Roswell, New Mexico boss Carina Adly MacKenzie has revealed that she refused to cut one of the show's most memorable LGBTQ+ romance scenes.
The CW show has championed inclusive relationships throughout its two-season run, with Alex Manes (Tyler Blackburn) and Michael Guerin's (Michael Vlamis) romance rightfully being treated with equal importance with Liz Ortecho (Jeanine Mason) and Max Evans (Nathan Dean Parsons).
However, showrunner Carina Adly MacKenzie recently revealed to Digital Spy that she had to push back initially when The CW suggested she cut the "Malex" kiss from the Roswell, New Mexico pilot.
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"There was only one time when there was a little bit of pushback... our pilot was really long. Like four minutes too long," she remembered. "One of the suggestions that came through was: 'OK, well, maybe we cut Michael and Alex’s kiss, and we put it in the next episode?'"
Related: Roswell, New Mexico boss breaks down season 2 finale and Malex's future in season 3
"And I said no. Because I felt like it really needed to be very clear in the very first episode who these men are, and what they are to each other.
"I didn't want it to be subtext. I didn’t want it to be something that people were wondering: 'Are they or aren't they?' You’ve got a straight couple on all the posters. You've got a straight couple on all the billboards. I just wanted to make it very clear what our show is, and how inclusive it is.
"I don't look at Alex and Michael’s love story as any less important than Max and Liz's love story when I'm telling the story." MacKenzie also spoke about why Roswell, New Mexico is hoping to lead the way in exploring more queer relationships on primetime US TV.
"I’m always raring to see more queer characters on TV. But I was seeing things that reflected a reality that I don’t know — a reality that I think is a little bit idealistic, as far as what the world looks like right now.
"I think a lot of people look at Gen Z as this post-homophobia generation, and I don’t know if that is realistic, especially in small towns in the middle of the country," she said.
"So we wanted to take a look at a lot of different experiences of discovering your sexuality on this show. And I think that Alex’s story, with his father, and Michael’s story with his family, it’s not the only story to tell."
Roswell, New Mexico airs on The CW in the US. UK viewers can see what all the fuss is about when season one starts on Monday 22 June at 8pm on ITV2.
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Justin is a freelance entertainment journalist and writer. He first joined Digital Spy as a freelance entertainment reporter in 2010 and also worked as a sub-editor for the brand, serving as Night News Editor from 2016 to 2024. Over more than a decade, Justin has covered numerous major entertainment events from the US and has interviewed a wide-ranging group of public figures, from comedian Steve Coogan to icons from the Star Trek universe, cast members from the Marvel Cinematic Universe and reality stars from numerous Real Housewives cities and the Below Deck franchise. Justin has also been on the ground to cover major pop culture events like the Star Wars Celebration and the D23 Expo. He's written for titles across the Hearst network, plus the likes of CBR and Us Weekly.
After teaching in England and South Korea, David turned to writing in Germany, where he covered everything from superhero movies to the Berlin Film Festival.
In 2019, David moved to London to join Digital Spy, where he could indulge his love of comics, horror and LGBTQ+ storytelling as Deputy TV Editor, and later, as Acting TV Editor.
David has spoken on numerous LGBTQ+ panels to discuss queer representation and in 2020, he created the Rainbow Crew interview series, which celebrates LGBTQ+ talent on both sides of the camera via video content and longform reads.
Beyond that, David has interviewed all your faves, including Henry Cavill, Pedro Pascal, Olivia Colman, Patrick Stewart, Ncuti Gatwa, Jamie Dornan, Regina King, and more — not to mention countless Drag Race legends.
As a freelance entertainment journalist, David has bylines across a range of publications including Empire Online, Radio Times, INTO, Highsnobiety, Den of Geek, The Digital Fix and Sight & Sound.
