SOAP Q: “90210″ producer talks about gay storyline

Entertainment Weekly’s Michael Ausiello talks exclusively to 90210 Executive Producer Rebecca Sinclair about the storyline and she says: [We wanted] to play a coming out story that features a kid we already knew. Instead of his sexuality being the first and defining characteristic, we’ve already gotten a chance to know Teddy before he explores his sexuality. Teddy’s an athlete, he’s a famous guy’s son, he’s blonde and hunky and yes, he also has a sexual orientation and that’s a huge part of his life. In a lot of ways I think that’s more interesting than Teddy is a gay athlete, a gay famous guy’s son and a blonde and hunky gay gentleman.”

How will the story unfold? Does Teddy have an epiphany?
SINCLAIR: As a top-tier athlete and the son of a famous—and famously womanizing—actor, Teddy has always felt the need to keep up appearances. He’s had trouble reconciling the image that the world has of him with his own true sense of self. And he’s worked hard to repress whatever homosexual feelings he’s had. But early on in this season, something shakes up the structure of his life. With stability and routine out the window, he has trouble repressing who he really is. He acts impulsively and ends up hooking up with a guy. So it’s less of an epiphany than an impulsive act that sets things in motion.

When did you inform Trevor that his character was going to be gay? How did that conversation go?
SINCLAIR: [Fellow EP] Jennie Urman and I called Trevor and told him the story we wanted to tell. I think he was surprised and maybe a bit taken aback initially. But as we discussed it with him and told him the kind of stories we wanted to tell, he got excited. I think he recognized that it was a good opportunity as an actor and he was excited by the idea of telling the story of a character’s journey that would mean a lot to gay teenagers and other teenagers who are learning to be honest about who they are and what they feel.