Trending
- Jake Borelli Talks “Grey’s Anatomy,” Coming Out, and Stepping Away From His Iconic LGBTQ Role
- “Scapegoating trans people isn’t it.” Jane Coaston’s Blistering Critique of Bogus Election Year Blame Game
- The GLAAD Wrap: “Elton John: Never Too Late” in Theaters, Trailers for “No Good Deed” and “The Madness,” New Music by Jade LeMac, Polly Money and More!
- Is Gay Marriage Next?” – A Haunting and Heartfelt Short Documentary on Progress, Peril and the Fight for Equality
- GLAAD’s 20 Under 20 Class of 2022: Where Are They Now?
- WATCH: John Oliver Claps Back at Anti-Trans Politicians on “Last Week Tonight”
- “Emilia Pérez” is Not Good Trans Representation
- GLAAD Statement on the Presidential Election
Where We Are on TV 2023-2024
According to Neilson data from 2022, Middle East/North African (MENA) characters represent only 2.5 percent of characters across broadcast, cable and streaming. According to the MENA Arts Advocacy Coalition, the majority of those characters represent harmful stereotypes of Middle Eastern people, which can lead to disinformation and discrimination.
As with last year, there is only one LGBTQ MENA character on primetime scripted broadcast, Lucy Tara on NCIS: Hawai’i.
Cable counts three MENA characters out of all 77 LGBTQ characters, representing four percent. This is a decrease from last year’s seven characters (five percent). The characters represented on cable include vampires Armand on AMC’s Anne Rice’s Interview with the Vampire and Nandor on FX’s What We Do in the Shadows, as well as college student Zaara on the final season of Freeform’s grown-ish.
On scripted original streaming programming there are nine (three percent) MENA characters, a decrease of three characters, but the same percent as last year. Highlights include lesbian character Mabel on Apple TV+’s period drama The Buccaneers, bisexual teen Jay on Netflix comedy Big Mouth, recurring characters Mr. Farouk and Sahar on Netflix’s Heartstopper, Reese on Paramount+’s SkyMed, and more.
Of all 468 characters counted across all three platforms, 13 (three percent) are MENA. This is a decrease of seven characters year over year, but an equal percentage.
Representation of MENA LGBTQ Characters
- Of the 64 LGBTQ characters counted on the five broadcast networks, two percent (one) are MENA.
- Of the 77 LGBTQ characters counted on cable networks, four percent (three) are MENA.
- Of the 327 LGBTQ characters counted on eight streaming services, three percent (nine) are MENA.
- Of the 468 LGBTQ characters counted on all platforms, three percent (13) are MENA.
No Data Found
Table of Contents
Share this
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.
More Publications from GLAAD
In 2013, GLAAD launched its first Studio Responsibility Index (SRI) to measure lesbian, gay, bisexual,…
Introduction from Sarah Kate Ellis Since 2020, GLAAD, in partnership with the Gilead COMPASS initiative,…
Una guía detallada en español sobre las normas de los medios de comunicación para una cobertura más precisa y respetuosa de la comunidad trans en el periodismo.
The GLAAD Studio Responsibility Index (SRI) maps the quantity, quality and diversity of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) characters in films released by seven major motion picture studios during the 2021 calendar year. GLAAD researched films release by Lionsgate, Paramount Pictures, Sony Pictures, United Artists Releasing, Universal Pictures, Walt Disney Studios and Warner