Ames McNamara plays Mark Conner-Healy on The Conners and his character may be the most important person on network television right now. When The Conners moved forward in 2018 after the Roseanne debacle, it was unclear how the series would fare without the Emmy-winning original series’ titular character. Fortunately, and maybe surprisingly, The Conners has become an exceptional family sitcom,often rivaling the original in quality. Most of the main cast return with a few new characters in the next generation of Conners.
Crucially, John Goodman returns to one of his funniest roles, Dan Conner, the patriarch of the Conner family. Dan, as always, is easy-going yet hardworking, blue-collar and traditional but exceptionally open to change. He’s one of the most well-rounded TV dads and, in The Conners, he gets to be a well-rounded grandfather to a gaggle of kids and teens, including Mark. Mark, the son of David (Johnny Galecki) and Darlene (Sara Gilbert), is an intelligent, polite, sensitive, and proudly effeminate young man who has been an important character in LGBTQ+ representation on network TV.
A composite image of characters from The Conners laughing at the dinner table
The sitcom The Conners was originally slated to end after season 6, but now it seems as if there is a strong possibility that season 7 will happen.
When Mark is first introduced, he’s shown to enjoy wearing dresses and painting his nails, all activities accepted by his family, particularly by his mother, Darlene. In season 2, episode 2, “A Kiss is a Kiss”, Mark officially comes out as gay after a photo of him and his boyfriend Austin (Jack Fisher) goes viral. An interesting and modern twist on this is that, for the most part, no one is concerned with Mark and Austin’s sexuality. The issue is that PDA is not allowed in their school.
Austin’s grandmother denies her grandson is gay during the meeting with the principal and Darlene informs her how much damage she could do to her son if she doesn’t find it in herself to accept Austin.
When Darlene asks her son why he didn’t tell her, he doesn’t say he was afraid; he just did not realize he was gay until he and Austin were together. However, it’s Austin who must deal with homophobia in his own family. Austin’s grandmother denies her grandson is gay during the meeting with the principal and Darlene informs her how much damage she could do to her son if she doesn’t find it in herself to accept Austin.
Ames McNamara has found tremendous value in playing Mark, saying in an interview with YEM,
“I really enjoy playing Mark, and it’s not only for who he is but his family and his relationship with his family. But I think it’s really cool that there’s someone like Mark on TV for kids to relate to and I just think it’s good to show all sorts of people on TV, because TV should reflect real life and in real life, everyone’s all different. But I love playing Mark because I just think he’s a really interesting person, and he’s also a constantly evolving person like everyone is. And I’ve really liked getting to see him grow throughout the seasons.”
While streaming services have definitely increased the visibility of LGBTQ+ characters with shows featuring characters who identify as such, network television has somewhat lagged behind. The Conners, particularly with the inclusion of Mark, are an important pillar of representation. This is a network family sitcom that everyone can watch. To have an LGBTQ+ character front and center without even really commenting on it, save for a few episodes, is a crucial step forward in wider acceptance of the LGBTQ+ community.
Roseanne also did a lot for LGBTQ+ representation, at least relative to the era, showing Roseanne kissing another woman (season 6, Episode 18, “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell”) and also featuring the first same-sex wedding on American television that involved a recurring character (season 8, episode 11, “December Bride”). Each was met with controversy.
