobsters who happen to clash with another gay stereotype. Even your “about LOGO” summary shows that you no longer want to cater to LGBT:
Logo celebrates one-of-a-kind personalities, unconventional stories and discovering what’s next-all through a mix of original and acquired entertainment that’s outrageous, smart and inclusive. Entertaining a social, savvy audience of gay trendsetters, Logo also attracts a straight audience that wants to be ahead of the curve.
Come on now LOGO, who are these social and savvy gay trendsetters you speak of? Latrice Royale fans? Please also note, I watched every season of RuPaul’s Drag Race so I’m not anti–Drag, but I’d love it if you offered some other representation.
The Gay Community understands that it is difficult to create something fresh and modern that may have a cross appeal on a limited budget. However, BRAVO seemed to figure it out just fine. Watch What Happens Live is probably the cheapest produced show I’ve ever seen, yet it’s continuously fresh, innovative, entertaining and routinely attracts over 1 million viewers nightly and many of which are both straight and gay.
They know their audience and they know how to be creative in bringing in viewers.
It’s great you found one hit show in all these years thanks to the cross-appeal of Drag Queens, but it would be nice to show the rest of the world that you can also attract a more mainstream audience by showing a more original facet of gay culture. Perhaps showing a gay version of Real Housewives was not the answer. Perhaps the answer is finding an element in the gay community that doesn’t present us as a “Girls Just Want To Have Fun” video would be a bit more captivating.
There are a lot of lower budget ways to find an audience. LOGO should be the first network that can show the rest of the world that the gay community can be interesting without having to put on a dress or camp it up. Here are a few rough ideas:
– A dating and/or cooking competition show that features all sorts of representatives from the gay community.
– A Gay Bar Rescue type of show where someone saves another poorly run Gay Bar from failing…
– A talent/variety show that features all from the LGBT community?
– The life and times of Gay Cops and Firemen.
While the concepts may not be all that original, the casting, execution and presentation of these can be.
Perhaps if one of these clicks, you’d have a budget for scripted entertainment – a sitcom that shows a more realistic version of a gay couple raising a kid, or a group of gay singles trying to find their way in the world of love. Or better yet, a soap opera that takes place in West Hollywood or someplace not often publicized much by the gay community, like Chicago. :)
There, now I’ve put together your three year blue print for success.
With many of these ideas, you could actually put together shows that encompasses LGBTQ all in one half hour! Not even the mainstream networks have accomplished that yet. (Sorry Modern Family, sorry Will & Grace)
I always thought that the Gay Community was one of the most creative groups of individuals out there, but apparently that must be another stereotype I was unaware of.
Yours truly,