It might not be the smorgasbord of gay that it has been the last few years, but the upcoming fall TV season still offers a few enticing entries for gay audiences.

By Ken Knox

Well, folks, the new fall entertainment season is just about upon us, and for those looking for diverse and accurate representations of gay and lesbian life on television in the new TV season, you might be somewhat disappointed. Indeed, with both Queer as Folk and Six Feet Under having bitten the dust -- and with Will & Grace having announced that this will be its final season -- the gay TV landscape looks to have just gotten a bit dimmer, with only a rather tame, safe smattering of gay life on the radar.

The bad news (there's more, you ask?) is that, according to GLAAD's 10th annual study of gay characters in TV, the number of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered characters will comprise less than two percent of all characters on the 2005-2006 TV schedule, with most of those characters relegated to supporting roles on (surprise, surprise) sitcoms carrying on the long-standing tradition of "the wacky gay neighbor" or "the gay best friend." Of the characters, 13 are male, three are female, and gays and lesbians of color are represented by (shame!) three

characters -- one African American, one Latino, and one Asian.

What happened, you ask? It could be that, in the wake of last year's election, TV is once again back to playing it safe, tossing gay characters in for comic relief instead of as fully realized characters in order to appease network censors and (more likely) advertisers. (Come on, when Survivor's Mark Burnett admitted to editing out that lesbian kiss last season due to the way the vote had gone, you knew something was afoul in TV Land.)

Still, all is not lost. Though we have lost many of our flagship shows, we now have two very high-profile gay cable channels rising up to pick up the slack, and there are some notable gay signs of life in the upcoming TV season -- from a wisecracking assistants in the record business and animated chain smokers (long live Patty on The Simpsons) to Log Cabin Republicans dealing with "the end of days" and closeted Hollywood failures. Here, then, is a brief rundown of the upcoming TV season -- the queer version.

The Book of Daniel

(mid-season, NBC)

Originally "left behind" after NBC screened the original pilot, this hour-long drama recently got a shot at a second coming when it was picked up for mid-season replacement, and the buzz is that it may hit the airwaves as early as November. The eternally-sexy Aidan Quinn plays Daniel Webster, an Episcopal priest who -- shades of Joan -- talks to Jesus about the oncoming apocalypse. And it just might be the end of the world at that -- Daniel's son (the deliriously cute Christian Campbell, of Trick) is a gay Republican!

Crumbs

(mid-season, ABC)

Boy, Kevin Arnold surely has grown up since his days exploring The Wonder Years. Former child star Fred Savage now plays a semi-closeted gay man who decides to run the family restaurant with his straight brother (Eddie McClintock) while their parents (Jane Curtin, William Devane) go through a bitter divorce. Early clips from the show screened for the press showed Savage in bed with another man, so let's hope this show (possibly inspired by Arrested Development?) goes where Will & Grace never dared to travel.

Dante's Cove

(October, here!)

This racy supernatural mystery -- a mixture of Melrose Place and Dark Shadows -- is set in a spooky apartment complex on the California beach, where a group of 20-something gays and lesbians try to figure out what kind of evil is lurking inside the complex, which used to be a hotel that just happens to have (of course) a sinister past. Hmmm. Sexy and spooky? Count me in.

Emily's Reasons Why Not

(Mondays, ABC)

Boogie Nights and Scrubs star Heather Graham plays Emily, a sensible and successful career woman whose life is derailed by her attraction to a "bad boy." (What gay man can't relate?) Khary Payton is the "gay best friend," a queeny black man who dishes out advice on life, love and, oooh, girl, the mens.

Inconceivable

(Fridays, NBC)

This fertility clinic drama is said to feature a supporting character -- a hunky Latino man played by David Norona -- who (picking up where Six Feet Under's Keith and David left off) becomes a father to a child with his male partner in the very first episode. Let's hope the show is not just a bunch of child's play.

Kitchen Confidential

(Mondays, Fox)

The oh-so stunning Bradley Cooper (he of Alias and The Wedding Crashers fame) finally gets his own show, playing a down-on-his-luck "bad boy" (yum, another one) who takes over a high-profile New York restaurant while trying to live a "good life." Sam Pancake is the "snobby gay waiter" with a crush on Cooper (and really, who could blame him?). Darren Starr (Melrose Place) is one of the producers behind the much buzzed-about comedy.

Love Monkey

(mid-season, CBS)

Another show picked up for airing after it was initially passed over, this sort-of Sex and the City for the 30-something men of the world features Christopher Wiehl as one of four friends -- a former Major League baseball player who happens to be gay -- facing life and love. Tom Cavanaugh, Larenz Tate, and the still-heartthrobby Jason Priestley bring up the, er, rear as his three hetero pals.

Noah's Arc

(Wednesdays, Logo)

In this original scripted series, a sort-of gay Soul Food, four African-American gay men brave the elements (life, love, Hollywood executives and really bad traffic) in Los Angeles.

Open Bar

(TBA, Logo)

Watch as Hollywood hunk Tyler Robuck tries to fulfill his dream of opening a swank gay West Hollywood lounge through lots of sweat and hard work in this original reality series from the fledgling Logo network. I don't know about you folks, but I'd love to see this man work up a major sweat during some hard work.

Out of Practice

(Mondays, CBS)

Stockard Channing will probably be making fewer appearances on The West Wing this year, as she jumps ships to her own show, a comedy in which she plays another doctor in a family of medical practitioners. Henry Winkler plays her estranged ex-husband, while the lovely Paula Marshall (recently of Veronica Mars) stars as their highly ambitious, well-adjusted and oversexed daughter Regina (she even teases her brother -- a marriage counselor at odds with his wife -- that she's slept with more women than he has.) Let's hear it for promiscuity, people!

Twins

(Fridays, WB)

Roseanne's Sara Gilbert and Molly Stanton (of over-the-top soap Passions) are fraternal twin sisters with nothing in common who work in the family's undergarment business. In a brilliantly campy stroke of genius, Melanie Griffith plays their flamboyant mother, while Christopher Fitzgerald (Boiler Room) gets the recurring role of the "flamboyantly gay technician."

The War at Home

(Sundays, Fox)

Possibly in the tradition of Malcolm in the Middle, this zany comedy tracks the trials and tribulations of a pair of contradictory, out-of-whack parents who attempt to gain control over their woefully wayward brood on the homefront. Word is that one of the kids has a gay friend, who will be seen in, alas, a small recurring role.

RETURNING/CURRENT SHOWS

Degrassi: The Next Generation

(Fridays, The N)

This often-controversial teen show is no Saved by the Bell, featuring both gay teen Marco (Adam Ruggiero) and his boyfriend Dylan (John Bregar), as well as the gay father of fellow student Ashley.

Desperate Housewives

(Sundays, ABC)

It's going to be a helluva year for the ladies of Wysteria Lane in the aftermath of last season's shocking finale. It'll be especially interesting to see how anal-retentive Bree (Marcia Cross) deals with her son Andrew's (Shawn Pyfrom) possible homosexuality now that adulterous hubby Rex has passed on. Whether the kid is gay or not, one thing if for certain: things on Wysteria Lane are about to get even kookier.

ER
Thursdays, NBC

With Noah Wyle having departed last season (he will make infrequent guest appearances this year), NBC's flagship medical series may be experiencing even more growing pains, especially now that long-running lesbian character Carrie Weaver (Laura Innes, who, behind Wyle, has been with the show the longest) has been demoted to recurring player. Word is, however, that Innes will still direct many episodes.

Half & Half
Mondays, UPN

Now in its fourth season, this popular sitcom set at a record company introduces GLAAD honoree Alec Mapa as "the wisecracking gay assistant." Not much of a stretch for the ever-clever Mapa (or for TV writers at that), but if anyone can make it work, Mapa can.

Nip/Tuck
FX

Roma Maffia returns as Liz, the lesbian anesthesiologist who may or may not find a kindred spirit in new doctor Quentin Costa (the muy caliente Bruno Campos, of TV's Jessie) -- a (gasp!) bisexual. Anyone besides me want to see Campos show womanizer Julian McMahon that boys can be just as much fun as girls?

Rescue Me
Tuesdays, FX

With Dennis Leary's lesbian daughter Colleen (Natalie Distler), the firehouse chief's firefighting gay son Peter (Neal Jones), and Tommy's bisexual girlfriend Sheila (Callie Thorne), this riveting action drama set in an environment defined by hyper-masculinity is surely one of the most gay-inclusive shows on TV. Thank God for cable, folks!

Will & Grace
Thursdays, NBC

Of course, the biggest news is that the long-running (and admittedly groundbreaking) Will & Grace, will end its successful eight-year run next May. The first show of the season will be aired live (on both coasts at separate times), but with Will having recently split from Bobby Cannavale's hot cop Vince, his love life could remain, indefinitely, dead. Let's hope the producers send Will off into the sunset with someone other than Grace for a change -- or, God forbid -- Jack.

AND THE REST

When FX's The Shield returns in 2006, look for African American "ex-gay" Julien (Michael Jace) to be lured back to "the rainbow-colored side" as he continues to struggle with his sexuality... HBO's The Wire will continue to feature Sonja Sohn as the ambitiously lesbian African American cop who often faces off against gay drug dealer Omar (Michael K. Williams)... Marge's sister Patty Bouvier (voiced by Julie Kavner), who came out last season on The Simpsons (Fox), will remain a queercentric presence when the show returns in October... HBO's lavishly (and lasciviously) spectacular miniseries Rome will feature many characters -- both male and female -- who sleep with members of the same sex ... Openly-gay Chad Allen stars as gay detective Donald Strachey in a series of original movies for here! TV based on a series of books by Richard Stevenson. The first one, debuting in September, is called Third Man Out... Former Human Rights Campaign Executive Director Elizabeth Birch gets her own talk show, Birch & Company, a sort-of Real Time with Elizabeth Birch, in which she faces off against Pat Buchanan and welcomes guests like Rosie O'Donnell while addressing issues inherent to the GLBT community... Logo's much-talked-about gay wedding-planning reality show First Comes Love continues with former Kid in the Hall Scott Thompson as the "out there" host ... Speaking of Logo, the new reality series The Ride: Seven Days to End AIDS follows a team of cyclists making their way from San Francisco to Los Angeles as part of the 2005 AIDS/Lifecycle 4 Ride; the Logo original movie Prom Queen tells the true story of a Canadian high school student who took his school to court so he could take his male date to the prom; and Real Gay brings together several gay contestants from reality shows like The Real World and American Idol to dish on their experiences... Both Fab Five teams will be back to haunt (er, help!) wayward wallflowers on Bravo's Queer Eye for the Straight Guy and Queer Eye for the Straight Girl, respectively... Deadly Skies (December) is another here! TV original movie, this one featuring the ever-so-delicious Antonio Sabato Jr. playing gay (again!) as a discredited Air Force colonel/scientist who teams up with Rae Dawn Chong's astronomer to stop a rogue asteroid heading right toward Earth ... here! TV presents the television premiere of the incomparable Margaret Cho's hilarious new politically- and (of course) gay-charged concert film Assassin throughout September... Deadwood creator David Milch has hinted that he will be introducing a gay or bisexual character to his HBO drama when it returns in early 2006 ... Alan Cumming will join the cast of The L Word when it returns for season three next year... and gay Tony-nominated star John Tartagila (Avenue Q) will bring his Mister Rogers-meets-Pee Wee's Playhouse kids' show Johnny and the Sprites to the Disney Channel in early '06 as well.