GLAAD, the LGBTQ+ advocacy organization, has released its annual “Where We Are On TV” report and confirmed what many television viewers had suspected: there were fewer LGBTQ+ characters and storylines on broadcast television and streaming in 2023 than in 2022. Last year at News is Out, we covered the trend of “Cancel Your Gays” in 2022 and that has continued into 2023 and 2024.
According to the GLAAD report, in 2023, there were 31 fewer LGBTQ+ series regulars on broadcast television. There were 77 total LGBTQ+ characters (regulars and recurring characters), a decrease of 62 characters total from the previous year.
The news is similar in streaming. In 2023, there were 327 total characters on streaming channels, 29 fewer than in 2022.
Of the 468 characters on television in 2023, 36% will not be back in 2024 due to cancellations, show format, an actor leaving or a character dying.
Here are some additional key stats and highlights from the report.
- 53% of the LGBTQ+ characters on canceled shows were queer women.
- Black representation remained steady with 95 Black LGBTQ+ characters, on par with 2022’s numbers.
- Latine LGBTQ+ characters decreased by 5% from 2022.
- Only 2% of all LGBTQ+ characters were indigenous.
- LGBTQ+ characters with disabilities decreased slightly from 2022 to 2023, with a .7% drop, or a loss of 9 characters.
- There were eight fewer transgender characters in 2023.
- LGBTQ+ representation is thriving on non-scripted or reality television.
- Netflix had the highest number of LGBTQ+ characters (155), accounting for nearly half of all LGBTQ+ characters on streaming networks. However, 59 of those characters will not return due to series endings, cancellations or the series format.
- Disney+ has the fewest number of LGBTQ+ characters at only 10.
To read the full report, visit GLAAD or click here for a downloadable PDF version.