Defamer
AfterElton.com explores the fascinating case of the character of Zach from NBC's hit drama, Heroes: The best friend and confidante to the series' pivotal cheerleader character Claire, Zach (actor Thomas Dekker) was conceived by the show's creators to be a gay teenager. And while Zach never once uttered the words "I'm gay," up until the "Homecoming" episode that aired Nov. 20, all signs still pointed to Queer. (The episode features the cheerleader punching out another girl who called Zach a "gay boy," and later features a scene in which Zach refuses to accompany Claire to the homecoming "for a million different reasons," then seguing into a maddeningly vague speech about embracing one's otherness.) AfterElton reports the official Heroes website even summarized the exchange by saying "Zach stammers with his reply, admitting that he's gay," words which then went mysteriously missing from the online recap. His MySpace page, meanwhile, lists his orientation as "Not Sure," and his favorite movies as a lavender laundry list of the usual suspects (Rocky Horror, Priscilla Queen of the Desert, Hedwig and the Angry Inch, Velvet Goldmine, etc.). So why, then, with Dekker about to leave the show to star in a Terminator TV series, are NBC and the actor's reps now insisting the character was straight all along?
An NBC publicist told AfterElton in a phone conversation that Zach "is not gay", that it was something that was "for sure" and "in all certainty." AfterElton contacted NBC for confirmation after being told by Thomas Dekker's management (Dekker plays Zach), the character of Zach is absolutely straight.
Two scenarios seem the mostly likely: for unknown reasons, NBC suddenly shied away from the idea of a gay character. Or Dekker's management wanted Zach to be straight. (Dekker's management declined to comment on the topic.)
Series creator Tim Kring wrote in to AfterElton to respond to the piece, saying it was never his intention to deceive or confuse the audience, but that "it has simply become too complicated behind the scenes to push this issue further with this particular character." Just how or why these "behind the scenes" complications manifested themselves he does not say, though we'd caution against too quickly hurling accusations at the network of having toyed with the self-esteem of the show's gay youth fanbase by dangling a hottie imbued with all the prophecied Signs of The Gay in front of them, only to callously yank him away from their team at the very last moment. Perhaps NBC felt that with everything they have already done for The Gays with Will & Grace and sister-network Bravo's all-fabulous reality programming schedule, they finally had a chance with the character of Zach to validate the existence of an even more disenfrachised youth subgroup: straight, male, Priscilla, Queen of the Desert fans.
- Heroes Straightens Up Its Gay Character [AfterElton.com via Towleroad]
- ZachToTheFuture [MySpace]
- Heroes [NBC.com]
Comments
Pathetic. Network morons and agent douche, your backpedaling is pathetic.
The only way to settle this is to make Nathan Petrelli my boyfriend.
Thank god now the previously closeted metrosexual teens can come proudly blinking into the bright sunshine! Out and Proud!
Just not gay.
Zach is straight as Lohan is sober.
Apparently, the show's mysterious Haitian can wipe out more than memories. And here I thought the asexual gay best friend was a TV staple. Oh wait, only on comedies.
Bohan- you can have Nathan and I will have the hot Indian guy (or Natalie Maine's husband... THEN it will be settled.
Send a message to NBC that they can't just edit a gay character out of their series and no one will notice. My text follows:
I have enjoyed and recommended Heroes to many people since it started this fall.
One refreshing character was the gay best friend Zach, who understood what Claire was going through because he also was different. It makes perfect sense.
That's why it's so stupid to have your publicist tell AfterElton in a phone conversation that Zach "is not gay", that it was something that was "for sure" and "in all certainty."
Don't make me take you off my tivo. I have a life, and as much as I enjoy Heroes, I won't patronize a network that patronizes me. That means no more Studio 60 either.
In addition, a well-adjusted gay teen is a vital and important role model for today's gay youth. Do you want to send the message that they are unwanted and should be edited out of society like you edited Zach's homosexuality out of the series?
Think about the consequences to your actions.
let's hope nathan absorbed the gay from zach and there's an impending orgy with the hot heroes.
Wasn't he made straight because Thomas Dekker's been cast in the lead in the new Terminator-related series and wanted to make him look like some kind of macho action hero? Kinda sad.
Geeze doesn't anybody WATCH this show? In the last episode, the Scary Mind-Erasing Jamaican got his hands on Zak and used his powers to tell him forget Claire the Cheerleader.
OBVIOUSLY it was easy for the Jamaican to say "And by the way, you're not gay, you're straight," thus launching Zak on a career as a televangelist, or Republican House Majority leader.
Well, if anything I now feel strong enough to come out about the fact that I totally watch "Heroes" and enjoy it. And Liss, you are totally gonna have to fight me for the hot Indian.
Does this mean Ali Larter's dykey evil twin is out, too?
As we know from every high-school movie ever made, the character of "the cheerleader's platonic best friend" has to be gay, because the only other alternative is that he's a lovesick, blue-balled loser (who, unlike the gay version, doesn't enjoy it when she prattles on about the football-star/bully she is sleeping with).
Not to split hairs, but it is Peter Petrelli that absorbes the powers of other people and could therefore go gay. Also the scary guy is Hatian, not Jamacian. Finally and obviously, I am an absolute dork.
Agh. MT, I'll come out as a dork too (though perhaps it might have been clear before this)... Nathan Petrelli = Natalie Maines' husband. So looks like you get the hot Indian dude, liss. That is only if you can beat me in a battle to the death. I kid, I kid... I actually have a crush on Hiro.
Yeah Panqueque I just realized that while reading through, I was hoping no one was going to notice.
That's fine though because Peter is cute. (In a young idealistc way.) And I called first dibs on the Indian guy so...yay for me?
Gees damn it. I just wanna get laid. If it has to be Peter rather than Nathan, trust me, I'll live. Ya'll work out Suresh on your own.
And here I thought I was gonna be the first to admit a serious crush on Hiro.
okay, since everyone else is "coming out" (ha, ha... groan) as a fan of this show, i will too.
1. let's remember that nbc is owning the teenage boy demographic with this show, and we all know those boys are comic book geeks. so nbc is flattering them by making geeky zach be bffs (with the possibility for maybe more) with the cute cheerleader. and i'm actually enjoying the ambiguity. the impression i got from the homecoming episode is that guy is comfortable with himself and not homophobic, so he doesn't need to declare his straightness 24/7.
2. nate patrelli = the tv version of rahm emanuel. at least, that's what i like to think. they look/act kinda the same.
3. the indian dude is mind-blowingly hot, but i got the impression from an interview that the the actor who plays him is gay, which means he's frustratingly off-limits. i could be way off on that though. actually, maybe i read his imdb page which said he was married. in which case, you know, scratch all of the above.
4. how about the junkie artist? if no one's claimed him yet, he's mine.
I'll take one for the team and do Milo Ventimusedtobeongilmoregirls if someone will only hold him down and cut his damn tendril of a bang.
Genevieve, you're probably right about Mohinder being gay, because I ALWAYS fall for the gay fellas. And if you hadn't claimed Isaac, I'd have totally taken him as runner up. Damn, I gots to call my "Heroes" studs faster!
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