Where We Are on TV 2023-2024

Newer Spanish-language streamers are bringing a wider array of Spanish-language content from Latin America, Spain and beyond, gaining traction with audiences while creating bold content that brings exciting LGBTQ characters to life. ViX, Atresplayer and RTVE Play are particularly well-represented in this year’s Spanish-language report.

Shows like Zorras, a bold sex-positive comedy-drama series featuring lesbian and bisexual women in leading roles, and Noches de Tefía, the GLAAD Media Award-nominated series inspired by a real-life concentration camp where LGBTQ people were imprisoned under Spain’s Francoist regime, can be found on Atresplayer. Trans actress Abril Zamora also returns to screens in a supporting role on Atresplayer’s Un Nuevo Amanecer, an off-beat comedy series about an actress in rehab. El Juego de Las Llaves, a steamy comedy series available on ViX, is one of the few returning series in this year’s report featuring LGBTQ leads. ViX also streamed Las Pelotaris, the GLAAD Media Award-nominated series with several queer leads, which was counted in last year’s WWATV. RTVE Play’s 4 Estrellas, an eccentric comedy about four women running a hotel after the family’s patriarch dies, features two queer women and a nonbinary character in supporting roles, as well as a trans character portrayed by trans actress Celeste González in a recurring guest role.

The expanding options for streaming audiences doesn’t necessarily mean cable television has entirely lost steam, but there has been a drop in LGBTQ characters in scripted content on the two largest Spanish-language networks in the U.S. – Univision and Telemundo. While streamers this year offered at least a few stories featuring LGBTQ leading characters, the same isn’t true for cable. Univision featured some LGBTQ characters in supporting and recurring roles, but none as leads, while Telemundo had zero LGBTQ characters (leading, supporting or recurring) across all their scripted programming. Univision’s scripted programming included eight LGBTQ characters on telenovela dramas like El Amor Invencible, Vencer la Culpa, Tu Vida Es Mi Vida, El Amor No Tiene Receta and Golpe de Suerte. 

Across all the series counted in this chapter, transgender and nonbinary representation is still sorely lacking – and when it is present, the people portraying these characters are far too often cisgender. Happily, Ander Puig on Netflix’s Élite, Coco Máxima on Univision’s El Amor No Tiene Receta and Abril Zamora on Atresplayer’s Un Nuevo Amanecer are trans performers playing roles that align with their gender identity, while Iván Vigara (a trans man) plays a nonbinary character on RTVE Play’s 4 Estrellas. Casting trans and nonbinary performers to portray trans and nonbinary characters is essential to combat years of harmful and stereotypical casting, while bringing authenticity and the depth of lived experience to their portrayals.

When it comes to trans storylines on Spanish-language programming, we were glad to see fewer storylines about trans women focused on the process of medical transition and/or transphobic violence — a trend that limits what we learn about these characters to one facet of their lives. We still, however, don’t see many trans characters taking center stage.

It’s also important to note that trans men are missing entirely from Spanish-language network programs, with the exception of Netflix’s Élite, and saw little improvement in representation among streamers, while nonbinary characters are still sparse. Racial diversity among LGBTQ characters in Spanish-language programming is also severely lacking – particularly given the fact that Pew estimates 12 percent of Latinos in the U.S. identify as Afro-Latino. Ensuring writers’ rooms and casts include Latine LGBTQ creatives, as well as people of all ethnicities, including Afro-Latines, is a key starting point towards that improvement.

Non-scripted or reality shows, some of which air several nights per week and thus command a large audience share, offer a bit more positive news in terms of LGBTQ inclusion. While unscripted programming isn’t counted in this chapter’s data, highlighting popular shows where real-world LGBTQ people take center stage offers a bright spot when it comes to TV representation. Drag Latina from Revry and LATV is a bilingual drag competition featuring Latine talent from across the globe. Season four of Telemundo’s La Casa de los Famosos, currently airing, has an LGBTQ cast member, as did Los 50. On UniMás, the dance competition Mira quién baila featured a gay contestant, the dating show Enamorándonos included various gay couples and aired a wedding between two women during one of their special episodes. ViX aired Wendy, perdida pero famosa, a docu-series following Wendy Guevara, a trans performer and activist who first stole Mexico’s heart as a contestant (and winner!) on La Casa de los Famosos. Drag Latina on LATV, Wendy, perdida pero famosa on ViX and Enamorándonos on Unimás all received a GLAAD Media Award Special Recognition for their programming in 2023.

While many of the scripted series counted feature characters that bring meaningful, substantive representation to the screen, a number of LGBTQ-inclusive shows have been canceled. Of those still on the air, many fail to give LGBTQ characters major storylines while others struggle to cast LGBTQ roles appropriately. Overall, scripted series regularly consumed by Latine and Spanish-speaking families across the U.S. have significantly lagged when it comes to LGBTQ-inclusivity in this year’s report – reversing the progress we so sorely need. 

According to a 2022 Neilson study, the Latine population makes up 19 percent of the US population, but a whopping 42 percent of the viewers of the most watched streaming content. This is an essential audience to networks and streamers that could easily be lost if there is not more inclusion on Spanish Language programming.