Matthew Rhys and Luke Macfarlane Reflect on "Brothers & Sisters'" Gay Wedding

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Matthew Rhys and Luke Macfarlane Reflect on their Landmark "Brothers & Sisters" TV Wedding
by Chancellor Agard
May 21, 2018


Ten years later, "Brothers & Sisters" stars Matthew Rhys and Luke Macfarlane are still proud of their landmark on screen wedding.

While Fox’s 1991 comedy "Roc" was the first television series to air a same-sex wedding, ABC’s "Brothers & Sisters" was the first show that featured a same-sex wedding between series regulars.

In the Greg Berlanti-produced drama’s season 2 finale “Prior Commitments,” longtime couple Kevin Walker (Rhys) and Scotty Wandell (Macfarlane) finally tied the knot in a touching ceremony that was officiated by Kevin’s sister Kitty (Calista Flockhart).







Matthew:

The creator-writer Jon Robin Baitz is not only a strong writer but is a huge advocate for LGBT issues and he was very clear on who Kevin was within the family and that his sexuality should have no definition toward him; that he wouldn't be defined by the merit that he was gay.

He really wanted that to be the main issue, there was no coming-out storyline and it wasn't a problem for anyone.



I admire ABC for kind of being the first, especially given they are on under the Disney umbrella, for taking that leap and going, ‘This is what a modern family looks like’. They took a huge risk going with this storyline at the time. I know that the writers campaigned for this to a degree, I mean the network was understandably nervous.

There was no real sense of kind of historical timing until afterwards. We were kind of told by the writing staff. They said, ‘You know that’s the first time that’s been done on network?’ It was only then we kind of went, ‘Oh, well done, everyone’.



It should just be looked at as a marriage between two people who want to be together, not really a burning issue at all. The fan reaction afterward was incredibly strong. We got a lot of supportive letters.

One of my greatest memories from this is that now I'm more empathetic towards women who have to kiss men with heavy stubble. It's rough, literally. (laughs)







Luke:

I remember bike riding with Matthew on the set and he told me, ‘You know we're getting married’. Scotty and Kevin were treated with love and care by the writers and producers of the show and I think they wanted to have a representation of what really wasn't seen on network television.

If I recall correctly, historically, that a few days before our episode aired gay marriage became legal in California. It didn't feel like it was a stunt, or inauthentic, or something for dramatic effect, or for ratings; so in the context of the greater world it really didn't feel like we were doing anything daring.



Scotty and Kevin were just very relatable people and I've a had a huge number of people come up to me and tell me, ‘I've come out to my parents in the wake of you guys normalizing gay marriage’. I remember being in high school and being gay was very daring and now I talk to today's high school kids and being gay is normal. Looking at the TV landscape now there's a lot of gay characters than ever before.

I was very glad to teach Matt on how to kiss men because it is different since we have beards. You're welcome, Matthew (laughs).

http://ew.com/tv/2018/05/21/brothers...e-sex-wedding/