The former MSNBC anchor — and the first out national network evening news host — has launched Gay Good News, a Facebook Live show in which he reviews happy headlines for the LGBTQ+ community. The show was born out of a sentiment felt by many during a period of stay-at-home orders and social isolation.
“I was basically going stir-crazy,” he told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “I didn’t have work to distract me. I just watched TV all day with all these ominous feelings of doom and gloom.”
The concept was inspired by a feel-good web series created by The Office actor John Krasinski during the pandemic, Some Good News. “Imitation is the greatest form of flattery,” Roberts said. “There are so many good things happening in the world and it’s easy to lose sight of that. We need more good news!”
Roberts plans to air three half-hour episodes of Gay Good News every week. The first episode, on June 8, featured Leslie Jordan, the gay Will & Grace star turned Instagram sensation. The show also highlights some of Roberts's struggles with technology. For example, Jordan is interviewed on his laptop due to technical difficulties with Zoom, a frequent foe of the news anchor.
The former host of Way Too Early and MSNBC Live left MSNBC in 2017 for WGCL, a CBS affiliate in Atlanta. He departed that post a year later. Roberts still lives in Atlanta with his husband, Patrick Abner, who also makes an appearance in the series.
