Why Cutting Queer Kisses from TV Pilots Still Hurts Representation
What’s the cost of a kiss? For queer India, it’s decades of invisibility on screen. For Hollywood’s Roswell: New Mexico, it was the almost erasure of one of television’s most tender gay romances. The show’s creator, Carina Adly Mackenzie, recently revealed that network executives suggested cutting a same-sex kiss between soldier Alex Manes and alien drifter Michael Vlamis from the pilot. Her refusal to erase that moment wasn’t just creative stubbornness it was a statement on why queer love stories must be visible from the very first frame.
Queer Representation and the Pilot Problem
TV pilots are battlegrounds. They’re where networks decide what “sells” and what doesn’t. Too often, that means queer intimacy gets pushed to the margins hinted at but not shown. For Roswell: New Mexico, executives wanted the kiss “saved for later.”
Mackenzie refused.
“I felt like it really needed to be very clear in the very first episode who these men are, and what they are to each other.”
That insistence made Alex and Michael’s romance central, not optional. It told queer viewers: your love is not a subplot.
Beyond Token Posters
Carina also shared how audiences questioned the visibility of the queer couple since promotional posters highlighted the straight leads. Her goal was to challenge exactly that erasure. The kiss wasn’t just about representation it was about rebalancing what audiences expect to see.
By foregrounding a queer romance, Roswell aligned with a growing wave of shows that refuse to treat LGBTQ+ characters as decoration. Instead, queer love became part of the series’ DNA.
The Reality Check on “Post Homophobia”
While Mackenzie celebrates Gen Z’s openness, she resists the idea that homophobia is over. Small towns, conservative communities, and even entertainment networks still cling to gatekeeping.
She explained:
“I think a lot of people look at Gen Z as this post homophobia generation, and I don’t know if that is realistic, especially in small towns in the middle of the country.”
For queer India, the parallel is striking. Pride in India thrives in metros, but stigma in rural and smalltown contexts is still deeply entrenched. Representation isn’t just about showing joy it’s about showing complexity.
Why This Matters for Queer India
The lesson from Roswell echoes at home. When Bollywood cuts same-sex kisses or censors’ queer intimacy, it isn’t about “timing” or “length.” It’s about systemic discomfort with queerness.
For LGBTQ cinema and television in India to thrive, creators must fight the same battles Mackenzie did: pushing queer love to the forefront, not as an afterthought. When queer couples kiss onscreen, they’re not just sharing intimacy they’re making history.
A Kiss is Never Just a Kiss
Queer visibility starts with moments like these. When creators refuse to compromise, they carve out space for love stories that deserve to be seen in full. From New Mexico to New Delhi, one truth remains: if queer kisses can survive the edit room, they can change culture.
