Gay, Straight or Taken?

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Gay, Straight or Taken? is an American reality television series broadcast by Lifetime. The series premiered on January 8, 2007, while its eighteenth and final episode aired on March 12, 2007.^[1] Filmed in Los Angeles, California, each episode depicted a woman who went on a series of dates with three men. Two of the men were straight, one partnered and one single; the third man was gay and partnered. If the woman correctly selected the available straight man, the two would win a coveted vacation together.

The program has also commenced airing in Australia on cable television channel Arena TV, in the United Kingdom on the free-to-view television channel Five Life, in Russia on MTV Russia, in Italy on SKY Uno, in Turkey on Foxlife, in Poland on MTV Poland, in Brazil on Multishow in France on TF1 [1] and in the Netherlands on RTL 5. As of 2011, the show airs regularly in reruns on Lifetime Real Women.

A female contestant goes on a group date at a spa or resort with three men. Shortly after meeting the men, the contestant receives a cell phone call from a woman who advises her that one of the three men is her boyfriend. Moments later she receives a second call from a man informing her that another of the men is his boyfriend. Now she must try to figure out which man is gay, which one is straight but taken, and which one is straight and available.

During the course of the date, the contestant has the opportunity to spend "alone time" with each of the men, selecting activities which she believes will give her clues as to the sexuality and relationship status of each. At the end of the date, the contestant prepares to announce her decision, but before she can the girlfriend and boyfriend of the two involved men appear on the scene. The contestant then announces which man she believes is gay, which is taken, and which is available. If the contestant correctly chooses the straight and available man, the two of them win a vacation together. If she is wrong, the man she picks wins the trip with his partner.

Ginia Bellafante of The New York Times referred to the series as "dopey", in which she claimed that it "hardly dismantled stereotypes ... rather, it further bolstered them."^[2] Troy Patterson of Slate believed the series was reductive yet entertaining. He stated that "[a]s pure nonsense goes, Gay, Straight or Taken? is briskly paced, invitingly shot, and painfully contemporary—a Love Connection for the conspiracy-minded."^[3] Brian Lowry of Variety compared the series to the short-lived 2004 Fox reality series Playing it Straight, stating, "Lifetime seems to have gotten the delicate sexual politics right simply by turning the whole thing into a 21st century Dating Game ... What felt tawdry on Fox, however, has a more benign streak here, one apt to burst stereotypes as much as it promotes them."^[4] Ray Richmond of The Hollywood Reporter claimed that the series "is pretty dumb on its face", although "it held my interest clear through the momentous choice at the end."^[5]

The series started off with decent television ratings by Lifetime's standards, averaging 1.3 and 1.6 million viewers for the first two episodes, respectively, which aired on the same night.^[6]

• Boy Meets Boy
• Playing It Straight

• Gay, Straight or Taken? at IMDb