109: Kate & Allie Meet a Lesbian Couple

“Landlady” (October 15, 1984)

Right at the top of its second season, Kate & Allie did the thing so many sitcoms do and put out an episode that explicitly says “No, these characters aren’t gay.” In this case, CBS had allegedly worried that viewers might suspect Susan St. James and Jane Curtain’s characters are anything other than platonic friends. On hand to discuss the show’s lesbian underpinnings is Leah Kopperman, the queer woman of our dreams and the winner of an exhaustive nationwide search for the guest who can offer context for this 80s TV favorite.

Listen to our ”Cartoons That Made Us Gay” episode.

Listen to Smart Mouth’s mochi episode.

If you’re interested, check out The Preppy Handbook and Real Men Don’t Eat Quiche. Also watch SNL’s “Dyke and Fats” sketch.

This episode’s outro track is “I Can’t Love (Female Version)” by Charley, which is not on any of the streaming services so why don’t you listen to it on Youtube?