Study: Another straight year for gay characters

STUDY: ANOTHER STRAIGHT YEAR FOR GAY CHARACTERS
[SOURCE: The Hollywood Reporter, AUTHOR: Nellie Andreeva]
With only one new non-heterosexual regular character this coming season -- Bonnie Somerville's bisexual Caitlin Dowd on ABC's drama "Cashmere Mafia" -- the number of portrayals of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people on scripted network series declined for a third straight year, according to the annual "Where We Are on TV" study by the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation. There are a total of seven series with regular LGBT characters, or 1.1%, on the five broadcast networks this season, down from 9 last season. ABC continues by a mile to be the most inclusive of LGBT representation. The network accounts for six of the seven characters in its series "Brothers & Sisters," "Ugly Betty," "Desperate Housewives" and "Mafia." (The seventh regular LGBT character is Oscar Martinez on NBC's "The Office," the only one such character of color on broadcast TV.) "Brothers," executive produced by gay writer-producer Greg Berlanti, is singled out as "the bright spot on primetime network dramas" with its three gay or bisexual characters. The highest-profile new addition of gay characters is on Sunday's lead-in for "Brothers," ABC's hit dramedy "Desperate Housewives." In the recurring character count, ABC has six of the 13 on broadcast series next season: "Brothers," "Housewives," "Grey's Anatomy," "Men in Trees" and new drama "Dirty Sexy Money." Fox features four (all on animated series, "The Simpsons" and "American Dad!"), and NBC has three on "ER" and "Friday Night Lights." According to the report, CBS and sister network the CW have no representation of LGBT characters on their scripted series, but the two networks have gay contestants and judges on such unscripted series as CBS' "Survivor: China," "The Amazing Race" and "Big Brother" and the CW's "Crowned" and "America's Next Top Model." For a third consecutive year, GLAAD's analysis also includes a report card on the racial diversity of broadcast networks' scripted series. There are no major changes in the ethnic mix of actors on series, which continue to be dominated by whites, who account for 77% of all regulars, up from 75% last year. Black representation has remained unchanged at 12%. With the cancellation of ABC's "George Lopez," the number of regular Latino characters has dropped from 7% to 6%. The CW ranks first in overall diversity with 32% of its regular characters played by actors of color. Fox is last with 18%.
http://www.tvnewsday.com/link/?id=16036

* What Do Aliens, Talking Fish and LGBT Characters Share?
Your chances of seeing a lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender character on the broadcast networks in prime time this new TV season are about the same as your chances of seeing a talking fish or caveman.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/09/24/AR200709...