Gay TV
To mark the second season of The Lair coming out on DVD in the UK we take a look back at a few other gay related drama’s from the past few years from Queer as Folk to Will and Grace. By no means is this a complete list but just a few highlights of those shows that appealed firmly to the gay audience.
Queer as Folk UK
Controversial drama series written by Russell T Davies which aired on Channel Four in 1999 and 2000, 
the drama focused on the lives of three gay men, and their friends, in Manchester. The drama was controversial for its graphic depiction of gay sex and underage sex with the character of Nathan [Charlie Hunnam] falling in love with the much older Stuart [Aidan Gillan]. In 2000 a second series aired although it was shorter in length as Davies felt there was little story left to tell and the graphic sex scenes were mostly absent. Queer as Folk opened up a whole niche genre for gay audiences with subsequent drama owing a huge debt to Davies and his creation.
Queer as Folk USA
American remake of the British series which initially followed the plot of the original series quite closely before finding its own path and identity. The first six episodes or so are basically the same as 
the British version with Justin [Randy Harrison] meeting and falling in love with Brian [Gale Harold]. However, as the first series progressed it introduced different storylines and other characters became central to the plots such as lesbian couple Mel [Michelle Clunie] and Lindsay [Thea Gill]. The American version ran for five years and covered a wide range of storylines from drug addiction to gay bashing, cancer, aids, dealing with bereavement and even a heterosexual love as Debbie [Sharon Gless] falls in love with local Police Officer Horvath [Peter MacNeill]. The series did feature graphic sex scenes but there was little backlash against it as the show aired in cable channel Showtime.
Dante’s Cove
Camp, trashy, guilty-pleasure series from America which loosely revolves around a coven of witches but the storylines aren’t as important as the sex scenes which are spread across its episodes. 
Treasum witch Grace [Tracey Scoggins] is due to marry Ambrosius [William Gregory Lee] but discovers him having sex with his male servant. A vengeful Grace kills the servant and locks Ambrosius in a dungeon for over a hundred years until he’s rescued by Kevin [Gregory Michael]. The vendetta between Grace and Ambrosius is the driving force of the first two seasons of the series and in the second Grace’s sister Diane [Thea Gill] is introduced. The third series saw Grace and Ambrosius forced to work together in order to battle an ancient evil. As stated the storylines are irrelevant really as the series is more about its sexy cast acting outrageously with the supernatural elements often an afterthought but we love it anyway.
Will and Grace
Comedy series primarily revolving around gay lawyer Will [Eric McCormack] and his straight best friend Grace [Debra Messing] but also involving their hugely popular sidekicks Karen [Megan Mullally] 
and Jack [Sean Hayes]. Will and Grace have been best friends since college and eventually end up living together while the banes of their lives, Jack and Karen, constantly belittle, criticise and mock them for their own amusement. Karen is queen of the put-downs and constantly mocks Grace for her dress sense and disastrous love life. The series ran for an impressive eight years and even clocked up two live shows during that time and rumours of a Jack and Karen spin-off continue to make headlines even today. When it first aired in the UK it was unfairly compared to Gimme, Gimme, Gimme but the two shows are worlds apart.
Gimme, Gimme, Gimme
BBC comedy series starring Kathy Burke as Linda La Hughes and James Dreyfus as Tom, the pair are flatmates. Tom is an aspiring but crap actor who is on the look out for his next big break but often 
ruins any chances that come his way while Linda is deluded, she thinks everyone finds her attractive, and goes from one job to another aimless in life. In the flat below them are dippy couple Jez [Brian Bovell] and Susie [Beth Goddard] while the owner of the flats is former prostitute Beryl [Rosalind Knight]. Most of the humour revolves around Tom and Linda being horrible to each other or them being horrible to their flatmates. The series ran for three seasons before ending with Tom finally getting his big break, a part in television soap Crossroads. Ironically not long after the series ended Crossroads was axed from ITV.
The Lair
Originally intended as a spin-off from Dante’s Cove this series deals with vampires instead of witches 
and while there’s been hints that both shows are set in the same “universe” as yet there’s been no official confirmation as such. The Lair is exactly like Dante’s Cove in the sense that its camp, trashy, a guilty pleasure in which all of its storylines are merely a device to allow its cast to get it on with each other. Instead of witches we have vampires that operate out of a sex club which allows for more sex scenes and once again we have an outsider stumbling upon the secretive world. Like Dante’s Cove its enjoyable fun if not taken seriously and has run, so far, for three seasons. Two of which are available to on DVD in the UK.