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TV shows like “Abbott Elementary“Hacks,” “Heartstopper,” “The Last of Us” and “Yellowjackets” helped boost the ranks of LGBTQ+ characters on prime time by 4% compared to last season, according to a new study from the advocacy group. glad,
This year’s “Where We’re on TV” study, released Thursday, counted 489 lgbtq Characters in scripted prime-time broadcast, cable and streaming shows – 21 additional characters. This marks an increase after two years of decline, but is well below 2021-2022’s record high of 775 characters.
The group’s president and CEO Sarah Kate Ellis warned that number could still drop short: More than 200 of the LGBTQ+ characters counted this year — in shows like “Heartstopper,” “Harlem” and “Elite” — will not return due to series cancellations, expirations or because they were limited series.
“Storytelling brings us together, and this current cultural and political climate calls for creators and executives to double down on telling fair and accurate stories of LGBTQ people,” Ellis writes in the report.
GLAAD said the number of transgender characters on TV has increased slightly from last year to 33 – trans women, seven trans men and two non-binary characters – but only four trans characters appear in series that have been officially renewed.
The report is the 20th edition of the annual tracking by GLAAD and represents a notable jump from just 47 LGBTQ+ characters in the first study. It comes as the President donald trump Transgender and non-binary people have been targeted with a series of executive orders – including declaring the existence of two immutable genders – removing government websites of “gender ideology” and reinstating a ban on transgender service members in the military.
A recent Gallup poll found that 9.3% of American adults identified as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or something other than straight or heterosexual. The percentage has more than doubled since Gallup first measured LGBTQ+ identity in 2012.
The GLAAD study found that representation has steadily declined on broadcast and cable, while streaming programming has seen an increase in LGBTQ+ characters.
abc The network had the largest percentage of LGBTQ+ series regulars last season — with 12.9% — while Netflix had the most LGBTQ+ characters on streaming, with 177. It was found that the eight leading streamers added 45 characters out of 327 in the previous period.
GLAAD noted LGBTQ+ characters in network shows like NBC’s “Brilliant Minds,” which has a gay lead, CBS’ dramas “Matlock” and “Watson,” which have supported gay women, and comedies like Fox’s “Going Dutch” and NBC’s “St. Denis Medical.”
On streaming, GLAAD cited Netflix’s “The Four Seasons,” “Arcane” and “Kaos,” and Amazon’s “Clean Slate,” “Harlem” and “The Wheel of Time.” Hulu, meanwhile, had “Mid-Century Modern,” “Big Boys” and “Rake.”
The study found that the percentage of characters of color increased slightly to 51% of all LGBTQ+ characters counted, and, for the second year in a row, only one LGBTQ+ character was depicted living with HIV — but that character will not return on HBO Max’s “Chris Miro.”
In its 2019–20 study, GLAAD asked the industry to reach 20% representation of regularly seen LGBTQ+ characters across all three platforms by 2025, and to ensure that half of LGBTQ+ characters on every TV platform were people of color within the next two years. This year’s report does not include a challenge tied to any specific percentage.
GLAAD said, “As this study and the TV industry have evolved, so have our standards.” “While urgent action and reform is needed across all platforms today, this latest study shows that a significant portion of numbered LGBTQ characters will not return.”