The Disney Channel series “Andi Mack,” which is produced on location in Utah, will feature a storyline about one of its regular characters realizing he is gay in Season 2.
The show has always pushed Disney Channel boundaries, to some extent. When the series began, Andi (Peyton Elizabeth Lee) learned that Bex (Lilan Bowden), who she thought was her older sister, was actually her biological mother — that she had been raised by her grandparents after Bex gave birth to her as an unwed teenager and then left the family.
In addition to dealing with that, Andi was in the midst of a major crush on a classmate, Jonah Beck (Asher Angel). As Season 2 begins, Andi’s pal Cyrus (Joshua Rush) realizes that he, too, has feelings for Jonah — and that he’s gay.
In an interview with The Tribune earlier this year, Rush described his character as a “quirky” 13-year-old who is “a little different from all the other kids.”
Cyrus has to figure out how to tell his friends Andi and Buffy (Sofia Wylie) — and how to tell the girl he’s dating. It’s not the typical middle-school drama as portrayed on most shows about 13-year-olds.
The storyline will carry throughout the season. It’s the first time a Disney Channel series has featured a regular character who is gay, and the first time there’s been a story arc about a gay character.
(There have been individual episodes of other Disney Channel series that featured gay characters, played by guest stars.)
Although the series is shot in Utah, it isn’t set here. The setting is a fictional small town in an unidentified state with mountains — Utah is never mentioned.