"Stuart Fails to Save" two Brian Smiths and two Josh Brenners. One is gay-ish, one has j/o photos, one went to Harvard, and one is Santa Claus.

I didn't watch The Big Bang Theory (2007-2019) much; the girl-crazy horniness and casual homophobia were too annoying.  But I liked the prequel Young Sheldon (2017-2024), so I decided to give the spin-off Stuart Fails to Save the Universe (2026) a try: 

Stuart (Kevin Sussman), who owned the guys' comic book hangout, and his scoobies zap between parallel worlds, trying to fix the interdimensional transport device that threatens to destroy the universe.

After an episode and a half, I had enough.  The parallel worlds were dull, the jokes unfunny, and the guys spent too much time discussing their failures with women.  Stuart's side quest is to convince the Woman of His Dreams that they were destined to be together, so she should dump her arrogant jock boyfriend.

But I liked the guys shopping at the comic book store in each episode, Zack (Brian J. Smith, left) and Trevor (Josh Brenner). 

Plus, when I checked for nude photos, I scored with Brian (j/o photo after the break).

Brian J. Smith was born in Dallas in 1981, and received a B.A. from Collin College and a M.F.A. in drama from Juliard.  He has a number of theatrical credits, including A Clockwork Orange, The Glass Menagerie, and  Good Boys and True.  

His on-screen career begins with Hate Crime (2005), playing a gay man who is victimized by his next-door neighbor, son of a fundamentalist preacher.

A nice beginning, buddy. 

Stargate Universe (2011-13): Soldiers and civilians are trapped on a spaceship "billions of light years from Earth."  Brian plays Lt. Matthew Scott, second in command.  He's religious and straight, with several past and present girlfriends.

Sens8 (2015-18): A science fiction drama about eight strangers who share a psychic connection: they can actually zap into each other's consciousness.  At one point they have a giant orgy.  Brian plays Will Gorski, a Chicago police officer.  He is straight (except for the orgy), and gets a girlfriend.

Class of '09 (2023) refers to the FBI agents who graduated from Quantico in 2009, tracing their lives to the present (2023/2025) and future (2034). Brian plays Daniel Lennix, who becomes FBI Associate Deputy Director in "the present" and is retired in "the future."   He has a wife.

Ok, I found one: Haze (2024): A journalist (Cole Dolman, top) leaves rehab to return to his home town.  He hooks up with a local guy (Brian) while being depressed and investigating dark secrets.

Brian also directed A House is not a Disco (2024): "The present-day life experiences of those who live, work, and pursue a season of pleasure in the world's most radically queer, "homo-normative" community: Fire Island Pines.

Two gay characters and director of a gay documentary.  Not bad, but not great.  Let's see if the guy is gay in real life:

More after the break.  Caution: Explicit.

Iain Armitage: Young Sheldon grows up, hugs guys, celebrates Pride. With nude Galecki, Fisher, and Simon Rex

 

I didn't like The Big Bang Theory (2007-19), featuring Johnny Galecki as the (relatively) stable center of a group of wacky nerd scientists who can't get any  "big bangs."  The hetero-horniness was incessant, and there were so many homophobic statements -- mostly asserting that all gay men wear dresses and prance --  that I was more amazed than offended  Wasn't Jim Parsons, who played the neurotic physics savant Sheldon Cooper, gay?  Why didn't he protest?  (Apparently he was closeted until around the fifth season.) 

But I liked Young Sheldon (2017-24), about Sheldon Cooper's childhood, growing up in East Texas in the 1990s with a conservative Baptist Mom, a macho football-coach Dad, a macho muscle-building brother, and...you get the idea.

I grew up in the Nazarene Church, which taught that Baptists were much too liberal.  I could relate. 

Plus there were lots of cute guys.  Sheldon's older brother Georgie (Montana Jordan) had musclebuilding plotlines before they switched to a "getting a girl pregnant" story arc.

Dad, Lance Barber, was a chub with a bulge.

Next door neighbor Billy (Wyatt McClure) was too young to be hot, of course, but he had that puppy-dog cuteness that makes you say "Aww, how adorable!"  I figured that he would eventually come out, but instead the writers decided to give him a crush on Sheldon's sister

And how about Rex Linn as Tom Peters, the longsuffering principal at Sheldon's high school. Wait, this is Simon Rex.

There were no gay characters -- with or without Jim Parsons as executive producer, this was still a "family friendly" (non gay) show.  But also no casual homophobia.  Just a few references suggesting homophobia, as when someone asks if Sheldon is...you know, and Dad angrily yells "NO!"

And in Season 5, Sheldon tells his roommate Evan (Motoki Maxten) that he doesn't want to date girls because they are a distraction. 

"So you're into guys?" Evan asks nonchalantly.

"No, they're a distraction, too."

Actually, he turns out to be asexual hetero-romantic, although this is never specified on The Big Bang Theory.

But I'm pretty sure that Iain Armitage (Young Sheldon) is gay.

More after the break