Here! Preps Gay Action Hero Flick

Production is set to begin Sept. 5 on what here! is billing as TV's first lesbian action hero flick.

Her Line of Fire stars Mariel Hemingway as Secret Service Agent Lynn Delaney. "When the vice president's plane crashes in hostile territory, his lesbian secret service agent must get him out alive," says here! in a release. Here! says to look for more such lesbian leading roles in upcoming original productions.

The choice of Hemingway is appropriate. She played a lesbian in the1982 theatrical film, Personal Best (though her character's lesbianism is treated as a phase between straight relationships), and got plenty of ink for an on-air kiss with Roseanne.

"A lesbian action hero who kicks ass, saves the day and gets the girl is not only empowering, but an image our audience is starved to see," says VP of original programming, Meredith Kadlec.

John Eggerton

Contributing editor John Eggerton has been an editor and/or writer on media regulation, legislation and policy for over four decades, including covering the FCC, FTC, Congress, the major media trade associations, and the federal courts. In addition to Multichannel News and Broadcasting + Cable, his work has appeared in Radio World, TV Technology, TV Fax, This Week in Consumer Electronics, Variety and the Encyclopedia Britannica.