The Lesbian Chronicles: Are Filipino TV Viewers Ready for A Gay Drama Series After 2 Lesbian Outings in One Week? (VIDEOS)

After two lesbian admissions from the controversial daughter and mother team in one week, did Filipino TV viewers have had enough of tomboys? On Monday, a new afternoon soap opera went on air over GMA 7, one of the two biggest TV networks in the country, with a gay-themed soap opera, providing Filipinos another look at the flip side of the LGBT spectrum since the programme deals with male homosexuality.

Some observers of the local entertainment scene said it would provide some relief from an overdose of lesbian news as former Glee star Charice Pempengco and her mother Raquel did the rounds of Philippine talk shows to share to their public their gender preferences.

The Monday start of the new GMA show, My Husband's Lover, could be a risky move for the TV network because while the Philippines is ranked 10^th among 17 countries out of 39 covered by a global survey that has accepted homosexuality, a drama with such a sensitive topic may not sit well with powerful advertisers.

GMA had previously taken the risk with the magazine show titled Out but lost because there was no advertiser support for such a very gay-oriented programme. While gays have long ruled the country's entertainment industry, their roles have been basically defined to directors, hosts, comedians, production staff, dancers and make-up artists.

Although an indie film sub-industry once thrived that focused mainly on gay-themed films, TV was another thing, especially drama whose themes normally centre on heterosexual love triangles.

To ensure that neither viewers nor censors be offended by the gay-themed soap, Director Dominic Zapata said he made sure that the execution of the love scenes between lead stars Tom Rodriguez and Dennis Trillo were crafted well, which means no kissing scenes between two males since it is not allowed by the Movie and Television Review and Classification Board.

Besides Out, GMA made the romantic and musical comedy This Guy's in Love With You, Pare in 2011, but the show was based on a female character who pretended to be a gay impersonator.

This time, My Husband's Love is about two real men who fell in love.

"There is not much difference from a heterosexual relation that the couple in My Husband's Love shows, except it so happens the lovers happened to be both males - love is still the universal language of the story," the director said in Filipino, quoted by Pep.ph.

One of the lead actors, Trillo, is not new to gay roles although in real life he is straight. He won several acting awards for his portrayal of a gay comfort woman in the movie Aishite Imasu.

He also starred in an action series in GMA where one of his powerful nemesis is a gay character, Ida, played by actor Paolo Ballesteros, who like Charice, has rumours swirling about his gender preference.