2
"Roseanne" was
the most gay- and lesbian-friendly
sitcom of its time.

Scratch the surface of a Lanfordian and you got a lesbian: Roseanne's co-worker Nancy, played by Sandra Bernhard, was prime time's first regularly occurring lesbian, and Roseanne's mother, Bev (Estelle Parsons), came out this past season. And we can't leave out Roseanne's former boss Leon (Martin Mull, who also served as a creative consultant on the show) and his partner, Scott (Fred Willard, Mull's old sidekick from "Fernwood 2 Night"), who took their wedding vows on the show and who provided deliciously queer asides. Without "Roseanne" to soften up the network bosses (and viewers), Ellen DeGeneres' path out of the closet might have been a lot rockier. 3. "Roseanne" exploded TV stereotypes about blue-collar America.