List of television shows with LGBT characters

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Television shows or made-for-television films that deal with LGBT issues and/or feature prominent LGBT characters or cast members:

Contents 1 Dramatic series and miniseries 2 Films 3 Sitcoms 4 Soap Operas 5 Reality-based series 6 Specials, news, information and variety programs 7 Live Action series with occasional LGBT themes or characters 8 Animated series with LGBT themes or characters 9 See also 10 External links

[edit] Dramatic series and miniseries

The following drama series or miniseries include central LGBT themes or characters.

Year	Title	Network	Character name	Actor	Notes
2006	Sleeper Cell: American Terror	Showtime	Salim Jason	Omid Abtahi	Salim is a gay Muslim terrorist. Jason is the man he begins developing a relationship with.
2006	Torchwood	BBC Three (UK)	Jack Harkness Gwen Cooper Owen Harper Toshiko Sato and others	John Barrowman Eve Myles Burn Gorman Naoko Mori and others	The lead character, Captain Jack Harkness, was previously established on Doctor Who as bisexual or pansexual. The series' creator, Russell T. Davies, has described Torchwood as "a very bisexual series" and has said that all the regular cast members will have same-sex kisses or encounters on-screen in the first series. In "Everything Changes", Owen Harper kisses a woman and a man in quick succession; in "Day One" Gwen Cooper kisses a woman although she has a boyfriend. Toshiko is bisexual. Owen Harper seduced a woman and her boyfriend in the first episode but seems to have a definite preference for women.
2006	Ugly Betty	ABC	Marc Justin Suarez	Michael Urie Mark Indelicato	Marc is the openly gay personal assistant of the fashion editor at MODE magazine. Justin is Betty's nephew who is quite fashion conscious and exhibits model-like behavior, causing speculation that he is gay.
2006	Brothers & Sisters	ABC	Kevin Walker	Matthew Rhys	Kevin is a gay attorney who is searching for a romantic partner.
2006	Sinchronicity	BBC Three	Jase Mani Faye	Daniel Percival Navin Chowdhry John Sheahan	Jase is a closeted man who finds a male lover, Mani. Faye is a pre-op male-to-female transsexual.
2005	South of Nowhere	The-N	Spencer Carlin Ashley Davies	Gabrielle Christian Mandy Musgrave
2005	Fingersmith	BBC	Sue Trinder Maud Lilly	Sally Hawkins Elaine Cassidy
2005	Commander in Chief	ABC	Vince Taylor	Anthony Azizi	Vince is the Special Aide to the President. In Episode 8, it is revealed that he is gay and has been found to have HIV.
2005	The Book of Daniel	NBC	Peter Webster	Christian Campbell	Peter is Daniel's 23-year-old gay Republican son.
2005	Inconceivable	NBC	Scott Garcia	David Norona	Scott is a gay attorney who works at the Family Options Fertility Clinic. In the pilot episode, he and his partner have their child.
2005	Eyes	ABC	Chris Didion	Rick Worthy	Canceled series
2005	Sugar Rush	Channel 4 (UK)	Kim	Olivia Hallinan
2005	Doctor Who	BBC (UK)	Captain Jack Harkness	John Barrowman	Openly bisexual character from the 51st Century; Jack was spun off into the series Torchwood in Autumn 2006 on BBC Three
2004 -	Veronica Mars	UPN	Seth Rafter Ryan Marcos Oliveres Kelly Kuzzio Kylie Marker Marlena Nichols Peter Ferrer	Robert Clark Bradford Anderson Jeremy Ray Valdez Lucas Grabeel Kristin Cavallari Miriam Korn Luke Frydenger Kyle Gallner	.
2004	Jack & Bobby	The WB	??	??	A gay uncle with a drug habit and a gay teeneger who commits suicide.
2004	Hex	Arena (Aus) Sky One (UK)	Thelma Bates Peggy the Ghost Maya Robertson Tom	Jemima Rooper Katy Carmichael Laura Donnelly Samuel Collings	Major Character, Lesbian Ghost. Lesbian ghost in first season Season 2 Ep 8-11, Lesbian Ghost - Explicit Sex Scene Gay male ghost Strangely, almost every "ghost" on Hex was gay.
2004	Shameless	Channel 4 (UK)	Ian Gallagher Kash Karib Jez Monica Gallagher Norma	Gerard Kearns Chris Bisson Lindsey Dawson Annabelle Apsion Dystin Johnson
2004	Wonderfalls	Fox	Sharon Tyler	Katie Finneran
2004	Desperate Housewives	ABC	Andrew Van De Kamp Justin Jonathan Lithgow Peter McMillan	Shawn Pyfrom Ryan Carnes John Newton Lee Tergesen	Manipulative Andrew claims to be gay but confesses to be bisexual. Andrew's boyfriend Justin is gay. Peter McMillan, is the bisexual boyfriend of Andrew's mother.
2004	The L Word	Showtime	Bette Porter Dana Fairbanks Marina Ferrer Tina Kennard Shane McCutcheon Alice Pieszecki Jenny Schecter	Jennifer Beals Erin Daniels Karina Lombard Laurel Holloman Katherine Moennig Leisha Hailey Mia Kirshner
2004 -	Noah's Arc	Logo	Noah Nicholson Alex Kirby Ricky Davis Chance Counter Wade Robinson	Darryl Stephens Rodney Chester Christian Vincent Doug Spearman Jensen Atwood	Shows the lives of a small group of black gay friends living in the Los Angeles, California area. The series remains one of Logo's most popular original programs.
2003	Angels in America	HBO	Prior Walter Louis Ironson Joe Pitt Roy Cohn	Justin Kirk Ben Shenkman Patrick Wilson Al Pacino	Chronicles AIDS in the 1980s
2003	Crystal Boys	PTS	A-Qing Zhao Ying	Fan Chi-wei Yang Youning
2003	The O.C.	FOX	Marissa Cooper Alex Carson Ward	Mischa Barton Olivia Wilde Brian McNamara	Marissa has a lesbian affair with Alex, who is bisexual. Luke's father Carson is gay.
2003	One Tree Hill	WB	Anna	Daniela Alonso	Anna is a bisexual Latina
2003	Nip/Tuck	FX Networks	Liz Cruz Dr. Quentin Costa	Roma Maffia Bruno Campos
2002	The Shield	FX Networks	Julien Lowe	Michael Jace
2002	Tipping the Velvet	BBC Two	Nan Astly Kitty Butler Diana Lethaby Florence Banner Zena Blake	Rachael Stirling Keeley Hawes Anna Chancellor Jodhi May Sally Hawkins
2001-2002	100 Centre Street	A&E	Judge Attallah "Queenie" Sims	LaTanya Richardson
2001	Further Tales of the City	Showtime, Channel 4	Anna Madrigal Michael Tolliver Jon Fielding D'orothea/Dorothy Wilson	Olympia Dukakis Paul Hopkins Billy Campbell Françoise Robertson
2001-2005	Six Feet Under	HBO	David Fisher Keith Charles	Michael C. Hall Mathew St. Patrick	Interracial gay relationship among lead characters
2001-	Degrassi: The Next Generation	CTV, The-N	Marco Del Rossi Dylan Michalchuk Paige Michalchuk Alex Nuñez	Adamo Ruggiero John Bregar Lauren Collins Deanna Casaluce	Marco is gay Dylan is Marco's boyfriend, also Paige's older brother Paige is bisexual Alex is lesbian and Paige's ex-girlfriend
2001-2002	The Education of Max Bickford	CBS	Erica Bettis	Helen Shaver	Erica used to be a man named Steve; she went through a sex reassignment surgery.
2001-2005	24	FOX	Mandy	Mia Kirshner	Mandy is bisexual.
2001	Metrosexuality	Channel 4	Max Jordan Dean Bambi Cindy	Rikki Beadle-Blair Karl Collins Paul Keating Davey Fairbanks Carleen Beadle
2000-2002	Dark Angel	FOX	Original Cindy	Valarie Rae Miller	African-American lesbian as main cast member.
2000-2005	Queer as Folk (U.S.)	Showtime	Melanie Marcus Ben Bruckner Lindsay Peterson Brian Kinney Justin Taylor Ted Schmidt Emmett Honeycutt David Cameron Michael Novotny Vic Grassi	Michelle Clunie Robert Gant Thea Gill Gale Harold Randy Harrison Scott Lowell Peter Paige Chris Potter Hal Sparks Jack Wetherall	U.S. remake of earlier UK series
1999-2000	Queer as Folk (UK)	Channel 4	Stuart Alan Jones Vince Tyler Nathan Maloney	Aidan Gillen Craig Kelly Charlie Hunnam
1999-2002	Once and Again	ABC	Jessie Sammler	Evan Rachel Wood
1999-	The Sopranos	HBO	Vito Spatafore	Joseph R. Gannascoli	The character of Vito was murdered in season 6 as a result of being gay.
1998	More Tales of the City	Showtime Channel 4	Anna Madrigal Michael Tolliver Jon Fielding D'orothea/Dorothy Wilson	Olympia Dukakis Paul Hopkins Billy Campbell Cynda Williams
1997 - 2003	Buffy the Vampire Slayer	The WB, UPN	Willow Rosenberg Tara Maclay Kennedy Clem Larry Blaisdell Andrew Wells Scott Hope	Alyson Hannigan Amber Benson Iyari Limon James C. Leary Larry Bagby Tom Lenk Fab Filippo	Larry was a gay jock\bully in seasons 2 and 3. Andrew's homosexuality was heavily implied. Scott Hope was a character in season three who was revealed to be in gay in season seven.
1997 - 2003	Oz	HBO	Tobias Beecher Christopher Keller Alonzo Torquemada	Lee Tergesen Christopher Meloni Bobby Cannavale	Toby and Chris have an intense love/hate relationship.
1996 - 2000	Profiler	NBC	George Fraley	Peter Frechette	While he was a main character his being gay was only referenced a couple of times.
1994 -	ER	NBC	Kerry Weaver Yosh Takata Maggie Doyle Kim Legaspi	Laura Innes Gedde Watanabe Jorja Fox Elizabeth Mitchell
1994 - 1995	My So-Called Life	ABC	Enrique `Rickie' Vasquez	Wilson Cruz	Later aired in repeats on MTV
1993 - 2005	NYPD Blue	ABC	Lt. Thomas Bale PAA John Irvin	Currie Graham Bill Brochtrup
1993	Tales of the City	PBS, Channel 4	Anna Madrigal Michael Tolliver Jon Fielding D'orothea/Dorothy Wilson	Olympia Dukakis Marcus D'Amico Billy Campbell Cynda Williams	First gay kiss on prime-time television. Resulted in Congressional investigation into U.S. public TV.
1992-1999	Melrose Place	FOX	Matt Fielding	Doug Savant	Character written out of series in 1997
1989-1991	thirtysomething	ABC	Russell Weller Peter Montefiore	David Marshall Grant Peter Frechette	First primetime television program to show two men in bed together (1989). Resulted in sponsor boycott.
1988-1989	Heartbeat	ABC	Marilyn McGrath	Gail Strickland	McGrath was a nurse practitioner with a chef girlfriend.
1986	Dress Gray	NBC	Cadet David Hand	Patrick Cassidy	Mini-series about the investigation of Hand's murder; character is seen mostly in flashback.

[edit] Films

The following films made for TV include central LGBT themes or characters

Year	Title	Network	Character name	Actor	Notes
2006	Totally Awesome	VH1	Yamagashi	James Hong	Parody of Miyagi from the Karate Kid films, Yamagashi is an elderly gay lecher.
2006	A Girl Like Me: The Gwen Araujo Story	Lifetime	Gwen Araujo	J.D. Pardo
2005	Deadly Skies	here!	Donovan Mark	Antonio Sabato, Jr. Michael Boisvert	Film was released in multiple versions, with and without gay content.
2005	Tides of War	here!	Cmdr. Frank Habley Lt. Cmdr. Tom Palatonio	Adrian Paul Mike Doyle	Film was released in multiple versions, with and without gay content.
2004	Jack	Showtime	Paul	Ron Silver
2004	Prom Queen: The Marc Hall Story	CTV	Marc Hall Jason	Aaron Ashmore Mak Fyfe
2003	Normal	HBO	Roy	Tom Wilkinson
2003	Soldier's Girl	Showtime	Barry Winchell Calpernia Addams/Scottie	Troy Garity Lee Pace
2002	Bobbie's Girl	Showtime	Bailey Lewis Roberta Langham	Bernadette Peters Rachel Ward
2002	The Matthew Shepard Story	Showtime	Matthew Shepard	Shane Meier
2002	No Night is Too Long	BBC Two	Tim Cornish Ivo Steadman Thierry Massin	Lee Williams Marc Warren Salvatore Antonio	Tim is bisexual.
2001	A Girl Thing	Showtime, Hallmark	Lauren Travis Casey Montgomery	Elle Macpherson Kate Capshaw	Mini-series, first part deals with lesbian women.
2000	Common Ground	Showtime	Dorothy Nelson, Billy, McPherson, Gil Roberts, Tobias, Amos, Andy	Brittany Murphy, Jason Priestley, Mimi Rogers, Steven Weber, Jonathan Taylor Thomas, James LeGros, Andrew Airlie	Three short stories dealing with acceptance of gays and lesbians over three different decades.
2000	If These Walls Could Talk 2	HBO	Edith Tree Abby Hedley Linda Amy Fran Kal	Vanessa Redgrave Marian Seldes Michelle Williams Chloë Sevigny Sharon Stone Ellen DeGeneres	Three short stories dealing with lesbian women.
2000	The Truth About Jane	Lifetime	Jane Taylor Ms. Lynn Walcott Ms. Lynn Walcott's girlfriend Jimmy	Ellen Muth Alicia Lagano Kelly Rowan -Fill in actress' name if you know- RuPaul
1998	Gia	HBO	Gia Carangi	Angelina Jolie	Biopic about the bisexual supermodel.
1997	In the Gloaming	HBO	Danny	Robert Sean Leonard
1997	The Twilight of the Golds	Showtime	David Gold	Brendan Fraser
1994	Family Album	NBC	Lionel Thayer Paul Steel John	Joe Flanigan Paul Satterfield Joel Gretsch	Based on Danielle Steel's novel
1994	Roommates	NBC	Bill Thomas	Eric Stoltz
1992	Doing Time on Maple Drive	FOX	Matt Carter Kyle	William McNamara Bennett Cale	Family Drama
1991	Our Sons	ABC	James, Donald Barnes	Hugh Grant Zeljko Ivanek	Family Drama
1991	The Lost Language of Cranes	BBC, PBS	Owen Benjamin, Philip, Elliot Abrahams, Geoffrey Lane Derek	Brian Cox Angus MacFadyen Corey Parker Rene Auberjonois, John Schlesinger	British production based upon American novel
1989	Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit	BBC	Jess	Charlotte Coleman	Lesbian schoolgirl grows up in a repressive Lancashire industrial district, finds love. 2hrs 45 mins; three episodes.
1987	Two of Us	BBC	Matthew, Phil	Jason Rush Lee Whitlock
1986	Second Serve	CBS	Renee Richards	Vanessa Redgrave	Biopic of transsexual surgeon turned professional tennis player.
1985	An Early Frost	NBC	Michael Pierson Peter Hilton	Aidan Quinn D.W. Moffett
1983	Making of a Male Model	ABC	Chuck Lanyard	Jeff Conaway
1983	An Englishman Abroad	BBC	Guy Burgess	Alan Bates	Story of the chance encounter between gay "Cambridge spy" Burgess and actress Coral Browne.
1977	Alexander: The Other Side of Dawn	ABC			Sequel to the telefilm Dawn: Portrait of a Teenage Runaway. Alexander becomes a hustler in Los Angeles.
1977	That Certain Summer	ABC	Doug Salter Gary McClain	Hal Holbrook Martin Sheen	A teenager deals with the knowledge that his divorced father is gay.
1977	Terraces	NBC	Dr. Roger Cabe Alex Bengston	Lloyd Bochner James Phipps	A married doctor has a sweet, heartfelt affair with a younger man. When the doctor breaks it off for the sake of his wife and family, his young lover cannot cope and takes drastic measures.
1975	The Naked Civil Servant	BBC	Quentin Crisp	John Hurt

[edit] Sitcoms

The following sitcoms include central LGBT themes or characters.

Year	Title	Network	Character name	Actor	Notes
2006	The Class	CBS	Kyle Lendo Aaron	Sean Maguire Cristian de la Fuente	Kyle was very popular at high school (all the girls wanted to be his date). He took Holly to the senior prom, only to cheat on her with a guy. He's currently in a gay relationship with Aaron. He is a second grade teacher at an elite private school.
2006	Crumbs	ABC	Mitch Crumb	Fred Savage
2005 -	All About George	ITV (UK)	Russel	Rory Jennings
2005 - 2006	Out of Practice	CBS	Regina Barnes	Paula Marshall
2005 - 2006	Twins	The WB	Neil	Christopher Fitzgerald
2005 -	The War At Home	FOX	Kenny	Rami Malek
2004 -	Drawn Together	Comedy Central	Xandir Captain Hero Foxxy Love	Jack Plotnick (voice) Jess Harnell (voice) Cree Summer (voice)	Xandir is gay. Captain Hero is either bisexual or gay and in the closet. Foxxy Love is bisexual.
2004-	Entourage	HBO	Lloyd Shauna Roberts	Rex Lee Debi Mazar
2003 - 2004	It's All Relative	ABC	Simon Banks Philip Stoddard	Christopher Sieber John Benjamin Hickey
2003 -	Aquí no hay quien viva	Antena 3	Mauri Hidalgo Fernando Navarro Bea Villarejo Diego Álvarez Rosa Izquierdo Ana	Luis Merlo Adrià Collado Eva Isanta Mariano Alameda María Almudéver Vanesa Romero	Gay relationship between main characters Mauri and Fernando. Mauri also has a son by artificial insemination with lesbian best friend Bea. Ana became lesbian after a wild night with Bea.
2001	The Ellen Show	CBS	Ellen Richmond	Ellen DeGeneres
2001	Some of My Best Friends	CBS	Warren Vern Limoso	Jason Bateman Alec Mapa	Based on the film Kiss Me, Guido
2000	Normal, Ohio	FOX	William "Butch" Gamble	John Goodman
1999 - 2004	Home Movies	UPN, [adult swim]	Walter Perry	Brendon Small (voice) H. Jon Benjamin (voice)	Walter and Perry are two eight year old vaguely Leopold and Loeb type characters who are very strongly implied to be gay. One of their dreams is to one day marry and live in a van.
1999 - 2000	Strangers with Candy	Comedy Central	Jerri Blank Geoffrey Jellineck Chuck Noblet	Amy Sedaris Paul Dinello Steven Colbert	Jerri is bisexual. Jellineck and Noblet carried on a clandestine affair.
1998 - 2006	Will & Grace	NBC	Will Truman Jack McFarland Karen Walker	Eric McCormack Sean Hayes Megan Mullally	Will & Jack are gay. Karen's bisexuality is implied.
1997 -	South Park	Comedy Central	Big Gay Al, Mr. Stotch, Mr./Ms. Garrison, Mr. Slave	Trey Parker (voice)	Big Gay Al and Mr. Slave are gay and married. Mr. Stotch, (Butters's father) is technically bisexual. Mr. Garrison was a gay man in seasons 1-8, until season 9 when he had a sex change and became Ms. Garrison.
1996	Party Girl	FOX	Derrick	John Cameron Mitchell	Short-lived sitcom based on the 1995 theatrical film
1996 - 2002	Spin City	ABC	Carter Sebastian Heywood	Michael Boatman
1994 - 2004	Friends	NBC	Carol Willick Susan Bunch	Jane Sibbett Jessica Hecht	Carol is Ross's ex-wife, who realized that she was a lesbian. In 1996, Carol marries Susan, her partner, in network TV's first lesbian wedding
1994 - 1998	Ellen	ABC	Ellen Morgan	Ellen DeGeneres	In an ironic twist of fate, a show in which her character comes out ends the show and changed other parts of her real life, but she still continues sucessfully with comedy, acting and other activities.
1994 - 1999	The Vicar of Dibley	BBC	Frank Pickle	John Bluthal
1992 - 1998	The Larry Sanders Show	HBO	Brian	Scott Thompson
1992 - 1997	Martin	FOX	Shanaynay, Martin's mom	Martin Lawrence
1989 - present	The Simpsons	FOX	Waylon Smithers Patty Bouvier	Harry Shearer (voice) Julie Kavner (voice)	Waylon Smithers is heavily implied to be in love with his boss, Mr. Burns. Patty Bouvier was in the closet from seasons 1-17.
1988 - 1997	Roseanne	ABC	Bev Harris Leon Carp Scott Nancy Bartlett	Estelle Parsons Martin Mull Fred Willard Sandra Bernhard	In the final episode, Rosanne revealed the last season was a story she'd written. Her mother wasn't really gay but her sister was.
1984 - 1989	Brothers	Showtime	Cliff Waters	Paul Regina	Two heterosexual brothers cope when third brother comes out as gay.
1977 - 1981	Soap	ABC	Jodie Dallas	Billy Crystal	By the end of the series, Jodie was romantically involved with a woman.
1975	Hot L Baltimore	ABC	George Gordon	Lee Bergere Henry Calvert	The first gay couple on American network television.
1972-1973	The Corner Bar	ABC	Peter Panama	Vincent Schiavelli	Reportedly the first continuing portrayal of a gay person on American television.

[edit] Soap Operas

The following soap operas or serial dramas include central LGBT themes or characters.

Year	Title	Network	Character name	Actor	Notes
2005 -	Dante's Cove	here!tv	Ambrosius Vallin Kevin Archer Toby Moraitis Van Cory Dalmass Adam Diana Childs Michelle Marco Laveau Kai	William Gregory Lee Gregory Michael Charlie David Nadine Heiman Josh Berresford Stephen Amell (season 1), Jon Fleming (season 2) Thea Gill Erin Cummings Gabriel Romero German Satiago	Horror/supernatural-themed soap opera in which almost the entire cast of characters is gay or lesbian.
2001	Spyder Games	MTV	Ivan Carlisle Jeff Northcutt	Byron Field Zay Harding	Short-lived serial drama lasted 65 episodes.
2001 - 2006	Footballers' Wives	ITV1	Conrad Gates Noah Alexander	Ben Price Marcel McCalla	Conrad was bisexual. Noah was gay and sought out reparative therapy.
	Paradise Falls	Showcase	Nick Braga	Cameron Graham	The grandson of the mayor, Nick, was engaged to a woman despite being a closet homosexual. The mayor, who dislikes gays, opposes the opening of a Bed and Breakfast designed for gay clients. The show often features sex and nudity for both straight and gay characters.
1998 - 2003	Dawson's Creek	WB	Jack McPhee Doug Witter Ethan Brody Tobey David	Kerr Smith Dylan Neal Adam Kauffman David Monahan Greg Rikaart	Doug Witter's character constantly denied he was gay through most of the show but he finally came to terms with his relationship with Jack in the final episode of the series.
1992 - present	Shortland Street	TVNZ	Jonathan McKenna (1993- )	Kieran Hutchison
1992 - 1999	Melrose Place	FOX	Matt Fielding	Doug Savant	Matt was the only regular character never to have a love scene. The one time he was set to kiss another man on-screen, FOX edited it out.
1988 -	Home and Away	Seven Network	Eve Jacobsen	Emily Perry	Eve fell in love with Sarah Lewis and died in 2006 trying to get revenge for Sarah's death.
1985 -	Neighbours	Ten	Lana Crawford	Bridget Neval	Lana kissed Sky Mangel (Stephanie Macintosh) several times before revealing that she was a lesbian and had feelings for Sky.
1982 - 2003	Brookside	Channel 4	Gordon Collins (1982-1987) Beth Jordache (1993-1995) Shelly Bower (1999-2001)	Mark Burgess Anna Friel Alexandra Wescourt	Always groundbreaking, particularly in the 1980s, Brookside was the first British soap to have an out and proud gay character in Gordon Collins. Upper class and well spoken, his sexuality was not the only thing that set him apart from his fellow residents on Brookside Close. Beth featured in the most famous Brookside storyline of all when she helped bury her father's body after her mother had killed him, however this character will be equally remembered for British television's first pre-watershed lesbian kiss. Viewers complained in droves, however it proved a turning point in the way gay relationships were handled on mainstream British television. Shelly arrived in 1999 and soon had a relationship with Lindsay Corkhill, who had always considered herself straight until she met Shelly. Shelly would leave in 2001 after admitting she had feelings for Lindsay's mother Jackie.
1981 - 1989	Dynasty	ABC	Steven Carrington (1981-1982) Steven Carrington (1982-1989)	Al Corley Jack Coleman	This show was groundbreaking in that it was the first American nighttime drama to have a core character as a homosexual. During the show's run, however, Steven's sexual identity became very muddled, as he became involved mostly with women; a few times, he would have relationships with men.
1974 - 1977	The Box	Network Ten	Lee Whiteman (1974-1976) Vicki Stafford	Paul Karo Judy Nunn	Lee was a high-camp television producer who was generally well liked and resepcted by the show's other characters, and was a popular character with the show's viewers. Vicky was a bitchy journalist who became popular cult figure among the show's fans. In the first episode of the series she engaged in a lesbian kiss.
1972 - 1977	Number 96	Network Ten	Don Finlayson (1972-1977) Dudley Butterfield (1973-1977)	Joe Hasham Chard Hayward	Don was a dependable lawyer widely popular with the show's other characters. He enjoyed several gay relationships over the course of the series, the most enduring with Dudley Butterfield, who was a camp and flighty caterer and fan of old films. In later storylines Dudley straightened-out somewhat, was revealed as bisexual, and later embarked on relationships with women.
1970 - present	All My Children	ABC	Dr. Lynn Carson (1982-1983) Michael Delaney (1995-1997) Bianca Montgomery (2000-2005) Lena Kundera (2003-2004)	Donna Pescow Chris Bruno Eden Riegel Olga Sosnovska	All My Children has always been a pioneer in controversial issues, such as homosexuality. The first gay character on daytime serials was introduced in 1982, although she never had a love interest. Lynn was written out after only one year. High school teacher Michael was the second gay character when he began dating one of his students. Michael was also written out after two years. The character of Bianca came out in late 2000, and after a very long time, her mother, Erica Kane, started to accept it. In 2003, ratings rose nearly half a percentage point when news was leaked out that Riegel and Sosnovska were to share daytime's first lesbian kiss. Sosnovska's character's sexuality was subject to interpretation, although she was quoted as saying that "men [were] for business and women [were] for pleasure".
1968 - present	One Life to Live	ABC	Billy Douglas (1992-1993) Daniel Colson Matt Cavanaugh (2004-2005)	Ryan Phillippe Mark Dobies Mark Solomon	Months of story came to a climax in episodes in which Andrew Carpenter (Wortham Krimmer), who had been accused of having a sexual relationship with Billy Douglas, brought the AIDS Quilt to rest on the lawn of the Llanview Church. Billy was soon written out after only one year. Lawyer Daniel married Nora Hanen (Hillary B. Smith), but he was also a murderer in which he killed Paul Cramer (David Tom) and Jennifer Rappaport (Jessica Morris) and soon came out with a college student.
1963 - present	General Hospital	ABC	John Hanley (1994-1995) Ted Murty (1997-1998)	Lee Mathis Patrick Fabian
1960 - present	Coronation Street	ITV	Todd Grimshaw (2001-2004) Sean Tully (2004-present)	Bruno Langley Antony Cotton	First gay story in the show's 40+ year history. Previously paired with Candice Stowe (Nikki Sanderson) and Sarah Louise Platt (Tina O'Brien), Todd became very confused with his sexuality and kissed Sarah Lou's brother Nick; naysayers argue that the storyline was ill-formed and rewrites the character of Todd completely. Sean first appeared in the series as a friend of Todd. After Todd's departure, Sean moved in with Todd's family. Popular among fans of the show, his part will become bigger this summer when his own family appear for the first time.
1956 - present	As the World Turns	CBS	Hank Eliot (1988-1989) Luke Grimaldi (2005-present)	Brian Starcher Van Hansis	The first gay male character on American soaps was seen on, arguably, the most conservative serial. The storyline in question was supposed to involve Hank going through the process of AIDS diagnosis, but the storyline was switched to his lover, Charles, who was not seen for most of the time Hank was on the show. Hank was then written out after only a year. Head writer Douglas Marland was praised for the story and the soap won the 1990 GLAAD Media Award. Luke is the son of popular couple Holden and Lily and came out to his newfound cousin Jade Taylor in March 2006. Luke is depicted as having a crush on his best friend, Kevin Davis, whose sexuality remains unknown at this point.

[edit] Reality-based series

The following reality TV programs include central LGBT themes or cast members.

Year	Title	Network	Cast member	Notes
2006	Jacob and Joshua: Nemesis Rising	Logo	Jacob Miller Joshua Miller	Jacob and Joshua are the openly gay pop duo Nemesis.
2005	Open Bar	Logo	Tyler Robuck	Followed Robuck as he planned, built and opened a gay bar in West Hollywood, California.
2005	My Fabulous Gay Wedding	Global	Scott Thompson (host)	Reality show profiling the wedding celebrations of gay couples. Also appeared on Logo in the United States, retitled First Comes Love.
2005	Queer Eye for the Straight Girl	Bravo
2003	Boy Meets Boy	Bravo	James Getzlaff Brian Austin Wes Culwell	Relationship contest.
2003	Gay Weddings	Bravo		Two gay and two lesbian couples are followed as they prepare for their upcoming marriage ceremonies.
2003 -	Queer Eye for the Straight Guy	Bravo	Kyan Douglas Ted Allen Jai Rodriguez Thom Filicia Carson Kressley	Wardrobe and home makeover show.
2001 -	The Amazing Race	CBS	Joe and Bill (season 1) Oswald and Danny (season 2) Gerard (season 3) Andrew (season 3) Reichen and Chip (season 4) Lynn and Alex (season 7) Patrick (season 7) John and Scott (season 9) Lauren (season 10) Tom and Terry (season 10)	Reichen and Chip were the winners of season 4.
2001-	Big Brother Australia	Network Ten	John Cass Andy Silva Gordon Sloan Nathan Morris Sahra Kearney Claire Bellis Jaime Cedra Jamie O'Brien Geneva Loader Rachael Burns David Graham Rob Rigley Lauren Clayton	John Cass, Nathan Morris, Jamie O'Brien, Claire Bellis, David Graham, and Rob Rigley are gay. Andy Silva, Gordon Sloan, Sahra Kearney, Jaime Cedra, Geneva Loader, Rachael Burns, and Lauren Clayton are bisexual.
2000 -	Big Brother (UK)	Channel 4	Nadia Almada Brian Dowling Marco Sabba Daniel Bryan Kitten Pinder Derek Laud Kemal Shahin Craig Coates Anna Nolan	Portuguese transsexual Nadia Almada won Big Brother 5 UK in 2004. Brian Dowling, an openly gay man, won the second series. Marco Sabba (series 5), Daniel Bryan (series 5, won third place), Derek Laud (series 6), Craig Coates (series 6, won fifth place) and Kemal Shahin (series 6, also a crossdresser) are gay. Anna Nolan was the first lesbian seen on Big Brother (second place, series 1)
2000 -	Big Brother (USA)	CBS	Bill "Bunky" Miller (Big Brother 2) Marcellas Reynolds (Big Brother 3) Will Wikle (Season 5)	Marcellas, while in the house, said right before crying that he was going to "pull a Bunky", as Bunky had become emotional many times throughout the course of Big Brother 2. In a "Where Are They Now?" special, Bunky rebuffed Marcellas, implying that he was much less effeminate that Marcellas, saying that he was not a "cashmere and pearls kind of gay". Will Wikle of Season 5 was known as "the life of the party."
1996-1998	All Rise for Julian Clary		Julian Clary	"Judge" Julian Clary hears "cases" of disputes between friends and neighbors.
1992-	The Real World	MTV	Norman Korpi (New York), Beth Anthony (Los Angeles), Pedro Zamora (San Francisco), Dan Renzi (Miami), Genesis Moss (Boston), Ruthie Alcaide (Hawaii), Justin Deabler (Hawaii), Danny Roberts (New Orleans), Chris Beckman (Chicago), Aneesa Ferrera (Chicago), Simon (Paris), Karamo Brown (Philadelphia), Willie Hernandez (Philadelphia), Tyler Duckworth (Key West)	20-somethings living together, some LGB roommates.
1973	An American Family	PBS	Lance Loud	The grandfather of reality programs featured Lance, who came out in the course of the show.

[edit] Specials, news, information and variety programs

The following televisions programs include central LGBT themes, characters or cast members.

Year	Title	Network	Character name and/or Actor	Notes
2006-	The Megan Mullally Show	MyNetworkTV	Megan Mullally	Talk show. Mullally acknowledged her bisexuality while appearing on Will & Grace.
2006	Inside TV Land: Tickled Pink	TV Land		Hour-long special on the history of homosexuality in classic TV programs.
2005-	The House of Venus Show	OUTtv Pink TV	Mark Kenneth Woods, Michael Venus, Dickey Doo and drag queen Cotton	All gay-themed sketch comedy show.
2005	Real Gay	Logo		"Reunion" show featured dozens of LGBT reality participants. Hosted by Kim Coles.
2005	CBS News on Logo	Logo	Jason Bellini	News programming produced in partnership with CBS
2005	Wisecrack	Logo		Stand-up comedy series featuring LGBT comics.
2004-	The Brini Maxwell Show	Style	Ben Sander as Brini Maxwell	Drag queen with home and hobby tips
2003-	The Ellen DeGeneres Show	syndicated	Ellen DeGeneres	Talk show hosted by DeGeneres.
2003	Totally Gay	VH1	Trev Broudy (Narrator), Ellen DeGeneres, Melissa Etheridge, Rupert Everett, Barney Frank, John Cameron Mitchell	Documentary about the mainstreaming of LGBT culture in the U.S.
1997-	The View	syndicated	Rosie O'Donnell	O'Donnell joined the cast in 2006.
1996-2002	The Rosie O'Donnell Show	syndicated	Rosie O'Donnell	O'Donnell came out shortly before leaving the show.
1996 - 1998	The RuPaul Show	VH1	RuPaul	Talk show hosted by drag queen.
1994-1995	The Charles Perez Show	syndicated	Charles Perez
1992 -	In The Life	PBS		monthly LGBT news magazine.
1987	ABC After School Special: What If I'm Gay?	ABC	Todd Bowers (Richard Joseph Paul)
1986	The Truth About Alex	HBO (US)	Alex Prager (Peter Spence)	After school special-style drama.

[edit] Live Action series with occasional LGBT themes or characters

Some television programs would have a single episode with LGBT themes (a.k.a. the gay episode) or a LGBT character who made an occasional appearance in the series. See also list of television episodes with coming-out themes.

• Are You Being Served? Implicit bisexuality of senior sales staff member Wilberforce Claiborne Humphries, usually just called "Mr. Humphries", played by John Inman.
• Babylon 5 - A space opera on the WB (seasons 1-4) and TNT (season 5). Throughout seasons 2 and 3 a lesbian relationship is strongly implied between Talia Winters and Lt. Susan Ivanova. This relationship was confirmed during the fourth season.
• Boston Public - Drama revolving around high school teachers and students. Gay, bisexual and transgender students made occasional appearances.
• Brideshead Revisited (UK mini series) Lead characters Charles Ryder Jeremy Irons and Sebastian Flyte Anthony Andrews were bi and gay, respectively, and supporting characters in their circle were also gay.
• The Brittas Empire (Britcom). Two of the characters, Tim and Gavin, are an established gay couple.
• Byker Grove
• Doctor Who - Pansexual companion Captain Jack Harkness appeared in 5 episodes of the 2005 series; the character went on to star in the spinoff, Torchwood.
• Firefly - The Companion Inara accepted male and female clients. An unaired episode that took place at a brothel had both male and female prostitutes.
• I'm with Her - In the 2003 episode titled "The Last Action Queero" a closeted gay male Hollywood action hero convinces Alex to pose as his girlfriend in an unsuccessful effort to ward off rumors that he is gay and save his career as a blockbuster star.
• Law & Order - (Serena Southerlyn played by Elisabeth Rohm) The character was on the show from 2001-2005, and hints were dropped about her sexuality, but she only came out at the end of her last episode, Ain't No Love. Numerous cases included gay victims, gay suspects and gay issues.
• Magnum, P.I. - In the 1982 episode titled "Jororo Kill" David Banister played a cross-dressing hitman. The hitman was discharged from the British army for his cross-dressing behavior.
• Marcus Welby, M.D. - In the 1975 episode titled "The Outrage" a gay male teacher sexually molested his male pupils. After protests from gay rights activists, ABC edited the script to include extra dialogue. The new dialogue elaborated on the fact that the majority of child molesters are heterosexuals, and often members of the victim's family.
• N.Y.P.D. - In 1967 the first television series in America to air an episode with a gay theme. The police track down a man blackmailing gay men, prompting several suicides.
• Once and Again was nominated for the GLAAD Media Awards.
• Police Woman - In the 1974 episode titled "Flowers of Evil", two lesbian owners of a home for senior citizens are killing their patients.
• The Rockford Files - In the 1978 episode titled "Empty Frame" a wealthy, eldery gay man and his younger "devoted friend" host a party attended by the high society. A trio of puesdo, Berkley University Communists crash the party to steal the couple's valuable paintings and the gay couple hire Rockford to get the paintings back in one piece.
• Sex and the City - Carrie's friend Stanford Blatch is gay, as is Charlotte's friend Anthony.
• The War at Home - Television comedy on Fox television network about a Married With Children type family. Kenny appeared in the early episodes as a closeted gay teenager with a crush on shy and neurotic teenage star named Larry. Larry's father mistakenly thought he was gay, but in fact Larry was just shy and cross-dressed in order to look like an adult while he stole his parents car to impress a girl. Kenny occasionally appears in the series as Larry's best friend that (for some reason) no one seems to know is gay.

[edit] Animated series with LGBT themes or characters

Animated series, i.e. Saturday morning cartoons often shy away from homosexuality or transsexuality and when a character has any sort of romantic attachments it is always shown as being heterosexual. However, occasionally LGBT themes or characters do sneak into certain episodes in hidden or coded ways. Animated series aimed at a more mature audience often have more explicit LGBT characters.

• .hack//SIGN - The lead character, Tsukasa, is female outside of the game "The World", but plays a male character and is obviously male-identified.
• American Dad! - Stan's neighbors and local news anchors Greg Corbin and Terry Bates are a couple.
• Batman: Gotham Knights - In the episode titled "Legends of the Dark Knight" (1998) three teenager boys talk about why they admire Batman. They meet another boy named "Joel" who states that he admires Batman's tight costume, and is seen touching a feather boa in a department store. This is likely a jab at openly gay director Joel Schumacher for his handling of the Batman film franchise.
• Bugs Bunny - The male character frequently dresses as a female and kisses men.
• Family Guy - Brian's cousin Jasper is gay and married his Filipino boyfriend. Stewie has both gay and straight fantasies although his character should not be old enough to be aware of sexual identity.
• Futurama - Enis Fry, believed to be Fry's Grandfather, had strong homosexual tendencies. Bender and Fry had unidentified gay neighbors when they moved into a new apartment. Fry was harassed by a gay professional beach bully.
• Gargoyles - According to the show's creator, the character "Lexington" is gay.
• The Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy - In "Toys Will Be Toys" one of the "Dinobonoids" is clearly gay.
• Johnny Test - Mole villain with his leatherman mole army. One of the government agents quips that he wears a dress.
• King of the Hill - Dale Gribble's father is gay. One of Bill Dauterive's relatives at the Château d’Haute Rive is a gay man.
• Mission Hill
• One Piece - The character named "Mr. 2 Bon Clay" is gay based on his flamboyant dress. In the original Japanese manga, his clothing refers to him as such with slang.
• Proud Family - A flamboyant magican appears in a handful of episodes.
• Queer Duck - Short-lived animated series, originating as a Flash cartoon and moved to Showtime. Inspired a direct-to-DVD film.
• The Simpsons - Several confirmed or possible LGBT characters.
• Superman: The Animated Series - In the animated series that aired in the late 1990s, Maggie Sawyer appeared in a few episodes and was seen with another woman who fans of the comic books would understand as being her girlfriend.
• Space Goofs- the character Candy is openly gay. He finds guys attractive, likes jewelery and dresses up as a girl and loves it.
• Teen Titans - Brotherhood of Evil villains the Brain and Monsieur Mallah are lovers in their modern DC Comics appearances; the animated series, however, gives no indication of such a relationship.
• Trollz - "Simon" the villain in the series often dressed up in women's clothing.
• X-Men - In the 1992 - 1997 animated series, bisexual Mystique and homosexual Northstar both appear in the series, although no mention or suggestion is made of their sexual orientation.
• X-Men: Evolution - Bisexual Mystique appears as a villain but the only possible hint at her orientation is when a female character is described as her "best friend."

[edit] See also

• Queer culture
• List of gay-related movies
• List of actors who have played lesbians, bisexuals and gay men
• List of gay, lesbian, or bisexual figures in fiction and myth
• Transgender in film and television
• List of television episodes with coming-out themes

[edit] External links

• About Gay Movies: Compendium of LGBT-themed movies and television series. With reviews, pictures, wallpapers, forum, glbt filmfestivals, gay movie history, sweepstakes and more
• Gay/Lesbian/Bisexual Television Characters: Compendium of English-language LGBT-related television; current as of 2001.
• After Ellen
• After Elton