Television’s queer representation dropped 25 percent in the 2025–26 season, according to data released on Thursday by GLAAD in its 21st annual Where We Are on TV report.
The report tracked 369 LGBTQ characters across broadcast, cable, and streaming platforms, falling from 489 characters in the previous season. The decline outpaced the overall reduction in scripted series volume, which dropped by about 15 percent over the same period.
Transgender representation experienced the steepest decline, plunging from 33 characters down to just seven. According to the data, none of those seven characters are set to return for the upcoming season because their respective shows were canceled, ended, or formatted as limited series.
The study specifically points out that these characters appeared on programs such as the limited series “Wayward,” “The Dead Girls,” “Monster: The Ed Gein Story,” and “Unspeakable Sins,” as well as series that concluded or were canceled including “The Family Law,” “Community Squad,” and “Squid Game.”
“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,” Nick Adams, vice president of the GLAAD Media Institute, stated in the report.
“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.”
“In the last couple years, trans people have been scapegoated by the media,” said Raina Deerwater, associate director of entertainment research and analysis for the GLAAD Media Institute, as reported by The Hollywood Reporter. “They have been targeted in ways that are offensive and dangerous. Lives have been lost.”
Saw that Jack Haven was about to lose SAG-Aftra health insurance…made a video and then “got a lot of offers” for jobs. I’d just like to say I lost my SAG health insurance 2 yrs ago which is why I had to find money elsewhere. Sooo, if anyone has a gig. Here is me asking for help…
Among the seven trans characters tracked last season, two were played by cisgender male actors.
The proportion of LGBTQ characters who are people of color also dropped, falling from 51 percent in the 2024–25 season to 44 percent last season, translating to 161 characters. This marks the lowest figure recorded in eight years, falling short of GLAAD’s 50 percent benchmark for nonwhite LGBTQ characters on screen.
Gay men accounted for 131 characters representing 36 percent of the total, lesbian characters made up 30 percent with 113 characters, and bisexual characters accounted for 25 percent with 93 characters. Nonbinary character representation grew over the course of the season, with GLAAD separately counting 16 nonbinary characters who were not identified as transgender onscreen, up from 12 the prior year.
Research cited in the report indicates that Gen Z adults under 30 are the most out generation, with nearly 1 in 3 individuals aged 18 to 24 reporting they belong to the community. Gen Z is 61 percent more likely than the average American to discuss television on social media and 55 percent more likely to discuss TV programming with friends, with 58 percent agreeing that increasing the visibility and authentic representation of LGBTQ characters is important.
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.
Sarah Kate Ellis, GLAAD President and CEO
The report notes that 38 percent of the LGBTQ characters counted this season will not return due to ongoing cancellations, endings, or character exits.
Earlier coverage: GLAAD Report Shows Transgender Characters Fell to Zero in Films
