TV

TCA Report: ABC, Dana Delany on “Body of Proof,” Andrea Anders wants to date a girl on “Mr. Sunshine”

Lesbians were essentially shut out of ABC’s day at the Television Critics’ Association’s summer press tour Sunday. While ABC’s fall programming schedule is packed with new series that feature strong women front and center, the lesbian content doesn’t seem promising judging from their presentation to critics Sunday in Beverly Hills.

Here’s a rundown of the scripted series ABC will be kicking off come September and beyond.

9:45 ABC Executive session

Incoming ABC Entertainment president Paul Lee, noting that he’s only been on the job for 36 hours (having just been promoted after the departure of Steve McPherson), didn’t say much about specific plans for the network’s fall primetime schedule, other than that he isn’t planning to shuffle premiere dates and time slots. Lee, who earned the bump after developing such ABC Family hits as Kyle XY, The Secret Life of the American Teenager and Pretty Little Liars, said the networks are very different and he’d have to look at how to build the network when it comes to promoting programming with gay characters and LGBT story lines.

“We’re really going to have to sit down and figure out how we build this network; it’s a very different network,” he said. “But we’re very proud of what we did with ABC Family.”

Addressing ABC’s third-ranked (26% of programming hours inclusive of the LGBT community with a “good” rating”) from GLAAD compared with ABC Family’s No. 2 slot (37%), Lee had little to say: “I was very, very proud of that and it’s a very important thing.”

Let’s hope that with more time comes more visibility on the flagship network in the Disney family.

Asked if he’d be more patient when it comes to such bubble shows as Better Off Ted and Pushing Daisies while at ABC, Lee said he’d be open to allowing more time for programming to stick, but that “we’re all slaves to ratings.” During his tenure with ABC Family, he noted that he had more time to be patient and let programming find its audience. Lee added that he’d be open to letting canceled shows end their runs on Saturday nights in lieu of sending viewers online.

One thing that Lee was certain to stress? “I do know one thing: I know that Modern Family should win the Emmy for comedy this year,” he said.

10:45 Mr. Sunshine

Andrea Anders joined the new drama revolving around a San Diego arena and its troubled manager (Matthew Perry) two days after Better Off Ted was canceled. “I was sad, but you know, ef them!” she joked during the panel for Mr. Sunshine.

In the post-panel scrum, Anders responded to her character being described by the network as a “tomboy”:

AE: Your character in the press notes is described as very tomboy-ish.

AA: I have two older brothers and I’m from Wisconsin, so I am pretty tomboy-ish. But I also like to look pretty. [Laughs] I think that most people are both things anyway. I can climb a good tree and talk dirty. [Laughs]

AE: Are we going to get to see any of that?

AA: Yeah, I think so. I’m climbing a tree in the second episode – and talking dirty while climbing the tree.

AE: What’s your relationship to Matthew Perry’s character?

AA:We’re friends with benefits. During the pilot I tell him that I’d rather have more – and with someone else. I’m sure I’ll end up with him at some point. 9Laughs]

AE: Any stops with women along the way?

AA: Like if my character might get it on with a girl? Yeah, I hope so! Let’s talk to Matthew about that, that’d be fantastic! If they want me to get it on with a girl, I’m all about that! I think that’s fantastic.

AE: You and co-star Allison Janney?

AA:Yeah! Me and Allison! In fact, I’d like to come out right now, on the record. No, I’m just kidding. I’m very straight, unfortunately. But I think dating a girl would be great.

Mr. Sunshine premieres in 2011.

11:30 a.m. Body of Proof

Dana Delany talked about taking a new role as neurosurgeon-turned-medical examiner on Body of Proof over her part as Katherine on Desperate Housewives saying she had “a great three years. When ABC came to me with this opportunity, it was an offer I can’t refuse. Marc Cherry was great. He said he didn’t want to get in the way of me having my own show and that I’m always welcome back.”

She gave us some more insight later on.

AfterEllen: Lesbian fans adored you on Desperate Housewives. What was it like departing the show?

Dana Delany: I was sad. This is all very unexpected that this show came up. It all happened in one week. Originally Julie Benz’s character was supposed to leave so that Katherine could figure out who she was without it being because of the relationship. But I’m kind of glad about the way it ended, I really am. I’m glad that it ended romantically, that they went off to Paris. I imagine them drinking wine and eating cheese and being madly in love. I hope it stays that way.

AE: Same here, it’s not very often that lesbian couples get to live happily ever after in film or TV.

DD: I know! I got really wonderful letters from women about that story. There was one woman who really touched me – I still have the letter – who said that there was a scene in one episode where we kissed and Julie’s character presses me and says, “No, it did mean something,” and I say, “Yes, it mattered. It counted.” And this woman wrote me and said, “For all the times that a straight woman says, ‘I was drunk,’ ‘I didn’t know what I was doing,’ ‘It was just a phase’ – for you to say that it mattered meant a lot to me.

AE: So what will lesbians like about Body of Proof?

DD: The reaction to the show has been very interesting because I hear from a lot of women, “I love this character because she’s so strong and smart and kick-ass.” And from the men, they say, “Why does she have to be such a know-it-all?” [Laughs]

AE: Because men don’t like to be wrong?

DD: That’s what I thought! But people are going to like how tough she is. And she is smart.

12:15 p.m. My Generation

“We’ll be meeting more characters,” Noah Hawley, creator/executive producer of My Generation said of the potential of featuring a gay character. “The other great thing about the premise is that we have these nine characters and we have the whole high school class we can meet over time. Characters have siblings and relationships. As we grow the cast we’re going to continue to push the diversity. That’s important to us.”

“I do believe there are some gay people in Texas,” exec producer Warren Littlefield added.

Asked after the session what Elizabeth Keener‘s role as the show’s filmmaker entailed, Hawley said the writing staff is still developing her story line.

“Nothing is set in stone yet because we’re still writing toward that thing but I think there’s still the idea that there’s a personal reason that she went back to be with these people, in many ways, to this time in her life,” he said. “I don’t want to give away too much except to say that the year 2000 for her was probably a great moment in her life and now maybe 10 years later the film was never released and maybe she’s making corporate videos. So there’s a moment that she wants to go back to revisit these people because she’s also looking back to that time in her life as well. One of my favorite moments in film is in Sex Lies and Videotape where she takes the camera from him and puts him on the spot. I’m excited to earn the right to do that.”

You can hear her narrating as the filmmaker in the teaser for the show.

And how many episodes will Keener fans have to wait to see Dawn Denbo? “It’s not going to be right away,” Hawley said. “I think the audience has to get used to the show and the characters before you start to do that.”

My Generation premieres Thursday, Sept. 23.

1:30 p.m. No Ordinary Family

Out co-creator/exec producer Greg Berlanti said his intention for No Ordinary Family was to blend the two genres and create a big action show with intimate family moments. Following the panel, Berlanti said he’d really like to add a gay character into the mix.

“Definitely. I can’t imagine doing a series and not wanting to tell those stories, too,” he said. “Nothing has come up in the first three or four (episodes) but it would be my hope in the first year to deal with those issues, especially because it’s still a family show.”

The show’s star Julie Benz talked with us about her new part and playing lesbian on Desperate Housewives opposite Dana Delany.

AE: Lesbian fans adored you on Desperate Housewives. What was it like departing the show?

Julie Benz: That was a show I would have loved to have stayed on forever. I just had an amazing time working on it with those amazing women whose work has inspired me over the years. But unfortunately the character didn’t facilitate a longer story line than five episodes. For me, it was a once in a lifetime experience. If they ever wanted me to come back, I would in a heartbeat.

AE: What will lesbians like about No Ordinary Family?

JB: I don’t know! [Laughs] I think the one thing we all can relate to is that fantasy element, that what-if element – what if you did have a super power, what would it be, how would you handle it in your own life, how would it make your life easier? I think the show’s mass appeal is because of that element. We all want a bit of fantasy in our lives.

AE: What’s it like going from kissing Dana Delany to kissing your “No Ordinary Family” co-star Michael Chiklis?

JB: Easy! Kissing Dana is just lovely, she’s a beautiful woman – she smells great, has soft lips. Chiki has great breath – he chews gum all the time – but he does have a little scruff on his face. Everybody always asks me if it was awkward kissing Dana. Kissing anybody you’re not in love with is awkward anyway. So you just kiss and get it out of the way. When you’re in the moment of the characters, it’s not awkward, it’s just real and lovely. They’re both lovely people to makeout with.

No Ordinary Family premieres Tuesday, Sept. 28.

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