Richard Skipper Celebrates Hi Honey, i’m homo! sitcoms, specials

Matt Baume is a writer, podcaster, and video-maker based in Seattle whose work focuses on pop culture and queer history. “Every chapter serves up a slice of queer history with a rich scoop of fascinating, juicy asides and shocking behind-the-scenes insights—like having dishy late-night cheesecake with a witty, wise friend.” —Anthony Oliveira, PhD, author, film programmer, and pop culture critic “For a medium so aligned with queer sensibilities, with its brazen artifice, showy wit, and over-the-top performances, the network sitcom was slow to embrace actual queer people. In Hi Honey, I’m Homo, Matt Baume takes us on a highly entertaining tour of queer representation in television comedy, from the be-bad-with-meta phor and you’ll-miss-it winks of Bewitched to the out-and-proud-ish center stage of Will & Grace. Baume brings his trademark mix of childlike enthusiasm and intellectual rigor to a medium he clearly loves. He calls out cowardice and appeasement where he sees it, but is also careful to place each show inside its moment in queer history. This not only broadens the scope of the book, it helps us understand why sitcoms failed queer people where they did, and allows us to appreciate each step of progress on its own terms. Mainly, he never allows the many times sitcoms failed queers to diminish his appreciation for the form. I came away from Hi Honey, I’m Homo with not only a broader understanding of the medium I’ve spent over thirty years writing, but a big smile, too.” —Richard Day, TV writer and producer on Arrested Development, Spin City, The Drew Carey Show, Ellen, and more “What an absolute honor to read Matt Baume’s Hi Honey, I’m Homo.