From All in the Family to The Golden Girls: Here are the best LGBTQ-themed episodes of classic sitcoms

The Daily Beast

Designing Women, Gimme a Break!, The Facts of Life, Maude and even Wings also had gay-themed episodes, says Kevin Fallon. "While the ’90s saw the premiere of Will & Grace and Ellen’s coming out episode, it was also an era of gay-panic comedy, dressed up in a laughtrack as tolerance," says Fallon. "By comparison, Very Special Episodes of classic sitcoms, schmaltzy and heavy-handed as they may have been, brought ideas that were radical at the time not only about acceptance, but visibility and anger, too, into living rooms in meaningful ways. (I’m also noticing how many of the episodes feature strong women making an insecure gay man feel safe.)"