Page 1 / 2 - Home

Also earlier this month, Q Television Network (QTN), which targets the gay and lesbian
community, announced that Sandra Bernhard has signed a deal to co-host 40 episodes of Queer Edge with Jack E. Jett. Bernhard's stint as co-host of the nightly show began on Monday, January 16. According to a press release from QTN, Bernhard is also in negotiations to develop her own series for the network.

“Sandra Bernhard is a fearless performer and iconic voice in our community. It is a tremendous honor and right of passage for us at QTN to showcase this caliber of artist
and activist,” commented Alexis Fish, Senior Executive Vice President of QTN. Queer Edge with Jack E. Jett is described in a statement from the network as a show that “covers everything from arts and news to celebrities and Internet subcultures -- all from a refreshing GLBT perspective.”

Bernhard, who is openly bisexual, is no stranger to television, appearing on such shows as Roseanne, Ally McBeal, Will & Grace, and The L Word. The comedienne also had her own talk show, The Sandra Bernhard Experience, on A&E in 2001.

O'Donnell, DeGeneres, and Bernhard are not the only lesbian/bisexual celebrities with TV deals in the works. As reported by AfterEllen.com in 2004, out singer/songwriter Melissa Etheridge is working on a sitcom for ABC.

The show is about an out lesbian (played by Etheridge) living with a straight man and raising the daughter of another friend. Soon after the 2004 announcement, Etheridge was diagnosed with breast cancer and the sitcom was put on hold. But after Etheridge finished successfully finished treatment, news of the sitcom surfaced again.

According to an October 2005 article from the Associated Press, Etheridge is once again developing the show. The musician told Time magazine that the show is about “what my life might have been like had I not left to find my fame and fortune, and stayed in Kansas and became a teacher and been gay and dealt with life there.”

In addition to these announcements from high-profile queer women, there are many other out lesbian writers and producers working behind the scenes on future television shows, like Francesca Gregorini, who with her writing partner Tatiana von Furstenberg, recently landed a script order from Paramount Network Television for a new semi-autobiographical drama about their experiences growing up at an all-girls boarding school.

It's possible, even probable, that most or even many of these projects will not come to fruition, given the intense competition for pilots vying to get on a slot on network television. But these are encouraging developments, especially given the current scarcity of lesbian characters on network TV.

Page 1 / 2 - Home