Hollywood publicist Howard Bragman's
coming out gay reality series was a no-show in December, but A&E
promises the show has not be scrapped.
According to the Globe, the
series, appropriately titled Coming Out and under development
since July, was to premiere in December.
Bragman is the man behind the celebrity
self-outings of entertainer Chaz Bono, country music star Chely
Wright and actress Meredith Baxter.
Bragman said that finding stars to come
out gay on a reality series has been difficult.
“It is a difficult series to cast and
produce, but celebrities have been approaching me,” he said.
“The idea is people tune in each week
to find out who is coming out – and the response will be either
'Duh!' or 'Wow!' We will have 'Wows!'”
“But it is not about how big the
celebrity is,” he added. “It's really about the storytelling.
I'll never force somebody out.”
A&E executives, though, have
assured gay male entertainment website AfterElton.com that the show
is still a go.
“The show is not developing as
quickly as anticipated,” Brent
Hartinger wrote at his blog Ask
the Flying Monkey,
“but I'm told it is still in the works, although the network was
tight-lipped about any other details – like whether or not they've
had a hard time finding celebrities to come out.”
Bragman, who's openly gay and married
to Chuck O'Donnell in California, runs the Los Angeles-based PR firm
Fifteen Minutes.