| Normal, Ohio | |
|---|---|
| Format | Sitcom |
| Created by | Bonnie Turner and Terry Turner Bob Kushell |
| Starring | John Goodman Joely Fisher Anita Gillette Orson Bean Mo Gaffney Charles Rocket |
| Country of origin | United States |
| No. of seasons | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 13 (7 aired) |
| Production | |
| Camera setup | Multi-camera |
| Running time | 23 minutes |
| Broadcast | |
| Original channel | FOX |
| Original run | November 1 – December 13, 2000 |
Normal, Ohio is an American television sitcom, which aired on the Fox Network in 2000. The show stars John Goodman as William "Butch" Gamble, a gay man returning to his Midwestern home town. The cast also includes Joely Fisher, Anita Gillette, Orson Bean, Mo Gaffney and Charles Rocket.
The original concept for the series was an Odd Couple-style situation comedy called Don't Ask, with Goodman as "Rex", sharing his West Hollywood apartment with college friend David (Anthony LaPaglia). Although the pilot was well-received, creators Bonnie and Terry Turner felt that the premise was not strong enough for an ongoing series. LaPaglia's character was written out and the series was relocated to Ohio.[1]
The show was most notable for the divisions it exposed regarding American culture's view of homosexuality. Gamble was an average blue collar gay bear with many traits typical of American masculinity, including a love of football and beer, and very few of the traits stereotypically associated with gay men — and yet his sexuality itself was signified in part by isolated moments of more stereotypically gay behavior, such as singing snippets of Broadway show tunes and helping his sister to dye her hair, that were seemingly at odds with the way his character was presented most of the time. As a result, many media outlets dismissed Goodman's role as unrealistic.[2]
Goodman won the People's Choice Award for Best Actor in a New Comedy Series, but the show was not generally a success in the Nielsen ratings. Thirteen episodes of the series were made, but only seven were aired before its cancellation.