The LGBTQ presence on broadcast TV is growing. Per Variety, GLAAD has released its annual “Where We Are on TV” report and found that the number of LGBTQ characters represent 10.2 percent of broadcast series regulars in the 2019-2020 season. That’s up from last season’s 8.8 percent and a new record high.
Women comprise 53 percent of LGBTQ series regulars and recurring characters, as compared to their male counterparts’ 47 percent. This is the first time women broadcast characters have outnumbered men since GLAAD began crunching inclusion numbers.
Together, streamers Netflix, Amazon, and Hulu feature 109 regular LGBTQ characters on their scripted series this season, versus last year’s 75. Forty-four of their recurring characters are LGBTQ, up from 37 in the 2018-2019 season.
“Last year, GLAAD called on the television industry to increase the number of LGBTQ characters and more accurately reflect the world we live in, and they responded by exceeding this challenge,” stated GLAAD president and CEO Sarah Kate Ellis. “At a time when the cultural climate is growing increasingly divisive, increased representation of LGBTQ stories and characters on television is especially critical to advance LGBTQ acceptance. Shows like ‘Pose,’ ‘Schitt’s Creek,’ ‘Batwoman,’ and ‘Billions’ demonstrate that not only are LGBTQ stories and characters on TV becoming more diverse, but that viewers everywhere continue to respond with extreme positivity.”
Unfortunately, it’s not all good news. Overall, there are more characters identifying as bisexual and trans, and more characters portrayed as living with HIV/AIDS, but “inclusion has not risen uniformly across all TV formats for LGBTQ people of color,” the source reveals.
Racial diversity among LGBTQ characters increased “significantly” on broadcast and cable since last season, but has suffered a marked drop on streaming platforms. In the 2019-2020 season, 52 percent of the 120 LGTBQ regular/recurring broadcast characters are people of color. Forty-eight percent of the 215 LGBTQ cable characters are people of color. These figures are up from 2018-2019’s respective 50 percent and 46 percent. As for streaming networks, people of color represent 41 percent of the 153 LGBTQ characters — a decrease of seven percentage points since last season.
The report named The CW as “the most LGBTQ-inclusive broadcast network”: 15.4 percent of its series regular characters identify as LGBTQ. Showtime is the most inclusive cabler, and Netflix features “the highest number of LGBTQ regular and recurring characters on scripted originals.”
“This year’s ‘Where We Are on TV’ study found great progress towards a more LGBTQ-inclusive television landscape, and highlighted welcome increases of transgender men and queer women in upcoming programing,” said Megan Townsend, GLAAD’s director of entertainment research and analysis. “However, it is also important to note that there is still work to be done. On cable TV, just three networks account for 44 percent of all LGBTQ representation on primetime scripted series. Similarly, programming from four dedicated producers and creators who prioritize inclusion, Greg Berlanti, Lena Waithe, Ryan Murphy, and Shonda Rhimes, accounts for 14 percent of total LGBTQ characters across broadcast, cable, and streaming originals,” she observed. “We hope to see all networks follow their lead, and work towards reflecting the reality of their audience and the culture.”
