The Big Book of Gay Cliches: #1 -- The Lovable Hairdresser

So of course the gay fella is chubby, campy, cheery and none too bright (while at the same time being hugely empathetic). BK (played by Desmond Dube) gets to swish around with painted nails and a Project Runway walk. And his shop is called The Last Chance Salon. But BK didn't exist in the books by Alexander McCall Smith, and was added for TV. And Botswana, where the series is set and filmed, has a complex agenda - homosexuality is illegal, but there is a thriving gay LGTB club and bar scene.

Whether the show will ever make anything of BK's being gay, or merely showcase him as a weekly bit of comic relief (and it certainly wouldn't be the first time a queer character was relegated to that role) remains to be seen. The 2-hr premiere was light to start but then went off on a pretty dark side-story about kids being kidnapped and killed for their fingers (really!), so your guess is as good as ours.

-- DG

Previously > Elton John's soon-to-be classic Pride and Predator