GLAAD RELEASES 19th WHERE WE ARE ON TV REPORT

GLAAD’S 19TH ‘WHERE WE ARE ON TV’ STUDY SHOWS DECLINES IN LGBTQ CHARACTERS AND STORIES, BUT REINFORCES OPPORTUNITIES NETWORKS, STREAMERS HAVE TO GROW INCLUSIVE PROGRAMMING FOR THE MOST DIVERSE AUDIENCES EVER

8.6% of series regulars across primetime scripted broadcast programming were LGBTQ

Of all LGBTQ characters counted, 50% of LGBTQ characters were people of color and only 5.1% were transgender

Study found 36% of LGBTQ characters counted will not be returning

Los Angeles, CA – Tuesday, April 30, 2024 – GLAAD, the world’s largest lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) media advocacy organization, today released its 19th edition of the annual Where We Are On TV study, which maps the presence of LGBTQ characters for the 2023-24 television season. This edition meets the entertainment industry at a time of immense shift with changing business models, evolving platforms, and strong calls for storytelling to reflect the full diversity of its audiences.

GLAAD has tracked LGBTQ regular and recurring characters on original primetime scripted programming for nearly three decades, since the 1996-97 TV season. Since that inaugural count in 1996, to this year’s study, GLAAD has found a +1276% growth or 13.7x more LGBTQ characters on television.

Read the full study HERE

Key Findings of the 2023-24 Where We Are on TV Study

• 8.6% of series regulars across primetime scripted broadcast programming were LGBTQ.
  • This is a decrease of 31 characters and 2% from previous year.
• GLAAD counted 49 LGBTQ series regulars and 28 LGBTQ recurring characters on primetime scripted cable, for a total of 77 LGBTQ characters.
  • This is a decrease of 62 characters from the previous study.
• GLAAD counted 208 LGBTQ series regular characters and 119 recurring LGBTQ characters on streaming scripted original programming for a total of 327 LGBTQ characters.
  • This is a decrease of 29 characters from the 2022-23 study.
• Of the 468 LGBTQ characters counted across all platforms (broadcast, cable, and streaming), there are 24 transgender characters (5.1% of all LGBTQ characters), a decrease of eight characters and 0.3% from the previous study.
  • Of those, there are 11 trans women, five trans men, and eight trans nonbinary characters.
• Of the 468 LGBTQ characters across all platforms, 232 (50%) are characters of color.
  • This is a decrease of 72 characters and one percentage point from the previous study.
• There was only one LGBTQ character (0.2 percent) counted this year living with HIV: Tim Laughlin in Showtime’s miniseries Fellow Travelers.
• Of all 468 LGBTQ characters counted, at least 170 (36%) will not be returning due to series cancellations or endings, miniseries/anthology format, or a character dying or otherwise exiting the show.
  • Of those 468, 112 LGBTQ characters (24%) specifically won’t be returning due to series cancellation or ending.

From GLAAD President & CEO, Sarah Kate Ellis:
“The findings from this year’s Where We Are on TV study reveals several inarguable truths when it comes to LGBTQ storytelling. We know that LGBTQ-inclusive series can indeed be successful, as demonstrated by shows like The Last of Us and Yellowjackets. We know it is imperative for the queer community, especially transgender people, to see our lives reflected on screen to counteract the misinformation and harmful rhetoric going unchecked by politicians and journalists. And we know that younger audiences are hungry for shows that truly reflect the world around them. The answer behind impactful and long-lasting television is right there for studio executives, showrunners, and Hollywood at-large and the stakes could not be higher.”

From GLAAD Senior Director of Entertainment Research & Analysis, Megan Townsend:
“GLAAD’s Where We Are on TV study found a number of concerning decreases across the board in the past two years, alongside a changing industry on all fronts which is seeing increased vertical integration and contracting budgets and staff. We know that LGBTQ storytelling is powerful and a priority for key audiences – MRI-Simmons reports that LGBTQ inclusion in entertainment is important to more than two in five of all American adults and WPP found that super majorities of LGBTQ and non-LGBTQ 18-24 year olds actively seek out queer inclusive programming. It’s clear that networks and streamers looking to maintain relevance and brand longevity with the growing LGBTQ audience should be developing their future slates with an eye towards stabilization. This includes multiple season orders, prompt renewals, and a sustained investment in inclusive storytelling through meaningful marketing, promotion, and production budgets given to new and returning titles.”

CANCELED SHOWS

There are 468 LGBTQ characters counted per GLAAD’s methodology, a decrease of 128 characters (22%) from the 596 counted in the previous study. Of the 468 LGBTQ characters counted this year, 170 (36%) characters will not return next year. Of those, 112 (24%) won’t return due to series cancellations or endings. Among the LGBTQ characters on canceled series, 55% of characters on canceled or ended series are characters of color compared to 50 percent of total LGBTQ characters. 10 of the 24 transgender characters counted appear on series which have been canceled or ended and 53% of LGBTQ characters on canceled shows are women, compared to 47% of all LGBTQ characters counted.

It is worth noting that several LGBTQ-inclusive series were delayed due to production shifts caused by the slow response of AMPTP leaders to SAG-AFTRA and WGA memberships striking for fair wages and protections in 2023. Those series, including The Last of Us, The Umbrella Academy, Yellowjackets, Euphoria, Harlem, and more, are currently set to return in future editions of this study. The vast majority of decreases, however, are due to canceling or otherwise ending LGBTQ-inclusive series – a shift which had begun prior to last year’s strikes. This trend of premature cancellation of inclusive series is increasingly being called out by journalists and creatives, with Issa Rae recently speaking out in press on the issue. A March 2023 YouGov survey found that viewer’s behavior is also changing in response – a quarter of U.S. adults said they’ll wait for a streaming originals’ finale before starting to watch, with 27 percent of those citing worry about a series potential cancellation with no resolution as their reasoning for delay.

Yet we know that LGBTQ stories remain massively successful – when fully invested in: The Last of Us was the most watched show on Max in Latin America and Europe, GLAAD Media Award-winning Yellowjackets’ season two finale was the most streamed episode ever for Showtime, Abbott Elementary broke records for recent comedy ratings for ABC, and AMC’s Interview with the Vampire was the top new drama premiere on ad-supported cable upon its 2022 release. These stories with significant and impactful LGBTQ characters continue to prove that diverse, fair, and accurate inclusion is good for the bottom line.

GLAAD’S RECOMMENDATIONS

The 19th annual Where We Are on TV study provides recommendations to increase and improve inclusivity and representation: A priority for improvement across all platforms is developing inclusive new series as well as incorporating new and expanding upon LGBTQ characters in existing programming. Audiences are hungry for diverse characters with fresh and unique perspectives, specifically stories that center LGBTQ characters of color, transgender and nonbinary characters, and characters living with HIV in meaningful roles. Specifically on scripted broadcast programming, GLAAD recommends including LGBTQ characters in more comedies, as broadcast comedy has historically been a genre where LGBTQ stories thrive, from Will and Grace to Modern Family to Glee and more recently Abbott Elementary. As for cable, GLAAD encourages these networks to develop more titles with LGBTQ ensembles as has been proven successful by Pose, The L Word, Looking, and more as many series of this format have been announced to end this season. On streaming, executives and programmers need to invest in long-running series with LGBTQ characters front and center of the narrative, as several recent successful streaming series have been prematurely canceled after only one or two shortened seasons.

THE GLAAD MEDIA INSTITUTE AS CREATIVE PARTNER TO HOLLYWOOD

As consumers demand more diversity in Hollywood and business models continue to evolve, GLAAD is committed to equipping the industry to meet this moment of evolution as a gold standard resource in creating meaningful content, opportunities for creators and accountability efforts which parallel the growing LGBTQ community:

• GLAAD Media Institute (GMI): GLAAD’s in-house subject matter experts, covering all areas of media and entertainment, will continue to meet the needs of an ever-expanding media landscape to ensure LGBTQ people are fairly and accurately represented in film, TV, gaming, advertising, and beyond. Whether it’s launching best-in-class research studies to better quantify LGBTQ visibility and consumer behaviors, providing feedback on scripts, casting and character design, to providing training and consulting for individuals and companies to equip them to take a stand for equality – the GMI is a unique center of excellence and resource to storytellers.
• The GLAAD List: The GMI is continuing the work embarked on with the creation of The GLAAD List, an annual curated list of the most promising unmade LGBTQ-inclusive scripts in Hollywood. The scripts on The GLAAD List represent the type of LGBTQ-inclusive stories that GLAAD would like to see distributors producing for big and small screens alike to increase outstanding LGBTQ storytelling in Hollywood. With the proper attention, and with the collaboration of the right directors and actors, these scripts show tremendous promise and should one day become films and series that will both entertain audiences and change hearts and minds around the world. Four previous honorees have been released. Submissions for the fourth edition are now open through July 1.
• GLAAD’s Black Queer Creative Summit: The inaugural summit, powered by Gilead Sciences, launched last year to help fill both an opportunity gap for Black queer creatives across industries and build relationships as creatives. This vehicle for educating, empowering, and training of emerging Black LGBTQ creatives comes at a time of reckoning in Hollywood where demands for a more robust pipeline of talent is meeting the demand for a more equitable future for all. The Black Queer Creative Summit will return in 2025.
• GLAAD’s Spirit Day – this year recognized on October 19 – celebrates its 12th year of creating impact for LGBTQ youth, as the world’s most visible anti-bullying campaign. Once again this year, GLAAD will organize thousands of celebrities, influential voices, news & media outlets, TV & film studios, brands & corporations, landmarks, sports leagues, tech leaders, influencers, faith groups and so many more to go purple and support LGBTQ youth by creating clear possibility models for them to thrive and be represented in the world.
• GLAAD and Gilead Sciences continue calls on the entertainment industry to grow representation of HIV in an effort to drive cultural and societal change in ending the stigma of people who are living with HIV. With over 1.2 million people living with HIV in the United States, GLAAD continues to challenge networks to increase meaningful storytelling of people living with HIV in order to combat the stigma and stereotypes that still exist surrounding those who are living with HIV. GLAAD’s most recent State of HIV Stigma Study found that only half of Americans (50 percent) feel knowledgeable about HIV. The study also found that there is still unfounded fear about people living with HIV, even though those receiving proper medical treatment cannot transmit HIV.

Methodology

GLAAD’s annual Where We Are on TV study tracks the presence of lesbian, gay, bisexual+, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) characters for the 2023-24 television season. This season marks the 28th year GLAAD has quantitatively tracked the presence of LGBTQ regular and recurring characters on television by calculating their numbers in original scripted programming. This study counts primetime scripted series in broadcast and cable, as well as scripted original streaming series on top distributors Amazon, Apple TV+, Disney+, Hulu, Max, Netflix, Paramount+, Peacock, premiering or expected to premiere a new season in primetime between June 1, 2023 and May 31, 2024, and for which casting has been announced or confirmed by networks. See GLAAD’s full methodology HERE.

Read the full study HERE

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About the GLAAD Media Institute: The GLAAD Media Institute provides training, consultation, and actionable research to develop an army of social justice ambassadors for all marginalized communities to champion acceptance and amplify media impact. Earlier version of this study, along with GLAAD’s research library can be found at GLAAD.org/Publications.