Where We Are on TV 2023-2024

Representation of LGBTQ Asian-Pacific Islander (API) Characters

In 2023, a study from the USC Norman Lear Center and non-profit Gold House analyzed the top 100 streaming film and television titles from 2022 for Asian representation, and found 347 Asian characters, with 99 of them in major roles. The report analyzed those 99 characters and found that only one of them was queer. Though that study looks at a far different sample from this report, the result is unequivocally the same: LGBTQ Asian representation is extremely limited.

There was a welcome increase of LGBTQ Asian and Pacific Islander (API) characters on primetime scripted broadcasts this year. Six of 64 (nine percent) of LGBTQ characters were API, an increase of three percentage points from last year. These characters include bi+ doctor Mika Yasuda on Grey’s Anatomy, nonbinary dog walker Nico on ABC’s Will Trent, queer characters Khia and Cathy on The CW’s Run the Burbs, gay investigator Dhan on NBC’s Found and Dr. Devi on NBC’s Transplant.

Cable saw a slight percentage decrease of API representation year over year. Of the 77 LGBTQ characters on cable, four (five percent) are API. This is a decrease of one percentage point, and four less characters than the previous year. Two of the four characters appear on the final season of Good Trouble, while the other characters are on series that will hopefully see new seasons: Disney Channel’s Hailey’s on It! and Syfy’s Reginald the Vampire.

After an increase last year, streaming saw a decrease in API representation. Of the 327 LGBTQ characters counted on streaming, 29 (nine percent) are API. Highlights include a nonbinary character on Max’s dramedy Girls on the Bus, protagonist Sabi on the final season of Max’s Sort Of, bisexual character Ah Toy on Max’s Warrior, asexual character Sarah on the final season of Netflix’s Sex Education, and more. Warrior, Sort of and Sex Education will not be returning next year.

In totality, of the 468 LGBTQ characters on broadcast, cable, and streaming, 39 (eight percent) are API. That is a decrease of one percentage point, and a disturbing trend that must be significantly reversed.

Representation of API LGBTQ Characters

Of the 64 LGBTQ characters counted on the five broadcast networks, nine percent (six) are API.
Of the 77 LGBTQ characters counted on cable networks, five percent (four) are API.
Of the 327 LGBTQ characters counted on eight streaming services, nine percent (29) are API.
Of the 468 LGBTQ characters counted on all platforms, eight percent (39) are API.

View Past Years’ Reports

MEASURE THE MOVEMENT

Your gift allows us to track the impact of our work, helping us better understand the state of acceptance and address the gaps with advocacy — like pushing for more trans representation in movies.

Support Our Program

More Publications from GLAAD

Debunking the ‘Bathroom Bill’ Myth – Accurate Reporting on LGBT Nondiscrimination: A Guide for Journalists

Debunking the "Bathroom Bill" Myth – Accurate Reporting on LGBT Nondiscrimination: A Guide for Journalists dispels the myths that are often used to demonize transgender people. We've created this guide in collaboration with a coalition of state and national LGBT organizations to ensure fair and accurate reporting, and we will be working to get into the hands of every journalist covering these important issues.

Read the report

Accelerating Acceptance 2016

2015 represented an especially historic year in the movement for LGBTQ equality, with the Supreme Court’s landmark ruling in Obergefell v. Hodges, which guaranteed same-sex couples the right to marry nationwide. Notwithstanding the American public has grown well beyond majority status in support for marriage equality and we have reached what TIME Magazine called the “transgender tipping point,” GLAAD’s Accelerating Acceptance 2016 survey reveals that other key, yet perhaps more nuanced attitudes about LGBTQ people are lagging and the cause of Accelerating Acceptance must continue.