ITV Play of the Week was a British anthology series which ran from 1955-1974, airing about 500 hundred 90-minute episodes. The thirteenth episode of the fifth season, South, is considered to be the first gay drama on television. It is the story of a Polish Army lieutenant Jan Wicziewsky, played by Peter Wyngarde, exiled to the deep South prior to the Civil War. He meets and falls in love with a tall, handsome, blond officer Eric MacClure, played by Graydon Gould.
Of course, reviews were mixed, with one reviewer describing it as "the agonies and ecstasies of a pervert". However, others were more objective in their criticism. The Stage reported that the "dialogue was so full of compassion, understanding and tenderness that his subject didn't seem distasteful".
The episode was based on a play by Julien Green, who is gay. The play was set to be performed in London in 1955, but the Lord Chamberlain banned it because of its gay themes, but he had mellowed out by 1959, and Gerald Savory adapted it for television.
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