Ranberg and Flett-Giordano started with college student Liz and South Boston working-class Bobby, who get engaged after a whirlwind romance. Liz is afraid to break the news to her cultured and sophisticated parents, a long-term, monogamous gay couple in a stable relationship. Philip, an art dealer, and Simon, a third grade teacher, are living the yuppie dream of having a child attend Harvard and don’t see marriage for Liz for several years to come—and certainly not with Bobby.

“For me, what’s exciting about the show is the gay couple are not treated any differently in their everyday life,” says Ranberg, who is openly gay and in an 11-year relationship. But one of the criticisms already being thrown at It’s All Relative is, once again, gay men on TV are being portrayed as wealthy cosmopolitans who know how to dress and cook. Ranberg shakes off the criticism, arguing that when writing sitcoms you have to stick to basic themes in order to get your story across.

“We really think there’s an up side to that and we can use it to our advantage,” Ranberg says of the fabulous gay male stereotype. “Particularly in a comedy, it helps you to start out at least with characters who are clearly recognized archetypes.”

Christopher Sieber, who plays Simon, notes that there is plenty to delineate this gay couple in terms of character. “We’re not heroes by any means,” Sieber says of himself and his on-screen husband, John Benjamin Hickey. “The gay parents and the straight parents have the same opinions, they are just on opposite sides. We are just as bad as they are, and the people in the middle are our poor children. It’s just two families trying to get along.”

Hickey agrees with Sieber. “These people are not being written as role models,” he explains. “I think the show, if I can be so bold, compares to All in the Family. It’s like the Bunkers and the Jeffersons. It’s as much, if not more, about class than about sexual identity.”

Balancing out Philip and Simon are the O’Neils, an Irish Catholic Boston couple who run a blue-collar bar. You know Bobby is in trouble early when his parents are shocked that he’s marrying not only outside their faith, but also outside the neighborhood. When the O’Neils find out their son’s future in-laws are gay, they are shocked, but stage veteran Harriet Sansom Harris, who plays Audrey O’Neil, notes that her character’s reaction comes from a different place than some audiences might suspect.

“They are not the enemy, they are just the unknown,” Harris says of her character’s reaction to Philip and Simon and their long-term relationship. “It’s so not a part of her world. She’s got a great life, loves her family, and just never thought about it.”

Harris, who won a Tony for Thoroughly Modern Millie and is known to TV audiences as Frasier’s hardcore agent Bebe, sees a difference between the gaggle of gay-themed shows currently on the air and what’s being covered in It’s All Relative. “Sometimes you see it on TV, and you think ‘OK, part of what makes this palatable is they will grow up,’” she says, noting that Simon and Philip are breaking new broadcast ground in terms of the nature of their relationship. “This is a mature relationship. That doesn’t mean flat or static. They look like people I know.”

Although it was first conceived almost two years ago, It’s All Relative comes on the heels of some major cultural shifts in terms of gay imagery on TV. This past summer, TV viewers flocked to watch Queer Eye for the Straight Guy and Boy Meets Boy, while the editorial pages were filled with opinions on the Supreme Court sodomy case and the gay marriage decision in Canada. Does this mean there is a gay “trend” on TV, and can It’s All Relative ride it to the top of the Nielsen ratings?

“We can’t depend on that to be successful,” Zadan warns. “Also, what if there’s a backlash? Just the moment we air, people might say, ‘All right, enough with all this gay stuff.’ Hopefully, we’ll be judged on our merits.”

“I hope it’s not a trend that self-destructs,” Meron adds. “That’s the real danger—you don’t want to be 15 minutes ago. We’ve got to go beyond the gayness.”

At the end of the day, the creative team behind It’s All Relative believes their success comes down to the one truism in sitcom production—success only comes when you make your audience laugh and present them with beloved characters.

“We’re really just trying to tell a funny story in 21 minutes,” Ranberg explains, but notes if they are all successful he can still push the envelope. In one episode, Ranberg has Simon kiss Philip goodbye. “It’s a very normal moment,” he says, noting that it’s the first male-to-male sitcom kiss “that isn’t a punch line. It’s just considered an everyday occurrence, and that’s the most subversive thing we can do.”