About COMING OUT COLTON

 Back in the early 90s, there was a cheesy yet popular late night syndicated TV game show called STUDS. It was taped in Los Angeles. Basically, it was THE DATING GAME with saltier questions and answers. A trio of bachelors vied for the attention of a young lady asking questions. STUDS spawned another cheesy yet popular late night relationship TV game show called BEDROOM BUDDIES. That one focused on couples answering salty questions. I was the host. Some of the STUDS crew members worked on my show. One fellow told me that it was amazing how many gay guys from in and around the West Hollywood area applied to be bachelors on STUDS. They weren't straight and they really weren't interested in dating a woman. But they were extremely interested in how the national TV exposure could juice up their careers.

I think of that nowadays when I watch THE BACHELOR and THE BACHELORETTE on ABC. 

Remember Colton Underwood? He got lots of attention as a bachelor in a season of the franchise. He dated a woman for while and displayed some rather erratic behavior that made big buzz on social media. He and the young lady broke up. Then he publicly came out as gay. His admission made entertainment news headlines. He made his big announcement on ABC's GOOD MORNING AMERICA.

I do not mean this to be snarky, but when I saw Colton as the bachelor during the run of the reality series, I got a blip on my personal gaydar (gay radar). When he came out, I really wasn't shocked and surprised. Now he has a series on Netflix. The title is -- COMING OUT COLTON. I watched the first two episodes.

I must honestly write this up front: I feel that if Colton Underwood looked like actor Jack Black in BERNIE, a 2011 film in which Black played a shy gay man, he would not have that series. Colton is tall, muscular, boyishly handsome and white. That's how it is. Looks count.

As for the first episode, one thing baffled me. He comes out to his mother, his father, his brother and his high school football coach. (Colton plays football.) How could those folks be surprised at his admission if he was in national entertainment news after his revelation on network TV's GOOD MORNING AMERICA? Did they toss out their TVs and quit social media after he left THE BACHELOR? In my mind, in between the time the left the ABC reality series and came out with the news of the Netflix deal, there had to have been some sort of marketing or production deal. I'm sure he did not do THE BACHELOR for free. Like those guys on STUDS, he wasn't really interested in dating a woman. But there was something he wanted from the TV exposure.

The first episode takes us to Denver, Colorado. He says that he "lived a lie for 29 years" by keeping mum about his sexual reality. The episode kind of overdoes it with the "he's gay AND a jock" aspect. We get it. He played football. We met openly gay Olympic medalist, skier GUS KENWORTHY. Kenworthy was apparently one of the first folks Underwood could talk to about being gay. Kenworthy asks Colton what's his type, dating-wise. He sheepishly replies, "Daddies." Keep that in mind when, in Episode 2, he makes it a point of visiting his high school football coach. I think Colton wants a papa bear -- like Chris Meloni on NBC's LAW & ORDER: ORGANIZED CRIME.

He also talks about THE BACHELOR and mistakes he made after leaving the series. As far as being discriminated against for being gay, it doesn't seem that Colton Underwood experienced any intense drama. He was never beaten up, kicked out of his home, disowned by his parents or fired from a job. He's still a handsome, lucky gay white dude who hooked a second TV deal. You really cannot feel sorry for him as you watch the first episode. Here's a trailer.

The second episode is better. Colton has more of an air of maturity in it. The episode focuses on Colton coming out to his dad and on football. It's arranged for Colton to have lunch with three gay pro football players -- Michael Sam, Esera Tualolo and the absolutely fabulous and trailblazing Dave Kopay. The highlight of the Episode 2 is Dave Kopay. He's wonderful, now an LGBTQ senior who still has plenty to offer. Dave Kopay played for the San Francisco 49ers, for Washington and, in 1972, for the Green Bay Packers. He came out in 1975 and wrote his autobiography that was published in 1977.

 

I took Dave Kopay to dinner in 1984. It was the night before he was an in-studio guest on the live afternoon show I co-hosted for Milwaukee's ABC TV affiliate. Kopay is a big, brotherly, amiable man who went out of his way to help me when he learned that I'm also a member of the LGBTQ community. The studio audience, by the way, loved Kopay and many in the audience stayed after the show to get his autograph or just shake his hand. On my show, Kopay mentioned that he passionately wanted a network TV sports commentator job during football season. He'd have been perfect for such a job. He was never hired because he's openly gay.

Netflix should give us a half-hour with Dave Kopay. COMING OUT COLTON is now available on Netflix. For a grade, I'd give what I've seen so far a C+. And that + is thanks to Dave Kopay.