# TheBacklot.com

TheBacklot.com (TheBacklot), founded in January 2005 as AfterElton (AfterElton.com), was a culture website that focused on the portrayal of gay and bisexual men in the media, and was the companion site of the lesbian-focused AfterEllen (AfterEllen.com). TheBacklot was dissolved in June 2015, and its content was merged with the website NewNowNext, owned by Logo TV.

## History

TheBacklot was originally known under the name AfterElton and was founded by Sarah Warn, Michael Jensen, and Brent Hartinger. Warn initially served as editor-in-chief of both AfterElton and AfterEllen. Jensen became Editor in Chief of AfterElton in November 2005 and served in the position until September 25, 2011. Dennis Ayers, formerly the site's managing editor, took over as Editor in Chief.
The site was not affiliated with Elton John, although its original name refers to the milestone for gay men when John publicly came out. The site featured television, film, music, books, and celebrity news. It published articles, regular columns, reviews, and recaps of television shows with gay and bisexual characters, and maintained several blogs, including the "Meme" by Ed Kennedy.
AfterElton (along with AfterEllen) was acquired by cable television channel Logo in 2006. On January 12, 2012, the site announced that Louis Virtel had been hired as its West Coast entertainment editor. On January 31, 2013, Dennis Ayers announced that AfterElton would be changing its name to TheBacklot.com in April. The change was motivated by a desire to separate the website from its "AfterEllen's little brother" origin and to reflect the general "focus on Hollywood and the film and television industry". The relaunch under the new name took place on April 17, 2013.
On June 29, 2015, Ayers announced that TheBacklot was merging with NewNowNext, an LGBT-themed entertainment website owned by Logo. TheBacklot name was discontinued and Dan Avery became Editor-in-Chief of the combined site.

## Hot 100

The "Hot 100" was an annual readers poll, begun in 2007, of the "top names in film, television, music, sports and fashion".
Hot 100 :
| Year | Winner | Top ten |
| 2007 | Jake Gyllenhaal | 2nd: Chris Evans 3rd: Daniel Craig 4th: Gale Harold 5th: Taye Diggs 6th: Ryan Reynolds 7th: Hugh Jackman 8th: T. R. Knight 9th: Ryan Phillippe 10th: John Barrowman |
| 2008 | Jake Gyllenhaal | 2nd: John Barrowman 3rd: Luke Macfarlane 4th: Cheyenne Jackson 5th: Neil Patrick Harris 6th: Gale Harold 7th: Van Hansis 8th: Chris Evans 9th: Anderson Cooper 10th: Ryan Reynolds |
| 2009 | Neil Patrick Harris | 2nd: John Barrowman 3rd: Luke Macfarlane 4th: Jake Gyllenhaal 5th: Jensen Ackles 6th: Chris Evans 7th: Cheyenne Jackson 8th: Hugh Jackman 9th: Gale Harold 10th: James Franco |
| 2010 | Neil Patrick Harris | 2nd: Scott Evans 3rd: John Barrowman 4th: Luke Macfarlane 5th: Adam Lambert 6th: Ricky Martin 7th: Cheyenne Jackson 8th: Jake Gyllenhaal 9th: Van Hansis 10th: Chris Evans |
| 2011 | Darren Criss | 2nd: Adam Lambert 3rd: Chris Colfer 4th: Neil Patrick Harris 5th: John Barrowman 6th: Luke Macfarlane 7th: Jonathan Groff 8th: Jensen Ackles 9th: Anderson Cooper 10th: Ricky Martin |
| 2012 | Darren Criss | 2nd: Chris Colfer 3rd: Matt Bomer 4th: Jared Padalecki 5th: Neil Patrick Harris 6th: Jensen Ackles 7th: Chris Evans 8th: John Barrowman 9th: Harry Shum Jr. 10th: Adam Lambert |
| 2013 | Matt Bomer | 2nd: Darren Criss 3rd: Chris Colfer 4th: Adam Lambert 5th: Dylan O'Brien 6th: Dan Feuerriegel 7th: John Barrowman 8th: Ryan Gosling 9th: Tyler Hoechlin 10th: Neil Patrick Harris |