LGBTQ+ representation on television has declined this year, according to a new report by GLAAD.
The national nonprofit’s annual Where We Are on TV report, which was released on Thursday, found that of the 773 series regular characters scheduled to appear on broadcast scripted primetime television this year, only 70 — or 9.1% — of them were LGBTQ+. That result is a notable dip from last year’s record high, when 10.2% of all TV characters were LGBTQ+. Overall, the 2021-2022 season was the first year to witness a drop in LGBTQ+ inclusion in five years.
According to GLAAD, the share of representation for the LGBTQ+ community was expected to decline due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which has caused numerous shows to pause production, as well as slowing down the approval of new series.
“It must be a priority to introduce nuanced and diverse LGBTQ characters in 2021 and beyond, ensuring that this year’s decreases do not become reverse progress as the industry continues to evolve and adjust to this unique era’s challenges,” said Megan Townsend, GLAAD’s director of entertainment research and analysis, in the report.
This problem is likely to carry over into next year’s survey, as several shows with queer leads will not be returning. ABC’s How to Get Away with Murder ended last year, while the network’s Stumpdown was cancelled. Both shows, respectively, featured out bisexual leads: Viola Davis portrayed law professor Annalise Keating in a historic, Emmy-winning performance, while How I Met Your Mother alum Cobie Smulders played Dex Parios, a former Marine and private investigator.
Other queer characters who will not be returning this year include David Rose (Daniel Levy), the heart and soul of Schitt’s Creek, which aired its Emmy-sweeping sixth and final season in 2021, and Nico Minoru (Lyrica Okano), a member of a ragtag team of teen superheroes on Hulu’s cancelled Marvel series Runaways.
The report goes on to point out that four Hollywood powerhouses account for the majority of representation for LGBTQ+ people on television: mega-producers Shonda Rhimes (Bridgerton), Greg Berlanti (Supergirl), Lena Waithe (The Chi), and Ryan Murphy (American Horror Story). In the previous year’s report, their characters represented 14% of all recurring roles, and that percentage actually increased to 17% in the 2020-2021 season.
The study also looked at characters living with HIV and found only three; each of them appear on the groundbreaking FX series Pose. That number is down 50% from the previous report, when six recurring characters were HIV-positive.
Last year GLAAD released its State of HIV Stigma Survey, which revealed that nine in 10 Americans believe stigma is still an issue. The organization is, thus, challenging the entertainment industry to introduce at least three LGBTQ+, HIV-positive characters on broadcast or streaming shows during the 2021 season.
“Hollywood must tell these stories that not only entertain but which also have the opportunity to inform and educate its audiences,” said DaShawn Usher, GLAAD’s program officer for communities of color. “While there have been so many advances and developments in HIV education, prevention, and treatment, I cannot say the same when it comes to Hollywood telling these diverse and compelling stories.”
Other findings in the report revealed that over half of LGBTQ+ regular and recurring characters on a cable series were people of color for the first time: 52%. White LGBTQ+ characters still represented the majority on streaming platforms — making up 51% of all roles — while Black characters on broadcast television saw a slight decrease compared to last year’s findings: 47% to 46%. The percentage of LGBTQ+ Latinx and Asian/Pacific Islander characters decreased two percentage points since last year.
The number of transgender characters decreased from 38 to 29 across all broadcast, cable, and streaming platforms, marking a nearly 24% decline. This includes 15 trans women, 12 trans men, and two gender-nonconforming characters.
Finally, regular characters with a disability made up 3.5% of all LGBTQ+ characters, compared to 3.1% last year.
While GLAAD President and CEO Sarah Kate Ellis recognized that the ongoing pandemic has presented major challenges for TV producers and creators, she hopes that the industry views this unprecedented moment as an impetus to continue shattering barriers in years to come.
“In the midst of a destructive pandemic, a long-overdue cultural reckoning with racial injustice, and a transition into a new political era for this country, representation matters more than ever as people turn to entertainment storytelling for connection and escape,” Ellis said in a statement. “This time of unprecedented change matched with increased demand represents an opportunity to break new ground with stories we have not seen before and create LGBTQ+ characters that do not reinforce harmful stereotypes.”
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