Rick and Steve are a gay couple, and they're animated. I don't mean they're lively, I mean they're the stars of a new animated series for Logo called Rick and Steve. The series, which begins July 10 at 10:00 p.m., features voice work by Alan Cumming, Margaret Cho, Wilson Cruz and Peter Paige. The music for the series is composed by the same folks who wrote the music for Avenue Q.

The characters in Rick and Steve resemble tiny posable toys, which makes the show look like something created for the Nick Jr. set. Of course, the themes are just a tad more adult than that, or so I gathered by watching the trailer.

Perhaps, being straight, I'm not the best one to judge this new show (nor would I make a judgment based on the trailer alone), but I've often wondered if specialized channels like BET and Logo fail to achieve recognition because they spend too much time making sure their shows feature positive portrayals (which is good), but not enough time actually making those shows compelling and worth watching (which is not so good). And yes, I know BET often gets accused of perpetuating a stereotype of misogyny and greed by playing certain rap and hip hop videos, but I think the network's overall focus is positive, or at least tries to be.

I guess we'll have to wait and see how Rick and Steve turns out, but I have to say I wasn't exactly floored by the tiny snippet I just saw.

[via Cartoon Brew]