Top 10 LGBTQ Depictions On Popular Television

LGBTQ characters in television shows used to be marginalized or caricatured mercilessly, but these ten series have excelled in their depictions.

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Inclusivity has never been the stronghold of popular cinema and television. However, over the past two decades, in what is possibly a bid to become more realistic, television has turned its lens towards including hitherto marginalized narratives, giving more prominent storylines to characters with diverse sexualities.

For years, LGBTQ characters, if featured at all, had been shown as something like caricatures that were meant to get a few laughs and nothing else. However, with evolving trends and mindsets, popular shows have given us several well-crafted queer storylines, of which some have stood out, others have stood the test of time, and still others have given the audience some of the most sensitive queer experiences on television.

10 Glee

William McKinley High School’s Glee Club, New Directions, had always been about misfits, although the show contradicted this idea when it showed cheerleaders and football players joining the club.

However, from specially-abled to sexually diverse, no one could accuse the Glee Club of not being inclusive. Some of the show’s leading characters such as Kurt Hummel were openly gay and dealt with gay bashing and bullying of young adults. Kurt went on to meet another openly gay character, Blaine, and the two have been one of the most beloved gay couples on television. The show also featured lesbian and bisexual characters with prominent storylines, thus adding to its own credibility.

9 Grey’s Anatomy

One of the longest-running shows in television history, this hit medical drama gave the audience some complex, layered relationships over its whopping 16-year run. One of the leading storylines in Grey’s revolved around Callie Torres, who experimented sexually and discovered herself during the course of the show. Callie’s significant others included both male and female partners, the most noteworthy of whom was her wife, Dr. Arizona Robbins.

Both Callie and Arizona were strong, empowered, albeit flawed women, as well as prominent leads on the show. Their relationship went through severe ups and downs and the makers did a great job of humanizing their dynamics instead of going out of their way to stereotype their sexuality. The show has also had other gay couples in more recent years with some landmark kissing scene.

8 Downton Abbey

One wouldn’t think of this celebrated Britsh period drama when one thinks about queer representations. Yet, Downton Abbey had a deeply sensitive gay storyline in the form of Thomas Barrow who was portrayed as a closeted gay in early 20th century England.

Barrow, who started off initially as a footman at Downton Abbey and got promoted to head-valet, an under-butler and eventually the butler, went from being an antagonist to becoming one of the show’s most endearing characters. Barrow never found his life partner while on the show but he was given a love interest in 2019’s Downton Abbey movie. The actor Rob James-Collier brought the deeply conflicted and extremely human character to life with profound sensitivity.

7 How To Get Away With Murder

Shonda Rhimes shows are well-known for tackling same-sex relationships. For instance, the creator has championed gay and lesbian marriages as well as on-screen same-sex lovemaking on her shows. On the ABC hit, How to Get Away With Murder, the male lead Connor Walsh, one of the original Keating five, is openly gay as is his erstwhile boyfriend and current husband Oliver Hampton.

The duo has been a beloved couple on the show and despite hitting rock bottom at times, theirs has probably been one of the most stable relationships on this heart-stopping legal thriller. From some very steamy sex scenes to Oliver being diagnosed with HIV to exchanging heartwarming marriage vows in a church with a female priest presiding over the ceremony, Connor and Oliver have been through a lot together and shattered a lot of stereotypes.

6 Orange Is The New Black

The hit dramedy Orange is the New Black managed to create ripples and possibly revolutionize queer depiction on TV to some extent. The show revolved around the inmates of the women’s correctional facility at Lichfield Penitentiary and gave the audience some amazing glimpses into the queer experience.

The show has a lesbian couple, Alex and Piper, at its heart, along with several other crucial gay storylines, including trans storylines. Laverne Cox’s outstanding performance brought her accolades from all over making her the first trans woman to be nominated for an Emmy.

5 Killing Eve

Another thriller that has got a distinct seductive flavor between MI5 agent Eve Polastri and the psychopathic assassin Villanelle, is BBC America’s Killing Eve. The show is a spy thriller with a hugely entertaining cat and mouse game as its central plotline.

The relationship between the two female leads is something of an erotic dance where their pliant sexuality is only ever hinted at, adding layers to an already complex narrative.

4 Empire

Based on the intriguing world of hip-hop, Empire takes a bold approach towards the queer experience. Set in a world where the alpha male and heterosexual masculinity is the only accepted form of masculinity, Empire sets an example with its prominent gay characters and storylines, contextualized within a disturbingly homophobic ambiance.

The show even made history by airing the first-ever black gay wedding, thus breaking several stereotypes at the same time. Jamal’s struggle for acceptance in a culture that seems to proudly distance itself from the queer identity is one of the most compelling storylines on the show.

3 Pose

The New York ballroom scene might not sound like the most popular territory for a TV show, but recent years have made way for narratives that were actively suppressed or misrepresented for many years.

Pose is one such drama that revolves around the predominantly gay underground ballroom subculture in 1980s New York. The show has also gone down in history for the largest trans cast on television ever. Pose, despite being glamorous and including copious amounts of sex and dancing, is much more than just that. It offers an open and intriguing discourse on gender fluidity to what is hopefully a more receptive audience.

2 Special

Based on a memoir by Ryan O’Connell and produced by O’Connell and Jim Parsons among others, Special is a heartwarming but powerful tale of a gay man with cerebral palsy.

The show walks against the tide with a specially-abled, gay man as its lead protagonist, who embarks on a mission to rewrite and embrace his identity when he tells his fellow bloggers that he was a victim of a car accident. The show promotes the idea that one shouldn’t lock oneself in a box, or multiple boxes, and throw the keys away.

1 Eastsiders

This Emmy nominated show centers around a queer couple in Silver Lake, Los Angeles, and how they navigate life and relationships.

Infidelity, promiscuity, substance abuse and lies are at the core of Cal and Thom’s relationship in this dark comedy, as the two face the odds together with their friends. The show gives a bird’s eye view of day to day human relationships that are fraught with tension, with a gay couple as the lead.

Link Source : https://screenrant.com/television-lgbtq-depictions-best-shows/