I think if older shows were being produced today...you’d have to do this kind of stuff.
Bonanza: Hoss would have to be the gay guy.
Gunsmoke: Doc or Kitty would be bisexual.
Gilligan’s Island: The Skipper and the Professor would have something going.
Edith from All in the Family would have a weekend affair with some gal from her old high school.
Space Ghost would take up with one of the bad guys for a relationship.
Fred from Sanford and Son would wake up one morning with Ester and another female cousin in his bed.
Mr Ed would eat hay with another male horse and express his admiration on the muscles the other horse had.
All the guys on McHales Navy would be gay.
Alf would admit he had a thing for Big Bird.
And Tony from the Sopranos would have been in love with some other mobster from the Rhode Island crew.
Probably not. Really the ones who obsess on this are the narrow minded folks. Gays happen, gay characters happen, but there’s still plenty of not gay characters all over the place. Really the griping crowd just needs to get over it, they share the planet with gays, have been all their lives.
The Sopranos did actually have a gay character for awhile (Vito Spatafore). He ended up getting whacked as soon as they found he was gay and they could catch up to him.
Rock Hudson as well, Burt Reynolds, Chuck Connors, etc.
“Hey boy, you look mighty cute in them jeans.....” (Warning: Language)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=stsnlTZG84Y
Uh uh! Ginger and MaryAnn!