CALIFORNIA – The Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) has released the 16th annual Where We Are On TV report; a comprehensive review of scripted LGBT primetime characters in the 2011-2012 television season. After a significant increase last year, the number of regular lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) characters on broadcast networks experienced a decrease while the overall LGBT character count remains steady on cable television.
“While the number of LGBT characters is down, some of the most popular shows with critics and viewers such as Glee, True Blood and The Good Wife weave storylines about gay and lesbian characters into the fabric of the show,” said GLAAD Acting President Mike Thompson. “Whether it’s the growing household of Mitchell and Cameron on Modern Family or the recent wedding of Callie and Arizona on Grey’s Anatomy, Americans expect to see the diversity of our country represented in their favorite programs and that includes gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people.”
The report shows that LGBT characters still account for 2.9 percent of scripted series regulars in the 2011-2012 broadcast television schedule, up from 1.1 percent in 2007 and 2.6 percent in 2008, but down from 3 percent in 2009 and 3.9 percent in 2010. The number of scripted LGBT series regulars found on mainstream cable networks has also fallen slightly, from 40 in 2007, 32 in 2008, 25 in 2009, 35 in 2010 to 29 in the upcoming season. GLAAD counted 25 additional recurring characters on cable.
Fox is now the most inclusive broadcast television network based on these criteria, with 6.8 percent of regular characters being gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender. In 2007, the Where We Are on TV report found zero LGBT series regulars on the network.
For the full report visit glaad.org/tvreport11.
