Florida Agenda

By DUNCAN ST THIBAULT

“The New Normal” touched on a laundry list of topical subjects on last night’s episode, called “Obama Mama.” The show— about two gay men trying to have a baby through a surrogate—went through the World Tour of social and political issues, including abortion rights, racism, religion, marriage equality, health care, and the candidates for president.

Executive Producer Ryan Murphy (“Nip/Tuck,” “Glee”) said, “You have two clearly gay liberal guys at the heart of the show. But we all thought it would be great to do an episode where we presented…the conservative point of view, the Republican point of view, in a way that hopefully was as eloquent.”

The show, which airs Tuesday nights at 9:30 p.m., is based on Murphy’s real life experiences as a gay TV producer exploring surrogacy with his partner. “One of the fun things about this show is the ability I have to send myself up. I like to make fun of myself and to skewer what people think of me,” he added. NBC’s Salt Lake City affiliate, which is owned by the Mormon Church, announced in August that it would not broadcast “The New Normal,” which it believes is “inappropriate on several dimensions, especially during family viewing time.” The program gets an average audience of 6.4 million viewers, and is particularly popular with 25 to 54 year-old women, NBC saiys.

Paris Hilton Dumped From Doc Over Gay Remarks

Famous-for-being-famous Paris Hilton has at least twice (officially) apoligized for questionable comments about (some) gay men during a taxi ride in which her conversation was secretly recorded. (By the way—has anyone called the cabbie a s***bag for invading La Hilton’s privacy?)

On Sept. 7, Hilton, 31, was riding in a Big Apple cab with two friends, at which time she is alleged to have burbled (as part of a convo about gay hookup site/ app Grindr), “Gay guys are the horniest people in the world,” and then added, “They’re disgusting. Dude, most of them probably have AIDS.” (A full listening of the convo lends credibility to the theory that PH was referring to some of the people on hookup sites—and not all gay men.) The hotel heiress posted an apology on GLAAD’s Web site, calling gays “the strongest and most inspiring people I know.” But LGBT-targeted cable channel Logo has responded by shutting down the broadcast of a documentary about Hilton that was scheduled to air. At least one person has stepped into Paris’ corner over the controversy:

Bombastic Bi author Bret Easton Ellis tweeted his concurrence: “I kind of agree with Paris Hilton,” he wrote, adding that she “isn’t that far off.

SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH – The NBC affiliate in Salt Lake City is taking a pass on one of the network’s new series. An official with KSL-TV, which is owned by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, or Mormon Church, told the likewise church owned Deseret News that “The New Normal”—a comedy series about a gay couple that contracts with a live-in surrogate mother—will not be on the station’s schedule.

“For our brand, this program simply feels inappropriate on several dimensions, especially during family viewing time,” said Jeff Simpson, CEO of Bonneville International, which owns the station (and is itself a subsidiary of the church). It is the second time in as many years that station officials have opted-out of a network offering: Last year, KSL dropped NBC’s “The Playboy Club,” a show that was soon cancelled by the network.

Responding to the perceived censorship, “Normal” star Ellen Barkin chastised KSL on Twitter. “Anyone in Utah interested in @ NBCTheNewNormal please clog up @ksl5tv feed 4 their blatantly homophic decision 2 not air the show #KSLBigots,” she wrote. In July, the conservative group One Million Moms called for a boycott of “The New Normal,” which premieres on September 11, and was co-created by “Glee” executive producer Ryan Murphy.

BURBANK, CA – According to Deadline Hollywood, NBC has ordered a pilot for the half-hour comedy “My Best Friend is a Lesbo.”

The project, from Warner Brothers TV and Josh Schwartz and Stephanie Savage’s studio-based Fake Empire, is about two best female friends–one straight, the other gay–who become roommates and help each other navigate life, love,

and dating in Los Angeles. If the project goes to series, its provocative title will probably be toned down the way ABC’s “Good Christian Bitches” became “Good Christian Belles” and “The Bitch at Apt. 23” was shortened to “Apartment 23.”

Photo: Late Night with Craig Ferguson Courtesy, CBS

NEW YORK – Just days after the NBC transgender incident, CBS’s “The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson” introduced a transgender character as Ferguson’s “half-sister”. Both the NBC and CBS incidents happened within days of a report by

the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force and the National Center for Transgender Equality about the widespread prevalence of anti transgender discrimination.

Photo: Courtesy, Saturday Night Live/Broadway Video

NEW YORK – The Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation, GLADD, has requested an apology from NBC for a recent skit on “Saturday Night Live” called “Estro-Maxxx”. According to GLAAD, the piece was a mock commercial for estrogen replacement

therapy and featured men with facial hair wearing dresses, meant to represent transgender women.

“This segment cannot be defended as ‘just a joke’ because there was no ‘joke’ to speak of,” contended GLAAD in a written statement. “The attempted comedy of the skit hinges solely on degrading the lives and experiences of transgender women. Holding people up for ridicule simply on the basis of their identity fuels a dangerous and hurtful climate and puts people in danger, especially given how infrequently the media shines a fair and accurate light on the lives of transgender people.”

GLAAD has requested that NBC remove the skit from their Hulu view-on-demand website and any future airings of the show’s episode.

Neither NBC/Universal or its parent company, Comcast have responded to the GLAAD request.