The first group of six goes with James on a group date to a ghost town, where they have country-western dance lessons.
The 12 remaining mates are split into two groups. "Where Have All The Possibly Straight Cowboys Gone?" He advised his commanding officer of his sexual orientation before the show aired and was discharged under Don't ask, don't tell. Mate Jason (full name Michael Jason Tiner) was on active duty in the United States Navy when he participated in the program. He eliminates Chris (gay), Jason (gay) and Brian A (straight). Later that night, James made his first round of three eliminations. James and Andra spend time with the group at a luau, and James spends some time individually with several of the mates. James and Andra move into their Palm Springs house and meet the mates, who are living together in a separate house. At the end of each episode, the sexual orientation of each eliminated mate was revealed to viewers. The producers managed to keep a mixture of gay and straight men in the house despite the eliminations by putting the men into groups that prevented the contestant from eliminating all of the gay men or all of the straight men. If James chose a straight mate, James would win nothing and the mate would win $25,000. If James' final choice from among the mates was gay, James and the mate would win a cash prize and a trip for two to New Zealand provided by Alyson Adventures of Key West, Florida, which specializes in gay and lesbian small group tours throughout the world. James was not told of this fact until nearly the end of the series' run, and the gay mates were never informed. The controversial twist was that some of the housemates were gay, while others were straight. Helping him choose was his best friend Andra Stasko. The show featured a gay man named James Getzlaff selecting another man to date from among a group of 15 potential suitors, known as "mates". The show was taped in Palm Springs, California and hosted by Dani Behr. A total of six episodes were aired weekly until the finale on September 2, 2003. The show premiered July 29, 2003, on the Bravo cable television channel. The show featured the twist that the "leading man" did not know that the mix of suitors included both gay and heterosexual men. Boy Meets Boy is an American reality television show in which a gay man meets and chooses a mate from a group of 15 potential male suitors.