167: The Crew Was Fox’s Queer-Inclusive Alternative to Friends

“The Man We Love” (June 30, 1996)

Last week, we looked at Married… With Children’s take on an anti-Friends. This week, we decided to look at the last episode of a show that aired the previous season on Fox. While it was not designed as a response to Friends, it nonetheless managed to solve some of that show’s major problems. Namely, it’s racially diverse, there’s a queer character in the opening credits, and the characters actually work. It’s also funny, and having been co-created by writers who cut their teeth on The Golden Girls, that’s no surprise. What’s more, this show features an explicitly bi character — and this is something sitcoms almost never did and still don’t.

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Watch episodes of The Crew on archive.org. And while you’re at it, watch The Five Mrs. Buchanans too.

Read Drew’s interview with Golden Girls writers, including Jamie Wooten and more.

Check out Katherine’s new food venture, How to Eat L.A.

Support Glen’s LEGO DnD build by leaving a comment on the LEGO website.

Listen to Drew’s episode of Queer Quadrant, all about The Brady Bunch Movie — on Apple Podcasts and on Spotify.

Episode artwork by Ian O’Phelan.