New show: 'Straight Plan for the Gay Man'
Comedy Central program to be led by the 'Flab 4'
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Thom Filicia and Carson Kressley of "Queer Eye for the Straight Guy" are about to get some competition.
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LOS ANGELES, California (Reuters) -- Cable network Comedy Central is planning to turn the make-over hit "Queer Eye for the Straight Guy" upside down with a new show called "Straight Plan for the Gay Man."
Debuting in February, the new show will parody the Bravo channel's "Queer Eye" series and male stereotypes in general as a team of straight comedians -- the "Flab 4" -- teaches a succession of gay men how to pass as heterosexuals.
The make-overs include lessons in such areas as spartan home decorating, oafish manners, less-than-fashionable wardrobes, and an overdeveloped ego to mask all personal failings, production executive Lou Wallach told Reuters on Monday.
He said the network is currently producing three hour-long episodes centering on three gay men looking to go straight for a day to satisfy some personal curiosity about life on the "other team."
Jonathan, an upscale fashion salesman seeking greater insight into the lives of blue-collar workers, will try to get a job as a meatpacker. Roger, a yoga instructor who has always wanted to play a round of pickup basketball, will square off in a competitive game of street hoops. And Stephen, an entertainer with lots of female friends, will venture into the hetero club scene to try his luck as a smooth-talking babe magnet.
As the end of each episode, the Flab 4 will accompany their straight-A students to see if they "pass their tests."
The format is a role reversal of "Queer Eye for the Straight Guy," in which five gay men with expertise in good grooming, food, fashion, culture and interior design come to the aid of a hapless heterosexual slob. The show has drawn the highest audience numbers ever on Bravo, and a half-hour version proved popular on sister broadcast network NBC.
Comedy Central, a Viacom Inc.-owned network that reaches some 84 million homes, is best known for such offerings as the subversive animated comedy "South Park" and the newscast satire "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart."
A spokeswoman for NBC and Bravo, which are owned by General Electric Co., said the networks were aware of the plans for the parody show but had no comment. "Queer Eye" already was lampooned in a recent episode of "South Park."
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Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
