Will Q be quashed? Q Television Network scrambles to stay on the air amid layoffs, financial difficulties, and broken promises.

The night of Saturday, February 11, chilly by Southern California standards, a couple and straight ex-employees of Q Television Network, the upstart independent gay premium cable channel launched in July 2004, streamed into the Scene, a small, standard bar tucked at one end of a non-descript strip mall in suburban Los Angeles. Four days earlier, after a week of missed payroll deadlines, virtually the entire crew and staff at QTN--over 100 employees--were laid off without payment for their work in the month of January [see sidebar]. This night--which was planned weeks in advance to be an "anti-Valentine's Day" QTN office party--had become, in the words of Raf Orozco, the former stage manager at QTN and owner of the Scene, a tongue-in-cheek "resume party."

The mood of the evening can be summed up by one moment: As Orozco stood on the karaoke stage to welcome the crowd, sprinkled with a few real-deal bikers looking rather perplexed by their surroundings, a member of the QTN group asked aloud, to much nervous laughter, "Do you cash unemployment checks?"

Fortunately, a handful of those staffers had little time to worry about it. According to several sources, QTN executives had initially planned to mount two hours of contractually required live programming themselves, only to realize they lacked the technical know-how. So Monday, February 13, as directed by the California labor board after numerous ex-employees filed official grievances, QTN asked several key staffers to return to work on a part-time basis, and all of them received their January paycheck as they walked in the door.

At press time, however, all of the laid-off employees had yet to be paid, leaving many in a significant financial hole.

"I pretty much washed my hands of [the network]," says Vanessa Meyer, a playback operator at QTN, with a bitter laugh. "They owe me $5,000. When rent came I couldn't pay it, and when my bills came I couldn't pay [them]. I had to sell some stuff that was very valuable to me. I'm not happy. I'm not happy with the way I was treated."

An independently funded gay cable network--currently available in just 3 million homes, mostly in urban areas--may seem like an inherently risky venture, but to a person, employees said they were absolutely stunned by how quickly things at QTN have deteriorated. "I wouldn't be surprised [by] any start-up cable company having trouble, at least for its first five years," says an ex-employee with several years' experience working in cable television, who wished to remain anonymous due to a rumored QTN blacklist for staffers who spoke with the press. "It took Lifetime forever [to get started]. BET's had troubles. Any new cable channel that [serves] a specific demographic, it's a risky venture. What I was surprised [by] was how much [QTN's management] kept [from its employees]. If a company comes and says 'We're shutting down after today,' that can't be a surprise. They must have known this for a couple weeks."

One person who suspected things at QTN were more dire than the management was letting on is Jack E. Jett, host of the irreverent QTN talk show Queer Edge. The network signed Sandra Bernhard in mid January for a limited run as Jett's cohost, and the plan, according to Jett, was to move the show into a new, splashier studio with a live audience.

"I've been with the company [since the fall of 2004]," he says. "There've been times when our checks have been late or expenses didn't get reimbursed in a timely manner, but reimbursed eventually. But going into the [new] studio was such a big, planned-out ordeal, and then it was scaled back from 'Well, we can't afford a studio audience' to 'We can't afford to utilize this new studio' to 'We can't afford the wiring that it requires.' So that's when I started thinking they must be having some money problems."

When the network laid off its staff, Jett, who is also still awaiting a paycheck, was told his show was the most expensive to produce; by the end of February he and Bernhard had yet to go back before cameras, and Bernhard's contract is due to expire this month. (Bernhard's rep says she has received partial payment from QTN.) Has Jett asked if and when his show will return?

"Yes." He pauses. "And the answers were: yes, no, maybe, I don't know, could be, sometime in the future, not for sure. Depending on the day, the time, and the person [I asked]." Would he go back? "I don't know. It's really gotten to a point where I'm owed a lot of money. I'd given them my heart and soul. My heart's really into trying to make the network work, but there has to be a change in management."

On February 23, the day before this story was due to go to press, Frank Olsen, CEO and founder of QTN, released this statement to The Advocate, offering no further comment:

"Several networks have been in trouble recently and have had to lay off staff. QTN is being refunded and restructured and this could take three to four weeks, but everyone will be paid and brought up to date. We deeply regret any inconvenience or hardship this has caused our staff and the gay community. We are doing everything possible to make Q Television Network stronger than ever."

What makes the ordeal doubly difficult, several ex-QTN employees have told The Advocate, is that they viewed themselves less as coworkers and more as an incredibly close-knit family. "Because it was a start-up, we had a lot of creative input," says laid-off playback operator Meyer. "It wasn't like working for a major network and you're just a tool that pushes a button. It was more of a family thing. We worked really hard."

By press time rumblings of possible financial rescue for QTN had yet to materialize into anything tangible. Even if it does, so that the network is able to maintain a full production schedule again, the damage may already be done. Insiders at the network paint a dire picture of executive morale, and the pile of you'll-get-your-money-by-this-date broken promises have soured ex-crew members who had initially told The Advocate at the February 11 party that they would happily return to work when paid.

"I'm very fearful of this conversation, to be honest with you," says Jett. "When you're owed $40,000, you don't want to do anything to get in the way of that. I'm not a wealthy person, but I'm fine [financially]. There are people who are on the Queer Edge staff who were working even after they were not being paid due to their dedication to the project, like 10- and 12-hour days, and then the management came and escorted them out telling them they had now become a liability. That's what really pisses me off."

Vary also writes for Entertainment Weekly.

The check's in the mail: A Q time line

January 30: Employees told "it didn't look good" for paychecks due February 1 but they would definitely be ready by February 3.

February 3: Employees told checks would be ready by February 6 at 11 A.M.

February 6: Paychecks not ready; some employees told not to come in. QTN founder Frank Olsen sends e-mail to most. but not all, employees claiming a family of investors "are no longer in a position to continue their financial commitment to Q Television." but he promises to finish payroll "as quickly as possible." California labor board first contacted.

February 7: All freelance employees and many staff members laid off. Live programming on QTN goes dark and is replaced with reruns.

February 13: Key technical staff members reemployed part-time with full back pay with the understanding that all employees would be paid by February 17. QTN begins broadcasting two hours of live TV a night.

February 17. Paychecks yet to be issued to laid-off employees.