Nickelodeon Introduces Its First Animated Same-Sex Couple This Week

Nickelodeon’s “Loud House” debuts its first same-sex parents

As parents, we end up being forced to watch a lot of crappy cartoons, but a recent move by Nickelodeon might just create a kids’ show you’ll actually want to watch. The Loud House is about to become the first Nickelodeon cartoon to introduce a same-sex couple.

The Loud House chronicles the adventures of the Loud family — specifically, their son, Lincoln, who is the only boy in a family of 10 girls. On an episode called “Overnight Success” that will premier July 20, Lincoln invites a friend over for a sleepover, and the kid gets dropped off by his parents, Mr. and Mr. McBride.

In a clip released by the network, Lincoln is talking to his friend on a walkie talkie as he heads over to the Loud house. Right before Lincoln opens the door, he says, “This is it. Time to make history,” and then he flings open the front door and sees his friend standing there with his two gay, interracial dads. They introduce themselves and drop their son off, and that’s it — exactly as simple as it should be.

The move is a first for the network, and a milestone among kids shows. As UpWorthy points out, gay couples have been featured on cartoons before, but usually on “adult” animated shows, like The Simpsons. This is one of the first kids’ shows to feature a same-sex couple, and people are really excited about it.

More than anything, it seems, people are excited about the way Nickelodeon is choosing to represent same-sex parents. They aren’t making a huge deal about the characters being gay (outside of that whole “time to make history” bit). Instead, they’re being pretty nonchalant about it — which is exactly how it should be.

Kids need to know that it’s normal to have gay parents, and that no two families are alike. The best way to do that is to give them accurate representations of families that might look different from what they see in their own homes and show them it’s no big deal. Nickelodeon did that here, and it’s an exciting opportunity, not just for kids to see a real and accurate representation of same-sex parents, but also for kids growing up with two moms or two dads to see themselves represented on their TV screens.

It’s a small gesture that represents a lot of positive change, and it’s great for all kids to have one more example that shows there’s more than one way to be a family.