''Boy Meets Boy'' is an American

reality television series Reality television is a genre of television programming that documents purportedly unscripted real-life situations, often starring unfamiliar people rather than professional actors. Reality television emerged as a distinct genre in the early ...

broadcast by Bravo. The show premiered on July 29, 2003, while its sixth and final episode aired on September 2, 2003. Filmed in

Palm Springs, California Palm Springs (Cahuilla: ''Séc-he'') is a desert resort city in Riverside County, California, United States, within the Colorado Desert's Coachella Valley. The city covers approximately , making it the largest city in Riverside County by lan ...

, the series depicted James Getzlaff, a gay bachelor, choosing a potential boyfriend from a group of fifteen men. Unbeknown to Getzlaff, however, was that this group consisted of both gay and straight men. Each episode Getzlaff eliminated three candidates. If the final candidate was also gay, Getzlaff would win a $25,000 reward and a trip to

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island coun ...

for the two; if the final candidate was straight, Getzlaff would receive nothing and the candidate would receive a $25,000 reward. The series was hosted by English television presenter Dani Behr.

Format

The show featured a gay man named James Getzlaff selecting another man to date from among a group of 15 potential suitors, known as "mates". Helping him choose was his best friend Andra Stasko. The controversial twist was that some of the housemates were gay, while others were

straight Straight may refer to: Slang * Straight, slang for heterosexual ** Straight-acting, an LGBT person who does not exhibit the appearance or mannerisms of the gay stereotype * Straight, a member of the straight edge subculture Sport and games * ...

. James was not told of this fact until nearly the end of the series' run, and the gay mates were never informed. If James' final choice from among the mates was gay, James and the mate would win a cash prize and a trip for two to

provided by Alyson Adventures of

Key West, Florida Key West ( es, Cayo Hueso) is an island in the Straits of Florida, within the U.S. state of Florida. Together with all or parts of the separate islands of Sigsbee Park, Dredgers Key, Fleming Key, Sunset Key, and the northern part of Stock Isla ...

, which specializes in gay and lesbian small group tours throughout the world. If James chose a straight mate, James would win nothing and the mate would win $25,000. The producers managed to keep a mixture of gay and straight men in the house despite the eliminations by putting the men into groups that prevented the contestant from eliminating all of the gay men or all of the straight men. At the end of each episode, the sexual orientation of each eliminated mate was revealed to viewers.

Production

The series was filmed in May 2003 in

. Over 500 men from

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17t ...

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world ...

, and

San Diego San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the eighth most populous city in the United States ...

were interviewed for a potential role in the series. Getzlaff originally interviewed for the role of a suitor, although producers ultimately offered him the leading role. As the leading man, Getzlaff was required to bring his "best female friend" to offer him guidance as he eliminated suitors. According to executive producer Douglas Ross, " very specifically designed this show to challenge the viewer's preconceived notions about what it means to be gay and straight. We really wanted it to be an exploration of sexual politics and not sex." While the producers were interested in exploring "sociological issues", the twist of some contestants being straight was implemented in an effort for the series to reach broader audiences. In order to protect the identities of which suitors were gay and straight, any physicality between Getzlaff and suitors beyond kissing was forbidden. The series premiered July 29, 2003, on the Bravo cable television channel.

Contestants

Episodes

Potential second season

''Boy Meets Boy'' creator Doug Ross held out hope for a second season. He acknowledged that the popularity of season one would make it practically impossible for another season with the same twist but also said that he has come up with another twist which Bravo executives thought was fun. Speaking in 2007, Bravo executive Frances Berwick pointed to public knowledge of the twist as a stumbling block to a second season, noting the difficulty Bravo had selling the series overseas because of international press reports on the twist. On the possibility of a season two with a new twist, Berwick said, "What Bravo does best is to do things first and to really sort of shake up people's preconceptions and notions about things. And we would accept many different formats

or a ''Boy Meets Boy''-type show Or or OR may refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television * "O.R.", a 1974 episode of M*A*S*H * Or (My Treasure), a 2004 movie from Israel (''Or'' means "light" in Hebrew) Music * ''Or'' (album), a 2002 album by Golden Boy with Mis ...

I'm not saying that they wouldn't be as good, because you can always come up with something else. utuntil we find the perfect way to do it..." Berwick also suggested that at the time a series as gay-specific as ''Boy Meets Boy'' might not have fit into Bravo's overall programming strategy. "It has to feel like it's broad enough, and multidimensional enough to work for our incredibly smart audience."

Home media

The entire six episode series was released to DVD as a box set in the United States on May 25, 2004. In addition to containing all six episodes, the DVD set includes additional interviews and footage with behind the scenes featurettes, casting reels, performances by Miss Coco Peru, the original unaired opening sequence, cast biographies, and a "Where Are They Now?" segment with updates on some of the participants.

Reception

In August 2022, ''

Time Time is the continued sequence of existence and event (philosophy), events that occurs in an apparently irreversible process, irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various me ...

'' listed season 1 of ''Boy Meets Boy'' as among the Top 50 Most Influential Reality TV Seasons.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Boy Meets Boy 2003 American television series debuts 2003 American television series endings 2000s American reality television series Bravo (American TV network) original programming 2000s American LGBT-related television series American dating and relationship reality television series Gay-related television shows English-language television shows Television shows set in Palm Springs, California American LGBT-related reality television series 2000s LGBT-related reality television series