Clips: 1998, recurring lesbian couple on MAD ABOUT YOU

TODAY IN QUEER TV HISTORY

MAD ABOUT YOU: "Fire at Riff's" - 4/28/1998, NBC

Recurring lesbian guest characters appeared on a few 1990s U.S. sitcoms, usually an ex-wife or a relative of a presumably straight male regular. There were no out lesbian regular roles on an American sitcom before ELLEN in 1997.

On MAD ABOUT YOU, the roles were Paul's sister Debbie (Robin Bartlett) and her partner, an OB/GYN doctor named Joan (Suzie Plakson). This episode takes them from jealous bickering to their engagement party.

Same-sex marriage was not legally recognized in the United States at the time, so what they're planning is a non-legally-binding union ceremony. In the absence of legal marriage, a lot of queer people used the language of engagement and marriage to describe their relationships.

Later in the series, Debbie and Joan became better developed characters and would appear more often, especially during the story arc about Jamie's pregnancy, during which Joan was her doctor.

Видео Clips: 1998, recurring lesbian couple on MAD ABOUT YOU канала Steven Capsuto