Television Shows

Below are several lists of current television shows with LGBTQ characters as series regulars. This list does not include reality television, soap operas, or shows aired outside of the United States.

• Desperate Housewives– ABC | Sundays 9/8c

Just take a look at Susan Mayer, the sweet girl next door who finally got everything she ever wanted. Or did she? And there’s Lynette Scavo, she was once a high-powered executive but then four…no, make that five, kids got in the way. How can she handle it? What about Bree Hodge? That prim and proper homemaker used to be the best caterer in town.  Now I hear she’s on the outs with her partners and…with another man. And, of course, there’s Gabrielle Solis, the sultry former runway model who’s now running after two children. She’s still as wicked as ever. Did I mention that glamorous socialite Renee Perry is moving in at the end of the block? Just wait ‘til they get a load of her. (source: Abc.com)

Bree’s son Andrew is gay as well as the neighbors down the block, Bon and Lee. Also with the show beginning its final season in the fall, older characters may come back such as Katherine who ran off to Paris with her girlfriend Robin at the end of the Fifth season.

• The Good Wife– CBS | Sundays 9/8c

Alicia Florick is a wife and mother who boldly assumes full responsibility for her family and re-enters the workforce after her husband’s very public sex and political corruption scandal lands him in jail. Pushing aside the betrayal and crushing public humiliation caused by her husband, Peter, Alicia starts over by pursuing her original career as a defense attorney. As a junior associate at a prestigious Chicago law firm, she joins her longtime friend, former law school classmate and firm partner Will Gardner, who is interested in rekindling their former relationship. The firm’s top litigator and other partner, Diane Lockhart, likes Alicia’s work and her connections so she and Will award her with a full-time associate position following a trial period. Alicia finds an ally and a friend in Kalinda, the firm’s tough and mysterious in-house investigator. Gaining confidence every day, Alicia transforms herself from embarrassed politician’s scorned wife to resilient career woman, especially for the sake of providing a stable home for her children, 14-year-old Zach and 13-year-old Grace. (source: CBS.com)

Kalinda is a very secretive woman who is shown having sexual relations with men and women. She is a no non-sense kinda woman and will do whatever it takes to get what she wants.

• Bones– Fox | Mondays 8/7c

Dr. Temperance Brennan is a highly skilled forensic anthropologist who works at the Jeffersonian Institute in Washington, D.C., and writes novels on the side. When the standard methods of identifying a body are useless (when the remains are so badly decomposed, burned or destroyed), law enforcement calls on Brennan for her uncanny ability to read clues left behind in the victim’s bones. While most people can’t handle Brennan’s intelligence, her drive for the truth or the way she flings herself headlong into every investigation, Special Agent Seely Booth of the FBI’s Homicide Investigations Unit is an exception. A former Army sniper, Booth mistrusts science and scientists – the “squints,” as he calls them – who pore over the physical evidence of a crime. Aside from Booth, Brennan is most comfortable with her equally brilliant colleagues at the Jeffersonian’s Medico-Legal Lab. Angela Montenegro, an artist who specializes in reconstructing facial features and crime scenes, is Brennan’s earthy and bawdy best friend; Dr. Jack Hodgins, affectionately known as “the slime and bug guy,” is a conspiracy theorist and expert on insects, spores and minerals; and Dr. Camille “Cam” Saroyan, the street-smart and centered coroner, must wrangle all the geniuses under her purview. Lending his professional expertise to Brennan and Booth is Dr. Lance Sweets, a brilliant young FBI psychologist who is equally adept at profiling murderers and providing impromptu therapy to his co-workers. (source: Fox.com)

Angela Montenegro is an openly bisexual character and had a brief romance with her former college roommate she is now married to and has a child with Dr. Jack Hodgins.

• Pretty Little Liars– ABC Family | Tuesdays 8/7c

Four estranged best friends are reunited one year after the queen bee of the group, Alison, goes missing. When they begin to receive disturbing messages from someone named “A”, how far will they go to bury their secrets? (source: Hulu)

Emily Fields, one of the four friends, is a lesbian and the show documents many of her struggles with her sexuality.

• Lost Girl– SyFy | Mondays 10/9c

‘Lost Girl’ stars supernatural seductress Bo, a Succubus (a powerful female entity in folklore) who feeds off sexual energy. Raised by human parents, Bo had no reason to believe she was anything other than the girl next door — until she “drained” her first boyfriend to death. (source: Hulu)

Bo is a bisexual succubus and currently exploring a potential relationship with the insatiably curious human doctor Lauren.

• Smash– NBC | Mondays 10/9c

There’s nothing more exciting than the opening night of a hit Broadway musical, except maybe what happens getting there. While Wicked and The Lion King pack audiences in on the Great White Way, Julia and Tom, a successful songwriting team played by Debra Messing and Christian Borle, begin work on a new musical based on the life of Marilyn Monroe. When a tenacious producer (Anjelica Houston) jumps aboard, so begins the difficult task of casting the silver screen icon. (source: Hulu)

As the show centers around Broadway, a number of characters are gay including Tom.

• Glee– Fox | Tuesdays 8/7c

The glee club’s fearless leader is Will Schuester, a talented young teacher with hip-hop skills and a heart of gold. New Directions’ aspiring stars include Rachel, a pitch-perfect singer with an unfaltering determination to be popular; Finn, the heartbreakingly cool quarterback who struggles with his personal life; Kurt, the baby-faced soprano with a fierce eye for fashion; Mercedes a powerhouse vocalist whose diva attitude rivals the greats; Artie, a physically disabled performer with killer vocals and a dream to dance; and Tina, a goth chick with a soft side. There’s also arrogant and cocky crooner Puck; ice-cold queen-bee-turned-teen-mom Quinn; and the dynamic dimwitted cheerleading duo of Brittany and Santana. With his heart in the right place, Will is determined to help the kids take Nationals, but at every turn he must battle with his nemesis, Sue Sylvester, the conniving cheerleading coach; and his evil ex-wife, Terri. Mr. Schuester’s only allies at McKinley are OCD-afflicted guidance counselor Emma Pillsbury and supportive parents like Kurt’s dad, Burt Hummel. (source: Fox.com)

Kurt is an openly gay student who was forced to leave the New Directions & William McKinley High School because of bullying. While at his new school, Dalton Academy, there is a zero tolerance no bullying policy as well was a cute boy Kurt has his eye on, Blaine Anderson. Blaine was the openly gay star of Dalton’s glee club The Warblers.

Brittany and Santana have been friends for who knows how long but at some point in their friendship things changed and they began having sex. The pair never made a big deal about their hooking up, until one evening when Brittany confronts Santana about the confusing nature of their relationship. Santana eventually realizes she is a lesbian but she isn’t quite ready to come out just yet. During Santana’s realizations, Brittany admits to the fact that she might be bi-curious but wants to be with Santana regardless of what their peers may think. Season 3 began with the two officially becoming a couple and followed Santana’s coming out process.

• White Collar– USA Network | Tuesdays 9/8c

When Neal escapes from a maximum-security prison to find his long-lost love, Peter nabs him once again. Rather than returning to jail, Neal suggests an alternate plan: He’ll provide his criminal expertise to assist the Feds in catching other elusive criminals in exchange for his eventual freedom. Initially wary, Peter quickly finds that Neal provides insight and intuition that can’t be found on the right side of the law. (source: USANetwork.com)

Junior Agent Diana Berrigan has been openly lesbian since the pilot and in a recent episode Neal met her partner Christine. Diana’s sexuality is occasionally referenced on the show

White Collar recently aired their winter finale. Look for new episodes this summer.

• Southland– TNT | Tuesdays 10/9c

From the producer of “ER” comes a raw and authentic look at the police unit in Los Angeles. From the beaches of Malibu to the streets of East Los Angeles, “Southland” is a fast-moving drama that will take viewers inside the lives of cops, criminals, victims and their families. (source: Hulu)

Officer John Cooper is a semi-closeted member of the LAPD.

• Modern Family– ABC | Wednesdays 9/8c

First, let’s meet the Dunphys. Phil is the enthusiastic, “tries too hard” husband/dad who loves his slightly-uptight (but in a good way) wife, Claire, and their three way different kids. Haley is your typical independent, eye-rolling teen. Younger sister Alex is wise beyond her years and little brother Luke, well, isn’t. Claire’s no-nonsense dad, Jay Pritchett, married a much younger Colombian beauty named Gloria Delgado. Her passion for life has rubbed off on her young son Manny, who marches to the beat of his own drum, usually in a burgundy dinner jacket. Jay’s lawyer son, Mitchell, embraced a major life change when he and his free-spirit partner, Cameron, adopted their super-cute Vietnamese baby, Lily. They’re learning all the parenting ropes as they go. Fortunately, they have the loving support of their extended, eclectic, ever-funny family. (source: Abc.com)

• Revenge– ABC | Wednesdays 10/9c

Emily Thorne is new to the Hamptons. She’s met some of her wealthy neighbors, has made a few new friends and seemingly blends into the town. But something is a little odd about a young girl living in a wealthy town all on her own, and the truth is that Emily isn’t exactly new to the neighborhood. In fact, this was once her old neighborhood, until something bad happened that ruined her family and their reputation. Now Emily is back, and she’s returned to right some of those wrongs in the best way she knows how – with a vengeance.

One of Emily’s coconspirators, Nolan is alluded to being gay. He has mentioned he rates himself a 3 on the Kinsey scale which according to Wikipedia is “Equally heterosexual and homosexual” but has yet to place any other label on his sexuality.

• Happy Endings– ABC | Wednesdays 9:30/8:30c

Forget who gets to keep the ring — when a couple splits, the real question is, who gets to keep the friends? In this modern comedy, a couple’s break-up will complicate all of their friends’ lives and make everyone question their choices. When life throws you for a curve, hold on tight to the people you love. Every circle of friends has someone who’s the gravitational center. For years, perfect couple Dave and Alex drew their friends in and held them together. Now that they’ve split, does this group have the stuff to stay together? Or do Max, Brad, Jane and Penny have to choose sides? Suddenly every event is a negotiation… like, who gets to go on the annual ski trip? There are a lot of big questions to be answered, but this group has been together so long, somehow, little by little, they’ll figure out how to hold on, even though their center is split up. It helps that Dave and Alex have agreed to stay friends. But there will definitely be other complications down the road. This show isn’t afraid to ask the embarrassing personal questions that inevitably arise in every long-term, close-knit group of friends. (source: Abc.com)

Max, the friend, is gay and in the most recent season had a number of romantic interests throughout.

• Happily Divorced– TV Land | Wednesdays 10:30/9:30c

After 18 years of marriage, Fran (Drescher) is shocked to discover that her husband Peter (John Michael Higgins) is gay. She must deal with this bombshell: learn to juggle both her new relationships and ex-husband who remains in their house post-divorce. (source:Hulu)

• Grey’s Anatomy– ABC | Thursdays 9/8c

The doctors of Seattle Grace Hospital deal with life-or-death consequences on a daily basis—it’s in one another that they find comfort, friendship and, at times, more than friendship. Together they’re discovering that neither medicine nor relationships can be defined in black and white. Real life only comes in shades of grey. (source: Abc.com)

Dr. Calliope “Callie” Torres, an orthopedic attending, is married to Dr. Arizona Robbins, a pediatrics attending, and has a young child with Dr. Mark Slone the head of plastic surgery. Arizona initially rejected the child as well as Mark as being a part of her’s and Callie’s family but after discussions with over the circumstances of the pregnancy was willing to reconsider. Her mind was fully changed after hearing the child’s heartbeat at an OBGYN appointment. The show has documented not only their struggles as a couple but Callie’s struggle with her bisexuality.

• Degrassi– Teen Nick | Fridays 9/10c

Degrassi series is a Canadian drama about the lives of a group of teenagers living on or near De Grassi Street in Toronto, Ontario. The early Degrassi series consists of three main series, namely,The Kids of Degrassi Street, Degrassi Junior High and Degrassi High, and the current version is Degrassi: The Next Generation. (source: Hulu) Among that fresh crew of students are Adam Torres, Fiona Coyne, and Tristan Milligan.

Fiona is a newly out lesbian who is trying to navigate the lesbian scene in Toronto. Adam is the first transgender teen on television and deals with many of the day to day struggles transgender people face such as using public restrooms. Tristan is the younger brother of Owen and a new ‘niner’ the name Canadians affectionately call those in the 9th grade.

• True Blood– HBO | Season 5 premiere June 2012

Thanks to a Japanese scientist’s invention of synthetic blood, vampires have progressed from legendary monsters to fellow citizens overnight. And while humans have been safely removed from the menu, many remain apprehensive about these creatures “coming out of the coffin.” Religious leaders and government officials around the world have chosen their sides, but in the small Louisiana town of Bon Temps the jury is still out.

Local waitress Sookie Stackhouse, however, knows how it feels to be an outcast. “Cursed” with the ability to listen to peoples thoughts, she is also open-minded about the integration of vampires– particularly when it comes to Bill Compton, a handsome 173 year-old living up the road. But at the service of Bill’s less virtuous vampire associates, Sookie is drawn into a series of catastrophes that will put their love to the test. (source: HBO.com)

Several of the vampires on the show are lesbian identified. Look for the Season 5 premiere June 2012.

If you know of a television show with LGBT characters that is currently on air and is not on the list, please contact us.