The Big Gay Sketch Show

The Big Gay Sketch Show is an LGBT-themed sketch comedy program that debuted on Logo on April 24, 2007.^[2] The series is produced by Rosie O'Donnell and directed by Amanda Bearse. The program was originally titled The Big Gay Show but was renamed during production. As the name indicates, the show features comedy sketches with gay themes or a gay twist. Sketch topics include parodies of old sitcoms like The Honeymooners and The Facts of Life under the Nick at Nite-parodying heading "Logo at Nite", a lesbian speed dating session, and an extended send-up of Broadway legend Elaine Stritch working as a Wal-Mart greeter, among other decidedly un-glamorous jobs.

The Big Gay Sketch Show

Rosie O'Donnell

Amanda Bearse^[1]

United States

English

Rosie O'Donnell^[1]

Oh Really! Productions^[1]

Logo TV

Logo produced a second season of the series.^[3] Paolo Andino and Colman Domingo joined the cast (replacing Michael Serrato and Dion Flynn). Season 2 premiered on February 5, 2008.^[4]

Production on season three began in March 2009, with Erica Ash no longer part of the cast.^[5] In 2009, Logo conducted a search for new cast members. However, the result, entitled "The Big Gay Casting Competition", was limited to an online talent search, in which videos by contestants were uploaded to logoonline.com and voted on by site visitors. The winner, Wil Heuser, was a former American Idol contestant and Big Brother cast member (season 14), and only appeared in one episode of the series as an extra. The third, and so far final season was broadcast in 2010.

Paolo Andino (Season 2–3)

(Season 2–3)

Colman Domingo

(Season 1–3)

Julie Goldman

(Season 1–3)

Stephen Guarino

(Season 1–3)

Jonny McGovern

(Season 1–3)

Kate McKinnon

(Season 1–3)

Nicol Paone

(Season 1–2)

Erica Ash

Dion Flynn (Season 1 only)

Michael Serrato (Season 1 only)

Gay Werewolf (McGovern), a straight man who turns gay - and hairy - under the light of a full moon.

Svetlana (Guarino), an ex-KGB secret agent and chorus dancer who practices her Soviet brand of martial arts as a means to stardom.

Fitzwilliam (McKinnon), a gender-non-conforming English teen desperate to obtain a vagina. Sketches also include their father (McGovern).

Steven, a large man also known as "Waffles" (McGovern). This character originated on McGovern's , Gay Pimpin' with Jonny McGovern.

podcast

Ron Odyssey, a frustrating flamboyant gay male receptionist (Guarino) who gives customers / patients a difficult time.

Chocolate Puddin', a transgender sex worker. Puddin' originated in McGovern's stage show, "Dirty Stuff".

Naldo (Andino), a Latino worker, who moves items (e.g. packages, luggage, furniture) in an explicit, sexual manner, unknown to him, exciting his gay male clientele.

Recurring original BGSS characters include:

Recurring celebrity impersonations include:

: "[G]ay or straight, the audience has too many options to rely on mediocrity, which is why this exercise would seem a whole lot bigger and gayer if it was just a bit funnier."^[6]

Variety

(owned by Logo): "BGSS faces inevitable comparisons to mainstream sketch shows like NBC's long-running Saturday Night Live and Fox's Mad TV and In Living Color. The success of SNL has hinged on the ability of its most talented cast members to develop memorable recurring characters. Similarly, the strength of both Mad TV and In Living Color is in the willingness of each to "go there" with the sort of sociopolitical humor that the modern incarnation of SNL (save for its brief and brilliant Tina Fey era) usually avoids... With its cast of mostly queer performers and its residence on a gay network, BGSS has a unique opportunity to do both of those things well. If the first two episodes are any indication, it looks promising."^[7]

AfterEllen.com

Dave Itzkoff (April 22, 2007). . The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on June 13, 2022. Retrieved March 3, 2012. .

"The Big Gay Sketch Show"

Official website

at IMDb

The Big Gay Sketch Show