In agreement with Becker’s argument, the discourse in Workaholics is pretty heterosexual in a way that excludes possible homosexuality from this type of bromance.
First of all, in Workaholics, heterosexuality is a way of asserting masculinity. A lot of the humor in this show happens when the three oddball characters try to assert hypermasculinity and fail miserably.
Adam does this by talking waaaay too much about how much sex he’s having with his ‘milf,’ and Anders does this by putting on a strut and saying he’s going to “go Old Norse” (how manly!) and seduce Adam’s girlfriend. Blake expresses jealousy, re-affirming that heterosexuality is cool and desireable. In addition, the guys talk about boobs and objectify women together. While this isn’t homophobic, it is so heterosexual that a gay man might feel uncomfortably out of place hanging out with these bros, like Michael in Bromance.
In contrast to Becker’s idea of the modern bromance, Workaholics gives the idea that gayness may not actually be okay. Adam makes this clear when he uses gayness as an insult in the episode’s most emotional conflict, saying he doesn’t want to be a “fairy wizard” with Anders and Blake. This is obviously pretty bad- Anders and Blake are hurt and angry, saying “it didn’t have to go like this.”
Considering this, the embarrased lack of acknowledgement of the homoeroticism within the bromance is clearly not because gay love is acceptable enough that they wouldn’t joke about it. Instead, in the context of the ‘fairy’ insult, you can conclude that they don’t more frequently acknowledge homoeroticism because it is too offensive to imply of a friend. But the homoeroticism is there- it’s a running gag in the episode that Anders and Adam get erections when they’re wrestling or hugging. They laugh this off and explain that it’s “contagious,” or because Adam used a good-smelling lotion, but there is absolutely no mention of the inherent homosexuality. The awkwardness of the situation is made clear by the guys repeating how ‘weird’ it is. The fact that this scene exists and is played for laughs shows how unacceptable homosexuality is in the bromance, because the audience is supposed to find the homoeroticism in this bromance hilarious and absurd. It’s basically a built-in gay joke.
Workaholics expresses the same idea in the jacuzzi scene. While three dudes in a hot tub is a normal bromance thing, two guys in a hot tub is awkward and ‘doesn’t work’ because it implies homoeroticism.
While this bromance could appear more accepting of gay love than the overtly homophobic bromances of the past, homophobia is still frequently implied and even vocalized.