End Of Callie-Erica Affair Raises Question: How Far Can Gay Characters Go On TV?
ABC News reports:

Something's sketchy at Seattle Grace. The hospital home to Grey's Anatomy seems to specialize in shady cast changes. The latest: actress Brooke Smith's abrupt dismissal from the ABC series, just as things between her and her on-screen lesbian love interest, Callie Torres, played by Sara Ramirez, were getting juicy. Smith's character, Dr. Erica Hahn, left the drama Thursday without the drama deserving of her multiple-season tenure. After a spat with Callie at Seattle Grace, she simply walked off screen and off the show, nary a tear shed 

Television insiders agree Smith's canning was likely caused, at least in part, by her character's lesbian leaning and in-depth sexual discussions. While gay couples and characters may not abound on screen, they certainly exist in shows like NBC's hit sitcom "Will & Grace" and ABC's  Desperate Housewives and Brothers & Sisters. 

But Grey's got into the nitty-gritty of being gay, while those series strived to make homosexuality palatable to mainstream audiences. "Perhaps viewers have an easier time with gay humor than realistic -- some could say, graphic -- depictions of gay issues on a drama like 'Grey's Anatomy.' A lot of the country might view gay topics as something to laugh at, not something to be explored seriously," said TV Guide senior editor William Keck. READ MORE