After a long dry spell production-wise, Toronto-based PrideVision has plans to roll out a new show next month – thanks to innovative new financing that will see marketers chip in to help cover production costs.

Billed as ‘the first-ever prime-time alternative lifestyle dating series,’ Fairy Tale went into production last week at Toronto’s Hiltz Squared Media Group, with a debut date set for late October in the 8 p.m. Sunday time-slot.

According to co-producer Jonathan Hiltz, discussions are already underway with a major car company for the top-level title sponsorship. Still open are spots for two product sponsors whose names and products will be shown as bumpers at the end of each episode; as well as sponsors whose products – such as credit cards and alcohol – will be integrated into the show.

The 26-episode, half-hour series, which features gay, lesbian, bisexual and transsexual participants, has also picked up Eye magazine and Toronto.com as sponsors. Their interest demonstrates the growing enthusiasm among marketers about what’s clearly becoming a major trend: shows featuring non-heterosexual characters.

Not so long ago, advertisers were turning thumbs down on Ellen Degeneres and other openly gay entertainers. But there’s nothing not to like about the triumph of the current champ in this genre, Will & Grace. It was the third-most-watched sitcom on network TV last season, with an average weekly audience of 16.8 million people in the U.S. alone, according to Nielsen Media Research.

Equally impressive is the instant success of Queer Eye for the Straight Guy. Shown on U.S. cable net Bravo, the makeover series attracted the largest audiences in the channel’s history on its first two outings in July, when it drew roughly 1.6 million American viewers.

So bowled over were the powers that be at NBC (a corporate sibling of Bravo) that they took the rare step of subsequently broadcasting the show on their net. The result? An audience of seven million, making it NBC’s second-highest-rated show in the Thursday 9:30 p.m. slot since mid-June.

Up next in the same vein are Boy Meets Boy, which recently debuted on Bravo, and It’s All Relative, which premiers next week on ABC.