Gary Janetti

Although the TV series "Family Guy" and "Will & Grace" may appear at first glance to be at opposite ends of the network-TV humor spectrum, each in its own way is groundbreaking. The former picked up the trail blazed by "The Simpsons" with a subversive family quarterbacked by foul-mouthed baby Stewie, while the latter was the first broadly successful sitcom to feature a gay lead character. Much of the credit goes to writer-producer Gary Janetti, who worked on both programs in both capacities. He garnered one Emmy nomination for "Family Guy" and three consecutive ones for "Will & Grace" from 2003 through '05, when it was nominated each year as Outstanding Comedy Series. The NBC sitcom lost in '03 and '05 to "Everybody Loves Raymond," and in '04 to critics' darling "Arrested Development."

Janetti got his start on the mid-'90s sitcom "The Naked Truth," which in retrospect was somewhat ahead of its time. Airing one season on ABC and then another on NBC, it starred Téa Leoni as a divorced photographer forced to work for a sleazy tabloid. The program featured celebrity cameos by stars such as Tom Hanks, who were shown to be fighting off her TMZ-like tactics.