That high-pitched, nasally siren you hear is a BIG! GAY! ALERT! blaring because The Nanny is now streaming on HBO Max! This is not an April Fool’s joke! This is an all hands on deck moments, and by “deck” I mean remote and/or laptop keyboard. Drop what you’re doing, call in sick to work, rearrange your already empty schedule (lol thx COVID) and get ready for six seasons of campy comedy.
Why is this such a big moment? Because The Nanny, a formative piece of gay pop culture history, has never been available on streaming until this very moment. We’ve had to settle for just watching The Nanny in weekend marathons on Logo or letting our DVRs fill up with recordings that are 60% Nanny and 40% commercials. No more! Now we can just watch The Nanny unedited and uninterrupted in all of its gaudy, gorgeous glory.
And if you’re wondering whether or not a sitcom about a quick-witted, fashion-forward icon traveling over the bridge from Flushing to the front door of a Broadway mega producer and getting hired on the spot to be his live-in nanny holds up, the answer is “yes.” The Nanny was never critically acclaimed during its initial run; it only won one Emmy, but it was for costuming and very well deserved. Look at the material! But what critics of the ’90s didn’t get is that The Nanny’s big, broad humor had a lot of heart and universal appeal. That also means its appeal is timeless and easily translates to 2021. Let’s just say that Niles would win every single reading challenge on any Drag Race season.
Do I need to sell you on this show any more? It’s The Nanny, a sitcom with one of the best leading ladies, theme songs, pratfalls, costume moments, and punchlines of the ’90s. Start streaming!
