NEW YORK — The number of gay and bisexual characters on scripted broadcast network TV is at its highestever level in the season ahead, according to the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation. The total on cable television is also going up.
The 17th-annual “Where We Are on TV” report released Friday by GLAAD found that 4.4 percent of actors appearing regularly on prime-time network drama and comedy series during the 2012-13 season will portray lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender characters.
This is up from 2.9 percent in 2011, which saw a dip in what had been a growing annual trend.
The study reviewed 97 scripted TV programs scheduled to air in the upcoming season on the broadcast networks, counting a total of 701 series regular characters. The study found that 31 of them are LGBT characters.
ABC has the highest amount with 10 out of 194, or 5.2 percent, of their regular characters identified as LGBT.
After leading last year, Fox ranks second with six LGBT characters out of 118 total series regulars, or 5.1 percent.
CBS was saluted as the most-improved network, with four out of 142 LGBT series regulars, or 2.8 percent, up from 0.7 percent last year.
Comments are not available on this story. Read more about why we allow commenting on some stories and not on others.
We believe it's important to offer commenting on certain stories as a benefit to our readers. At its best, our comments sections can be a productive platform for readers to engage with our journalism, offer thoughts on coverage and issues, and drive conversation in a respectful, solutions-based way. It's a form of open discourse that can be useful to our community, public officials, journalists and others.
We do not enable comments on everything — exceptions include most crime stories, and coverage involving personal tragedy or sensitive issues that invite personal attacks instead of thoughtful discussion.
You can read more here about our commenting policy and terms of use. More information is also found on our FAQs.
Show less