December Bride (Roseanne)

Plot

After an angry customer leaves a check with no tip, Roseanne is amused when the customer, Scott, calls his wife to prank her. Leon arrives and reveals Scott is his ex-boyfriend, whom he left at the altar five years earlier. They plan to remarry but must go to Minneapolis for pre-wedding counseling. Roseanne volunteers to plan the wedding for free, despite Leon's dismay.

She enlists Jackie's help and, ignoring Leon's request for a simple ceremony, creates an extravagant event with drag queens, male strippers, and large pink triangles. Leon arrives, furious at the offensive stereotypes, and tries to call it off, but Roseanne locks him in a bathroom. Dan convinces Roseanne to tone down the wedding. When she tries to calm Leon, he admits his anxiety about marrying Scott and makes excuses, including claiming he isn't gay because he is a Republican and dislikes shopping.

Roseanne counters by asking if he likes sex with men, declaring him gay. Leon kisses Roseanne in desperation, then confirms his sexuality and proceeds with the wedding. The ceremony is toned down, and after the grooms kiss off-screen, Dan is distressed. Roseanne chides him, saying there is nothing wrong with two men kissing, just as Sharon, with whom Roseanne previously shared a same-sex kiss, greets her.

Background

Leon Carp was introduced in the third season episode "Valentine's Day" as Roseanne's boss at Rodbell's Lunchonette, and his homosexuality was confirmed in "Dances with Darlene" when his boyfriend picked him up. Roseanne Barr, inspired by two of her siblings being gay, pushed for gay characters and issues on the show, stating that homosexuals are a reality. Leon and Nancy, played by out actress Sandra Bernhard, were among the few recurring or main gay characters on television at the time. Roseanne won the GLAAD Media Award for Outstanding Comedy Series three times, in 1992, 1993, and 1995. The episode features cameos by Christopher Morley, Alexis Arquette, and David Michaels, and Milton Berle appeared in drag catching the bridal bouquet. Main cast member Sara Gilbert, who later came out as a lesbian, did not appear in the episode.

Controversy

ABC moved the episode from its regular 8:00 PM time slot to 9:30 PM, with a spokesperson stating the adult humor was more appropriate for the later time, not the same-sex wedding. The network did not allow the couple to kiss on-screen. The inclusion of Mariel Hemingway as Sharon mocked the double standard between acceptability of same-sex male and female kisses and referenced the controversy from the earlier episode "Don't Ask, Don't Tell".

Proposed spin-off

Roseanne Barr and William Lucas Walker developed a treatment for a spin-off called "December Bride," intended as a backdoor pilot. It would have followed Leon and Scott raising a teenage daughter from Leon’s past. Barr suggested Don Knotts and RuPaul as an inter-racial, inter-generational neighbor couple. ABC declined the series, reportedly because the network felt a show centering on a gay couple could not succeed. Consequently, Martin Mull and Fred Willard continued appearing on Roseanne in recurring roles until the show ended the following season.