No one was more surprised by the initial outcry about the show than the cast, especially series star Matt Shively who plays Jimmy, the older big brother to newly out Kenny (Noah Galvin).
“That was weird,” he reflects. “Before we shot the pilot people were boycotting the show. Our creator Dan Savage believes in what he says, and what he says, he says to everybody. A lot of people don't like people having strong opinions about things. So it was an instant ‘we don't want this because it's Irish Catholic and stuff.’ But the show really isn't that. It was never the focus of the whole show; it's just the backdrop, which is really about this family coming together and becoming closer because of the fact that they’re learning how to communicate.”
That backdrop also includes Kenny and Jimmy’s sister (Bebe Wood) and their squabbling parents (J.R. Ferguson and Martha Plimpton) who are planning to divorce. And then there is the ongoing storyline about Jimmy’s eating disorder. You might say the O’Neal family’s cup runneth over with dysfunctionality.