| Playing It Straight | |
|---|---|
| Format | Reality show |
| Presented by | Daphne Brogdon |
| Country of origin | United States |
| No. of episodes | 8 |
| Production | |
| Running time | 45–50 minutes |
| Broadcast | |
| Original channel | FOX |
| Original run | March 12 – April 2, 2004 |
Playing It Straight is a 2004 American reality show in which one woman spent time on a ranch with a group of men in an attempt to discern which of them were homosexual and which of them were heterosexual. All of the men pretended to be heterosexual. The woman went on individual dates with the men, in addition to engaging in group activities with them. Over the course of the episodes, she voted to eliminate the men she believed to be gay.
At the end of the show, the woman had to choose one man. If he was heterosexual, the man and woman would split the prize money, but if he was gay, then he would receive all the money (and the woman would receive nothing).
Contents |
The show was first broadcast in the United States on the Fox Network and premiered on March 12, 2004. The program was set on a Nevada ranch, and featured Jackie, a college student. Jackie spent time with 14 men (some gay, some straight) with a chance to win $1 million dollars. If Jackie picked a straight man, they would both split the money, but if she picked a gay man, he would win the entire $1 million.
| Contestant | Status | Sexual Orientation |
|---|---|---|
| Gust | Eliminated week 1 | Straight |
| Louis | Eliminated week 1 | Straight |
| Alex | Eliminated week 2 | Gay |
| Ryan | Eliminated week 2 | Straight |
| Eddie | Left the show week 3 | Gay |
| Chad | Eliminated week 3 | Gay |
| John | Eliminated week 4 | Gay |
| Lee | Eliminated week 4 | Gay |
| Bradley | Eliminated week 5 | Gay |
| Luciano | Eliminated week 5 | Gay |
| Bill | Eliminated week 6 | Gay |
| Chris | Eliminated week 8 | Gay |
| Sharif | Eliminated week 8 | Straight |
| Banks | Winner week 8 | Straight |
In 2005, nearly one year later after the show was recorded, Fox issued a press release stating that Jackie and Banks were still together. After the show, Jackie and Banks dated for about two years. For the first eight months, they had to keep their relationship quiet until the show aired. Banks went so far as to tell friends that he had to leave the show because he broke his arm, rather than reveal he won.
In 2007, Fox Reality reaired the series paired with "Reality Revealed" interviews of the contestants at each commercial break.
Channel 4 (UK) broadcast their own version of the show, first episode on April 8, 2005, as part of their Twisted Dating Season. The show is set on a Mexican ranch and Zoe Hardman is spending time with 12 men. Ten men started the show and two more, Lee and Marco, were added in week 3 - it was revealed when they arrived that one was gay and one straight. The prize money was £100,000 and the show was hosted by June Sarpong. The show is being repeated on Channel 4's sister channel 4Music.
Early reporting revealed Ben Harris to be Mr Gay UK and also said: "Ben Harris, a builder, looks to be one of the favourites to win the show after the first episode in which he played to the builder stereotype." [1]
In October 2011, it was announced that Channel 4 had ordered a full second series. This time the location is set in Spain and the new series will be hosted by T4 presenter, Jameela Jamil. The prize fund has been decreased 50% to £50,000.[2][3] The second series will make its debut on January 9th, 2011 at 9 PM on E4.[4]
| Contestant | Status | Sexual Orientation |
|---|---|---|
| Pritesh | Eliminated week 1 | Straight |
| Raphael | Eliminated week 1 | Straight |
| Demetrius | Eliminated week 2 | Gay |
| George | Eliminated week 2 | Straight |
| Lee [5] | Eliminated week 3 | Gay |
| Peter | Eliminated week 3 | Gay |
| Jonny | Eliminated week 4 | Gay |
| Alex [6] | Eliminated week 5 | Gay |
| Daniel. K | Eliminated week 5 | Straight |
| Marco | Eliminated week 6 | Straight |
| Danny. B | Eliminated week 6 | Straight |
| Ben [7] | Winner | Gay |
An Australian version of the show aired on the Seven Network starting October 2004 hosted by Natalie Garonzi. Despite much of the hype surrounding it the shows ratings dwindled and it was moved to a later timeslot. After Rebecca eliminated Campbell (who was gay) Chad, Dane and Evan were left for one non-elimination round before appearing in the final episode. Rebecca chose Chad and he was revealed to be straight, whilst Dane and Evan were both gay. The Australian show has also aired in the US on FOX Reality. Rebecca and Chad are no longer together.
| Contestant | Status | Sexual Orientation |
|---|---|---|
| Simon | Eliminated week 1 | Straight |
| Sam | Eliminated week 1 | Straight |
| John | Eliminated week 2 | Gay |
| Glenn | Left the show week 2 | Gay |
| N/A | Eliminated week 3 | N/A |
| N/A | Eliminated week 4 | N/A |
| N/A | Eliminated week 4 | N/A |
| Ben | Eliminated week 5 | Straight |
| Dean | Eliminated week 5 | Gay |
| Damon | Eliminated week 6 | Straight |
| Campbell | Eliminated week 7 | Gay |
| Evan | Eliminated week 8 | Gay |
| Dane | Eliminated week 8 | Gay |
| Chad | Winner | Straight |
The original FOX version was a surprise hit on Dutch television, prompting RTL to create its own version. In HERKEN DE HOMO (Find the Gay One), the at the time 23 year old Nathalie was sent to Mexico. She had to choose between 14 men. At the end, only Marcel remained who turned out to be straight. Both won 50,000 Euro each.