LGBT representation in American adult animation

Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) representation in American adult animation has been ongoing for years. In the 1990s and 2000s, gay and transgender characters appeared in The Simpsons, South Park, Family Guy, and The Nutshack, while in the 2010s and 2020s lesbian characters appeared in series such as Brickleberry and Final Space. In later years, bisexual characters appeared in Bob's Burgers. At the same time, American Dad! and Drawn Together had pansexual characters, while The Cleveland Show and Rick and Morty had characters which were implied to be pansexual. Other prominent adult animations with LGBTQ characters included Queer Duck, The Venture Bros., The Awesomes, Archer, Harley Quinn, Invincible, Tuca & Bertie, Magical Girl Friendship Squad, and Star Trek: Lower Decks.

1980s and 1990s

See also: History of LGBT characters in animation: 1990s

Matt Groening, who created Futurama and The Simpsons, at the 2009 Comic Con in San Diego

In the 1980s and 1990s, LGBTQ characters appeared in The Simpsons, Space Ghost Coast to Coast, Crapston Villas, South Park, Family Guy, Futurama, and Mission Hill. However, most of these characters were coded as queer rather than being openly queer.

The first episode of The Simpsons, on December 17, 1989, featured a gay character, Waylon Smithers, named after gay puppeteer Wayland Flowers. However, like other shows at the time, The Simpsons approached the subject gingerly, not drawing much attention to the sexuality of Smithers, as he remained in the closet, officially, until 2016.

Space Ghost Coast to Coast, included a gay character. On December 25, 1994, Lokar, a locust alien and member of the Council of Doom, was introduced in the Space Ghost Coast to Coast Christmas special A Space Ghost Christmas. Supplementary material for the series had Lokar referred to himself as a Confirmed bachelor while an article on the official Cartoon Network website featured a reference to a slang word for gay sex. His sexuality was confirmed in audio commentaries for the Space Ghost Coast to Coast Volume 2 DVD and it was revealed that Lokar died at some point during the series. However this was eventually contradicted when Lokar returned in the Season 11 episode "Stephen" in where he is shown to be alive and well.

Crapston Villas aired on Channel 4, a British broadcasting channel, from 1995 to 1997. The show would be one of the first animated series on British television to present openly gay characters, specifically Robbie and Larry.

The Simpsons episode, "Homer's Phobia", February 16, 1997, featured John Waters, a gay filmmaker. In the episode he voices a gay male character who helps Homer Simpson confront his homophobia. The episode also pokes at general homophobia in U.S. society as a whole. The episode, which aired two months before Ellen DeGeneres came out as a lesbian on her sitcom, Ellen, came during a time there were unspoken limits on what LGBTQ content could be shown on TV. It was an improvement from Simpson and Delilah in October 1990, which featured a stylish assistant, Karl, who helped Homer, whose sexuality is never mentioned even though the person voicing him (Harvey Fierstein) is a gay playwright, In the episode, Karl and Homer kiss in what some say is the first animated male-male kiss to air on network television, prior to the gay kiss in the May 2000 Dawson's Creek episode, "True Love". Creator Matt Groening, when asked in a 1991 interview if Karl was gay, said "he's whatever you want him to be" and added that including Karl was "beyond any other cartoon," even though some gay viewers were disappointed that the character didn't identify himself as gay. Some argued that "Homer's Phobia" did more, in terms of awareness and exposing intolerance, than "any live action show at the time." The Simpsons also had a stereotypical on-and-off-again gay couple, Grady and Julio.

Sexually promiscuous Liane Cartman, the mother of Cartman, first appeared in the first episode of South Park in August 1997, is a bisexual, Stephen Stotch, who is a regular customer at the local gay theater & bath house, who first appeared in May 1998, is also bisexual. Herbert Garrison in South Park, originally presented as a closeted homosexual, would be afforded storylines which featured Garrison coming out as a gay man, then having a gender reassignment surgery to become female (known as Janet Garrison), becoming a lesbian, and then changing back to a man. Garrison's character journey began with the show's first episode and continued onward, as he has remained a recurring character. It is shown he still has feelings for his ex-boyfriend, Mr. Slave as shown in the November 2005 episode "Follow That Egg!". Additionally, Ms. Ellen in South Park is a lesbian teacher.

In the fourth episode of South Park, in September 1997, entitled "Big Gay Al's Big Gay Boat Ride", a flamboyant homosexual man named Big Gay Al, who ran an animal sanctuary with gay animals, appears. In the course of the show, Big Gay Al would openly display his homosexuality and be an open advocate for gay rights. Despite this array of characters, the show made it clear that cartoons are not only for kids, like The Simpsons, but it did not counter the idea that it is "inappropriate to expose kids to the existence of queer people."

Big Gay Al would also be described as a "stereotypical gay man" who teaches those in South Park about the evils of homophobia through history, and would be said to be "delightful," educating pet owners on the "evils of homophobia" in his debut episode. In the episode, Stan says "Gay is Ok!" and brings people to Big Gay Al's gay animal sanctuary. Literature and queer studies scholar James Keller would critically analyze the series saying that it has moderate liberal beliefs and queer sensibilities, along with homophobic bias, even punitive against celebrities who advocate for gay rights like Barbra Streisand. Keller also pointed to the libertarian beliefs of Stone and Parker, with laissez-faire approach to LGBTQ discrimination and rights, affecting the show's narrative choices and creating even-handed views of issues which have diametrically opposed sides. On the other hand, he stated that while the show can be seen as "homophobic in its surface and its context," possible leading to less outcry from the LGBTQ community, the show's three principle gay characters are "caricatures," the word "gay" is used by the protagonists to label each other, even though none of them are gay, and argued that interpreting the show from a queer perspective can recuperate the "residual homophobia" of the show.

In July 1999, in an episode of South Park, "Two Guys Naked in a Hot Tub," the dads of Kyle and Stan masturbate one another in a hot tub. Saddam Hussein and Satan were a gay couple. Both broke up later in the series. Satan and Saddam would be described as some of the show's most "unsympathetic characters," and that that show rarely presents homosexuals "who are easy to like." Even so, Satan, who showed vanity and selfishness, was said to be sympathetic, even with a muscular exterior, while effeminate, passive, and sensitive, while Saddam is the "dominant and sexually exploitative one," and their relationship is said to be 'funny" since it "emulates a heterosexual couple." Satan, Hussein, and Big Gay Al would all appear in the June 1999 film, South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut. In that film, gender is integral to the plot, as Stan is told by Chef he needs to find the clitoris if he wants Wendy to like him, and he thinks that this is a different creature separate from the female himself, specifically "an oracle to consult in the effort to discover the secret to male-female relations." Others would note that the film's original title was rejected for having the word "hell" but when the title was changed, MPAA approved it.

Like The Simpsons, Family Guy, which also aired on FOX, beginning in January 1999, had various gay characters. Jasper was the gay cousin of the series protagonist and there was a gay pedophile named Herbert as voice actor Mike Henry explained in a 2006 interview. The show also featured an effeminate man named Bruce.

Futurama, created by Matt Groening, and beginning airing in December 1999, had some one-time LGBTQ+ characters. This included Enos Fry and Old Man Waterfall who were killed off before the end of their respective episodes. Mission Hill, which aired on The WB from 1999 to 2000 and Adult Swim in 2002, Gus Duncz and Wally Langford, a gay elderly couple in their late 60s, even winning an award from GLAAD for this representation.

2000s

See also: History of LGBT characters in animation: 2000s

In the 2000s, there were many more openly queer characters, unlike in the 1980s and 1990s. This included characters in Queer Duck, Braceface, King of the Hill, South Park, Clone High, The Venture Bros., Drawn Together, The Simpsons, Moral Orel, American Dad!, Family Guy, and Freak Show. Others characters also appeared in Rick & Steve: The Happiest Gay Couple in All the World, The Nutshack, Superjail!, Sit Down, Shut Up, The Goode Family, The Cleveland Show, Archer, and The Oblongs.

Queer Duck, which premiered on Icebox, and later streamed on Showtime, from 2000 to 2002. was the first U.S. animated TV series to have homosexuality as a major theme. It was produced by Mike Reiss, a producer of Simpsons and The Critic. beginning in 2000. It was received positively by some in the LGBTQ+ community since it had lesbian, gay, and bisexual characters. This included Adam Seymour Duckstein, the main character of the series. He is presented as a stereotypical gay duck and has been a victim of gay bashing. However, in the series finale, he wakes up to discover that he had sex with a woman. Steven Arlo Gator was Queer Duck's significant other, and latter married Queer Duck in a Jewish Wedding in Vermont in one episode, "Wedding Bell Blues." Melissa Duckstein, is Adam's sister, is occasionally revealed to be lesbian throughout the series. She is in a relationship with Yvette, in episodes such as "Homo for the Holidays," and the movie in 2006.

The Oblongs, which aired from 2001 to 2002, features Biff who is implied to be gay. He was confirmed to be gay in a bonus feature from The Oblongs Complete Series DVD. The series also included a trans woman named Anita Bidet as a character.

Braceface which aired on Teletoon and the Fox Family Channel from 2001 to 2004, included a canon gay character named Mark "Dion" Jones. In December 2001, South Park would introduce the boyfriend of Mrs. Garrison, named Mr. Slave. The Simpsons often teased sexual orientation of Smithers, like when he rode a float called "Stayin’ in the Closet!" during the annual gay pride parade in Springfield in the episode "Jaws Wired Shut" in January 2002. In April 2002, King of the Hill featured an episode called "My Own Private Rodeo" which was nominated for a GLAAD Media Award. Clone High, which aired on MTV and Teletoon from 2002 to 2003, featured a gay couple: the foster dads of JFK, named Wally and Carl. Phil and Chris would say they are gay lovers if it was "convenient."

Adult Swim Headquarters on Williams Street in Atlanta, GA in late April 2019

In The Venture Bros., which aired from 2004 to 2008, Virginia "Ginnie" Dunne, who is Dr. Quymn's bodyguard, is very masculine, and a reported "man-hater." In the episode "Dr. Quymn, Medicine Woman," she is shown to be a lesbian who is trying to convert Dr. Quymn. The series also features Colonel Horace Gentleman who is always, openly, and proudly gay. However, he has an ex-wife, Mz. Quymn, as indicated in the episode "Dr. Quymn, Medicine Woman," and a former lover, Kiki, shown in the episode "Past Tense," who he lived with at his home in Tangiers, Morocco for years. Also, The Alchemist and Shore Leave were in an on-again, off-again relationship, shown in episodes such as "Fallen Arches." According to the show creators, The Alchemist is gay in a way that is "just incidental" while Shore Leave is a very "openly swishy queer proud guy."

Xandir P. Wifflebottom, a "young video game warrior, is labeled as a "totally gay video game adventurer" during the first episode of Drawn Together in October 2004, and is on and on a never-ending quest to save his girlfriend. In a later episode, "Gay Bash," he comes to terms with his homosexuality after having his arm bitten off by the Wood Beast, a creature that determines a person's sexuality by biting off the arms of homosexuals and keeping the arms of heterosexuals intact. In another episode, "Xandir and Tim, Sitting in a Tree," Xandir has an affair with Captain Hero's gay alter ego, Tim Tommerson. In the same series, Ling-Ling, an Asian trading-card mini-monste. is identified as bisexual by a parody of The Terminator in the episode "Wooldoor Sockbat's Giggle-Wiggle Funny Tickle Non-Traditional Progressive Multicultural Roundtable!" Some scholars criticized Ling-Ling for being a stereotypical Asian character but also said that through him the audience can take a look at "the racist disposition of Western culture towards Eastern culture.". Foxxy Love, a "sexy mystery-solver," in the same show, has relations with both men and women, but preferably with the former, as she makes out with Princess Clara in the show's first episode, and has a brief BDSM relationship with Captain Hero in another episode, "Requiem for a Reality Show." The series also features Captain Leslie Hero, a "brawny classic cartoon superhero". He is shown to be sexually aroused, due to his erectile dysfunction, by an array of paraphilias and will have sex with anything and anyone. He and Foxxy Love form a brief BDSM relationship in one episode, "Requiem for a Reality Show," and as his gay alter ego Tim Tommerson, has an affair with Xandir in another episode, "Xandir and Tim, Sitting in a Tree."

Brother Ken appeared in bro'Town, from 2004 to 2009, which showed on New Zealand's TV3. Ken was the school principal and is fa'afafine. The latter is a Samoan concept for a third gender, a person who is born biologically male but is raised and sees themself as female. Because the concept does not readily translate, when the series was broadcast on Adult Swim Latin America, a decision was made not to translate Samoan words and just present them as part of the "cultural journey".

The Simpsons has a lesbian character named Patty Bouvier, the sister of Marge Bouvier, who is Homer's wife. It wouldn't be until February 20, 2005, in the episode "There's Something About Marrying" that Patty would come out as lesbian.

Moral Orel, first released December 2005, had various LGBTQ+ characters. Coach Daniel Stopframe was Orel's bisexual coach as well as Shapey's biological father, Daniel lusts after their father, Clay, and at one point has sex with three women and a dog in episodes like "The Blessed Union." Stephanie Foamwire-Putty is a lesbian character in the same series. She is revealed to have fallen in unrequited love with her old high school best friend, Kim Latchkey.

In a FOX (and later TBS) series, American Dad!, which began airing in February 2005, Roger, is a protagonist said to be pansexual. due to the fact he assumed different aliases He has a carousel of seemingly-endless lives. Additionally, Linda Memari, is neighbor of the Smith family and a bisexual Iranian-American woman, appeared in episodes of American Dad!. The series also fearued a gay couple, Greg Corbin and Terry Bates, who were regular characters for many years.

Family Guy featured a one-time lesbian character named Sarah who mistakes Meg's sentences as invitations to have sex in the 2006 episode, Brian Sings and Swings. Freak Show, an adult animated series which aired in late 2006 that centered on a superhero team called The Freak Squad, featured Log Cabin Republican, a gay conservative whose superpower was called Burly Bear. In the episode March 2007 South Park episode "Cartman Sucks", Bradley has a crush on another male character, Butters.

Rick & Steve: The Happiest Gay Couple in All the World aired on Logo TV from 2007 to 2009. It was a satiric comedy which featured the "only Filipino-American and gay lead character on television" at the time. It would feature a lesbian couple and two gay couples. During the series, the gay couple Rick Brocka, a Filipino-American, and Steve Ball have a baby with the lesbian couple Dana and Kirsten. Chuck Masters and Evan Martinez are a male gay couple as indicated in episodes like "Mom Fight," with Chuck helping Evan with his drug addiction. Dana Bernstein and Kirsten Kellogg additionally have a baby with the gay couple, Rick and Steve.

A friendly and flirtatious Vietnamese trans woman, who runs a salon, named Cherry Pie, debuted in a Filipino-American adult animated sitcom, The Nutshack, which aired from 2007 to 2011 on Myx TV, and she was said to dominate "the Vietnamese Cross dressing scene."

Jean Baptiste Le Ghei and Paul Guaye are inmates and a recurring couple as shown in the first Superjail! episode in September 2008, and others. In an interview with the creators of the show, co-creator Christy Karacas called them well-rounded characters, who are a couple, with Paul as more feminine and intelligent than Jean who is "the bad boy." The series also included Alice, a hulking and muscular head prison guard of Superjail and a trans woman who regularly engages in sadomasochistic rituals with the prisoners, and rebuffs The Warden's constant advances as shown in episodes like "Jailbot 2.0."

Sit Down, Shut Up, which aired from April to November 2009, was praised by GLAAD as one of the "LGBT-inclusive broadcast comedies." In the show, Andrew is a flamboyant, and bisexual, Latino drama teacher whose last name in Spanish roughly translates to "he likes both", a reference to his sexual orientation. He is in love with Larry Littlejunk and Miracle Grohe, with whom he hopes to get into a relationship should they become a couple.

In an episode of ABC's The Goode Family, "A Tale of Two Lesbians", on June 19, 2009, there were two lesbian couples: Mo and Trish, Souki and Jenn. GLAAD praised this show, noting that Mo and Trish were recurring characters.

Seth MacFarlane in 2012 at Comic Con. He created Family Guy, American Dad! and The Cleveland Show.

The Cleveland Show, a spin-off of Family Guy, which aired from 2009 to 2013, featured gay characters. This included Lloyd Waterman, Cleveland's boss at Waterman Cables, is shown to be gay, despite been married to his wife, who is aware of his homosexuality. He is attracted to his employee, Terry, as indicated in the October 2009 episode "Birth of a Salesman," and has a gay lover as shown in the April 2013 episode "Who Done Did It?"

Woodhouse, the personal valet of Archer in Archer, which began airing in 2009, is of ambiguous sexuality. He had a romantic and sexual attraction to another man, Reggie, during the First World War, but it has not been specified whether he has ever had any sexual feelings for anyone since Reggie's death. After his voice actor, George Coe passed away, the show did a tribute to Woodhouse, who later had a funeral, becoming a plot thread followed up on in the show's eighth season. In the same series, Ray Gillette is an openly gay secret agent, and a former Olympic medalist in skiing. The series also featured Pam Poovey, the bisexual director of human resources. In a behind-the-scenes feature, her voice actor, Amber Nash described Pam as "a sturdy bisexual".

2010s

See also: History of LGBT characters in animation: 2010s and Netflix and LGBT representation in animation § 2010s

In the 2010s, there were various openly queer characters in Family Guy and Bob's Burgers, which were criticized as stereotypical, Others characters appeared in The Cleveland Show, Allen Gregory, Brickleberry, The Awesomes, Mike Tyson Mysteries, and Chozen,. In the later 2000s, LGBTQ characters appeared on Bojack Horseman, The Boondocks, Rick and Morty, Castlevania, Big Mouth, Bob's Burgers, Freedom Fighters: The Ray, Disenchantment, The Simpsons, Super Drags, gen:LOCK, Tuca & Bertie and Final Space.

Ida Davis in Family Guy, would be a trans woman, introduced in the 2010 episode "Quagmire's Dad," who later become the "butt of many transmisogynistic and transphobic "jokes.""

Loren Bouchard, who created Bob's Burgers, speaking at the 2016 WonderCon in Los Angeles, California

Bob's Burgers featured a trans female sex worker named Marshmallow. She premiered in a March 2011 episode. In June 2020, series creator Loren Bouchard committed to recasting the character so it is voiced by a Black actor rather than a White male actor, currently David Herman. At the time, Alison Foreman of Mashable criticized the portrayal of Marshmellow as offensive, full of stereotypes, and often a "visual gag."

The short-lived show, Allen Gregory, airing from October to December 2011, featured a gay father of the protagonist, Richard De Longpre, and his husband, Jeremy, who previously had a wife and children. In a February 2011 episode "Terry Unmarried,", of the Family Guy spinoff, The Cleveland Show, Terry Kimple, Cleveland's co-worker, marries his husband Paul, while they both try to bring gay marriage to Virginia, but are not successful. In the same episode, Cleveland asks if Terry is gay; Terry answers no, much to Cleveland's cheer. But Terry replies he's attracted to multiple genders, much to Cleveland's dismay.

Brickleberry, which aired from 2012 to 2015, would introduce a character named Constance Beatrice "Connie" Cunaman. She is a lesbian park ranger who challenged the homophobia of her parents and was obsessed with Ethel. The show's creators confirmed this assessment in an interview.

Hulu's The Awesomes, which aired from 2013-2015, features a supervillain, Tomboy, originally presenting as Gadget Gal's nemesis, she is outed in "Baby Got Backstory", as using the feud to cope with her own romantic feelings for her, in episodes like "Baby Got Backstory." The series also has two gay characters. One was Zip Danger / "Frantic", a "crazy fast" reject from a circus show, who is forcibly outed under media pressure in "The Awesomes' Awesome Show." He later falls for Christopher, a member of villain team The Gay Mafia. Then there is The Gayfather, the leader of villain team The Gay Mafia, including members like Christopher and Steven, who makes his debut in "The Gayfather". Christopher falls for Frantic immediately upon meeting him, and sabotages his team's efforts as a result.

Marquess of Queensbury, appeared on Mike Tyson Mysteries, which started on October 27, 2014. Eric Thurm of The A.V. Club argued that Marquess was a gay character and he was based on a man named John Douglas, the 9th Marquess of Queensberry. Phillip "Chozen" Cullens, a white, gay, aspiring rap superstar premiered in the FX series, Chozen, which aired in 2014. He was in a relationship with fratboy-type Hunter, with their relationship developing throughout the series. Marquess of Queensbury is voiced by gay actor Jim Rash.

Another show that became very prominent was Bojack Horseman, which aired airing from 2014 to 2020 on Netflix. It features a few lesbian characters. For instance, Kelsey Jannings reveals she had an ex-wife in the episode "Later." The show also featured a married lesbian couple, Mary-Beth and Dr Indria. Gay characters also prominently appeared in the series. Hollyhock, a female teenage horse and Bojack's sister, has eight adoptive fathers (Dashawn Manheim, Steve Mannheim, Jose Guerrero, Cupe Robinson III, Otto Zilberschlag, Arturo "Ice Man" Fonzerelli, Gregory Hsung, and Quackers McQuack) in a consensual polyamorous gay relationship. With this, some critics praised the show for portraying homosexuality in a realist fashion. The show also featured a gay therapist of Bojack, Doctor Champ, and a closeted gay man named Herb Kazaaz."

In an episode of The Boondocks, aired in June 2015, many gay characters appeared, including Gangstalicious, a closet homosexual who goes to great lengths to keep his identity as a gay man hidden from the public. In the August 2015 Rick and Morty episode "Total Rickall", Sleepy Gary is one of the dozens of aliens that alter the memories of Rick, Morty, Beth and Summer in order to pose as friends and family members. Because of the fake memories, Beth believes herself to be married to Sleepy Gary, and Jerry believes he is having a secret affair with him. In the October 2015 South Park episode entitled "Tweek x Craig", Craig Tucker and Tweek Tweak are confirmed as a gay couple.

In the season 3 finale of BoJack Horseman, "That Went Well," in July 2016, Todd Chavez confides in his friend Emily that he doesn't think he is either straight or gay, and in fact "might be nothing". He explores the identity further in season 4 and accepts his asexuality, while meeting others who share his orientation.

The "Council of Sisters" members Striga and Morana in Castlevania, which aired from 2017 to 2021, are a lesbian couple.

In Big Mouth, which began airing in 2017, Dina is a recurring character in the show. She was Shannon's love interest until she dumped Shannon in season 3. It also features Lena Foreman, Missy's cousin who is in a relationship with another woman. She is voiced by lesbian actress Lena Waithe.

The same series also featured Matthew MacDell, a flamboyantly gay student with a love of drama and spreading gossip, who is in a relationship with Aiden, the latter introduced as his boyfriend in the Valentine's Day special, "My Furry Valentine."

The show further features Shannon Glaser, the mother of Jessi Glaser, who was married to her husband and did love him, but was shown to be secretly cheating on him by dating cantor Dina Reznick, another woman. In October 2018, a protagonist on the show, Jay Bilzerian, came out as bisexual. In the fifth season, Jessi Glaser is revealed to be bisexual just like her mother as she gets into a same-sex relationship with Ali.

Freedom Fighters: The Ray aired on CW Seed from 2017 to 2018. The show would feature a gay superhero, Ray, and his gay friend, John. In an early episode, Ray would fail to ask a man on a date, and would struggle in coming out to conservative parents, and in a later episode, Jacob would become his lover.

A lesbian limousine driver named Nat Kinkle, whose ex-girlfriend runs an animal sanctuary, appeared in episodes of Bob's Burgers. Krinkle appeared in episodes from January 2018 to April 2022. Also, Dalton Crespin, who had a boyfriend for a short period of time, who may be gay or bisexual, appeared in episodes of Bob's Burgers. This began with his first appearance in September 2017.

In an August 2018 episode of Disenchantment, a show created by Matt Groening, creator of The Simpsons and Futurama, "Castle Party Massacre", it is hinted that Odval and Sorcerio are secretly in a gay relationship, as they secretly host a magic and sex cult when King Zøg is away. IndieWire reviewer Michael Schneider wrote that Sorcerio and Odval have been "a couple for a long time." One reviewer pointed to an implied gay relationship between two other characters.

In The Simpsons episode, "The Burns Cage", which aired on FOX on November 13, 2018, Smithers came out, officially, as gay. Although some called the episode disappointing, or critical of Smithers as a form of gay representation, others cited it as an example of how LGBTQ+ characters in television had become more accepted.

Super Drags, a Brazilian show, which aired in November 2018, centered on gay characters. The show focuses on Donizete, Patrick, and Ralph, three gay friends working in a department store, who are also drag queen superheroes, named Scarlet Carmesim, Lemon Chifon, and Safira Cyan are the Super Drags, and are responsible for protecting the LGBTQ community.

In the fourth episode of gen:LOCK, airing in January 2019, Val/entina Romanyszyn reveals they are genderfluid. Creators of the show originally approached Tatiana Maslany to voice the part, because she voiced lesbian and trans characters in Orphan Black. However, Maslany told them that "trans actors should play trans parts." Due to her decision and encouragement to look for trans actors, leading Rooster Teeth to bring in Asia Kate Dillon to voice Val.

The creator of Final Space, Olan Rogers, told fans in August 2019 that he always saw Clarence as bisexual. Clarence, a recurring character, has an ex-wife, several since-deceased wives, two adopted children (Fox and Ash Graven), is implied to be in love with General Cataloupe, and has unrequited love on Sheryl Goodspeed. One reviewer argued that the death of Clarence was not unique because "over 50 characters have died during the course of the series."

Tuca & Bertie which ran from May 2019 to August 2022, features Tuca Toucan who is bisexual. In season 2, Tuca was in a same-sex relationship with Kara, a seagull, but they broke up.

In the August 2019 Final Space episode "The Closer You Get," the character Tribore tells another character, Shannon, that "he is in love with his other half", because his species flips gender twice a year. Ajay Aravind, writing for Screen Rant, calls this "an amazing non-binary bit of the episode". Series creator Olan Rogers later described Tribore as "narcissi-sexual" because he "loves himself a little too much."

Big Mouth introduced a pansexual character Ali in October 2019. However, some criticized it as an oversimplification of the "relationship between private parts and gender identity," even as her existence was praised as putting the show ahead of "most television representations of sexual expression."

2020s

See also: History of LGBT characters in animation: 2020s and Netflix and LGBT representation in animation § 2020s

In the 2020s, LGBTQ characters have appeared in various mature animations. This includes Magical Girl Friendship Squad: Origins, Magical Girl Friendship Squad, and Hoops in 2020, Q-Force and Santa Inc., in 2021. Characters also appeared in other series such as Castlevania, Duncanville, Harley Quinn, gen:LOCK, Star Trek: Lower Decks, Big Mouth, Disenchantment, The Great North, Solar Opposites, Invincible, M.O.D.O.K.. There were additional LGBTQ characters in Final Space, Rick and Morty, Chicago Party Aunt, F is for Family, Arcane, The Legend of Vox Machina, Close Enough and Little Demon.

SYFY's pilot series, Magical Girl Friendship Squad: Origins, which aired in January 2020, features two women, Alex and Daisy, with the latter sleeping with a woman during the show. The series appeared in a new iteration on September 26, 2020, named Magical Girl Friendship Squad and with some new cast members and longer episodes. In the latter show, Daisy is unambiguously queer as she has slept with "every barista" at the local coffee shop. In the second and third episodes of the main show, "The Cool S" and "Agony Solstice", a sticker with the transgender pride flag is shown on Daisy's laptop. She is later shown to have an ex-girlfriend in the fourth episode, "Anti-Fungal Spit Skanks," a classic-style anime character, named Yolanda, who works at an urgent care center in the city. Additionally, in the episode "The Real World," Pansy, who calls herself Daisy's "monogamous live-in girlfriend" is introduced, but she only exists in the dimension created by Nut's sister, Gloriana.

Castlevania included young Japanese man Taka, who is introduced in the third-season episode "The Reparation of My Heart," in March 2020 and near the season-finale, he and Sumi have sex with Alucard, and shown as gay. On March 10, 2020, Sam Deats, one of the directors of Castlevania confirmed that the half-vampire son of Dracula, Alucard, was bisexual.

In March 2020, an unnamed gay couple would appear in an episode of the FOX animation, Duncanville and in another episode the following month, a male assistant of the Oakdale town mayor, Mayor Jen, mentions unnamed boyfriend.

In April 2020, in an episode of the mature adult animated series Harley Quinn, broadcast on DC Universe and later on HBO Max, Clayface, a member of Harley's villain crew, was revealed as a queer character who had a crush on a male student. In July 2022, The Riddler was revealed to be gay and in a relationship with the Clock King. Riddler and Clock King are voiced by gay actors Jim Rash and James Adomian.

Kaley Cuoco speaking at the 2017 San Diego Comic-Con International in San Diego, California; she voices Harley Quinn in the series Harley Quinn.

Harley Quinn also featured two bisexual characters. In the May 15, 2020 episode "There's No Place to Go But Down," Harley Quinn saved her partner-in-crime, Poison Ivy, both kissed each other after they escaped from prison. The critic who reviewed the episode stated that Harley and Ivy's romance is "slow burn" one, adding that this love affair could turn into a "more realistic exploration of how it feels to fall in love with a friend or to have an awkward hookup with a workmate." In the season 2 finale. Poison Ivy had her wedding with Kite Man, a person she didn't love, interrupted. By the end of the episode, Harley Quinn and Ivy realize their feelings for each other, kissing and "finally embracing that they're soul mates" as Renaldo Metadeen of CBR put it. Heather Hogan at Autostraddle added that the bisexual love of Ivy and Harley is canon, calling the second season "one of the most gratifying gay seasons of television" she has ever watched. The series was nominated for a GLAAD Media Award for Outstanding Comedy Series.

A mature adult animation, Hoops, which was released in August 2020, included a gay character named Scott on the school's basketball team. On September 26, 2020, it was confirmed that gen:LOCK, which featured Val, would be returning for a second season. In episode 12 of the second season, they are revealed to be pansexual.

The creator of Star Trek: Lower Decks, Mike McMahan, in October 2020, confirmed that Captain Amina Ramsey was Beckett Mariner's former lover at Starfleet Academy, even though it wasn't explicit, saying that "every Starfleet officer is probably at the baseline bisexual" in a sense, and that they did not "intentionally mean for anybody to be strictly heteronormative or straight or cis." However, he promised to do better in the show's second season, saying they would dig into it more, saying that the show could, in the future, more explicitly state "things that the writers always knew about Mariner." The series also has another lesbian character Jennifer Sh'reyan, an Andorian woman who starts out as Mariner's rival. In the episode "I Excretus", she made out with Ensign Barnes in the Naked Time simulator. In the season 2 finale "First First Contact", Jen starts hooking up with Mariner. Over the course of the third season, Mariner was becoming more comfortable being in a relationship with Jen. However, Jen dumps Mariner in the episode "Trusted Sources".

On November 1, 2020, Hallie Cantor, a writer for Magical Girl Friendship Squad, responded to a question on whether Daisy is trans, stated that they hadn't yet "identified her as trans or cis," implying that she could either be a cisgender lesbian or trans lesbian. On December 4, 2020, Krystal Downs, director for Magical Girl Friendship Squad said that Daisy is lesbian in a tweet. However, Anna Akana, who voiced Daisy, said that Daisy is a cisgender bisexual woman like herself, and dismissed comments by fans saying that Daisy was transgender, saying that implication was incorrect.

The fifth and final season of F is for Family introduced Louis, Sue's gay brother who was previously mentioned in earlier seasons. Louis is voiced by gay actor Neil Patrick Harris.

The fourth season Big Mouth dropped on Netflix on December 4, 2020. The season's first episode included a character named Natalie, who is a trans female teenager, highlights "various, popular transphobic arguments," while giving her a supportive friend named Jessi, and another named Seth, who rejects her identity, who she rejects. Natalie also appears in Human Resources.

The third part of Disenchantment, which aired in January 2021, features Mora, who is the current love interest of Princess Bean, a series protagonist. She reappears in the show's fourth part, which aired in February 2022. Also, in the third part of Disenchantment, Bean was confirmed to be bisexual. Bean, in the part 3 episode "Last Splash," has a same-sex kiss with the mermaid Mora. In the previous season, Bean was shown to enjoy "the company of mermaids." Earlier in the series, Elfo, a male elf, was her love interest. Disenchantment is Matt Groening's first series to have an LGBT lead character, something she shares with her voice actress Abbi Jacobson. Reviewers later said that was confirmed that Bean "is indeed queer" and that she likes mermaids and noted deeper queer themes throughout the show.

The FOX adult animated sitcom, The Great North, which began airing in January 2021, has an openly gay character: Ham Tobin, played by Paul Rust, is the middle son of Beef Tobin. Ham is a teen trying to find their place in the world and comes out to his family as gay, even though he did so in the past. He eventually gets into a relationship with Crispin Cienfuegos, a teen that his sister Judy previously had a crush on until she realized that he is gay.

The creators of Hulu's Solar Opposites, Justin Roiland and Mike McMahan, confirmed, in March 2021, that Korvo and Terry are a romantic couple in a committed relationship. Roiland also described both as genderless aliens which asexually reproduce but are not asexual.

In March 2021, Taylor Henderson of Pride.com interviewed a gay staff writer on the series, Charlie Kelly, who told her that it is "really exciting" to work on something where queerness of characters is not "a source of drama or emotional tension" and was blown away by the pilot in having a "super-evolved, grounded take on a gay teen." Kelly praised the kiss between Ham and Crispin, saying it might be a "first for primetime animation in terms of a real gay kiss" and to have a gay character in the main cast of a broadcast animation, adding that having gay love stories on television with a focus on romance and not "shame, bullying, sickness, or family strife is important," saying that showing positive outcomes for queer characters is vital.

The adult animated Amazon Prime Video series, Invincible, which began in late March 2021, included a gay character, William Francis Clockwell. He is Mark Grayson's best friend who has a crush on Mark's dad Omni-Man and is voiced by openly gay actor Andrew Rannells. In the episode "You Look Kinda Dead", he visits his ex-boyfriend Rick Sheridan (voiced by Jonathan Groff) who goes to Upstate University. Rick is turned into a cyborg by young mad scientist DA Sinclair.

The voice actor of Melissa Tartleton, on Hulu's M.O.D.O.K., Melissa Fumero, said, on April 27, 2021, that the bisexuality of the character she voices would have been explored in the show's second season, including the introduction of her girlfriend. However, the series was cancelled after one season in May 2022.

In the Final Space episode, "Forgiveness," on May 8, 2021, Ash Graven meets a genderless being named Evra, voiced by Jasmin Savoy Brown. Evra becomes Ash's friend and helps her "take her anger out," with both sitting and watching a formation of lights like the aurora borealis together. Her relationship with Evra makes clear her sexual orientation as a lesbian woman, in addition to being angry at a man named Jordan Hammerstein, in the episode "Arachnitects," for rejecting her at prom. Rogers, in a podcast about the episode "Forgiveness" that David Sacks, who wrote the episode, came from a place of "two souls connecting to each other" and noted that if the show had fourth season, they would have expand on the relationship between Evra and Ash. However, the series was cancelled on September 10, 2021, before it could ever happen. One reviewer argued that having Ash as a lesbian character was "one of the best representations of LGBTQ characters in mature animation for some time," as shown in the episode "Forgiveness," and saying she is a lesbian, not "ambiguously bi", comparing her experience to the manipulation of Cassandra in the final season of Tangled by Zhan Tiri.

The season five Rick and Morty episode, "Mort Dinner Rick Andre," in June 2021, confirmed that the father of Morty, Jerry Smith, is queer because he, and Beth, his wife, have a threesome with the King of the Ocean, otherwise known as Mr. Nimbus. Jerry has feelings for Mr. Nimbus, and due to the fact he has a wife, it means he is either pansexual or bisexual, with both he and Beth in a "sex-positive place" in their relationship, according to Jerry's voice actor, Chris Parnell. The fact he is queer was already hinted in the episode "Total Rickall."

Steve Maryweather, the protagonist of Q-Force, which aired in September 2021, leads a "team of fellow LGBTQ super-spies". Otherwise known as Agency Mary, he heads a team of LGBTQ spies, consisting of a drag disguise master (Twink), a skilled mechanic (Deb), and a hacker (Stat), later working with a straight man named Agent Buck. He is voiced by Sean Hayes, a gay actor who is the show's creator. Benji is a gay man who is the love interest of Mary and is often in danger due to his closeness to the Q-Force. Appearing in the same show is Deb, a mechanic and guru with gadgets. She has a wife, 16 rescue dogs, and pretends to work at a Pep Boys when not part of the Q-Force. She is voiced by lesbian actress Wanda Sykes.

Chicago Party Aunt, based on a Twitter account of the same name, premiered on September 17, 2021. The series features two gay characters Diane Dubrowski's nephew Duncan, and Gideon, Diane's boss at Borough. Gideon is voiced by gay actor and drag queen RuPaul Charles. Star Trek: Lower Decks features Andy Billups who is implied to be asexual in the September 27, 2021 season 2 episode "Where Pleasant Mountains Lie". The following episode "I, Excretus", had Billups not participating in any sex act in the Naked Time simulator.

On November 7, 2021, Arcane, aimed at a "16+" audience like the League of Legends video game it is based on, premiered on Netflix. In the series, Caitlyn Kiramman, a recurring character, is attracted to Vi, a woman from the undercity, despite their different circumstances. Show writer Amanda Overton said that the relationship between Caitlyn and Vi is "naturally developing," with writers honoring the lived experiences of both characters. Overton said that in Piltover, where Caitlyn lives, there is no word for describing those who are gay or any homophobia, meaning that Caitlyn could "marry any gender or race suitor," with such a person becoming "part of her house." In the episode "Everybody Wants to Be My Enemy", Vi tells Caitlyn "you’re hot, Cupcake." Overton said that this line was added to bring clarity to her character and showed that she loves women. In the show's ninth episode, Vi's sister, Jinx, describes Caitlyn as Vi's girlfriend, and Vi becomes closer to Caitlyn. The show was renewed for a second season on November 20.

Gen:Lock features Robert Sinclair who is revealed to be gay in a November 2021 Season 2 episode. The HBO Max series, Santa Inc., which aired in December 2021, features Goldie, a reindeer who is a member of Santa Claus' "B-Team". She mentions having sex with Prancer and his girlfriend in the first episode.

The Legend of Vox Machina, which began in January 2022, features Keyleth of the Air Ashari and Scanlan Shorthalt who are both queer. It also features half-elf twins Vex'ahlia "Vex" de Rolo and Vax'ildan "Vax" Vessar, who are bisexual.

Close Enough which ran from 2020 to 2022 features Randall "Randy" Watson who is revealed to be gay in the third season episode "Randy Free Solos" in April 2022. His sexuality was established as early as the 2017 pitch trailer which featured a scene in which he was creating a gift for his boyfriend. Randy is voiced by gay actor James Adomian.

On April 29, 2022, the second season of Undone introduced Alejandro, the older half-brother of Alma and Becca. He is revealed to be gay.

On May 15, 2022, the Duncanville season 3 episode "(Work) Marriage Story" introduced a gay couple Garret and Bryce. They reappeared in the later episode "The Pursuit of Daddyness" where they adopt a baby. Garret is voiced by gay comedian Bowen Yang and Bryce is voiced by gay actor Andrew Rannells.

On October 13, 2022, the Little Demon episode "Wet Bodies" revealed Chrissy's mother Laura Feinberg to be bisexual as she previously had a same-sex relationship with Sea Hag. Laura is voiced by bisexual actress Aubrey Plaza.

The upcoming 2023 HBO Max animated series Velma will portray Daphne Blake as a lesbian with two mothers Donna Blay and Linda Ke. Donna Blay will be voiced by lesbian actress Jane Lynch and Linda Ke will be voiced by lesbian comedian Wanda Sykes.

See also

• LGBT representation in children's television
• Cartoon Network and LGBT representation
• Disney and LGBT representation in animation
• LGBT representation in animated web series
• List of lesbian characters in animation
• List of gay characters in animation
• List of bisexual characters in animation
• List of fictional trans characters
• List of fictional pansexual characters
• List of fictional asexual characters
• List of fictional intersex characters
• List of fictional non-binary characters

References

Sources

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