List of television episodes with LGBT themes

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Since the 1970s, American television and cable programs have sometimes aired episodes addressing issues relating to homosexuality. Storylines in individual episodes have concerned gay rights, or perhaps more broadly, expressed what a producer or writer believes is a need for understanding and tolerance for gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender (LGBT) people.

A producer or writer may choose to address homosexual-related topics in one of several ways:

  • The "coming out" episode – Where a main or supporting character reveals he/she is gay.
  • Integrating (often briefly) a LGBT character into the series.
  • An episode where a one-time character – seen or unseen – is revealed as being gay, and the main characters dealing with the issue (e.g., a family visiting a relative who makes his/her announcement).
  • An episode with a villain who is identified as being LGBT.

Until the late 1990s (when actress Ellen DeGeneres revealed her real-life homosexuality and built this into her situation comedy, Ellen), it was relatively rare for a television series – drama or comedy – to address homosexual issues. However, a handful of programs did build individual episodes around the issue as early as the 1970s – most notably All in the Family, which had several "gay-themed" episodes – usually either to address a certain aspect of the topic, to make the show controversial or establish a certain philosophy among the characters.

Contents

[edit] Pre Ellen: 1950s - 1989

[edit] Alien Nation

  • (Episode Title?) (1988) Sikes has to deal with a male Newcomer who has developed a crush on him as a result of a love potion called "sardonac" and follows him around. In one of television movies that aired during the 1990s a gay couple is in the background and in another television movie, George remarks to his wife that there is nothing wrong if their son dates other men.

[edit] All In The Family

  • "Judging Books By Covers" – (1971) After mocking his son-in-law Mike's effeminate but heterosexual lunch guest, Archie Bunker finds out that one of his all-American drinking buddies is a gay man.
  • Archie the Hero (1975) Archie saves the life of a drag queen known as Beverly LaSalle (who he thinks is a woman) by administering artificial respiration and is chagrined when the rescue draws media attention (because he's "kissed a guy").
  • Edith's Crisis of Faith (1977)- Edith learns of Beverly's murder and this causes her to question her belief in God.
  • "Cousin Liz" (1977) – Archie and Edith attend the funeral of Edith's cousin, Liz. Afterward, Liz's friend Veronica (K Callan), a teacher, reveals she and Liz were more than just roommates. Edith is surprised to learn Liz and Veronica were lesbian partners, but is quickly accepting; in fact, she allows Veronica to keep a valuable tea service that had been bequeathed to her. Archie is outraged and, after ranting about how God hates homosexuals, declares his intent to sue for the tea service. Edith warns Archie to back off, telling him that God will handle the relationship between Liz and Veronica and that a lawsuit would likely destroy her teaching career (because Veronica would likely be outed during the trial). Archie relents, but states that he doesn't have to like what went on between the two women.

[edit] Archie Bunker's Place

  • "The Cook" (1980) – Veronica Rooney (Anne Meara) is hired as the cook, and insists that her openly gay nephew, Fred, is hired as a waiter. Fred quits a few episodes later, stating that Archie is not ready to work with an openly gay man.

[edit] Carter Country

  • "Out of the Closet" (1977) - Chief Roy is stunned when his old friend and fishing buddy Bill (Richard Jaeckel) reveals he's gay.

[edit] Dallas

  • Royal Marriage (1979) - J.R. Ewing has high hopes for the upcoming marriage of his niece Lucy and Kit Mainwaring, son of an oilman with whom J.R. hopes to do business. However, when Kit reveals his homosexuality to J.R., he still insists the wedding go on. However, Bobby (to whom he comes out later) tells Kit that he must tell Lucy the truth.

[edit] The Facts of Life

  • Rough Housing (1979) - In the first episode, Cindy's casual, friendly hug of a girl is misinterpreted by Blair as being "strange." Later, the tomboyish Cindy confides to Mrs. Garrett that because she likes sports, dislikes dresses, and feels uncomfortable around boys, she thinks "maybe I'm not normal," until Mrs. Garrett convinces her that two girls can show affection even if they are not gay. The episode does not specifically use the word "lesbian" but it some viewers have assumed that it was implied.

[edit] Friday the 13th: The Series

[edit] Gimme a Break!

  • The Chief's Gay Evening (1982) - During a stakeout which involves an officer (Frank Bonner) posing as a woman, another of Chief Kanisky's officers (Eugene Roche) takes offense at a distasteful gay joke, and in the argument that follows the officer reveals that he is gay.
  • Melissa (1983) - Nell sets the Chief up with a woman, not knowing that the woman is actually an MTF transgender.

[edit] The Golden Girls

  • The effeminate gay male live-in cook named Coco (Charles Levin) was eliminated after the 1985 pilot episode because series creator Susan Harris considered him unnecessary.
  • Isn't it Romantic (1986) - Dorothy's old friend Jean (Lois Nettleton), a lesbian whose partner has recently died, comes to visit, and develops a crush on Rose.
  • Scared Straight (1988) - Blanche's brother Clayton (Monte Markham) comes out as gay on a visit to Miami.
  • Sister of the Bride (1991) - Clayton returns, this time with a boyfriend with whom he intends to have a committment ceremony.

[edit] Hotel

  • "Rallying Cry" (1985) - Guests (Lloyd Bochner, Marion Ross) at the hotel sue for custody of their granddaughter after learning that their late daughter's ex-husband (Douglas Barr) is gay.
  • "Contest of Wills" (1988) – Two of the guests in the San Francisco hotel are a lesbian couple. One of the women is killed in a car accident, prompting the other woman's father to accuse her grieving lover of corrupting his daughter's morals.

[edit] The Jeffersons

  • Once a Friend (1977) features one of the first, if not the first, transgender characters on American television in the person of Edie, who George knows as an old Navy buddy named Eddie.

[edit] Magnum PI

  • Jororo Kill (1982) — Magnum must prevent a man, discharged from the British armed forces for being a transvestite, from killing a visiting Prime Minister.

[edit] Marcus Welby, M.D.

  • "The Other Martin Loring" (1973) - A stressed, diabetic man about to be divorced faces the "illness" of homosexuality.
  • "The Outrage" (1975) - A gay male high school teacher sexually molests one of his students. After protests from gay activists, dialogue was inserted to note that most child molesters are heterosexual.

[edit] M*A*S*H

  • George - A 1974 episode featured a serviceman who was beaten by members of his own unit for being homosexual. He confides in Hawkeye but Major Burns overhears and seeks to initiate a discharge. Hawkeye and Trapper blackmail Major Burns (threatening to reveal he bought the answers to his medical school admission exams) and he agrees to drop the matter.

[edit] Matlock

  • The Stripper (1986) - In the final moments of the episode Matlock tells the court that the mysterious and elusive murderer named Helen Shelly is really a cross-dressing male strip club worker suffering from "identity confusion."

[edit] Maude

  • The Gay Bar (1977) – Maude is upset when her husband and some of his friends try to prevent a gay bar from opening up in their neighborhood.

[edit] Murder She Wrote

  • Birds of a Feather (1984) – Jessica travels to San Francisco to attend the wedding of her niece, Victoria, only to learn that her fiancé is cross-dressing at a nightclub to earn a living, and is subsequently charged with the murder of his boss. While the fiancé is really straight, the episode does feature, the only time in the series, a gay couple in the background.

[edit] Night Court

  • Best of Friends (1985) – Dan is upset when an old male friend comes to visit after having become a woman. In another episode, an old cowboy actor on a children's show visits the courthouse and tells a story about how one of the other cast members on the show once appeared in drag.

[edit] N.Y.P.D.

  • {episode?} the first American network television series to air a "gay episode" in 1967. The police must track down a blackmailer who is targeting gay men.

[edit] Police Woman

  • Flowers of Evil - A lesbian couple that runs a nursing home is killing off its clients.

[edit] The Rockford Files

  • The Empty Frame (1978) – A trio of Berkeley Communists raid an elite dinner party being hosted by a gay couple and steal some of their valuable paintings. The gay couple hire Rockford to recover the paintings. In "Requiem for a Funny Box" (1977) the gay son of a mafia leader is forced to come out to his mafia father, after being blackmailed by a comedian. When an attempt to murder the comedian fails, the mafia leader orders his son to be executed to avoid shaming the family.

[edit] Sanford and Son

  • Lamont, Is That You? (1973) – Fred gets the wrong idea when he sees Lamont and Rollo patronize a nightclub that they later learn is a gay bar. The title of this episode is a nod to the film titled Norman, is that You? which was released the same year.

[edit] Simon and Simon

  • {episode?} In an episode, Rick Simon (Gerald McRaney) jokingly implies that his brother is gay, when he speaks to an attractive waitress and tells her that his brother has AIDS.

[edit] St. Elsewhere

  • Release (1983) - One of Dr. Craig's old friends is planning to have a sex change operation.
  • AIDS and Comfort (1983) - A Boston politician checks into St. Eligius and learns that he has AIDS. He admits privately that he has had sexual encounters with men in the recent past.

[edit] Thirtysomething

  • In a controversial episode (1989) a gay couple was seen in bed together.

[edit] 21 Jump Street

  • Honor Bound (1987) – The team investigates a military school where cadets are killing homosexuals.
  • A Big Disease With A Little Name (1988) – The team protects a high school student living with AIDS.
  • A Change of Heart (1990) – A lesbian student makes a pass at Hoss.

[edit] WKRP in Cincinnati

  • Les on a Ledge (1978) - Les Nessman threatens to jump out of the station's building after rumors about his sexual orientation circulate.

[edit] Pre Ellen: 1990 - 1997

[edit] Babylon 5

  • Talia Winters and Lt. Susan Ivanova were lovers, albeit it was only confirmed in season three. In another episode two crewmmen go undercover as a recently married couple.

[edit] Cheers

  • Boys In the Bar (1983) – One of Sam's best friends comes out as gay in a new autobiography, and some of the fellows at the bar worry that it might turn into a gay bar. In 1992, Harvey Fierstein guest starred as a man that Rebecca had a crush on in high school, but had since come out as being gay. In part two of the series finale "One for the Road" (1993), Diane asks a gay friend to pose as her husband so as to one-up Sam.

[edit] Designing Women

  • Killing All the Right People - Tony Goldwyn plays a gay man with AIDS who asks the Sugarbaker firm to design his funeral.
  • Suzanne Goes Looking For a Friend (1990) - Suzanne mistakes the "coming out" announcement of a former beatuy queen and current television weather forecaster announcer.

[edit] Diagnosis Murder

  • All-American Murder (1996) - When a beautiful woman is murdered, Dr. Sloan learns that this woman was a male-to-female transgender person who (while still a man) was kicked out of the marines for his sexual orientation.

[edit] Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman

  • The Body Electric (1997) - The town welcomes the famous poet named Walt Whitman, until they learn of his homosexuality.

[edit] ER

  • Several episodes with homosexual themes have aired prior to Kerry Weaver's coming-out post-Ellen. Dr. Maggie Doyle (Jorja Fox) and nurse Yosh Takata (Gedde Watanabe) both came out in the 1990s. Various patients would come out as being LGBT.

[edit] Friends

Ross's ex-wife Carol left him for another woman, gave birth to Ross's baby, and raised him with her partner, Susan. This lesbian couple had the first commitment ceremony on American network television in 1996. Chandler's father came out as being transgender, and left the family to work as an entertainer in Las Vegas.

[edit] Grace Under Fire

  • In the episode titled 'Riverboat Queen', Grace and her business partner find out that their investor is gay.

[edit] Highlander

  • "Leader of the Pact" (1995). The episode's two immortal villains are cryptically depicted as a couple.

[edit] Mad About You

  • Debbie (Paul's sister) came out in the episode titled "Ovulation Day" (1996) and had a girlfriend who was a gynecologist named Joan. In the episode titled "Citizen Buchman", Paul tries to figure about what his great uncle's last words were. Debbie and Joan had some couple problems seen in the episode titled "Fire At Riffs" (1998) but agree to get married in "Tragedy Plus Time" (1998). Debbie's exploration of the family history shows that Paul and Jamine are cousins ("The Dirty Little Secret"), and both Debbie and Joan are shown in the final two-part episode.

[edit] Married with Children

  • Dance Show (1990) - Peg goes dancing with a man, and the man's boyfriend confronts Al.
  • Lez Be Friends (1997) - Al meets Marcy's lesbian cousin.

[edit] Millennium

In the pilot episode (1996), Frank Black comes out of retirement to help the FBI track down a serial killer that is targeting female strippers and gay men that are cruising for sex at night in a Seattle park. In a nod to the 1981 film Cruising, the killer is revealed to be a gay man.

[edit] The Nanny

In the episode titled Oy Vey, You're Gay (1995) Mr. Sheffield hires a beautiful publicist to improve his image named Sydney Mercer (Catherine Oxenberg). Fran and C.C. are both fearful that Sheffield is falling in love with Mercer, until they learn that she is gay.

[edit] Northern Exposure

  • Episode: It is eventually revealed that the town was founded by a lesbian couple. A gay couple, Ron Bantz (Doug Ballard) and Erick Hillman (Don R. McManus), buy a bed and breakfast from the conservative and homophobic Maurice and later have a commitment ceremony.

[edit] Picket Fences

Episode: A public school teacher was outed as being transgender. In the second to last episode, a hearing impaired sister announced that she was giving her baby up to be raised by her brother and his boyfriend.

[edit] Quantum Leap

  • Running For Honor (1993) - Sam leaps into a brilliant naval academy cadet (that might be gay) with a roommate that was kicked out for being gay, and may become the next victim of a group of gay-bashing cadets that call themselves The Chain. The episode
  • Good Night Dear Heart
  • One Strobe Over The Line

[edit] The Simpsons

  • There's Something About Marrying - A post-Ellen episode. Springfield legalizes same-sex marriage and Homer becomes a minister to make money from marrying gay couples. Marge's sister Patty comes out.

[edit] Star Trek

Several episodes in the various television spinoffs of the series have dealt with the issue of sexual orientation and gender identity. The first one was the 1992 Star Trek: The Next Generation episode titled "The Outcast." For more information see LGBT characters in the Star Trek universe article.

[edit] Suddenly Susan

  • A Boy Like That (1997) - Luis's younger brother arrives to visit from Cuba and comes out. The gang visit a gay bar, and it is implied that the mailman is gay and in a committed relationship.

[edit] Touched by an Angel

  • The Violin Lesson (1996). Tony Du Bois (Lawrence Monoson) returns to his parents home for Christmas, to tell his homophobic father that he is gay and dying of AIDS. The angels try and persuade the father and son to reconcile and for Tony to understand that God is not the source of bigotry.

[edit] Wings

  • Sons and Lovers (1996) – Roy's son named R.J. Biggins (Abraham Benrubi) comes to visit him for his Leap Year birthday and brings along his longtime companion.

[edit] Xena: Warrior Princess

Xena and Gabrielle shared passionate kisses in several episodes ("Return of Callisto" and "The Quest", season two; "Return of the Valkyrie" and "Friend in Need - part II", season six) but also a more-than-friendly attitude during all the show's run.

[edit] X-Files

  • Genderbender (1994) - A series of sex crimes leads Special Agent Fox Mulder and Special Agent Dana Scully to an Amish inspired alien commune where the murder is revealed to be a runaway transgender alien.
  • X-COPS (2000) - An interracial gay couple are one of the many people that the FBI agents are protecting from a monster.
  • All Things also broadly dealt with the issue.

[edit] Post Ellen

Show Episode Episode Name Information
24 422 Day 4 4:00am-5:00am Richard Heller, the son of Republican Secretary of Defense James Heller, is brought in for a second round of questioning when it is revealed that his cell phone was used to make a phone call to a known terrorist. After being interrogated, he finally reveals that he met a guy and a girl at a club, which he then brought back to his apartment and subsequently had sex with the guy. He had not previously revealed this information because he did not want to deal with the contention that would result from revealing that he was gay, although his father expressed disappointment over not revealing important information about terrorist activity and seemed to ignore his homosexual lifestyle. This episode also features recurring character Mandy, who is a lesbian(although she submits herself to sex with men as a means of gaining their cooperation).
8 Simple Rules After Party Kerry writes an article in the student newspaper in support of gay rights, and then takes a high school student to the prom, who she thinks is gay. However, Lorey's date is the one to come out. In an earlier episode, C.J. went to a gay bar and at the episode's end, a man stops by the house to ask him out. In The "Three's Company" episode, a dream sequence had Bridgette and Kerry stating that Kyle was gay.
As the World Turns May 9, 2006 Teenager Luke Snyder (Van Hansis) comes out to his parents, Holden and Lily (Jon Hensley, Martha Byrne). He had previously come out to longtime friend Will Munson (Jesse Soffer).
Arliss "Playing it Safe" A baseball player must decide if he should come out as being gay. Cameo by Bill Bean. Earlier in "A Man Of Our Times" Arliss has a client who has entered into a same-sex marriage. In "My Job Is To Get Jobs" Arliss must help a client who faces rumors that he is gay.
Becker 319 You Say Godson, I Say Gay Son Becker's godson comes out. In another episode, Becker learns that an old college friend has had a sex change operation.
The Bernie Mac Show Stop Having Sex Bernie wrongly suspects that his new neighbors are gay. In "For a Few Dollars More" Bernie hires a flamboyant party planner for Jordan. In another episode, Bernie does not hire a male maid, after the maid tells Bernie that is not anything that he would not do.
Boston Public Several episodes Jeremy came out as bisexual, a transgender teen was elected prom queen, and the gay-bashing of a teenager forced his boyfriend to come out and Vice Principal Scott Guber to start up a Gay-Straight Alliance.
Cold Case A unsolved mystery involving a working class transgender girl and her suburban teenage boyfriend.
Crossing Jordan Thin Ice The only way a female rape and murder victim will get justice is if Jordan can persuade a professional baseball player to come out of the closet.
Da Vinci's Inquest Oppenheimer Park A dead transgender prostitute is revealed to have been accidentally killed by another male prostitute fleeing an angry client.
Drawn Together 103 Gay Bash Xandir comes out of the closet and discovers his whole world has changed. Captain Hero and Foxxy Love are bisexual.
The Drew Carey Show Drew Carey and Nigel Algernon Wick pretend to be a gay couple, so that Mr. Wick could get a Green Card.
Ellen The Puppy Episode Ellen discovers and announces her sexuality.
ER Just as I Am In 2005, Kerry finally meets her birth mother, an Evangelical Christian, and comes out as being a lesbian. Kerry had started to come out to coworkers in season eight.
Everwood In the first season Carl (Dylan Walsh) left town after his pregnant wife learned that he was having an affair with another man. In the fourth season, the college character Reid (Justin Baldoni) was introduced and thought to be gay, although it turns out he is not really gay. Instead, high school senior Kyle (Steven R. McQueen), Ephram's student, is the one to "come out" in the episode titled "An Ounce of Prevention".
Family Guy Brian's cousin Jasper is gay and married a man. Jonathan Weed, and Guillerm. Stewie's own sexuality is often jokingly ambiguous, but he speaks of his toy bear as being gay. The high school coach is a lesbian with a domestic partner that had a baby. Meg pretended to be gay and joined the high school Gay-Straight Alliance for the sake of being accepted by a group.
Farscape Out of Their Minds The crew switch bodies, promoting a brief scene whereby Dominar Rygel XVI (in the body of John Crichton) faces foreplay from Chiana (in the body of Ka D'Argo). In "Won't Get Fooled Again" John gets put into a virtual reality dream sequence where Ka D'Argo is gay, Aeryn Sun and Chiana are bisexual.
Fastlane #11 Strap On Billie goes undercover to catch a pair of lesbian home invasion robbers. This, and the pilot episode, suggested that Billie might be bisexual.
Frasier 1103 The Doctor is Out Frasier is outed on the air incorrectly.
General Hospital 2006 Lucas (Ben Hogestyn) comes out as being gay.
Ghost Whisperer Voices Melinda must help the ghost of a dead mother communicate with her talented teenage son (who has been lashing out because he learned of his mother's affair), that she is sorry for her affair and that the son needs to come out to his father.
Girlfriends Linda and her partner give birth to a baby with Sandra Bernhard as the midwife.
Grounded for Life Relax! Sean ends up outing one of his male coworkers.
House "Mob Rules" One brother with Mafia ties has to face that his dying brother is gay and is going into the witness protection program. In "Hunting," a gay man dying of AIDS refuses to give up his partying or drug addiction. In "Sleeping Dogs Lie" the team must save a woman from bouts of insomnia, with her female partner close by her side. In "Skin Deep" a girl patient, being abused by her father, requires a sex change operation due to cancer.
I'm with Her "Last Action Queero" Macho Hollywood action star Kyle Britton needs Patrick to pose as his girlfriend in an attempt to stay in the closet.
Jack & Bobby Lost Boys Grace's openly gay younger brother comes to visit, only to face jail time for illegal drugs. One of Jack' high school track mates, Matt, comes out to him, only to commit suicide causing Jack to blame himself.
JAG A female pilot outs herself to the lawyers to explain why a sexual harassment charge isn't true. In a later episode the pilot is a CIA operative.
Just Shoot Me! Dennis Finch's fireman father and brothers come to town, convinced that Finch is gay, only to learn that one of the macho brothers is gay.
The King of Queens Business Affairs Doug is jealous of the work relationship that Carrie has with Curt, even though Curt is gay.
King of the Hill 6.18 My Own Private Rodeo When Dale and Nancy are going to renew their wedding vows, she insists on inviting Dale's father, whom he hasn't spoken to since the wedding because he saw him kissing Nancy. Hank, Bill, and Boomhauer find the man working as a cowboy in a gay rodeo.
Las Vegas Sperm Whales and Spearmint Rhinos An old college friend of Mike, Nina, has come to Las Vegas with her partner and some lesbians and asks him to donate some sperm.
The Lone Gunmen A female client is revealed to be transgender.
My Name Is Earl Pilot Earl's first good deed to seek forgiveness for a gay man that he picked on in elementary school.
Nip/Tuck 216 Joan Rivers Lead Characters and parents Julia, Sean and Christian discover that their son Matt's lover Ava Moore is transsexual.
301 Momma Boone Matt finds out his girlfriend Ava is a transsexual.
The O.C. 213 Marissa comes out to Summer as apparently bisexual.
The Office Gay Witch Hunt Michael inadvertently outs Oscar and tries to keep Oscar from leaving the company because of his embarrassment.
Once and Again Gay/Straight Alliance Jessie comes out to herself and her girlfriend.
Outer Limits Caught in the Act An alien takes control of the body of an engaged and chaste college student, causing her to engage in causal sex, prostitution and even lesbianism. In "Tribunal" a time travel back to a Nazi prison camp shows a brief scene where one of the prisoners is wearing the pink inverted triangle.
Pepper Dennis Charlie Babcock's Homosexual Encounter -- Film at Eleven Pepper dates Chicago's number one quarterback, only to learn that he seems more interested in Charlie and that his ex-boyfriend is going to publish a book outing the quarterback.
Providence Doug Dog Boy Boyce helps Joanie at her "Barkery". In another episode Syd tries to get a young man dying of AIDS to reconcile with his father.
The Shield Julien outs himself to his fiancee but says he's "cured."
Spin City An Officer and a Gentleman Mike learns that his childhood friend Nate Scott (Lou Diamond Phillips), on leave from the U.S. Navy, is gay.
That 70's Show In "Eric's Buddy" (1998) Eric has a new rich friend named Buddy Morgan (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) who is gay. In 2006 the Foremans' new neighbors were a gay couple.
The Sopranos 6x05 Mr. & Mrs. John Sacrimoni Request Vito Spatafore was accidentally outed as gay and later killed for it by the mob.
Tru Calling Star Crossed Tru has to save two high school girls, forced to have a secret romance because of their feuding families, from being killed in a car accident.
Twilight Zone A man engaged to be married tries out a new virtual reality female companion who becomes too attached. At the end of the episode, the man's wife is seen to be using the VR female companion.
Veronica's Closet Veronica Helps Josh Out Josh Blair (Wallace Langham) finally comes out, just as he is about to be married to a woman.
Veronica Mars Versatile Toppings Veronica helps a group of closeted gay teens track down a blackmailer. It is revealed that a teenager, possibly gay, was responsible for the season cliffhanger that involved a bomb exploding on the school bus.

[edit] References

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