Culture

Gay Catholic sitcom The Real O’Neals got cancelled and homophobes are overjoyed

May 12 2017
Written by Nick Duffy

Homophobes are overjoyed about the cancellation of gay-themed sitcom The Real O’Neals.

The Disney-ABC show, loosely based on the life of outspoken gay columnist Dan Savage, featured actor Noah Galvin as gay teen Kenny dealing with his conservative Catholic mother’s reaction to his sexuality.

The show won praise for tackling LGBT issues and religion, though its inclusive message and Catholic themes did not go down well with anti-LGBT Catholic groups.

This week, ABC confirmed that the show would not be renewed for a third season, prompting jubilant celebrations from activists at the homophobic Catholic League.
The Real O'Neals

Catholic League President Bill Donohue, who has also opposed the inclusion of LGBT groups in St Patrick’s Day Marches, took to YouTube to celebrate.

He said: “We’ve got great news, The Real O’Neals has been axed. They would have dropped it after one season except for the fact that the Catholic League has been fighting against it.

“It’s not the anti-Catholic content of The Real O’Neals that bothered us so much, most of it was just plain stupid. It was the fact that it was based on the life of Dan Savage. He’s a sick sex columnist… he’s a filthy-mouthed bigot against Catholics.

“They would never allow [white supremacist] David Duke to produce a show on ABC owned by Disney, but yet they allowed Savage to be a co-producer.

“They finally dumped it after the second season… if they had any guts they’d have dumped it as soon as they’d seen the script.

“At least today, I can say it’s over. The Catholic League has finally won, albeit regrettably late. We went after advertisers, we dropped a few of them, we gave them some bad PR, and hopefully blackened up that snow-white image of Disney. It’s a good day.”

Puritanical campaigners One Million Moms had also campaigned against the show, encouraging supporters to target its advertisers.

They claimed: “It is almost impossible to describe the depth of depravity found in the sitcom The Real O’Neals.

“The Real O’Neals mocks Christianity and insults Catholicism. 1MM recognizes this show ridicules people of faith, and Christians across America are offended by it.

“[It makes] a mockery of the Christian faith.”

The show is the second acclaimed LGBT comedy to be cancelled this year.

Award-winning gay series Please Like Me, which explored queer and mental health issues, was dropped earlier this year after its original TV network closed down.

The show’s future was left up in the air following the closure of US TV network Pivot, which funded the production alongside the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.

Online streaming giant Hulu stepped up to air the show’s already-filmed fourth season, but it was later confirmed that it would not be returning for a fifth.

The Real O’Neals was very nearly axed a year ago when Galvin lashed out in the media at the cast of Modern Family.