Wednesday night marked the return of FX's firehouse drama Rescue Me, as well as the series' problematic handling of its gay characters and story lines. Thanks in large part to Rescue Me, FX has acquired a reputation as a network less than friendly to GLBT viewers.

But is that reputation fair? In an analysis of the network's original programming — The Shield, Rescue Me, Nip/Tuck, It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, Dirt, The Riches and 30 Days — AfterElton.com has concluded that though there are a few bright spots in FX's lineup, overall the network needs to rehaul its treatment of gay men. (This article does not examine the representation of lesbians and bisexual women on FX; for more on those issues, visit AfterEllen.com.)

FX boasts it is very closely involved with the development and production of its original programming, and due to their relatively small number of original programs, they can pay more attention to them than major networks.

"Once we take something to series, we let it air," said Scott Seomin, FX's vice president of public relations, who is himself an out gay man. "We have the luxury of giving a show a chance. We let it find an audience, find itself."

Seomin disagrees with the assertion that the network's portrayal of the gay community is problematic. "The network has been very inclusive of LGBT characters, from The Shield to Nip/Tuck, The Riches to 30 Days. Not just gay and lesbian characters, but story lines and people behind the scenes — we have open gays and lesbians working on these series. It's very important for the network to be diverse when it comes to sexual orientation."

But is this "diversity" balanced? As we prepare for another season of troubled New York City firefighters, we take stock of the network's offerings as a whole.

The Shield Drops a Story Line

Arguably the most intense hour in all of television, this flagship drama about a band of corrupt detectives in a high-crime Los Angeles neighborhood put the FX network on the map. Known for its gritty realism and violent action, the show's first season garnered enormous critical acclaim, including a record-setting number of Emmy nominations for a basic cable drama.

In The Shield's six seasons, there have been two gay-related story lines, one of them as troublesome as anything the network has aired.

In the show's most prominent gay story line, Julien Lowe (Michael Jace) is a uniformed officer revealed to be closeted gay man whose conservative religious beliefs are in grave conflict with his sexual orientation. Lowe eventually undergoes sexual reorientation therapy, becomes heterosexual and gets married. At one point, after being outed by a former lover, he is also badly beaten by fellow officers who believed Lowe had them fired for their anti-gay behavior.

Save for an occasional snide remark or sideways glance from other characters, the story line was largely dropped after Lowe's conversion.

In the series' less controversial story line, David Aceveda (Benito Martinez), the precinct's captain, is forced at gunpoint to fellate Juan, a gang member who takes a photograph of the act for blackmail purposes. Aceveda is traumatized by the attack, eventually arranging to have Juan murdered. The incident is presented more as one of sexual violence rather than anything homosexual, although Aceveda's actions in its aftermath is laced with homophobic angst. Juan also brags about his "relation" with Aceveda, trying to damage his reputation.

Another episode had a minor gay plot in which gay men patronizing glory holes in public restrooms were assaulted with rat traps. At one point, Lowe takes pity on a married man caught by one of the traps and doesn't file a report about the incident.

FX denied a rumor that the reason the story line ended was due to actor Michael Jace's discomfort with the role. AfterElton.com contacted Jace several times to request an interview, but received no response from the actor.

With the show currently in production for its next season, Seomin speculates that "there may be a resolution to that [story line]. I think you'll see more." He also raised the issue of context, arguing that the "curability" of homosexuality was the belief of characters on the show, not the show's producers.

But this seems somewhat disingenuous as the writers failed to revisit the issue, leaving viewers with the impression that Lowe's reparative therapy had worked and that homosexuality is a "curable condition." In and of itself this is not an issue, but given the series' lack of other gay characters it is problematic.