Dan Savage’s new comedy has been ordered by ABC

The Real O’Neals created by writer Dan Savage has been picked up for the fall tv season. The comedy about a family in the aftermath of a son coming out takes on “a seemingly perfect Catholic family, whose lives take an unexpected turn when surprising truths are revealed. Instead of ruining their family, the honesty triggers a new, messier chapter where everyone stops pretending to be perfect and actually starts being real.”

Originally the show was going to be based on Savage’s own life growing up but the premise changed during the development of the pilot. Now the story follows 14-year-old Noah Galvin, the youngest of the three O’Neal children, who after having sex with a girl (and floods the family home trying to flush the used condom), comes clean and admits he’s gay. Martha Plimpton is returning to the small screen after only a short break since Raising Hope as mother Eileen and Jay R. Ferguson as father Pat, a Chicago police officer. Noah’s sister Shannon is being played by Bebe Wood, the young daughter of the surrogate mother in The New Normal.

Despite pressure to cancel the project from religious and conservative anti-gay organizations, ABC green-lit the show which many observers feel was a favorite within the network. It will be interesting to see how the show unfolds, assuming it survives, particularly with a gay teen as the lead character.

Update: there’s now a trailer for the Real O’Neals. The show is shot single-camera style like Modern Family and The Goldbergs.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5FDEW9qoZ6A