10 Reasons You Should Watch  

2. Jeff’s built-in gaydar. Jeff is played by Patrick
Warburton, a gay icon from his days as the spandex-sporting superhero The
Tick. One of the two married straight guys
on the show, he has a knack for finding queer friends. When Jeff first meets
Brad at the gym, he has no idea he’s gay. When he realizes it, he knows he has
to be cool — and the ensuing episode revolves around debunking gay stereotypes,
and panic over Jeff’s own masculinity and attractiveness (both common themes
that elevate Rules to savvy
viewers).

3. Sara Rue is Jeff’s other friend — and she’s a big ol’
lesbian. OK, yeah it sucks that Brenda, the lesbian, gets saddled withmaternity as soon as she hits screens. (She’s a surrogate for Jeff and his wife
Audrey.) But she’s a nice mix of femme and butch (long hair, flannel shirts)
and gets to poke fun at the male misogyny that rules on Rules. Rue, you may recall, first got our attention
playing a teenage Roseanne in a flashback scene, then played opposite Tammy
Lynn Michaels and Carly Pope on Popular (which, was a breeding ground for lesbian icons because Michaels became
the second Mrs. Etheridge and Pope starred in Jamie Babbit’s lesbian film Itty
Bitty Titty Committee).