@ Newby

As a young gay male this is quite interresting.
Most parents never pick up any hints and never suspect that their child might be gay.

Unfortunately this is not an indication of your son's sexual preference. It might be that he likes the personalities portrayed by these characters. What is not to love about the quirkyness of Mich and Cam from Modern Family... :)
But I get what you saying, you've picked up a trend.

In all honesty, the only thing you can do is to show your support. Without making it obvious chat about gay people and your views and beliefs. Think of ways to elaborate on the topic to make your son feel comfortable. He needs to see what your feeling are towards gay people and what you understand about it. It makes it easier for him to accept himself if he is guided by someone close.
I had to struggle for years not accepting who I was in fear that my family would reject me.
If he understands his family is loving (unconditionally) and NOT homophobic it will make it easier for him to discuss the issue.

Never push the topic or ask directly as this will aggrevate the situation and he might think you suspect something.

Altogether I do not think it is connected. He would not have been open about his liking the characters if he had something to hide. I was aware and would never have said anything in fear that my parents will suspect something.

The media normally portray the gay characters as such (dramtic, funny, pittiful) for comedy relief and this might be why people identify with or like them more.

P.S. Always make sure your son knows that you love him unconditionally!

@ MamaX

Good question!
People are sometimes misguided with regard to sexual orientation.
Sexual orientation is basically "sexuality" which is something that develops when a person understands the difference between male and female. (Not pubery)
Some children develop earlier than other sexually and for this reason they realize earlier that they have feelings towards the same sex. It is not that you start out straight and then change to baing gay. :) "Common understanding"

It is rather that when you start "liking" people they are either of the same sex or the different sex. This is what makes it so difficult for the child as they do not understand why they like the same sex. It is horrific to discover that "you" are actually one of the people the world is making such a fuss about. Imagine!

I started out with identifying with male friends which I really liked, not sexally but that I wished I could look like or be like. This turned out to be my feeling manifesting in something else due to me not being sexual at that time. It also resulted in me being competitive with these boys to be better etc. Only later (after puberty) I realized that I am gay.

My husband on the other hand realized from early on that he liked boys. (Sexually)
Even though we grew up in loving homes with no bad references to gay people we still struggled to accept ourselves and only came out at the ages of 21 / 22.

What I'm trying to say is that if you son is gay, he knows it already.
The problem is that he has to deal with it internally and find that self acceptance which might take a while. Being loving and open will assist with this process.

Obviously no parent wishes for a gay child and no assumptions should be made.
When the child is ready, they will reveal all and parents need to be strong even if it hurts terribly at the time!
Today our parents could not be more proud of me and my husband and people envy our loving relationship that we have!
It's not all doom and gloom and people tend to stereotype too easily. :)

Wow you sound like a fantastic mom!!! Chill - he will figure himself out. Just make sure he knows you love him unconditionally - although I am quite sure he does know.

My recommendation is to always talk about people who are gay, how people should accept difference in life, how it doesnt define people etc. Keep the lines of communication open at all times in this regard so that they would feel comfortable knowing where they stand and what your feelings are about the topic. I have 4 sons and we have spoken about in in depth and (I hope) they know that if they were, we would not bat an eyelid. I hope that regardless, my sons grow up not judging others if they were.