GLAAD is big MAD.
According to their latest findings, LGBTQ+ characters in media have tanked in a big way, especially transgender characters.
As detailed by The Wrap, GLAAD's findings show that homosexuals and transgender people are disappearing quietly from the forefront of entertainment, and naturally, it's the fault of the Republicans:
Out of 369 LGBTQ+ characters on TV from the 2025-2026 season, only seven were trans, an almost 80% decrease in representation. And none of those seven characters will return in the next TV season.
Three of the seven trans characters appeared on since canceled or concluding series: “The Family Law,” “Community Squad” and “Squid Game.” The others appeared on Netflix limited series “The Dead Girls,” “Monster: The Ed Gein Story,” “Unspeakable Sins” and “Wayward.”
Raina Deerwater, GLAAD’s Associate Director of Entertainment Research and Analysis, told TheWrap that the recent blue wave in the midterm election gave her hope the American people are tired of the anti-trans rhetoric from conservative politicians that likely led to the steep downturn.
“A bunch of these Republican candidates released these super awful anti-trans ads. That was the platform they were running on and they lost, and they lost by a lot,” she said. “The people are speaking … it’s just a matter of making sure that the right people are listening.”
Of course, Republicans aren't responsible. An ad condemning men appearing in girls' restrooms isn't going to make people hate transgenderism. Transgenderism is turning people away from it well enough on its own with its insistence that it dominate every facet of society and kill innocent people in between, but I digress.
The real culprit for the disappearance of LGBTQ+ characters is far simpler than that. There's not a lot of market for them. They don't exactly bring in the eyeballs. In many situations, they actually repel them, because the writers and producers seem to think sexuality is the most important thing about a person. A great example is "Stranger Things'" Will Byers, who single-handedly stopped an entire show to come out of the closet, to the groans and frustration of millions of viewers. The show's approval took a massive dive after that episode.
Yet, as GLAAD tells it, representation is clearly a thing that works because of shows that are currently LGBTQ+ focused, like "Heated Rivalry" and "The Hunting Wives":
Despite the decreases in queer representation, GLAAD found that audiences, specifically Gen Z, have an appetite for queer storylines. The success of Crave/HBO Max’s “Heated Rivalry” and “The Hunting Wives” on Netflix last year showcased that diverse storytelling has a commercial benefit for entertainment companies.
GLAAD’s President and CEO Sarah Kate Ellis said that slashing LGBTQ sstories while demand is increasing is a “bad business decision.”
“The Hunting Wives” doubled its viewership on its second week after release, topping the Netflix charts, and “Heated Rivalry” established itself as a cultural phenomenon becoming HBO Max’s most watched acquired scripted series ever, peaking at 52x average demand.
“It’s so funny that ‘Heated Rivalry’ came out — huge hit — and everyone’s like, ‘I know what we need: more hockey,’ ” Deerwater said. “I’m going to go out on a limb and say maybe the hockey wasn’t the big thing why people liked the show.”
I'd encourage GLAAD to hold its collective gay horses.
Are there people showing up for the LGBTQ+ characters? In a way. However, what they're really showing up for is the storyline that comes with these characters, not the characters themselves. Representation isn't enough. You have to have a compelling reason to watch these characters. It's entertainment 101.
There are plenty of examples where queer-baiting and homosexual injections into storylines made stories unbearable and unwatchable. When it became a focus of the second season of "The Last of Us," viewers threw up their hands and dropped the show. Injecting lesbianism into Star Wars caused "The Acolyte" to become one of the most reviled series in the Star Wars universe.
As Geeks and Gamers notes, if the story or characters aren't compelling, no one will show up:
Then there's Netflix's Boots, a gay military coming-of-age drama that premiered in October 2025. Despite attracting millions of viewers and receiving positive critical attention, Netflix canceled the production after a single season.
Other examples include Max's Our Flag Means Death, Netflix's Dead Boy Detectives, and NBC's Brilliant Minds, all of which featured prominent LGBTQ characters or storylines and ultimately failed to secure continued renewals.
Hollywood saw the numbers and realized that gay doesn't sell by itself, but if you pair gay with captivating storylines and characters, then it sells well enough, just like any production about any subject would.
A solid example of this is "Schitt's Creek," a comedy show that was universally beloved despite one of its main characters and plot elements being a gay relationship. The show was funny, lighthearted, and didn't force anyone to choose sides except through their viewing habits. It was well written, well acted, and created something of a subculture of its own. People didn't show up for the representation; they showed up because they knew the show would make them laugh.
Forcing queer characters in our faces is like trying to brute-force the horse to drink water and then calling the horse homophobic when it doesn't take a sip. It won't, because if the water is disgusting sewage, it won't touch it. It has to be drinkable first.
