Hooray for gays in TV.

HERE'S a reality: Scripted TV is back, and gay writers are making it happen. Or so says file Museum of Television and Radio with its lineup for the 22nd annual William S. Paley Television Festival, beginning in Los Angeles March 2. The tubefest will honor three dramatic series from out creators--Jack & Bobby, The L Word, and Desperate Housewives--that resonate with gay fans.

"These three new series have things we haven't seen in television, and maybe the gay element is part of what has revived dramatic television," says curator Ron Simon.

Marc Cherry's Housewives spotlights the frustrations, foibles, and--here's a novel idea--sex lives of women of a certain age. Not unlike The L Word. "We're telling the audience something they didn't know," says Word executive producer Ilene Chaiken. "It feels unfamiliar, but then we see the commonality among us all."

And because Jack & Bobby focuses on two straight boys who will grow up to change the world, co-creator Greg Berlanti gets to deal with social issues head-on. This season had Ed's Tom Cavanagh as the boys' gay uncle, and Jack's friend committing suicide over his burgeoning sexuality. "That issue is otherwise nonexistent on television," says Berlanti. Besides, he adds, "gay men--and straight men--like Jack's character. It's all about Jack."