 One day, someone commented, "It would be great if somebody made a sitcom out of you two," which sparked an idea in Vitale's head for a television show.After sticking his foot in the door of the film world in the early 1990s, Vitale first pitched the concept of the series to executives as a vehicle for John Travolta and Harvey Fierstein, but he was told that a lead gay character on a television series would never fly.Several weeks later, Vitale happened to watching "The Arsenio Hall Show" when Fierstein came out and announced the show as his upcoming project, with Fierstein playing opposite Andrew Dice Clay.