

Gayest Episode Ever
Drew Mackie & Glen Lakin
Back in the day, a major sitcom doing a gay episode was a big deal. A proper gay episode would get headlines, but it would get the attention of two young guys who were still figuring things out — sexuality-wise and culture-wise. Gayest Episode Ever has screenwriter Glen Lakin and stay-at-home journalist Drew Mackie going through the great and not-so-great gay episodes of sitcoms past.
Episodes
Mentioned books

Mar 25, 2026 • 57min
Dinosaurs Uses Vegetarianism as a Metaphor for Homosexuality
Heads up! This is a rerun of an episode that originally aired in 2019. We're putting a few of our favorite episodes in the off-weeks of our final season. "I Never Ate for My Father" (October 2, 1991) When Robbie Sinclair fails to kill his first live prey, he begins to wonder if he might be more herbivorously oriented — and that fits in really well with this episode's extensive use of vegetarianism as a metaphor for homosexuality. (But also drug use and communism, because America.)

Mar 18, 2026 • 1h 16min
Ned & Stacey Is Secretly the Prequel to Will & Grace
"The Gay Caballeros" (February 19, 1996) Full disclosure: We didn't come here to say nice things about Debra Messing. What we will say is that she's forever trapped in sitcom mode, to the point that the laffer that preceded the gay one has her essentially playing an identical character. What's more? Ned, who is supposedly straight, really reads like a gay character. For these reasons and more, this explicitly gay episode gives this podcast a lot to discuss. We have episode transcripts courtesy of Sarah Neal. Our logo was designed by Rob Wilson. This episode's art was designed by Ian O'Phelan. Sound cues for this podcast were composed by Meika Grimm.

Feb 25, 2026 • 1h 43min
Happy Days Puts Richie Cunningham in the Closet
"You Go to My Head" (October 1, 1974) We're kicking off our final season by discussing what's arguably the most important sitcom that we haven't profiled yet: Happy Days. Technically, Happy Days never did an episode, but what's surprising is how close this one gets, with actual lines spoken including "I'm in the closet" and "Do you prefer dick?" We have episode transcripts courtesy of Sarah Neal. Our logo was designed by Rob Wilson. This episode's art was designed by Ian O'Phelan. Sound cues for this podcast were composed by Meika Grimm.

Jan 16, 2026 • 26min
Gayest Episode Ever: The Final Season
Yes, we're wrapping up the podcast. Is it Heated Rivalry's fault? Kinda! We had a really good go, but after a lot of conversations about this, we have decided that we will end Gayest Episode Ever with one last ten-episode season. The below episodes will be going live every other week (in the way new episodes have appeared in the feed in the last year), so we're going to be around for some time yet, but this is the plan for the last run of GEE. And if you're disappointed or surprised, please let us know. But in this mini-ep we do get into the reason why we've come to that decision. The schedule for the final season (order TBD) Happy Days S2E4 "You Go to My Head" Ned and Stacey S1E19 "Gay Caballeros" Dear John S1E13 "Stand by Your Man" Married… With Children S3E21 "Life's a Beach" Duckman S3E2 "Forbidden Fruit" Oh Grow Up (episode TBD) Gay Disney shorts Cheers S11E26 "One for the Road" Batman: TAS S2E11 "Baby Doll" Frasier S1E24 "My Dinner With Niles"

Jan 9, 2026 • 1h 35min
Sailor Moon Meets the (Trans?) Sailor Starlights
"A Night Alone Together: Usagi in Danger" (August 17, 1996) In our fourth look at Sailor Moon, we're discussing the final season, which features the Sailor Stars. Canonically, they're female superheroes who magically become boys in order to remain in disguise, and as a result some Sailor Moon fans consider them to be trans-coded or metaphorically transgender. It's not really for us to say one way or another, but there's enough discussion about how to discuss these characters' gender that it made sense to cover this episode. Will it be the last? Sailor Moon, previously: The Cartoons That Made Us Gay: Sailor Moon Sailor Moon Meets a Lesbian Couple Sailor Moon Meets a Beguiling Genderfluid Villain Also listen to the complete run of The Cartoons That Made Us Gay on the GEE Patreon!

Dec 23, 2025 • 1h 25min
Ellen Won't Say Gay on Christmas
"Ellen's First Christmess" (December 17, 2001) Yes, we're closing 2025 with a lump of coal rather than a sugarplum fairy. Believe it or not, Ellen Degeneres had a second sitcom between her first one and her reign as the iron-fisted queen of daytime. It's mostly lost in the shuffle today, but we're taking a look at her Christmas episode to point out how she chose to shut up about her sexuality this time around. Was it worth it? No. See you in hell, 2025. We have episode transcripts courtesy of Sarah Neal. Our logo was designed by Rob Wilson. This episode's art was designed by Ian O'Phelan. Sound cues for this podcast were composed by Meika Grimm.

Dec 10, 2025 • 1h 10min
The Golden Girls Meet a Gay… for the Final Time?
"The Artist" (December 19, 1987) Over the years, we've shared a lot of laughs with the girls on the laini, but our journey with the four horniest seniors in the history of Miami has come to an end, as "The Artist" is the final gay episode of The Golden Girls that we have much to say about. It's a slight episode, in terms of gay rep, but it actually has a lot to say about the show and the way gay men relate to it, we'd rager. Links what Drew discusses: Drew on Super Mario Moment podcast (video and audio) Drew on Cinema Oblivia Drew on Call Me By Your Game Drew on What a Cartoon

Nov 27, 2025 • 1h 21min
Happy Endings Comes Out for Thanksgiving
"More Like Skanksgiving" (November 20, 2012) Here you have it: the one other gay-themed Thanksgiving episode of a sitcom. Three seasons in, this one reveals heretofore-unheard canon that the Happy Endings characters exist as they do solely as a result of MTV's The Real World — and that Max things he might have been the first gay person on TV. Meanwhile, no one is remarking how Jane's 2002 raver outfit is one of the more explicitly bisexual things she's ever done on this show, and we at one point meet her ex-girlfriend. Listen to our previous Happy Endings episode, and if this one isn't Thanksgiving enough for you, check out our Bob's Burgers bi Thanksgiving extravaganza. We have episode transcripts courtesy of Sarah Neal. Our logo was designed by Rob Wilson. This episode's art was designed by Ian O'Phelan. Sound cues for this podcast were composed by Meika Grimm.

Nov 12, 2025 • 1h 29min
The Gay Subtext of Dobie Gillis, TV's First Teen Sitcom
"The Ruptured Duck" (October 10, 1961) On the surface, The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis tells the story of a teen boy who falls in love with every girl except Zelda Gilroy, who pines for him hopelessly. All of this is complicated by the fact that the Sheila Keuhl, the actor who played Zelda was in real life a gay woman who ultimately lost out on getting her own spinoff because she didn't fit the idea for what a leading lady was in the early 1960s. But Keuhl got the last laugh IRL, and Zelda Gilroy's queer adjacent legacy lives on in Velma from Scooby-Doo. We have episode transcripts courtesy of Sarah Neal. Our logo was designed by Rob Wilson. This episode's art was designed by Ian O'Phelan. Sound cues for this podcast were composed by Meika Grimm.

13 snips
Oct 22, 2025 • 1h 32min
Marge Simpson Meets a Drag Queen
Dive into the vibrant world of drag as The Simpsons showcases its unexpected drag-themed episode. Discover how Tupperware sales and drag queens intertwined in surprising ways. Hear personal tales of fandom and the show’s cultural evolution. The hosts discuss Marge's transformation and the iconic, hilarious moments featuring RuPaul and other queens. They explore inclusivity and representation in Drag Race, comparing it to the episode's bold jokes. Get a behind-the-scenes look at script changes and character dynamics that brought this colorful episode to life.


