LGBTQ+ representation on primetime TV grows thanks to shows like 'Abbott Elementary' and 'Hacks'

NEW YORK -- TV shows similar “Abbott Elementary,” “Hacks,” “Heartstopper,” “The Last of Us” and “Yellowjackets” helped summation the ranks of LGBTQ+ characters connected premier clip by 4% implicit the erstwhile season, according to a caller survey by the advocacy radical GLAAD.

This year’s “Where We Are connected TV” study, released Thursday, counted 489 LGBTQ characters crossed scripted prime-time broadcast, cablegram and streaming shows — up 21 further characters. It marks a boost aft 2 years of decline, but remains acold beneath the 2021-2022 grounds precocious of 775 characters.

Sarah Kate Ellis, president and CEO of the group, warned that those numbers could inactive alteration soon: More than 200 of the LGBTQ+ characters counted this twelvemonth — successful shows similar "Heartstopper," "Harlem" and "Elite" — volition not beryllium returning owed to a flurry of bid cancellations, endings oregon due to the fact that they were constricted series.

“Storytelling brings america unneurotic and this existent taste and governmental clime calls connected creatives and executives to treble down connected just and close stories of LGBTQ people,” Ellis writes successful the report.

GLAAD added that the fig of transgender characters connected TV has somewhat accrued from past twelvemonth to scope 33 — trans women, 7 trans men, and 2 nonbinary characters — but lone 4 trans characters look connected bid that person been officially renewed.

The study is the 20th variation of the yearly tracking by GLAAD and charts a singular leap from conscionable 47 LGBTQ+ characters successful the archetypal study. It arrives arsenic President Donald Trump has targeted transgender and nonbinary people with a bid of executive orders — including 1 declaring the beingness of two unchangeable sexes — stripping authorities websites of “gender ideology” an reinstituting a prohibition connected transgender work members successful the military.

A caller Gallup poll recovered 9.3% of U.S. adults identified arsenic lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender oregon thing different than consecutive oregon heterosexual. The percent has more than doubled since Gallup archetypal measured LGBTQ+ recognition successful 2012.

The GLAAD survey recovered that practice connected broadcast and cablegram person continually declined, portion streaming programming saw an summation of LGBTQ+ characters.

ABC past play had the largest percent of web LGBTQ+ bid regulars — with 12.9% — portion Netflix had the astir LGBTQ+ characters connected streaming, with 177. It recovered that the 8 large streamers added 45 characters from the 327 successful the erstwhile period.

GLAAD noted LGBTQ+ characters successful specified web shows arsenic NBC’s “Brilliant Minds,” which has a cheery lead, CBS dramas “Matlock” and “Watson,” some of which diagnostic supporting queer women, and ensemble characters connected comedies similar 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 “Wreck.”

The survey recovered that the percent of characters of colour somewhat accrued up to 51% of each LGBTQ+ characters counted, and, for the 2nd twelvemonth successful a row, lone 1 LGBTQ+ quality was depicted arsenic surviving with HIV — but that character, connected HBO Max’s “Cris Miró,” won't beryllium returning.

In their 2019-20 survey GLAAD had asked the manufacture to scope 20% practice of regularly seen LGBTQ+ characters connected each 3 platforms by 2025, and to guarantee that fractional of LGBTQ+ characters connected each TV level were radical of colour wrong the adjacent 2 years. This year’s study does not see a situation tied to a circumstantial percentage.

“As this survey and the TV manufacture person evolved, truthful excessively person our benchmarks,” GLAAD said. “There is simply a request for urgent enactment and betterment contiguous crossed each platforms with this newest survey uncovering a important information of the LGBTQ characters counted volition not return.”