Playing It Straight

Set in Elko, Nevada, at the Sizzling Saddle Ranch, the series followed Jackie Thomas, a 21-year-old college student from Wisconsin, as she was pursued by a group of fourteen men.[1] Upon arrival to the ranch, Thomas learned that the group was composed of both straight and gay men; all of the gay men attempted to pass as straight throughout the course of the competition.[2] Thomas was required to discern which of the men identified as gay; she made her determinations based on observations from a series of individual and group dates.[3] These dates included activities such as shopping trips and swimsuit competitions. At the end of each week, Jackie was required to eliminate two men from the competition who she believed to be gay. Following their elimination, each man had the opportunity to disclose their sexual orientation and explain their reason for participating in the series. If Thomas ultimately selected a straight man at the end of the competition, then the two split a reward of $1,000,000. Conversely, if Thomas selected a gay man at the end of the competition, then he alone won the reward. The series was hosted by American television presenter Daphne Brogdon.[4]

Production for Playing It Straight began in mid-2003 under the working title Who Will She Choose?[5] The concept for the series originated in the United Kingdom, although it was ultimately sold to Fox. According to executive producer Adam Wood, the series was conceptualized as a version of The Bachelor with a "slightly absurd" twist.[6] Variety initially reported that the series was a potential cover for a new season of the reality dating show Joe Millionaire.[7]

In 2005, nearly one year later after the show was recorded, Fox issued a press release stating that Jackie and Banks were still together. After the show, Jackie and Banks dated for about two years. For the first eight months, they had to keep their relationship quiet until the show aired. Banks went so far as to tell friends that he had to leave the show because he broke his arm, rather than reveal he won.

Playing It Straight received generally unfavorable reviews from television critics. Dana Stevens of Slate criticized the series for portraying gay men as "romantic pariahs." She further commented: "[N]ot only is Playing It Straight ideologically offensive, it’s also colossally boring."[9]

On March 29, 2004, Fox announced the series' removal from the network's schedule due to poor ratings of its three aired episodes.[12] Despite this removal, the network affirmed that they intended to air the five remaining episodes at some point during the summer season.[13] Following this announcement, Playing It Straight was replaced on the Fox schedule with reruns of Totally Outrageous Behavior and World's Craziest Videos.[12] On May 21, 2004, Fox's entertainment president Gail Berman announced that the series was cancelled, although she claimed that the network would provide "any viewer that needs the information with the information of the conclusion."[14] Two months later, Fox posted synopses of the unaired episodes on their website, in which it was revealed that Jackie chose a straight man and thus won the $500,000 reward.[15] On January 17, 2005, Fox published the entire series on their website, in which users could download the individual episodes on a pay-per-view basis.[16] Despite the network's claims, Jackie disputed the reason for the series' cancellation. She stated: "I can’t say it was cancelled due to ratings. It aired on Fridays, and no shows have been successful on Fridays ... [Fox] blamed it on the ratings, but I think it may have been something deeper."[17]

The mid-season cancellation of Playing It Straight had an impact on other LGBT-related programming. Seriously, Dude, I'm Gay, another Fox produced LGBT-related reality television special, was set to air on June 7, 2004, although it was abruptly removed from the Fox schedule only eleven days before its airdate.[18] An "insider" at Fox claimed that the underperformance of Playing It Straight was a significant factor in the special's cancellation, as it caused the network to "believe the gay reality phenomenon was on the wane."[18] The producers of the TBS series He's a Lady viewed Playing It Straight—in addition to Boy Meets Boy and Seriously, Dude, I'm Gay—as an example of the "potential pitfalls" to avoid when producing an LGBT-themed show.[19] The underperformance and cancellations of these series resulted in executive producers Douglas Ross and Tommy Campbell consulting GLAAD for review of He's a Lady.[19]

Adaptations of the series premiered in Australia, the United Kingdom, and the Netherlands. In the Netherlands, an adaptation titled Herken de Homo (Dutch; the English title is Recognize the Gay) premiered on January 4, 2005, on RTL 5. The series, which was hosted by Dutch television presenter Fiona Hering, was broadcast for a single season. Filmed in Mexico, the series followed Nathalie Biermanns, a 23-year-old actor, as she competed for a €50,000 (US$55,229). She had to choose between 14 men. At the end, only Marcel remained who turned out to be straight. Both Biermanns and Marcel won €50,000 (US$55,229) each.

An Australian version of the show aired on the Seven Network starting October 2004 hosted by Natalie Garonzi. Despite much of the hype surrounding it the shows ratings dwindled and it was moved to a later timeslot. After Rebecca eliminated Campbell (who was gay) Chad, Dane and Evan were left for one non-elimination round before appearing in the final episode. Rebecca chose Chad and he was revealed to be straight.

The Australian show has also aired in the US on FOX Reality.

• Official website at the Wayback Machine
• Playing It Straight at IMDb