LGBTQ Series-Regular Characters Hit Record High on Broadcast TV, GLAAD Report Says
Racial diversity of LGBTQ characters on broadcast and cable also increased, while streaming saw a decline
Jennifer Maas | November 7, 2019 @ 8:47 AM
Last Updated: November 7, 2019 @ 9:12 AM
The CW
The percentage of LGBTQ series regular characters on broadcast television has hit an all-time high, according to GLAAD’s annual “Where We Are on TV” report, released Thursday.
“After GLAAD last year called on the television industry to reach 10 percent LGBTQ inclusion among broadcast series regular characters on primetime scripted series by 2020, the 2019-2020 ‘Where We Are on TV’ report found that networks met and exceeded this call in just one year, with a record-high percentage of LGBTQ series regulars on broadcast television at 10.2% of all series regulars,” the advocacy organization said in its report.
“This is up from last year’s 8.8% (another record-high), and the highest GLAAD has found since the organization expanded to count all broadcast series regulars 15 years ago. Also, for the first time in this report’s history, LGBTQ regular and recurring women on broadcast outnumber LGBTQ men. Of the LGBTQ regular and recurring characters on broadcast, 53 percent are women, and 47 percent are men,” it continued.
GLAAD’s “Where We Are on TV” report, which is now in its 24th year, “analyzes the overall diversity of primetime scripted series regulars on broadcast networks and assesses the number of LGBTQ characters on cable networks and original scripted streaming series on the services Amazon, Hulu, and Netflix for the 2019-2020 TV season.”
This year’s report shows that racial diversity of LGBTQ characters on broadcast and cable saw a significant increase, while streaming declined in that metric.
According to GLAAD, “Of the 120 LGBTQ regular and recurring characters on broadcast, 62 (52%) are people of color, which is a two-percentage point increase from last year and six more characters. This is the second year in a row where LGBTQ people of color have outnumbered white LGBTQ people on broadcast, and the only platform which has hit the goal of having at least half of LGBTQ characters be characters of color.”
“Of the 215 LGBTQ characters counted on cable, 48% (103 characters) are people of color, which is an increase of two percentage points from last year,” the report says. “Of the 153 LGBTQ characters on streaming series, 41% (63) are people of color, which is a decrease of seven percentage points from last year.”
According to GLAAD, this year, the total number of transgender characters across broadcast, cable and streaming increased to 38 from 26. For “bisexual+ characters,” there was a slight increase in characters, but a 1% drop overall. Also of note, there are nine characters with HIV/AIDS, an increase from the seven characters counted last year.
“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,” Sarah Kate Ellis, president and CEO of GLAAD, said. “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.”
LGBTQ Hollywood: 18 Stars Who've Come Out Since Last Year's Pride (Photos)
Tessa Thompson, Panic! At The Disco frontman Brendon Urie, Josie Totah and Amandla Stenberg are among those who publicly shared their sexuality. Read on for the full list.
"Thor: Ragnarok" star Tessa Thompson came out as bisexual -- and in a relationship with actress-singer Janelle Monáe -- in a June interview in Net-a-Porter. "I’m attracted to men and also to women," she said.
Grammy-winning singer-songwriter Jason Mraz came out as bisexual in a poem written for Billboard in June 2018: "We still have a long way to go / But know / I am bi your side."
"The Hate U Give" star Amandla Stenberg, who had identified as bisexual at age 17, came out as gay in a June 2018 interview in Wonderland: “I was so overcome with this profound sense of relief when I realized that I’m gay -- not bi, not pan, but gay -- with a romantic love for women."
Panic! At The Disco frontman Brendon Urie told Paper magazine in July that he identifies as pansexual. "I'm married to a woman and I'm very much in love with her but I'm not opposed to a man because to me, I like a person. ... I'm definitely attracted to men."
Josie Totah, the teenage star of Mindy Kaling's short-lived comedy "Champions," came out as a transgender woman in an August essay in Time magazine. “I have come to believe that God made me transgender," she wrote. "I don’t feel like I was put in the wrong body."
Garrett Clayton, star of Disney Channel's "Teen Beach Movie" and "Hairspray Live!" came out as gay in an Instagram post in August 2018 -- and shared his personal experience with "intense bullying in high school."
Lucas Hedges, the Oscar-nominated star of "Manchester by the Sea" and "Boy Erased," identified himself as "not totally straight" in a September 2018 interview with Vulture. Or, as he put it: “I recognize myself as existing on that spectrum: Not totally straight, but also not gay and not necessarily bisexual.”
Brigette Lundy-Paine, who co-stars on the Netflix comedy "Atypical," came out as queer in a September 2018 interview with The Advocate.
Jake Choi, star of the ABC sitcom "Single Parents," said he identifies as "fluid" in September 2018 interview with Very Good Light, crediting his role as a gay man in the movie "Front Cover": "Maybe, s---, I’m attracted to everything. Maybe it’s more feminine or more androgynous. I realized yeah, I’m fluid. It’s not black or white. It’s grey.”
Jake Borelli, who plays a gay doctor on ABC's "Grey's Anatomy," came out as gay himself in a November 2018 Instagram post on the night his character had his first onscreen kiss with another man: "“As a gay guy myself, tonight’s episode was so special to me."
In a November 2018 interview with The Daily Beast, former "Dexter" star Michael C. Hall discussed his "fluid" sexuality while noting that he identifies as straight and has never had sex with another man: “I think there’s a spectrum. I am on it. ... I think I have always leaned into any fluidity in terms of my sexuality.”
In a February 2019 tweet, YouTuber Lilly Singh identified herself as "female, coloured and bisexual."
Ben Platt, Tony-winning star of "Dear Evan Hansen" and the Netflix series "The Politician," publicly came out in February 2019 with an interview in People and the video for his first single: “I’ve been out since I was 12 years old to my family and anyone in my life. I’ve never sort of hidden that or been ashamed by it. It’s just part of me.”
The Oscar- and Grammy-winning singer and songwriter Sam Smith identified as "genderqueer" and "nonbinary" in a March interview with Jameela Jamil. "I am not male or female. I think I float somewhere in between -- somewhat on the spectrum," said the star, who has dated men.
In March 2019, country singer Cameron Hawthorn came out as gay in an Advocate interview and the video for his single "Dancing in the Living Room." "Being gay, it's not as easy to dance as a couple in public together as it is for a straight couple," he noted.
"Pretty Little Liars" star Tyler Blackburn came out as bisexual in an April 2019 HuffPost interview. “I heard so many things from within the queer community about bisexuality being a cop-out or bulls--- or the easy way out or something," he said. "I felt the pressure from all sides to have (my sexuality) figured out."
Caitlin Kinnunen, the Tony-nominated star of the Broadway musical "The Prom," came out in an April 2019 Nylon interview: "I have identified as a straight ally for a very long time, but recently my world has kind of opened up, and I am currently dating a woman."
Michael D. Cohen, star of Nickelodeon’s live-action sitcom “Henry Danger,” told Time in May 2019 that he was misgendered at birth and transitioned from female to male while already working in the entertainment business nearly 20 years ago: “I identify as male, and I am proud that I have had a transgender experience -- a transgender journey."
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Tessa Thompson, Brendon Urie and Amandla Stenberg are among those who publicly shared their sexuality
Tessa Thompson, Panic! At The Disco frontman Brendon Urie, Josie Totah and Amandla Stenberg are among those who publicly shared their sexuality. Read on for the full list.
