GLAAD president and CEO Sarah Kate Ellis has been named 2024 Woman of Influence at Wonder Women of New York by Multichannel News and will be celebrated during the March 21 luncheon at the Ziegfeld Ballroom. 

Ellis has led the 39-year-old, nonprofit LGBTQ advocacy group since 2014, overseeing the organization's initiatives, campaigns and programs toward the goal of fair and accurate coverage of the LGBTQ community. Among Ellis’s most influential achievements is the 2018 establishment of the GLAAD Media Institute, which focuses on research into LGBTQ representation and acceptance. 

The author and public speaker also oversees the organization's annual GLAAD Media Awards, which take place March 14 in Los Angeles and May 11 in New York. This past January, Ellis and GLAAD were honored at the 75th Emmy Awards with the Television Academy’s 2023 Governors Award. 

Previous Woman of Influence honorees include CBS Face the Nation host Margaret Brennan (2023, in New York); Martha Raddatz, chief global affairs correspondent for ABC News and co-anchor of This Week with George Stephanopoulos; actress and author Holly Robinson Peete; Deborah Norville, anchor of Inside Edition; and Debra L. Lee, BET (Black Entertainment Television) CEO emeritus. 

Ellis and the 2024 Wonder Women of New York class will be honored at a gala luncheon set for March 21 at the Ziegfeld Ballroom in New York. The New York chapter of The WICT Network is the longstanding event partner for Wonder Women of New York. For more information on attending, click here. For information on sponsorships, contact mcnwonderwomen@gmail.com. 

Music video network Vevo said it launched Out Loud, an ad product that enables advertisers to sponsor content from LGBTQ+ artists.

Vevo notes that a large portion of the U.S. identifies as lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgendered and that they related to programming from LGBTQ+ performers.

A study Vevo did with media agency Publicis Media found that 69% of LGBTQ+ consumers are more likely to remember ads that appear before videos that are relevant to them, and 68% think more favorably of brands that advertise around content that they feel represents them and their identity.

At least 20 million adults in the U.S.--and 21% of Generation Z–identify as LGBTQ+, said Vevo, citing a Household Pulse Survey by the U.S. Census Bureau.

Also Read: Vevo Launches Somos Vevo Ads To Reach Hispanics Via CTV

“The celebration and acknowledgement of this community does not stop at Pride Month. Our data shows that nearly half (47%) of LGBTQ+ Vevo viewers watch music videos daily, 365 days a year,” said Julie Duhen, director, media & distribution marketing, and Out Loud creator, Vevo. “This new, exclusive ad product blends Vevo’s editorial curation with the power of data science, and ultimately gives brands the ability to elevate and engage with the LGBTQ+ community by shining a light on the influence, success and importance of queer artists and fans all year long.” 

Vevo’s research found that 72% of LGBTQ+ consumers agreed that music videos feel relatable and allow them to see themselves or their experience on schree and that 65^ look to music videos when they want to find content that authentically represents all parts of their identity. 

“Cultural diversity goes beyond race, and there are similar opportunities for brands to connect with the growing LGBTQ+ community. We all know some of the household names who paved the way for LGBTQ+ visibility, such as Elton John and George Michael. Today, there’s no shortage of diverse artists following their lead – Sam Smith, Arlo Parks and Saucy Santana, to name just a few,” said Rob Vélez, VP, multicultural sales, Vevo. “Out Loud gives brands the opportunity to surround themselves within impactful, culturally relevant content by these artists, making campaigns even more effective and memorable.”

Vevo prevision created ad packages aimed at African-Americans with Afro Pulse and Asians and Pacific Islanders with API Amplified.

Out Loud is built on curation from Vevo’s editorial team and a machine learning-based planning tool that enables ad targeting opportunities for marketers. The planning tool is dynamic and gets smarter the more marketers use it, leveraging audience insights to better inform ad buying decisions as time goes on, Vevo said.  ■

Showtime will bring back its drama series The L Word: Generation Q for a third season, the network said Friday.

The show, a sequel to the The L Word series that ran on Showtime from 2004 to 2009, will continue to follow the intermingled lives of characters as they experience love, heartbreak, sex, setbacks and success in Los Angeles, the network said. The series stars Jennifer Beals, Leisha Hailey, Katherine Moennig, Arienne Mandi, Leo Sheng, Jacqueline Toboni, Rosanny Zayas, Sepideh Moafi and Jordan Hull. 

According to Showtime, season two found Bette (Beals) dealing with Tina (guest star Laurel Holloman) and Carrie’s (guest star Rosie O’Donnell) engagement, and daughter Angie’s (Hull) search for her birth father; Shane (Moennig) while ramping up her business and her feelings for Tess (Jamie Clayton). Meanwhile, a newly single Dani (Mandi) leaned on Gigi (Moafi) during her father’s trial; Finley (Toboni) and Sophie (Zayas) tried hard to make it work despite Finley’s spiraling addiction; and friends Micah (Sheng) and Maribel (Jillian Mercado) fell hard for each other.  

The L Word: Generation Q season three will be executive produced by Beals, Moennig and Hailey, along with Marja-Lewis Ryan, series creator Ilene Chaiken, Kristen Campo, Allyce Ozarski and Melody DerloshonIn. ■ 

Also: Showtime Tackles Bill Cosby's legacy in New Documentary Series

As the LGBTQ+ community continues the fight to get Congress to pass key legislation, it also looks to continue to build influence and support for its social rights movement, according to Black News Channel (BNC) host Aisha Mills. 

Mills, who will host a not-yet-named daily primetime political news show for the African-American-targeted news channel that launched in February 2020, said the community is closely watching developments surrounding the The Equality Act, which will make sexual orientation and gender identity protected classes in America. The legislation, which would amend the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to prohibit discrimination on the basis of sex, sexual orientation and gender identity in employment, housing, public accommodations, education, federally funded programs, credit and jury service, has passed the Democratic-controlled House but continues to languish in the Republican-held Senate.

“We have to guilt them all,” Mills said in a Pride TV Summit interview with Multichannel News senior content producer, programming R. Thomas Umstead. “It’s so much politics. … but what we can do on the outside is continue to put pressure and just guilt the handful of Republican politicians who don’t want it to move forward. The vast majority of people in America support LGBTQ equality fundamentally as it relates to basic dignity and rights.” 

Outside of Congress, Mills — who served as the first African-American woman president of the Victory Fund LGBTQ+ political action group — said she is encouraged by the inroads the LGBTQ+ rights movement continues to make throughout society. In particular, she said people of color have played and continue to play a major role in leading the fight for LGBTQ+ equity and representation. 

“It was actually Black, Latinx, trans-identified, nonbinary people who were the ones on the front lines, literally putting our bodies in harm’s way that sparked the movement,” she said. “Today, when we look at how far we’ve come, it is Black and Latinx people in storylines all throughout Hollywood, be it Moonlight or Pose or Laverne Cox in Orange Is the New Black that are the trendsetters, the culture makers and conversation creators.” 

She also dismissed criticism of the expanding acronyms such as LGBTQIA+ used to describe or define the community. 

“We don’t need to  try to distill down and create some singular uniformity in order to be a community and to reflect people,” she said. “Let’s name it all and claim it all because at the end of the day we identify ourselves for ourselves by ourselves and be respected in how we want to be acknowledged and addressed.” 

BNC Strikes Verizon Deal

Mills’s appearance at the Pride TV Summit came as Black News Channel reached a carriage agreement with Verizon Communications’s Fios TV. The deal puts BNC, which launched in February 2020, in some 3.7 million more homes, extending its reach to nearly 60 million linear cable subscribers.

Verizon joins Comcast, DirecTV, Charter Communications and Dish Network as a distributor, according to the channel. 

“Linear and digital platforms are seeing increasing value in BNC’s unprecedented coverage of the experiences unfolding in Black and Brown communities as well as perspectives, viewpoints and stories that are not presented anywhere else,” BNC president and CEO Princell Hair said. 

Once upon a time, LGBTQ+ representation on television came only sporadically, by way of series like comedies Ellen, Friends and Will & Grace, and dramas like L.A. Law and Queer as Folk. More recently, TV has made huge strides in representing the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender communities, both in scripted and nonscripted fare, courtesy of a wider array of entries, including dramas Orange is the New Black, Pose, Star Trek: Discovery, Supergirl and Batwoman, and nonscripted RuPaul’s Drag Race and Big Brother. 

But the casting of LGBTQ roles in today’s market is still a sensitive and potentially controversial issue, which was the focus of the Pride TV Summit’s Casting Conversation, moderated by casting director Michael Donovan. 

When is someone’s sexual orientation relevant to playing a gay role? What about gay actors who play straight roles and vice versa? Is there a mandate within the broadcasters and/or via the public for more LGBTQ storylines? More importantly, is the culture changing?

More Openness, Inclusion

“One hundred percent, things are changing in the industry,” said Caroline Dries, showrunner for The CW drama Batwoman. “There is a search for inclusion, and way more openness. And there is an excitement for these roles and a need for representation due to the raised awareness in social media. 

“For me, as the creator and the storyteller, the No. 1 most important thing is that the character is authentic and a good representation of the community,” Dries added.

Debuting in October 2019, gay actress Ruby Rose as Kate Kane (aka Batwoman) made television history as the first openly lesbian superhero on television. After an unexpected exit in season one, bisexual actress Javicia Leslie was cast as Ryan Wilder, the new Batwoman.

“When we were casting Batwoman originally, we ultimately went with an out actor,” noted Dries. “In hindsight, thank God we did cast someone from the LGBTQ community, because of the amount of questions and conversations you are talking about on this subject. If we had cast a straight girl, it would have been a bit clumsy and awkward and probably would have felt inauthentic.

“I was also criticized because the character of Kate Kane was Jewish in the comic books and I did not cast a Jewish actress,” Dries added. “Basically, you just have to choose your battles.”

“Naturally, we cannot ask anyone about their sexuality when we cast a role,” Karen Barroeta, executive VP at NBCUniversal Telemundo Enterprises, observed. “Only if the actor or actress is open about it, then you know it. For us, it is very important not to discriminate based on sexuality or in any way.”

Citing straight actors Eric McCormack in Will & Grace, Darren Criss in The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story, Tom Hanks in Philadelphia and Sean Penn in Milk as “performances we would have missed had we not had straight actors in the roles,” Donovan also offered a quick clarification. “That’s not to say a gay actor would not have been as good in those roles also,” he said.

Casting Without Limits

For transgender actress Nicole Maines, who portrays Nia Nal (Dreamer), a transgender superhero, on Supergirl, only auditioning for trans character roles would mean far fewer opportunities. “Trans women are women and we can play women of all types, reinforcing a positive message,” Maines said. “There is an idea of what trans looks like, and when we are able to portray ourselves and tell our own stories you can actually see it. But we should not just be limited to trans roles.”

“The most important thing is getting the stories out and telling the stories well because I think that, above all, changes hearts and minds,” casting director Margery Simkin said during the panel session. “And I hope the goal, in the end, is that anybody can play anything. That’s what acting is. It’s not about being who you are. It’s about who you are able to be through your craft and your ability.”

“Inclusivity is going to continue to grow,” Barroeta predicted. “And there will be a moment when it is all going to become normal and we are never going to have to say inclusive again." 

 As the LGBTQ+ community continues the fight to have key legislation passed in Congress, it also looks to continue to build influence and support for its social rights movement, according to Black News Channel (BNC) host Aisha Mills. 

 Mills, who will host an as-yet-named  political-themed primetime news show for the 16 month-old African-American-targeted news channel, says that the community is closely watching developments surrounding the The Equality Act, which will make sexual orientation and gender identity protected classes in America. The legislation has passed in the House of Representatives but continues to languish in the Senate.

Read Also: Multicultural Perspectives: Princell Hair Leads Black News Channel Through Turbulent News Cycle

“We have to guilt them all,” she said in a Pride TV Summit interview. “It’s so much politics… but what we can do on the outside is continue to put pressure and just guilt the handful of Republican politicians who don’t want it to move forward. The vast majority of people in America support LGBTQ equality fundamentally as it relates to basic dignity and rights.” 

Outside of Congress, Mills -- who served as the first African-American woman president of the Victory Fund LGBTQ political action group --says she is encouraged by the inroads the LGBTQ+ rights movement continues to make throughout society. She also dismissed criticism of the expanding acronyms such as LGBTQIA+ used to describe or define the community. 

“We don’t need to try to distill down and create some singular uniformity in order to be a community and to reflect people,” she said. “Let’s name it all and claim it all because at the end of the day we identify ourselves for ourselves by ourselves and be respected in how we want to be acknowledged and addressed.”

BNC, which will air a June 22 Pride-themed special hosted by Mills, is currently in more than 52 million U.S. homes through distribution deals with Comcast (Xfinity), DirecTV, Charter Communications (Spectrum) and Dish Network. The network is also available through OTT services such as Roku TV, Tubi and Pluto TV.

Register here for the Pride TV Summit on Wednesday, June 23. Featured speakers will include Randy Rainbow, AMC Networks executive Blake Callaway and Black News Channel's Aisha Mills. Pride TV Leadership Awards recipients will include The CW.

Media veteran Sarah Kate Ellis has been leading the advocacy organization GLAAD for more than seven years, focusing its efforts on building and fostering greater media acceptance of the growing LGBTQ+ community. Ellis, who will be honored at the June 23 B+C and Multichannel News Pride TV Summit, talked about the relevance and importance of this year’s Pride Month celebration, as well as the state of LGBTQ+ representation on television in an interview, an edited version of which appears below.

More on the Pride TV Summit: Pride TV Summit Hones in on the Business of Inclusion

B+C: Does this year’s Pride Month celebration take on greater significance given the cultural climate change the country has experienced over the past year? 

Sarah Kate Ellis: Absolutely. Two things are at play here. One is that for the LGBTQ community as a whole, community is a really important part of our identities, especially because for so long, we lived in the shadows. Our coming together in person was sorely missed last year, especially because so many of our youth live in unaccepting households. From a policy and political perspective, there have been over 250 anti-LGBTQ bills introduced this year in state legislatures across the United States — most of those are targeting trans and non-binary people. This year, we've seen 27 murders of transgender, non-binary people who are mostly Black and Latina, and we’re pacing to be the deadliest year yet for the community. With the Equality Act, which is the largest piece of legislation for our community ever, passed in the House but stalled in the Senate, I think it’s really important for us to use this month to build awareness and education about the Act and what it does to help protect our community. 

B+C: What role can the entertainment industry play in educating the public about the issues you’ve mentioned? 

SKE: TV and streaming content are empathy and education machines for our community. For instance, only 16% of Americans report knowing somebody who is transgender, so the rest of the country is learning about transgender people through media. Our annual report, Where We Are on TV, came out in January 2021, and we found that there was greater diversity of LGBTQ characters, but less characters overall. I'm really hopeful that [the decline] is likely due to COVID because a lot of productions were stopped, but a great example of how important content is for the community is FX’s Pose. This was a revolutionary show that focused on trans people of color for the most part and told their stories, but it also focused on HIV and AIDS in the ’80s. When this show shuts down this month, we will lose a significant number of trans characters on television, and we will then have zero characters living with HIV on scripted TV. 

That’s a lot of weight for one show to carry in terms of creating culture, education and empathy for our community. We need to see that spread out among other shows.

B+C How does the industry go about developing more shows like Pose that depict authentic LGTBQ+ characters and storylines on screen? 

SKE: Hollywood likes success — look at all the awards that Pose has received. Hulu’s Happiest Season is an LGTBQ holiday movie that broke all of their records for new subscribers during its first weekend viewing. So if you put the content out there, the audience will come and they will flock to it as long as it’s fair and accurate. I think that’s a big motivator to create programming that’s going to attract audiences and bring in new fan bases. I think the industry is moving in the right direction because it is showing more diverse characters. For so long, shows and films were scared to include LGBTQ characters mainly out of fear of backlash, and we’re way past that. If you look at the latest Gallup poll, 16% of 18 to 24 year olds in America identify as LGBT. So they want to see themselves and their lives reflected back to them. As content creators look to attract younger audiences, they're going to have to include LGBTQ people.

B+C: What is GLAAD doing to increase LGBTQ+ representation on screen? 

SKE: We approach it really from three different places. One is that we do our annual reports on the TV and streaming content providers and their content. We do the studio responsibility index on films and theaters. So we measure those. We have the GLAAD Media Institute where we work with these creators. We just launched a new project with Procter & Gamble called The Visibility Project. We know how important media representation is and, just like in television and film, advertising is pervasive. We know that if we can be in more ads that will grow acceptance for our community.

What we look to do is provide some measurements so that they have a benchmark that they could move forward from, as well as to hold them accountable, but also offer all our support and services to make sure that they are successful.

Showtime will stream more than 50 hours of LGBTQ+-themed  original programming in June as part of its celebration of Pride Month.

The shows, including select seasons of The L Word, Queer as Folk and Couples Therapy will be offered to consumers for free across multiple Showtime partner platforms, according to network officials. 

In addition, the network-- in associations with the Human Rights Campaign -- will expand collaboration on the Queer to Stay initiative supporting and preserving businesses that serve the LGBTQ+ community with a focus on LGBTQ+ people of color, women and the transgender community, said the network.

The full list of free Showtime programming includes the first seasons of The L Word, The L Word: Generation Q, Queer as Folk, Work in Progress, and Couples Therapy. Also included are select episodes of Desus & Mero, as well as Same Sex America, Beyond Opposite Sex, L Word Mississippi: Hate the Sin and Semper Fi.

The Human Rights Campaign Foundation has issued its 2021 LGBTQ corporate equality index and a number of media companies have made the list of "Best Places to Work for LGBTQ Equality."

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To earn that designation, employers surveyed had to have taken "concrete steps to establish and implement comprehensive policies, benefits and practices that ensure greater equity for LGBTQ [lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer] workers and their families."

Among the companies that achieved a 100% score on a host of metrics were Altice USA, Amazon, Apple, AT&T, Comcast-NBCU, Cox, Fox Corp., Facebook, Google, Lions Gate, Microsoft, Motorola, Netflix, Nielsen, Qualcomm, Sony Pictures, Tegna, T-Mobile, Twitter, U.S. Cellular, Univision, Verizon, ViacomCBS and Walt Disney.

Also Read: D.C. Hails High Court Gay/Trans Civil Rights Decision

“It’s a great honor to be recognized once again as a Best Place to Work for LGBTQ Equality,” said Tegna president Dave Lougee of his company's place on the list. “TEGNA is proud of our diverse and inclusive culture, where all employees are encouraged to be their authentic selves and where diversity of people and perspectives are highly valued. We remain committed to equality and supporting equal rights for all in our work and in our workplace.”

A whopping 767 companies scored 100% on the index, which the foundation said "continues to show incredible growth in the number of employers that are committed to implementing LGBTQ-inclusive policies and practices."

As Pride Month celebrations continue, a recent survey from advocacy group GLAAD reports a greater acceptance of the LGBTQ community among the public as more gay and lesbian characters are portrayed on television.

GLAAD’s LGBTQ Inclusion in Advertising and Media survey reported that 48% of respondents who had been exposed to LGBTQ people in the media said they are more accepting of gay and lesbian people, compared to 35% of respondents who had not recently seen LGBTQ people in the media.

GLAAD chief communications officer Rich Ferraro discussed the results of GLAAD’s survey as well as the organization’s advocacy plans beyond Pride Month in a wide-ranging interview, an edited version of which appears below.

Before we begin, what is your reaction to the recent Supreme Court ruling on LGBTQ workplace protections?

The Supreme Court’s historic ruling protecting LGBTQ people from being fired for being LGBTQ is a moment to celebrate, but it is long overdue. It’s shocking that still in 2020 our dignity is being debated and decided upon by the highest Court in the land. The ruling is a reminder for how far LGBTQ have to go for full equality, particularly at a time when the number of murders of Black transgender women are rising and when conversion therapy – the dangerous and debunked practice of trying to change the sexual orientation of LGBTQ youth – is still allowed in many states. So while we can celebrate that a conservative leaning Supreme Court granted us a basic right, we are reminded of how far LGBTQ have yet to go.

What is the correlation between the increase in the public’s acceptance of the LGBTQ community as sited in GLAAD’s report and the rising number of gay and lesbian characters on television?

Over the past few years, we've definitely seen an uptick of characters across broadcast streaming and cable who are LGBTQ. I think that's a reflection of the world that we're living in where there are more LGBTQ people visible and being out. What our latest report showed is that non-LGBTQ people are comfortable with this. I think that's a big permission slip for the industry to do more and do better, and by do better I mean it's not just enough to have an LGBTQ character in a secondary role these days. What we should be looking at is how we can focus more on diverse LGBTQ people and stories.

Are you satisfied with the progress the media has made in the positive reflection of LGBTQ characters?

It's still a mixed bag when it comes to the quality and diversity of LGBTQ people. There are shows like Pose (pictured) which has really raised the bar for representation of LGBTQ people on TV. The show centers on trans issues, HIV and other issues that for too long were missing from television and from the industry. I think there are some networks and streaming services like Netflix that are recognizing this and are creating content to meet that need. We're having discussions with casting directors to make sure that there are queer voices at the table to represent the community in the best way. We're not saying every character on TV has to be an LGBTQ hero, although it would be great to see more LGBTQ superheroes. What we're asking for is accurate and diverse depictions. They don't always have to be positive because LGBTQ people do have struggles, and I think that those struggles and those issues are often glossed over by the industry.

In the GLAAD study, 85% of respondents believe companies that feature LGBTQ characters in their advertisements reflect a commitment to offering products to all types of customers. Does that show that inclusion is good for a company’s bottom line?

Inclusion is good for business and good for your brand. Research has shown that when people see us in the media, they're more likely to accept LGBTQ people and issues and those brands that associate with it. I think that's a big shift from just a few years ago when media companies and brands were concerned about including LGBTQ people, because they thought the general public would respond negatively. But now we're hearing that the general public is ready to see more LGBTQ stories, so the next step is to make sure that those stories are presented in ways that fairly and accurately reflect our diversity.

What next’s up for GLAAD in terms of what the organization is doing within the marketplace?

This year we entered a Pride Month in which over 205 marches and festivals were canceled or postponed, and where our safe spaces -- bars, LGBTQ community centers and nightclubs -- were closed, leaving some LGBTQ people -- especially youth -- to isolate in homes that are not affirming. So people are turning to the media, and we wanted to make sure that the industry heard that LGBTQ visibility is good for business and it's good for the world. We are also centering our messaging on content featuring LGBTQ people of color, specifically black LGBTQ people.There are so many intersectional issues right now that often go unnoticed as LGBTQ issues … LGBTQ people of color are victims of police brutality and are living in a racist society, and more and more of the LGBTQ movement and our organizations are standing with those individuals and with those communities. It's so important for our community to hear from black LGBTQ voices during this time and going forward.

With the CTAM portion of the Television Critics Association’s 2020 winter press tour now in the books, the television industry is poised to continue its evolution, with linear networks vying with streaming services for the hearts and eyeballs of consumers.

Here are three trends that marked this year’s TCA Winter press tour presentations for cable networks and streaming services:

Streaming services stake out positions as streaming wars loom

While Netflix was absent from this year’s TCA tour and NBC unveiled its plans for its new streaming service Peacock during its investor day last week, several streaming services presenting at TCA offered a glimpse into their operating strategies as the streaming wars begin to take shape.

Amazon Studios head Jennifer Salke said Amazon Prime is not phased by the increased competition among streamers, adding that they are focused on giving its Prime subscribers quality original programming, which includes Emmy-winning series such as Fleabag. HBO Max chief content officer actually lamented the phrase “streaming wars” to describe the growing competitive landscape for streaming services, adding that many of the services currently offered are providing differentiated content offerings to appeal to different tastes and audiences.

“As these services premiere and roll out ... they really are quite different,” Reilly said.

Meanwhile, Discovery Inc. may soon step into the digital streaming ring with the potential launch of an SVOD service that would curate the company’s lineup of unscripted content from such networks as HGTV, Food Network, Discovery and TLC, according to Discovery CEO David Zaslav.

RELATED: Zaslav teases potential Discovery-based streaming service

Networks, streaming services continue to increase number of lead LGBTQ characters

Several new shows will feature LGBTQ lead characters, further increasing what LGBTQ advocacy group GLAAD recently reported as a noticeable increase in gay and lesbian lead characters on television.

RELATED: Diverse Images Increasing on Screen, but Viewers Want More

LGBTQ character-led shows announced at the TCA include BET’s Twenties, created and produced by Emmy-winning producer Lena Waithe which follows the exploits of a 20-something queer black girl and her two straight best friends; Freeform’s Everything is Going to Be OK, which stars Josh Thomas as a gay man who becomes the guardian of his two half-sisters; and TLC’s reality series Dragnificent!, which recruits four drag queens to rescue people in need of help. In addition, AppleTV+ will stream a documentary, Visible: Out on Television, a five-part docuseries that examines how TV has shaped the American conscience and how the LGBTQ movement has shaped television.

Scripted series still rolling out in record numbers, but cracks are forming in the "Peak TV" universe

Scripted content continued to grow at an unprecedented pace in 2019, with more than 530 scripted original dramas, comedies and limited dramas available on streaming services and broadcast and cable networks, according to FX. But while new entrants like HBO Max,  Peacock and Apple TV+ will help add to the number of scripted series, other companies are getting out of the original series game. Premium service Cinemax will no longer develop original scripted content, according to HBO Max’s Reilly. Cinemax joins AT&T’s Audience Network -- which will be re branded as an HBO Max preview channel -- as services that previously announced a complete elimination of scripted fare. Expect more services to exit the scripted series highway in the months to come. 

The television industry, led by the broadcast networks, set a record for the number of  LGBTQ characters featured on the small screen during to 2019-20 season, according to according to the annual GLAAD Where We Are On TV report.

The report, which tracks the number of LGBTQ characters on streaming services as well as cable and broadcast networks for the 2019-20 TV season, revealed that a record 10.2% of all primetime series regular characters on broadcast networks ABC, NBC, CBS, FOX and the CW were counted as LGBTQ. Along with the 90 regular series characters counted as LGBTQ, an additional 30 recurring characters were LGBTQ, according to the report.

Also on the broadcast front, GLAAD reported that LGBTQ women outnumber LGBTQ men among broadcast characters, and for the second year in a row, LGBTQ people of color outnumber white LGBTQ people.

The number of LGBTQ regular characters on scripted primetime cable programs increased slightly to 121, up by one from the previous year, according to the report. Recurring LGBTQ characters increased by six to 94 compared to the previous season. Showtime led all cable networks with 38 regular and recurring LGBTQ characters featured in primetime scripted series, followed by FX and Freeform, according to GLAAD.

On the streaming front, GLAAD reported 153 new and recurring characters on scripted series from streaming services Amazon, Hulu, and Netflix, an increase of 41 characters overall from the previous year’s total of 112. Netflix was the most prolific service for the fourth consecutive year, according to GLAAD.

While GLAAD praised the increases in LGBTQ characters across TV platforms, Megan Townsend, Director of Entertainment Research & Analysis at GLAAD said that more still needs to be done, especially on the cable TV front.

“On cable TV, just three networks account for 44 percent of all LGBTQ representation on primetime scripted series,” said Townsend. “Similarly, programming from four dedicated producers and creators who prioritize inclusion — Greg Berlanti, Lena Waithe, Ryan Murphy, and Shonda Rhimes -- accounts for 14 percent of total LGBTQ characters across broadcast, cable, and streaming originals. We hope to see all networks follow their lead, and work towards reflecting the reality of their audience and the culture.”

A record-high percentage of LGBTQ series regulars will appear in broadcast TV shows during the 2018-19 TV season, while streaming service Netflix and FX featured the most LGBTQ characters across streaming and cable services, according to the annual GLAAD Where We Are On TV report.

The report, which tracks the number of LGBTQ characters on streaming services as well as cable and broadcast networks for the 2018-19 TV season, found that LGBTQ characters represented 8.8% of all broadcast television series regulars, which topped the previous record of 6.4% set last year. 

Further, the report found that there were equal percentages of male and female LGBTQ characters on broadcast TV shows, and more LGBTQ people of color (50%) featured than white LGBTQ characters (49%).

On cable, GLAAD says that 208 LGBTQ characters appeared on scripted primetime cable shows, an increase from 173 accounted for in last year’s report. Netflix counted the highest number of LGBTQ characters across streaming services, with FX topping all cable networks.

GLAAD pointed to shows like FX’s Pose, Starz’s Vida, CBS’ The Red Line, and the CW’s Charmed and Supergirl for showcasing more LGBTQ characters in leading roles than ever before.

For the 2018-2019 season, there will also be a record-high number of series regulars who are people with disabilities – up to 2.1% from 1.8% the previous year, according to the report.

“This year’s Where We Are on TV report has shown important progress towards a media landscape that is LGBTQ-inclusive and portrays the community in a fair and accurate way,” said Megan Townsend, director of entertainment research and analysis at GLAAD in a statement. “This is all part of a welcome increase in television telling groundbreaking stories featuring characters whose identities have long been left off screen.”

LGBTQ representation on broadcast television networks is at a high point according to the latest GLAAD “Where WE Are On TV” report, the LGBTQ advocacy organization reported Thursday.

According to the report, LGBTQ characters represent 4.8% of all characters on broadcast television shows during the 2016-17 television season, the highest percentage since GLAAD began tracking all broadcast regular characters 12 years ago. There was also an increase in the number of regular LGBTQ characters on cable, up to 92 from 84. However, LGBTQ recurring characters dropped year-over-year from 58 to 50, according to the survey.

In addition, GLAAD reported a record number of black regular characters (20%) as well as regular characters with disabilities (1.7%) on broadcast TV series during the 2016-17 season. Also, the number of transgender regular and recurring characters has more than doubled since last year’s report.

On the downside, more than 25 lesbian and bisexual female-identifying characters were killed off on scripted television and streaming services since the beginning of 2016, according to the report. GLAAD also said that cable and streaming platforms still need to include more racially diverse LGBTQ characters. On cable 72% of LGBTQ characters are white, while 71% of LGBTQ characters on streaming services are non-ethnic, according to the study.

“While it is heartening to see progress being made in LGBTQ representation on television, it’s important to remember that numbers are only part of the story, and we must continue the push for more diverse and intricate portrayals of the LGBTQ community,” said Sarah Kate Ellis, GLAAD President & CEO in a statement. “GLAAD will continue to work with Hollywood to tell nuanced LGBTQ stories that accelerate acceptance – and hold the networks, streaming services, and content creators accountable for the images and storylines they present.”

Fresh off its first Daytime Emmy award for the documentary Matt Shepard Is a Friend of Mine, Logo will premiere two new documentaries this summer. 

Out of Iraq, about two soldiers who fall in love but see their romance ripped apart by war, debuts June 13. World of Wonder produces Out of Iraq.

The IF Project, which follows a group of women in prison that Logo says “give real-life context to Orange Is the New Black," premieres later in the summer. Kathlyn Horan directs that project.

Part of Viacom, Logo targets the LGBT community with its programming.

Read more at broadcastingcable.com.

Comcast is donating $1.5 million in public service airtime to promote the National LGBT 50th Anniversary Celebration in Philadelphia this July. Comcast is the lead marketing sponsor of the event, according to its organizers.

The PSA is airing this month and next.

The celebration, July 2-5, marks the anniversary of a Fourth of July 1965 demonstration by LGBT activists in front of Independence Hall.

This year, the celebration will include exhibits, concerts, a wreath laying ceremony and a street festival, plus a ceremony at Independence Hall July 4 hosted by comedian Wanda Sykes (Chris Rock Show, Curb Your Enthusiasm), who hosted the White House Correspondents Association dinner in 2009.