I did not know about Matt Baum before this book but I’ll definitely be looking him up now. I have always been interested in entertainment history and I have recently become interested in queer history so this book was a no-brained for me. I learned a lot from this book not just about the shows I haven’t seen, but the ones I’ve watched every episode of.

It is a fast & easy read, I devoured this book in a little over a day, & I definitely recommend it for anyone!

Thank you to NetGalley & the publisher for an advanced copy of this book!

I’ve been a fan of Matt Baume’s YouTube videos for years. The way he provides information about the history of LGBTQ+ representation in media is so engaging. In the best way, this book felt like a supersized version of his videos. There’s analysis of different US sitcoms, context given for what was happening at the time in politics, LGBTQ+ rights, and other TV shows, and a humorous touch to the delivery of the information.

The book goes in depth with a handful of shows, but also makes mention of episodes of other sitcoms and how they fit into the changing landscape of queer representation on TV. The earliest show covered is Bewitched, talking about the queer actors involved with the show, but also the way that the stories about witches can be read as talking about queer people. The most recent show covered is Modern Family, with a lot of the discussion being about the behind the scenes and the struggles to be able to portray the gay couple and how the real-life fight for marriage equality played into the story of the show.

I absolutely flew through this book, I listened to the whole thing in less than 24 hours. Hopefully Matt Baume will get to write more books about LGBTQ+ media. It’s so fascinating to look at the history of how portrayals of queer and trans characters have evolved over the years. Also to see how these representations have real world impacts. Definitely check this book out if it sounds interesting to you.

I requested this one based entirely on the blurb and I am glad that I got the audio, as it was wonderful. I was a bit hesitant when I saw that the narrator and the writer were the same person, as it's sometimes better if the writer does not narrate their own stories, but this was done well. I found out after I started that apparently Matthew Baume is a youtuber, but I did not know this going in.

This book focuses on the way shows inserted gay coded people into them and how some of them had to fight to keep them in.

I am a GenXer, the one group that always is forgotten, so it's rare to find things out there that actually happened to us and get any sort of recognition. I actually watched almost all of the shows mentioned on here (remember, back then you had one tv and 3 channels) and most of these gay references went over my head. Except for Bewitched, that show was not subtle.

I highly recommend this one and hope to read more by this writer.