GLAAD on TV: Work to be done.
GLAAD (the organization formerly known as the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation) has been tracking lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) characters on TV for 20 years now. For the past decade, the results have been published in the annual report “Where We Are on TV.”
This year’s bottom line: More gay and transgender characters are on TV this season with, as might be expected, cable and streaming services far outpacing network broadcasters, who must appeal to the broadest audience.
GLAAD looked at the prime-time scripted series that air, or are expected to air, between June 1, 2015, and May 31, 2016, for which casting has been announced.
GLAAD tallied all the characters on broadcast (network) TV and found that of 881 main characters, 35 (4 percent) were identified as lesbian, gay or bisexual. An additional 35 recurring characters — those who make multiple appearances in a series but are not part of the main cast — fit the LGB description.
Scripted cable series this season will feature 84 regular LGBT characters (up from 64 last season) and 58 recurring ones (up from 41).
Original series premiering on the streaming services Amazon, Hulu and Netflix include 43 LGBT regulars and 16 recurring ones across 23 series.
Network television contains no transgender characters, and there are only three recurring characters on cable. But streaming services have a total of four transgender characters, with two as series leads — Jeffrey Tambor as Maura Pfefferman in Amazon’s Transparent, and Jamie Clayton as Nomi Marks in Netflix’s Sense8. Clayton is herself transgender.
Only one of the seven is a transgender male.
TV’s most famous transgender, reality TV personality Caitlyn Jenner, was not counted because GLAAD is looking only at scripted series.
This season, the number of bisexual characters rose on broadcast and cable from 10 to 18. That’s something that concerns GLAAD because “many of these characters still fall into dangerous stereotypes about bisexual people.” The report claims that bisexuals are frequently depicted “as untrustworthy, prone to infidelity and/or lacking a sense of morality.”
Finally, of all the LGBT characters on TV, the vast majority are gay white men.
GLAAD president Sarah Kate Ellis notes, “It’s important that television characters reflect the full diversity of the LGBT community. It’s not enough to just include LGBT characters.
“The critical and commercial success of series like Empire, Transparent and Orange Is the New Black can serve as an example. But there is still a great deal of work to be done and many new and exciting stories to be told.”
This year’s full “Where We Are on TV” report is at Glaad.org In addition to the earlier information, it also contains a character breakdown by gender, race and ethnicity, as well as people with disabilities.
Roadshow dates. Mark your calendars. PBS and AETN will air its three Little Rockbased Antiques Roadshow episodes at 7 p.m. Jan. 25, and Feb. 1 and 8.
The popular series brought its cameras to Little Rock’s Statehouse Convention Center on July 25 and packed the place with almost 5,000 folks. The visit was part of the series’ sixcity tour celebrating its 20th anniversary.
Runway finale. Project Runway takes its final strut this season at 8 p.m. today on Lifetime.
Full confession: The wife actually talked me into watching the full season. Yeah. I’m man enough to admit it.
And I’m on Team Kelly. The 31-year-old Monson, Mass., native and former deli worker has an infectious attitude and is quirky. The fashion industry needs more quirky. I’m rooting for her to take it all tonight.
More quirky. Speaking of being outspoken, I Love Kellie Pickler, being billed as a “docu-comedy,” premieres at 9 p.m. today on CMT.
The series stars country crooner Pickler, 29, and her husband, songwriter/producer Kyle Jacobs. She calls it a “video scrapbook.”
We loved Pickler on Season 5 of American Idol (Taylor Hicks won that year). And we loved her when she won Dancing With the Stars in 2013. I see no reason why Pickler won’t be simply delightful on this little show about her crazy life in showbiz.
Trump time. At press time, Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump was still scheduled to host Saturday Night Live at 10:35 p.m. Saturday. There have been protests.
We know that the Donald can dish it out. Let’s see if he can take it as well.
mstorey@arkansasonline.com