TV Shows Lost 120 LGBTQ+ Characters Last Season Despite Series Like ‘The Hunting Wives’ and ‘Heated Rivalry’
Original series that aired between June 2025 and May 2026 saw a decline in queer characters by 25%, according to GLAAD.
LGBTQ+ characters on original television series dropped from 489 to 369 over the last two seasons, even with standout commercial hits like Heated Rivalry and sapphic shows like The Hunting Wives and Pluribus.
From June 1, 2025 to May 31, 2026, GLAAD counted queer characters on scripted primetime broadcast, cable, and streaming original series.
In its “Where We Are on TV” report, the LGBTQ+ media advocacy organization found an eight-year low of queer characters of color. Out of the queer characters, 161 out of 369 (44%) were of color. The previous season had 51% of LGBTQ+ characters being those of color.
Trans representation also decreased, down from 33 to only seven of the 369 characters. GLAAD notes that those characters are not returning this season.
“Since the record high of 42 transgender characters in the 2021-2022 report, this study has seen a year-over-year decline in the number of transgender characters on television. Now we see no transgender characters on television. Meanwhile, trans people are under attack from local, state, and federal politicians who are enacting laws and policies which threaten the civil rights and safety of transgender Americans,” said Nick Adams, GLAAD Media Institute’s vice president.
Adams added, “Authentic trans characters on television can show audiences that transgender people are their friends, co-workers, family, and neighbors. And yet, at a time when those stories are needed most, TV executives have turned away.”
Zero of the characters were featured living with HIV.
The organization reports that 141, or 38%, of the LGBTQ+ characters will be returning in the next season after cancellations or endings, limited series formats, or the character dying or being written out of the show.
“Hollywood is slashing LGBTQ stories and characters even while demand is increasing. It’s a bad business decision and one of the drivers turning audiences away from traditional TV and streaming platforms,” GLAAD CEO president and CEO Sarah Kate Ellis said in the release. “With the wild success of Heated Rivalry, Pluribus, The Hunting Wives, Stranger Things, and more, the message from viewers could not be more clear: authentic representation is television’s most powerful growth engine.”
