“Where Are We On TV” Report: Record Highs for Representation of Black, LGBTQ, and Disabled Characters

GLAAD released its 21st annual report on diversity in television this month. The good news is that with the help of shows like Orange is the New Black, Empire, Speechless, and others, the 2016-17 season found the highest percentage of LGBTQ characters  (4.8%) , black  characters (20%) and characters with disabilities (1.7%) since the organization began tracking broadcast TV regular characters.

However, the report also cites troubling depictions on television and numbers that still do not accurately reflect the diversity of the American population. For example, women remain underrepresented at 44% and Hispanic and Latin characters make up 8% of characters on TV but are 17% of the American population. 

The report notes: ” while much improvement has been made and TV remains far ahead of film in terms of LGBTQ representation, it must be noted that television – and broadcast series more specifically – failed queer women this year, as character after character died, continuing the harmful ‘bury your gays’ trope. Over 25 lesbian and bisexual female-identifying characters have died on scripted television and streaming series since the beginning of 2016. This comes after last year’s report called on broadcast content creators to do better by lesbian and bisexual women after many superfluous deaths.”

(photo: Orange is the New Black NYC premiere, 2016, Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images)