Is America ready for a sitcom about two gay dads?

Will and Grace's Sean Hayes will star in the first ever network comedy with a gay family as its primary focus

"Will and Grace" star Sean Hayes returns to the small screen with a sitcom about a gay couple raising a teenaged son - a plot line that critics may be too progressive.
(Image credit: Joe Stevens ./Retna Ltd./Corbis)

"Just Jack" is back… sort of. NBC announced that Sean Hayes, who won two Emmys portraying irrepressible gay sidekick Jack MacFarland on Will and Grace, will star in a new sitcom about two men raising a 12-year-old boy. The twist: The men are a couple, and the boy is their son. While shows like Modern Family and Glee have featured similar story lines, the new series will be the first network effort to make gay parenting its focus. NBC is reportedly fast-tracking the show which would likely begin airing next year. Will audiences tune in?

It's a gamble, but the time may be right: With the high-profile passing of the gay marriage bill in New York and a focus on the issue of gay marriage in the GOP presidential nomination race, the subject of gay parenting is a hot topic right now, says Andy Neuenschwander at Yidio. The proposed series is still a risky move for a network — but NBC wouldn't roll the dice on such a potentially controversial series if it didn't think there was an audience.

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