154: NewsRadio Never Did a Gay Episode
“Halloween” (October 30, 1996)
Considering that every other major Must See TV sitcom did at least one gay episode, it’s surprising that NewsRadio didn’t — especially when you consider the fact that its lead actor, Dave Foley, jumped straight to NBC from Kids in the Hall, which experimented with gender and sexuality a lot more freely. This episode was as close as we could find to a real gay episode. And while it does feature Dave Foley donning drag once again, there’s a lot more weird stuff going on, including Phil Hartman’s character getting a premonition of his own death — about a year and a half before he’d die in real life. All this plus Andy Dick and Joe Rogan! Yeah, this is a weird episode!
Read:
Uproxx’s oral history of NewsRadio
The interview where the NewsRadio creator compares Must See TV Thursdays to a “shit sandwich”
Watch:
Listen:
American Hysteria, the podcast all about moral panics, urban legends and conspiracy theories — and how they shape culture.
Episode artwork by Ian O’Phelan.