The "Newlywed Game," which debuted on prime time television in the mid-1960s, has run off-and-on since then. It is now on its second season on the GSN cable network and will have a first in its new season: the first gay couple. To make it more interesting, the couple is George Takei of "Star Trek," and his longtime partner, Brad Altman.George Takei's sexuality was sort of an open secret since the 1970s, but he first openly publicized it in 2005, in an interview to "Frontiers" magazine. He said the following: "It's not really coming out, which suggests opening a door and stepping through. It's more like a long, long walk through what began as a narrow corridor that starts to widen."
The new version of the "Newlywed Game" that appears on GSN is hosted by former singer Carnie Wilson, with the show updated somewhat, including having older contestants.
This year, besides George Takei and Brad Altman, the show will have other newly married celebrities, including Davy Jones ("The Monkees"), Kristy Swanson ("Buffy the Vampire Slayer") and Christopher Knight ("The Brady Bunch").
George Takei and Brad Altman, who have been together for over 20 years, will tape their episode soon. Kelly Goode, GSN's programming chief, said she couldn't speculate on why gay couples were excluded in the past because GSN has only had the rights to the "Newlywed Game" for two years. She did add that the game's rules specify that the couple needed to have a legally-recognized marriage to appear.
George Takei and Brad Altman were married in California during the brief period after the California Supreme Court legalized gay marriage, and before Proposition 8 banned it again.
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