This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2016, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Tonight on Logo, it's the premiere of "Finding Prince Charming" (7 and 9:30 p.m) — which is, for all intents and purposes, a gay version of "The Bachelor."
Hosted by Lance Bass ('N Sync), the show features a Prince Charming — Robert Sepulveda Jr. — and 13 guys vying to be his one true love. Because, of course, the way to find true love is to go on a TV show.
Ugh.
Sepulveda is smart, handsome and hunky. The first time we see him, he's at the beach showing off his hot body.
"I'm here to find the love of my life," he says. "I'm here to find my partner."
But, as is the case with its straight counterparts, the narrative is patently ridiculous.
"My heart is definitely falling in love with several of the guys," Sepulveda tells Bass.
Ugh.
And there's the added "drama" that the guys vying for Sepulveda's affections could, potentially, be attracted to each other.
The show and Logo deserve some credit for diverse casting. In addition to the Hispanic "prince," there are African-American as well as white suitors.
And "Finding Prince Charming" accurately portrays that not all gay guys are alike. Not all are flamboyant — although one of guys on this show definitely is, and he's shamed for it.
Not cool, Logo.
But the show feels like it's trying to fit square pegs into round holes. Yes, gay men and women deserve all the same rights as straight men and women, but that doesn't mean they're the same.
Although gay people have a right to be on the same phony, contrived and dopey reality shows as straight people.
It's standard practice in the industry for the producers and networks behind so-called reality shows to do background checks on the participants. They don't want people with mental-health or anger-management issues dropped into the pressure cooker of reality TV.
But it's hard not to wonder if Logo or the producers of "Prince Charming" spent any time vetting these guys at all. After doing a round of interviews in which he proclaimed that he was essentially an all-American boy — not interested in casual sex, looking to settle down — the news broke that Sepulveda is a former male prostitute who appeared in a number of porn videos.
Sure, former sex-workers can change their lives. And, sure, former sex-workers are just as entitled to love and a happy-ever-after ending as the rest of us.
But the narrative the show builds of its "Prince Charming" is clearly phony from the get-go.
Not that that makes it any different from "The Bachelor" or "The Bachelorette."
Ugh.