David Marshall Grant and Ken Olin Reflect on Changing Times
As we look forward to Sunday's commitment ceremony between Scotty and Kevin on Brothers & Sisters, it is fitting to look back and consider just how far we have come. In 1989, on ABC's thirtysomething, two men were shown next to each other in bed - not even touching - and just that hint of physicality between the men caused sponsors to pull advertising and the network to pull that episode from the rerun schedule. Now, on the same network, Brothers & Sisters' Kevin has repeatedly been provided with the same degree of romantic physical interactions as the straight characters, and it has happened without controversy.David Marshall Grant (one of the actors in the aforementioned thirtysomething scene, and a story editor and writer for Brothers & Sisters) and Ken Olin (actor on thirtysomething and co-creator, executive producer, occasional director and sometimes actor on Brothers & Sisters) have seen this transition up-close. The two men spoke with AfterElton.com, reflecting on how things have changed for gay representations in the television industry.
In the excerpt below, David Marshall Grant discusses how the changes are beyond the physicality of same-sex relationships, exemplified in the more universal issues being dealt with by gay characters.
“There’s a huge difference,” David Marshall Grant says, comparing his stint on thirtysomething to his time with Brothers & Sisters. “It goes seismic, and it involves everything about the experience, from the crew, to the executives at ABC, to the writers, to the actors. The world has changed. I think what we’re doing, strangely enough, would have been impossible back then. What I’m so proud of is how completely matter-of-factly we deal with Kevin’s sexuality.“Ironically, that normalcy is what was so impossible when we were doing thirtysomething,” Grant continues. “When I was brought on [thirtysomething], the character had to deal with coming out, he had to deal with HIV. Now these are very important topics, and I was proud of the show, but Kevin’s journey [on Brothers & Sisters] is much more a universal human journey, and I don’t think that was possible before. He’s treated just like everyone else. Which is, of course, the finish line in terms of how I wanted gays to be treated on television: just like everybody else. That’s all anybody wanted, and I’m so proud to have a small part in it.”
For the full article, click here.
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