Playing It Straight

Playing It Straight is an American reality television series broadcast by the Fox Broadcasting Company (Fox). The series premiered on March 12, 2004, although it was prematurely cancelled by the network following the broadcast of its third episode on March 26, 2004. Set at the Sizzling Saddle Ranch in Elko, Nevada, the series depicted fourteen men who attempted to pursue a romantic relationship with college student Jackie Thomas. However, this group of suitors was split between men who identified as straight and gay. Through a series of group activities and one-on-on dates, Thomas was required to eliminate men from the competition who she believed identified as gay. If the final suitor was a straight man, he and Thomas split a reward of $1 million. Conversely, if the final suitor was a gay man, he alone won the reward. The series was hosted by American television presenter Daphne Brogdon.

Playing It Straight
Genre	Reality television
Presented by	Daphne Brogdon
Country of origin	United States
Original language	English
No. of seasons	1
No. of episodes	8
Production
Executive producers	Jeremy Mills Ciara Byrne
Production location	Elko, Nevada
Running time	41–42 minutes
Production company	Lion Television
Original release
Network	Fox
Release	March 12 (2004-03-12) – March 26, 2004 (2004-03-26)

Playing It Straight was a part of Fox's intent to capitalize on a rising interest in LGBT-themed reality television shows. The series' format was inspired by The Bachelor, with the addition of an LGBT-related twist. Playing It Straight was met with criticism from many television critics, who claimed that it reinforced stereotypes and promoted a negative portrayal of gay men. The series premiered to modest ratings, which declined with the broadcast of subsequent episodes. Following its mid-season cancellation, Fox released the full series on their website on a pay-per-view basis. The cancellation of Playing It Straight caused some network executives to reevaluate their own LGBT-related television shows. The series spawned adaptations in Australia, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom.

Format

Bachelorette Jackie Thomas (center) surrounded by her straight and gay suitors

Set in Elko, Nevada, at the Sizzling Saddle Ranch, the series followed Jackie Thomas, a 21-year-old college student from Wisconsin, as she was pursued by a group of fourteen men.^[1] Upon arrival to the ranch, Thomas learned that the group was composed of both straight and gay men; all of the gay men attempted to pass as straight throughout the course of the competition.^[2] Thomas was required to discern which of the men identified as gay; she made her determinations based on observations from a series of individual and group dates.^[3] These dates included activities such as shopping trips and swimsuit competitions. At the end of each week, Jackie was required to eliminate two men from the competition who she believed to be gay. Following their elimination, each man had the opportunity to disclose their sexual orientation and explain their reason for participating in the series. If Thomas ultimately selected a straight man at the end of the competition, then the two split a reward of $1,000,000. Conversely, if Thomas selected a gay man at the end of the competition, then he alone won the reward. The series was hosted by American television presenter Daphne Brogdon.^[4]

Production

Concept and development

In February 2003, Kim MacQuarrie and Ciara Byrne were asked by Lion Television to come up with five proposals for a reality television series for the Fox Broadcasting Company (Fox). MacQuarrie and Byrne had five days to submit their proposals, with the pair "rack[ing] our brains for reality series ideas that might be fun, rather than the dramatic series that were currently on television." After ten days of deliberation, Fox selected the pair's fourth proposal, a dating series that revolved around one woman and fourteen men, some of whom were gay.

Production for Playing It Straight began in mid-2003 under the working title Who Will She Choose?^[5] The series took approximately ten months to design, cast, film, and produce. All crew, staff, and contestants were required to sign non-disclosure agreements in the amount of $5 million.

Variety initially reported that the series was a potential cover for a new season of the reality dating show Joe Millionaire.^[6]

In 2005, nearly one year later after the show was recorded, Fox issued a press release stating that Jackie and Banks were still together. After the show, Jackie and Banks dated for about two years. For the first eight months, they had to keep their relationship quiet until the show aired. Banks went so far as to tell friends that he had to leave the show because he broke his arm, rather than reveal he won.

Filming

Playing It Straight was filmed at Red's Ranch in Elko, Nevada; however, it was renamed Sizzling Saddles Ranch for the series. According to MacQuarrie, he intentionally chose to film the series at Red's Ranch. He stated: "It was filmed on Red's Ranch ... because I grew up in Nevada, but also so that we could have fun taking 14 greenhorns—gay and straight—to a place where they would all be 'fish out of water.'"

Contestants

Name	Occupation	Sexual orientation	Episodes
			1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8
Banks	Software Consultant	Straight	SAFE	SAFE	SAFE	SAFE	SAFE	SAFE		WINNER
Sharif	Musician	Straight	SAFE	SAFE	SAFE	SAFE	SAFE	SAFE		RUNNER-UP
Chris	Retired Entrepreneur	Gay	SAFE	SAFE	SAFE	SAFE	SAFE	SAFE		RUNNER-UP
Bill	Event Promoter	Gay	SAFE	SAFE	SAFE	SAFE	SAFE	OUT
Luciano	Personal Trainer	Gay	SAFE	SAFE	SAFE	SAFE	OUT
Bradley	Bartender	Gay	SAFE	SAFE	SAFE	SAFE	OUT
Lee	Financial Consultant	Gay	SAFE	SAFE	SAFE	OUT
John	Bartender	Gay	SAFE	SAFE	SAFE	OUT
Chad	Corporate Communications	Gay	SAFE	SAFE	OUT
Eddie	School Teacher	Gay	SAFE	SAFE	QUIT
Ryan	Waiter	Straight	SAFE	OUT
Alex	Law Student	Gay	SAFE	OUT
Louis	Brokerage Firm Manager	Straight	OUT
Gust	Real Estate Agent	Straight	OUT

  The contestant was safe from elimination.

  The contestant was eliminated from the competition.

  The contestant quit the competition.

  The contestant was not up for elimination.

Episodes

No.	Title	Original air date	US viewers (millions)
1	"Episode 1"	March 12, 2004 (2004-03-12)	5.3[7]
Jackie arrives at the Sizzling Saddle Ranch and meets her 14 suitors.
2	"Episode 2"	March 18, 2004 (2004-03-18)	3.8[8]
Jackie and her suitors go square dancing.
3	"Episode 3"	March 26, 2004 (2004-03-26)	3.1
Jackie and her suitors go on an overnight camping trip. Tensions begin to rise among several of the men.
4	"Episode 4"	Unaired	N/A
Jackie and her suitors go on a trip to Las Vegas.
5	"Episode 5"	Unaired	N/A
The suitors partake in an arm-wrestling competition, resulting in an injury.
6	"Episode 6"	Unaired	N/A
As tensions continue to rise, several suitors attempt to out their competition.
7	"Episode 7"	Unaired	N/A
Jackie goes on separate dates with the remaining suitors in an effort to determine who is gay.
8	"Episode 8"	Unaired	N/A
With three suitors remaining, Jackie makes her final decision.

Reception

Television viewership and ratings

Playing It Straight premiered to modest ratings, in which it received 5.3 million viewers. It was the highest-rated program of the night among several demographics, including adults 18–34, persons 12–34, teens and men 18–34.^[9] The series averaged 3.9 million viewers and a 1.7 rating/6 share among adults 18-49 over the course of its three-week run.^[10]

Critical response

Playing It Straight received generally unfavorable reviews from television critics. Dana Stevens of Slate criticized the series for portraying gay men as "romantic pariahs." She further commented: "[N]ot only is Playing It Straight ideologically offensive, it’s also colossally boring."^[11]

Cancellation

On March 29, 2004, following the broadcast of its third episode, Playing It Straight was removed from the Fox schedule due to lackluster ratings.^[12] The series was replaced on the network's schedule with reruns of Totally Outrageous Behavior and World's Craziest Videos.^[12] Fox claimed that it intended to air the series' five remaining episodes at some point during the summer season.^[13] However, on May 21, 2004, Fox's entertainment president Gail Berman announced that the series was cancelled; she claimed that the network would provide "any viewer that needs the information with the information of the conclusion."^[14] Two months later, Fox posted synopses of the unaired episodes on its website, in which it was revealed that the final suitor selected by Jackie was a straight man and thus they both split the $1 million reward.^[15]

On January 17, 2005, Fox published the entire series on their website, in which users could download the individual episodes on a pay-per-view basis.^[16] Despite the network's claimed reason, Jackie disputed the reason for the series' cancellation. She stated: "I can’t say it was cancelled due to ratings. It aired on Fridays, and no shows have been successful on Fridays ... [Fox] blamed it on the ratings, but I think it may have been something deeper."^[17]

The mid-season cancellation of Playing It Straight had an impact on other LGBT-related programming. Seriously, Dude, I'm Gay, another Fox produced LGBT-related reality television special, was set to air on June 7, 2004, although it was abruptly removed from the Fox schedule only eleven days before its airdate.^[18] An "insider" at Fox claimed that the underperformance of Playing It Straight was a significant factor in the special's cancellation, as it caused the network to "believe the gay reality phenomenon was on the wane."^[18] The producers of the TBS series He's a Lady viewed Playing It Straight—in addition to Boy Meets Boy and Seriously, Dude, I'm Gay—as an example of the "potential pitfalls" to avoid when producing an LGBT-themed show.^[19] The underperformance and cancellations of these series resulted in executive producers Douglas Ross and Tommy Campbell consulting GLAAD for review of He's a Lady.^[19]

Adaptations

Adaptations of the series premiered in Australia, the United Kingdom, and the Netherlands. In the Netherlands, an adaptation titled Herken de Homo (Dutch; the English title is Recognize the Gay) premiered on January 4, 2005, on RTL 5. The series, which was hosted by Dutch television presenter Fiona Hering, was broadcast for a single season. Filmed in Mexico, the series followed Nathalie Biermanns, a 23-year-old actor, as she competed for a €50,000 (US$55,229). She had to choose between 14 men. At the end, only Marcel remained who turned out to be straight. Both Biermanns and Marcel won €50,000 (US$55,229) each.

An Australian version of the show aired on the Seven Network starting October 2004 hosted by Natalie Garonzi. Despite much of the hype surrounding it the shows ratings dwindled and it was moved to a later timeslot. After Rebecca eliminated Campbell (who was gay) Chad, Dane and Evan were left for one non-elimination round before appearing in the final episode. Rebecca chose Chad and he was revealed to be straight.

The Australian show has also aired in the US on FOX Reality.

The series was adapted for the United Kingdom, in which it aired for two seasons. The first season premiered on April 8, 2005, as part of the network's Twisted Dating Season. The series was set on a Mexican ranch and Zoe Hardman is spending time with 12 men. Ten men started the show and two more, Lee and Marco, were added in week 3 - it was revealed when they arrived that one was gay and one was straight. The prize money was £100,000 and the show was hosted by June Sarpong. The series has been repeated on Channel 4's sister channel, 4Music.

Early reporting revealed Ben Harris to be Mr Gay UK and also said: "Ben Harris, a builder, looks to be one of the favourites to win the show after the first episode in which he played to the builder stereotype."^[20]

In October 2011, it was announced that Channel 4 had ordered a full second series. This time the location was set in Spain and the new series was hosted by T4 presenter, Jameela Jamil and comedian Alan Carr provided the narration. The prize fund was decreased 50% to £50,000 (£25,000 each).^[21][22] The second series made its debut on 9 January 2012 at 9pm on E4.^[23] The series was set at a Spanish hacienda - Hacienda de los Hombres. The series was also aired on Channel 4's teen-strand, T4 on Saturdays.

References

1. Abernethy, Michael (March 22, 2004). "Playing It Straight". PopMatters. Archived from the original on April 11, 2022. Retrieved June 25, 2022.
2. Wagner, Curt; Rodriguez, Victoria (July 28, 2004). "Fox outs 'Playing it Straight' results". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved June 25, 2022.
3. Charlesworth 2015, p. 55.
4. Sullivan, Brian Ford (February 2, 2004). "FOX Schedules Two More Reality Series". The Futon Critic. Retrieved June 25, 2022.
5. "New dating show on Fox to feature gay twist". The Advocate. August 21, 2003. Archived from the original on June 25, 2022. Retrieved June 25, 2022.
6. Adalian, Josef (August 19, 2003). "Fox date shooting straight?". Variety. Retrieved June 25, 2022.
7. Kissell, Rick (March 14, 2004). "Critics 'Wonder,' auds don't". Variety. Archived from the original on December 20, 2022. Retrieved February 20, 2024.
8. Kissell, Rick (March 21, 2004). "CBS courts big ratings with hoops tourney". Variety. Archived from the original on February 20, 2024. Retrieved February 20, 2024.
9. Kissell, Rick (March 14, 2004). "Critics 'Wonder,' auds don't". Variety. Archived from the original on September 25, 2015. Retrieved December 20, 2022.
10. Adalian, Josef (March 29, 2004). "'Straight' down the drain". Variety. Archived from the original on February 4, 2023. Retrieved August 6, 2023.
11. Stevens, Dana (March 24, 2004). "The Bachelors". Slate. Archived from the original on December 20, 2022. Retrieved December 20, 2022.
12. Adalian, Josef (March 29, 2004). "'Straight' down the drain". Variety. Archived from the original on December 16, 2022. Retrieved December 16, 2022.
13. Dehnart, Andy (March 31, 2004). "FOX pulls Playing it Straight". Reality Blurred. Archived from the original on April 7, 2022. Retrieved December 16, 2022.
14. Dehnart, Andy (July 28, 2004). "Fox releases details of 'Playing It Straight's unaired conclusion". Reality Blurred. Archived from the original on June 3, 2007. Retrieved December 16, 2022.
15. "Fox outs 'Playing it Straight' results". Chicago Tribune. July 28, 2004. Archived from the original on June 25, 2022. Retrieved December 16, 2022.
16. Fritz, Ben; Adalian, Josef (January 13, 2005). "Fox puts busts online". Variety. Archived from the original on December 16, 2022. Retrieved December 16, 2022.
17. "Homecoming queen wins reality show". The Spectator. September 19, 2004. Archived from the original on December 20, 2022. Retrieved December 20, 2022.
18. Goodridge, Mike (12 October 2004). "Seriously, dude, it was a joke". The Advocate. Vol. 924. Here Publishing (published October 12, 2004). p. 87. ISSN 0001-8996. Retrieved June 25, 2022.
19. Goodridge, Mike (October 26, 2004). "Dude looks like a lady". The Advocate. Vol. 925. Here Publishing. p. 60. ISSN 0001-8996. Retrieved June 25, 2022.
20. "theVoiceofReason.co.uk, Ben Harris Was Mr Gay UK 1998". Archived from the original on 2005-12-16. Retrieved 2010-08-07.
21. "'Playing It Straight' to return to E4 - TV News". Digital Spy. 2011-10-06. Retrieved 2014-01-11.
22. "E4 brings back 'Playing It Straight' - Channel 4 - Info - Press". Channel 4. 2011-10-06. Retrieved 2014-01-11.
23. "Playing It Straight - Playing It Straight". Channel 4. Retrieved 2014-01-11.

Sources

• Charlesworth, Jonathan (2015). That's So Gay!: Challenging Homophobic Bullying. Jessica Kingsley Publishers. ISBN 978-0-85-700837-4.
• Pozner, Jennifer (2010). Reality Bites Back: The Troubling Truth About Guilty Pleasure TV. Basic Books. ISBN 978-1-58-005265-8.

External links

• Official website at the Wayback Machine
• Playing It Straight at IMDb