I usually find no reason to hide that I’m gay, or to hide things that might reveal my orientation (except, of course, for gay porn). Quite the opposite, actually. My Attitude issues are on proper display, and I’ve made no secret of my fondness for bands such as Hanson and Savage Garden, neither of which are exactly the straightest acts in pop. Still, for someone like me, who’s still weirdly uncomfortable about other people commenting on my being gay, there’s something utterly relieving about a film, a band or a TV show with hot people in it whose quality is beyond doubt. That way, at least people won’t assume you’re gay simply for watching it, or listening to it.

This was more important before I came out, but still. Try for yourself to explain why their was some plausible, totally non-sexual reason you were caught watching the Jesse McCartney soap Summerland or gay themed tear-jerker Dawson’s Creek. Of course, you’d be hard pressed to find any. Same goes for a more recent example like High School Musical. If you’re not out yet, it won’t out you, but your social status will take a hit. If you’re out, you’ve just stereotyped yourself as a shallow horndog (which of course could be pretty close to the truth, but let’s say it isn’t, for the sake of argument. At least not all the time).

Anyway, all this takes us to Showtime’s comedy Weeds, arguably the best show on American TV. It’s so clever, funny, fresh and unpredictable that no one would ever suspect even the gayest of friends to watch it for shallow reasons. It’s so good it could very well be the perfect comedy to bring people together across sexual orientations. And it holds even though there is an openly gay recurring character (Nancy’s assistant Sanjay) on.

Consider the relationship between Hunter Parrish and Mary-Kate Olsen’s respective characters in season three. I assume more than a few straight guys and lesbians drooled over Olsen, while gays and straight women were having a field day with him. Yet nobody assumed anything about each other. Maybe TV is a force of freedom after all. We’ll see if it holds up in the ongoing fourth season, in which Olsen is out of the picture, and Silas Botwin turns his attention to older women.

But all said, I honestly don’t give a fuck about any of this. What I do care about, however, is Hunter Parrish’s new look, which is super hot. And ditto for his torso. And shoulders. And ass. To top it all of, he’s reported to have  a nude scene coming up. I wouldn’t miss it for the world. Weeds sure treats fans well.