Where We Are on TV 2023-2024

Four years ago, GLAAD challenged the industry to have every platform count at least 50 percent characters of color. This year both broadcast and cable fell short of that challenge, and no platform improved upon their previous percentage.

On primetime scripted broadcast, there are 31 LGBTQ characters of color (48 percent of all LGBTQ characters). This is the same percentage as the previous year and marks the second year in a row that broadcast has fallen beneath fifty percent, after meeting GLAAD’s challenge the previous three years. Cable saw a decrease in the percentage of characters of color. Of the 77 LGBTQ characters on cable, 37 (48 percent) are characters of color, a drop of two percentage points from last year, which fails to meet the 50 percent benchmark. LGBTQ characters on streaming also saw a three percentage point drop down to 164 out of 327 characters (50 percent) from last year’s high of 53 percent. This is the only platform that met the challenge, but barely scraped by.

Of the total 468 LGBTQ characters counted on all three platforms, 232 (50 percent) are characters of color. This is a one percentage point decrease from last year’s 51 percent. As noted in last year’s report, a significant number of characters of color were on canceled series, which foretold this decline. Unfortunately, the same is true this year, as 55 percent of characters who are on canceled or ended series are characters of color.

The industry needs to prioritize the inclusion of diverse LGBTQ people of color, both in greenlighting and promoting those stories.