ABC Family’s controversial lesbian drama “The Fosters” returns from a hiatus tonight, Jan. 13, with its two women stars in bed, kissing. In Hollywood, that’s subtle pro-gay messaging.
The New York Times welcomed the show’s return with an interview with the creators in the Jan. 12 arts section. Apparently the show’s openly gay creators have been getting complaints from their gay audience about there not being enough sex scenes in the show. To combat this, creators Peter Paige and Bradley Bredeweg revealed the show’s first scene would feature the lesbian couple in an intimate state:
“So Mr. Bredeweg would like to point out that when the show returns from its mid-first-season hiatus on Monday night, it will open with the cop Stef Foster (Teri Polo [1]) and the school administrator Lena Adams (Sherri Saum) in bed together the morning after their wedding, while their children — one biological, two adopted, two fostered — crash about downstairs. Naked (apparently) and spooning, they discuss their new compound last names and morning breath before Lena says, ‘Come here, woman,’ the prelude to a long, deep kiss.”
This is not the first time the show has shown the lesbian couple in intimate ways. In the first season, an episode was devoted to the couple’s sex life.
The Times neglected to mention that this “family drama” was created by two gay men [2], Bradley Bredeweg and Peter Paige, who were also the creators and writers for the vulgar gay drama “Queer as Folk [3].” Bredeweg also recently joined the board for “Raise a Child [4],” an advocacy group that promotes same-sex foster couples, according to The Huffington Post [5].
Times critic Mike Hale called “The Fosters” the “most realistic” [6] portrayal of same-sex couples on television. In an interview with The Times, Bredeweg and Paige admitted they sometimes get advice on how to convincingly portray a lesbian couple from their executive producer Joanna Johnson, who is a lesbian.
The show’s creators are well-connected in Washington. In a June 2012 interview with gay entertainment website, The Backlot [7], Paige revealed that the Los Angeles Gay and Lesbian Center he works for “received a $13 million dollar grant from the Obama Administration to develop the first ever LGBT foster protocol, to protect gay and lesbian kids in foster care.” A search on Open Secrets revealed that the group similarly gave more than $36K, collectively, to Barack Obama’s campaign and Democrats in 2012.
“The Fosters” is only the latest broadcast TV show to depict “The New Normal” of gay couples on TV that has become commonplace. The recent additions to join the hit “Modern Family” have included “Under the Dome,” “Camp,” “Chicago Fire” and “Scandal.”
— Kristine Marsh is Staff Writer for MRC Culture at the Media Research Center. Follow Kristine Marsh on Twitter. [8]