Where We Are on TV 2023-2024

Given the continuing and escalating trend of LGBTQ-inclusive series being canceled or abruptly ending after one or two seasons, GLAAD added this chapter last year to track the inclusive shows that were canceled year over year.

There are 468 LGBTQ characters counted in this report, a decrease of 128 characters from the 596 in the previous report. It is worth noting that several LGBTQ-inclusive series have been delayed due to production schedules and the strikes and will return in future reports, such as The Last of Us, The Umbrella Academy, Yellowjackets, Harlem, and more. The vast majority of those losses, however, are due to canceling or ending LGBTQ-inclusive series.

2023 marked a significant year in the TV industry, as the Writers Guild of America and the Screen Actors Guild both went on strike. The strikes were a culmination of many factors facing both film and television including, but not limited to, lack of pay, lack of residuals for streaming series, lack of upward mobility, and artificial intelligence. The writers’ strike stretched from May to September, and the actor’s strike lasted from July through November. During this time, the AMPTP, the official collective bargaining representative of the major studios, took months to come to the negotiating table, costing themselves time and money. Another unfortunate side effect of the AMPTP’s refusal to listen to workers is that many streamers and networks used the strikes as an excuse to cancel series, many of them inclusive.

This reputation of canceling series before they find their footing is detrimental to a studio’s business. According to a YouGov Survey, over a quarter of viewers wait for the finale before watching a series, and will not watch if there is an unresolved ending.

A non-exhaustive list of series which included LGBTQ leads and/or ensembles that were canceled or ended during the strikes include A League of Their Own, The Other Two, Single Drunk Female, Grease: The Rise of the Pink Ladies, Gotham Knights and more. These were all series that were tracked in the previous report, but are not in this current one.

Of the 468 LGBTQ characters counted here, 170 (36 percent) characters will not return next year. Of those, 58 (12 percent) won’t return due to a miniseries/anthology format or a character not returning and 112 (24 percent) won’t return due to series cancellations or endings.

Overall, there are 36 series that have officially been canceled that include LGBTQ characters. Five of those series are on broadcast, amounting to 13 characters who will not return (20 percent of all LGBTQ characters on broadcast). This includes four characters on beloved Grey’s Anatomy spinoff Station 19 and four on The CW’s Canadian import Run the Burbs, which was not only canceled, but pulled from the network before the season finished. Other canceled series on broadcast include ABC’s The Good Doctor, and NBC shows La Brea and Transplant.

On cable, 19 characters (25 percent of all LGBTQ characters on cable) on eight shows won’t be returning due to cancellation or series ending. This is most apparent on the Disney owned network Freeform: all three of their LGBTQ-inclusive scripted shows, which count eight characters total, will not return. This is particularly disheartening as no new scripted series have been ordered to take their place. Six of these characters appear on the final season of Good Trouble, which has been a leading show for LGBTQ inclusion for its entire run. Other canceled series include Minx on Starz, which was canceled for the second time and featured several queer characters in its ensemble; Billions on Showtime, which broke ground with its portrayal of nonbinary character Taylor; Hightown on Starz, which had a lesbian lead, and more.

As for streaming, 80 characters (24 percent of all LGBTQ characters on streaming) on 23 shows won’t be returning due to series cancellations or endings. Half of these characters are on Netflix originals. These include queer-led series such as Sex Education, Young Royals and Glamorous. Seventeen of these characters are on Max, with eight characters on beloved pirate comedy Our Flag Means Death, and five on Canadian dramedy Sort Of. Both shows featured groundbreaking nonbinary representation. Ten characters on Amazon won’t return, including four on queer family comedy With Love, and five on mystery thriller Harlan Coben’s Shelter. Paramount+ counts seven characters that won’t return, the majority on Star Trek: Discovery. All five of Disney+’s characters were on the final season of teen musical show High School Musical: The Musical: The Series.

The situation becomes even more worrisome when the demographics of these characters are examined. In terms of gender, 53 percent of the LGBTQ characters on canceled shows are women, compared to only 47 percent of all LGBTQ characters counted. Another concerning statistic is that nearly half of all nonbinary characters (11 of 24) are on canceled series. The same is true of transgender characters; ten of 24 trans characters are also on series that have been canceled or ended. In terms of race, 55 percent of characters on canceled or ended series are characters of color, compared to 50 percent of total characters.

Not only is the number of series with LGBTQ characters declining, but the LGBTQ characters who are disappearing from our screens are from the most underrepresented demographics, and therefore are the most critical to see remain on air. Women, trans characters, nonbinary characters, and characters of color are essential to have LGBTQ characters that reflect the world and uplift our society’s most vulnerable. If these stories disappear, the results could be detrimental.