The number of LGBTQ characters in Hollywood TV shows fell more than 20 percent during the 2023-24 season, with declines seen across broadcast, cable, and streaming shows, according to GLAAD’s latest Hollywood report card.
GLAAD called the drops “concerning” and chastised Hollywood studios for failing to create more gay and transgender characters.
“We know that LGBTQ stories are crucial now more than ever—it is paramount to see our lives reflected on screen, challenging the misinformation and harmful rhetoric that is running unchecked by politicians and journalists,” GLAAD president and CEO Sarah Kate Ellis said in the report, which was issued this week.
She didn’t elaborate on her phrase “misinformation and harmful rhetoric.”
For the 2023-24 period, GLAAD counted to 468 LGBTQ characters, a 21.4 percent drop from the previous season’s total of 596. Of those counted, 36 percent of the 468 LGBTQ characters will not be returning next season.
The decline can be at least partially attributed to the reduction in the number of TV shows being pumping out as Hollywood studios slashed spending in the wake of a faltering U.S. economy under President Joe Biden.
The budget cuts come amid a perfect storm of economic chaos that includes Americans continuing to cancel their cable TV subscriptions, the steep downturn in TV advertising, and streaming losses in the billions of dollars.
For the period, GLAAD counted 24 transgender characters — or 5 percent of the 468. The percentage held steady compared to the previous period. In reality, transgenders make up less than 1 percent of the adult population.
GLAAD also highlighted gay-themed series that were cancelled during the season, including Amazon’s A League of Their Own and the Paramount+ series Grease: Rise of the Pink Ladies.
In recent years, GLAAD has upped its pressure on Hollywood studios to embrace the LGBTQ agenda, especially the transgender agenda. The organization regularly publishes Hollywood report cards that call out studios that have fallen short in terms of gay and transgender representation.
GLAAD recently demanded Hollywood create more transgender characters for TV, saying a cultural “watershed moment” is needed similar to the one that gays experienced in the 90s.