But whatever their offenses may be, the cast members of “The A-List” have become conversation pieces for many gay men in New York, proving once again that in reality television, watchable doesn’t always mean likeable. In fact, Logo says that the “A-List” is its second-most-popular show, with ratings that averaged 156,000 viewers per episode last season.

Television has routinely depicted gay and lesbian characters for three decades. But despite their frequency (often as sassy sidekicks, reclusive uncles and artistically inclined roommates), there are relatively few shows that are made for gays, by gays, with mostly gay casts. “The A-List” occupies that niche. But whether it is a cultural blight or just harmless fun is the subject of much debate among its reluctantly forthcoming viewers.

“I was at a dinner party two weeks ago and it came up three times,” said Bryan Safi, a comedian who stars in “That’s Gay,” a Web video series for Current. “People kept bringing it up. None of us wanted to admit we watched it. But we were all talking about it like ‘Oh, are you going to watch the new season?’ And then someone would say, ‘No, it’s such a terrible show.’ Then it came up again. And everybody said, ‘Oh it’s such a terrible show.’ ”

Logo, it seems, has created a new gay secret shame.

“They’re doing something right,” Mr. Safi said, adding one quibble: the show needs a title that is truer to its characters. “They should call it ‘Fighting With Abs.’ ”

Last Saturday night, an evening about as stiflingly hot as any so far this summer in Manhattan, the cast of “The A-List” appeared at Boxers, a gay bar in the Flatiron district where they were filming scenes for the show.