NAME: Michael Novotny
Brian’s best friend since adolescence, Michael secretly harbours feelings for him. He enjoys reading comic books, particularly Captain Astro adventures. He starts the series as a manager at a K-Mart-like department store, the Big Q, but eventually follows his dream of opening a comic book store. From Season 2, he and Justin create the comic book Rage. After a somewhat stormy relationship with older Dr. David Cameron during season 1, Michael finds himself in a long-term relationship with Ben Bruckner, an HIV-positive college professor beginning in season 2; Michael and Ben eventually marry.
Played by Hal Sparks

NAME: Justin Taylor
Justin loses his virginity to Brian at the age of seventeen and falls in love with him. He runs away from home after coming out of the closet, primarily because his father is not accepting of his sexuality. Nicknamed “Sunshine” by Debbie because of his bright smile and cheery disposition, Justin is queer-bashed at the end of Season 1, resulting in Brian taking him in during Season 2. A talented artist, Justin briefly contemplates attending business school to appease his father but ultimately decides to attend art school to become a visual artist.
Played by Randy Harrison

NAME: Debbie Novotny
An active PFLAG member, Debbie is fiercely proud of her son Michael’s homosexuality, to the extent of making him embarrassed about it. She treats all the boys as her own family, especially Justin, who briefly lives with her after he runs away from home. She is also one of the people who sees past Brian’s cockiness for what he really is. She works at the Liberty Diner and, at home, she takes care of her ill brother Vic.
Played by Sharon Gless

NAME: Emmett Honeycutt
Originally from Hazlehurst, Mississippi, Emmett is the most flamboyant of the group. He goes through several jobs, including shopkeeper at a clothing store called Torso, porn star, naked maid, party planner, and correspondent for a local news station, as well as a number of relationships during the course of the series.
Played by Peter Paige

NAME: Ted Schmidt
An accountant with a low self-esteem who envies Brian’s lavish lifestyle, Ted is constantly rejected by men at gay clubs around Pittsburgh and eventually struggles with an addiction to crystal meth. He is a few years older than Michael, Brian and Emmett. He has a relationship in Season 3 with Emmett, as well as an on-again-off-again relationship with Blake.
Played by Scott Lowell

NAME: Lindsay Peterson
Brian’s close friend since college who becomes the mother of his child Gus, Lindsay works as an art teacher but takes time off to care for her son. Lindsay’s WASP parents are ashamed of her homosexuality and her partnership with Melanie.
Played by Thea Gill

NAME: Melanie Marcus
Lindsay’s Jewish lover who works as a lawyer, Melanie dislikes Brian, partially because Lindsay is very affectionate towards him, but she becomes friendlier towards him in later seasons. She carries her and Lindsay’s second child, Jenny Rebecca, whose biological father is Michael.
Played by Michelle Clunie

NAME: Ben Bruckner
A college professor who becomes Michael’s long-term partner from Season 2 onwards, Ben also lives with HIV. Michael’s mother Debbie disapproves of their relationship at first, because she fears that her son will become infected, but eventually she realizes that Michael loves Ben and so accepts him.
Played by Robert Gant

NAME: Vic Grassi
To help Debbie pay the bills, Vic starts work as a chef at her diner. He also works as a caterer for Emmett’s event planning business. Not long after an altercation with Debbie in Season 4, he dies of AIDS complications.
Played by Jack Wetherall

NAME: Hunter Montgomery
Hunter is an HIV-positive teenage hustler who meets Ben and Michael while standing outside their apartment. Ben feels sorry for Hunter and takes him in. Eventually he and Michael adopt him. Hunter initially has an unrequited crush on Brian, but later falls in love with a girl named Callie Leeson.
Played by Harris Allan