List of dramatic television series with LGBT characters

This is a listing of dramatic television series and miniseries that feature prominent LGBT characters:

Series

Year	Title	Network	Character name	Actor	Notes
2012	Smash	NBC	Tom	Christian Borle	Tom is a Broadway composer.
2011–	Revenge	ABC	Nolan Ross Tyler Barrol	Gabriel Mann Ashton Holmes	Nolan rates himself a 3 on the Kinsey scale. Tyler is a "sexually ambiguous hustler" described in publicity material as a "Talented Mister Ripley type".
2011–	American Horror Story	FX	Chad Patrick Peggy	Zachary Quinto Teddy Sears Kathleen Rose Perkins	Chad and his partner Patrick are the former owners of the haunted house around which the series centers. Peggy is described as Chad's "supportive lesbian friend".
2011–	Teen Wolf	MTV	Danny	Keahu Kahuanui	Danny is on the lacrosse team with the titular character.
2011–	Game of Thrones	HBO	Renly Baratheon Loras Tyrell	Gethin Anthony Finn Jones	Renly is the brother of King Robert. Loras is the Knight of Flowers.
2011–	Bedlam	Sky Living	Ryan	Will Young
2011–	Being Human	Syfy	Emily	Alison Louder	Emily is lead character Josh's sister.
2011–	Fairly Legal	USA	Spencer Reed	Ethan Embry	Spencer is the brother of lead character Kate Reed (Sarah Shahi). Formerly a working lawyer in the family law firm, he is now a stay-at-home dad. His husband's name is Terry.
2011–	Shameless	Showtime	Ian Gallagher Kash Mickey Milkovich Jess Monica Gallagher Roberta	Cameron Monaghan Pej Vahdat Noel Fisher Missy Doty Chloe Webb Carlease Burke	American series based on the UK original. Ian is a gay teenager involved in a sexual relationship with Kash, his boss, who is married and a father. It is unclear whether Kash identifies as other than straight, although he admits to Ian that he did not like having sex with his wife. Mickey is a delinquent and the brother of Ian's beard girlfriend Mandy; he and Ian begin a sexual relationship, although Mickey does not show any emotional attraction toward Ian. Jess is a bartender at the neighborhood bar The Alibi Room. Gallagher clan mother Monica is in a relationship with Roberta.
2011	Playboy ClubThe Playboy Club	NBC	Bunny Alice Sean Beasley Frances Dunhill	Leah Renee Sean Maher Cassidy Freeman	Alice is a Playboy Bunny and secretly lesbian. She is in a sham marriage with Sean, who is gay. Frances begins dating Nick Dalton (Eddie Cibrian) to provide him with a politically acceptable public "girlfriend" and to make her appear heterosexual to her father.
2011	Skins	MTV	Tea Marvelli	Sofia Black D'elia	Tea, a cheerleader, replaced the popular gay character Maxxie from the UK original, sparking outrage among fans.
2011	Sirens	Channel 4	Ashley Greenwick	Richard Madden
2010–	Big CThe Big C	Showtime	Lee	Hugh Dancy	Lee is introduced in season two as a fellow patient in Cathy's (Laura Linney) melanoma clinical trial.
2010–	Downton Abbey	ITV	Thomas Duke of Crowborough	Rob James-Collier Charlie Cox	Thomas is a footman in the aristocratic Crawley household. The Duke of Crowborough is Lady Mary's suitor and Thomas's lover.
2010–	Pretty Little Liars	ABC Family	Emily Fields Maya St. Germain Paige McCullers Samara	Shay Mitchell Bianca Lawson Lindsey Shaw Claire Holt	Emily befriends Maya, the new resident of her missing best friend's former home. It blossoms into romance. Emily later begins a rocky romance with Paige McCullers. In season 2 Emily has a non-exclusive relationship with college student Samara.
2010–2011	Gigantic	TeenNick	Ryan Katins Charlie Maddock	Greg Ellis Don O. Knowlton	Ryan is the adoptive father of lead characters Piper and Finn. An action movie superstar, his children find him in bed with his boyfriend Charlie in the episode "Carpe Diem".
2010–2011	Law & Order: LA	NBC	Lt. Arleen Gonzales	Wanda De Jesus (pilot) Rachel Ticotin	In the episode "El Sereno", Gonzales is accused of racial bigotry in a murder investigation. At trial she comes out as a lesbian, testifying that the bigotry she has faced for being gay has led her to overcome her own bigotry.
2010–2011	Hellcats	The CW	Darwin	Jeremy Wong
2010—	Boardwalk Empire	HBO	Angela Darmody Mary Dittrich	Aleksa Palladino Lisa Joyce	Angela is the fiancée of lead character Jimmy Darmody and uses his last name. Mary and her husband run a photography studio. They have an affair in season 1.
2010	Thorne	Sky1 HD	Phil Hendricks	Aidan Gillen
2010	Undercovers	NBC	Lance	Jay Scully	Lance is a chef at the catering company operated by the lead couple.
2010	Outlaw	NBC	Lucinda Pearl	Carly Pope	Lucinda is bisexual and a private investigator.
2010	Rubicon	AMC	Kale Ingram Walter	Arliss Howard	Ingram is the supervisor of the series's lead character. Walter is his younger partner.
2010	Whole TruthThe Whole Truth	ABC	Alejo Salazar	Anthony Ruivivar	Salazar is second-in-command at lead character Jimmy Brogan's (Rob Morrow) New York law firm. His husband is a lobbyist in Washington, DC.
2009–	Vampire DiariesThe Vampire Diaries	The CW	Bill Forbes	Jack Coleman
2009–	Warehouse 13	Syfy	Helena G. Wells Agent Steve Jinks	Jaime Murray Aaron Ashmore	Helena "H.G." Wells speaks of having both male and female lovers. Jinks is an ATF agent and a "human lie detector".
2009–	Good WifeThe Good Wife	ABC	Kalinda Sharma Owen Cavanaugh	Archie Panjabi Dallas Roberts	Kalinda is bisexual and a private investigator. Owen is the brother of lead character Alicia Florrick (Julianna Margulies).
2009–	Make It or Break It	ABC Family	Max Spencer	Josh Bowman	In the season two episode "What Lies Beneath", Max comes out as bisexual.
2009–	White Collar	USA	Special Agent Diana Barrigan	Marsha Thomason	Diana is in a relationship with a woman named Christie, who first appears in the season three episode "Deadline" played by Moran Atias.
2009–	Southland	NBC (season 1) TNT (season 2– )	Officer John Cooper	Michael Cudlitz	Officer Cooper has been described as "the pained heart of the series."
2009–2011	Being Erica	CBC (Canada) SOAPNet (US)	Dave Ivan	Bill Turnbull Michael Northey	Dave and Ian are in a committed relationship. Beginning in season 3, the couple purchases the local coffee shop together and are upgraded to series regulars.
2009–2011	United States of Tara	Showtime	Marshall Gregson Ted Mayo Hany Jason Lionel Trane Noah Kane	Keir Gilchrist Michael Hitchcock Sammy Sheik Andrew Lawrence Michael Willett Aaron Christian Howles	Marshall is the teenage son of main characters Tara (Toni Collette) and Max (John Corbett). Ted and Hany are an interracial, intergenerational couple and neighbors of the Gregsons. Jason is Marshall's closeted love interest during season 1. Jason's sexuality is left undefined, but it is suggested he is bisexual; As Kate (Marshall's sister) puts it, he is a "bi-curious church monkey". Lionel founded the gay-straight alliance at Marshall's high school. He was Marshall's first boyfriend. Noah is an openly gay classmate of Marshall and Lionel's.
2009–2011	Stargate Universe	Syfy	Camile Wray Sharon	Ming-Na Reiko Aylesworth	Camile is a civilian leader on Destiny. Sharon is her life partner back on Earth. They have been together over 12 years.
2009–2010	Melrose Place	The CW	Ella Simms	Katie Cassidy	Ella was bisexual, making several comments towards women she thought were attractive and occasionally making out with them in bars.
2009–2010	Trauma	NBC	Tyler Briggs	Kevin Rankin	Tyler is a gay EMT. He comes out to his partner Cameron Boone in the episode "Masquerade" and to his father in "Sweet Jane".
2009–2010	Caprica	Syfy	Sam Adama Larry	Sasha Roiz Julius Chapple	Sam is the brother of Joseph Adama and a member of the Tauron mob. Larry is his husband.
2009–2010	FlashForward	ABC	Janis Hawk	Christine Woods	Janis is an FBI agent whose sexual orientation is known to at least some of her colleagues.
2009	PrisonerThe Prisoner	AMC	11-12 909	Jamie Campbell Bower Vincent Regan	11-12 is the son of 2 (Ian McKellen), leader of The Village. 909 is his lover, which relationship 11-12 keeps secret from his father.
2009	Kings	NBC	Jack Benjamin	Sebastian Stan	Jack Benjamin is the Prince and son of King Silas Benjamin.
2008–	Secret Life of the American TeenagerThe Secret Life of the American Teenager	ABC Family	Griffin Peter	Brando Eaton Kristopher Higgins
2008–	Sons of Anarchy	FX	June Stahl Amy Tyler Wendy Case	Ally Walker Pamela J. Gray Drea de Matteo	Agent June Stahl was bisexual. Agent Amy Tyler was her professional and personal partner during the third season. Wendy realized she likes women before season 4.
2008–	True Blood	HBO	Lafayette Reynolds Tara Thornton Eddie Gautier Jesus Velasquez Russell Edgington Talbot Pam Yvetta David Finch	Nelsan Ellis Rutina Wesley Stephen Root Kevin Alejandro Denis O'Hare Theo Alexander Kristin Bauer Natasha Alam John Prosky	Lafayette is a gay short-order cook, drug dealer and prostitute. Tara is Lafayette's cousin. After being involved with several men in the first three seasons, she is involved with a woman as of the premiere of season 4. Eddie is a gay vampire and former accountant, one of Lafeyette's clients. Jesus joined the series in season 3 as Lafayette's love interest. He is a nurse at the nursing home where Lafayette's mother lives and a brujo (witch). Russell is the Vampire King of Mississippi in season 3 and Talbot is his consort. After being implied bisexual in seasons 1 and 2, Pam is seen engaging in oral sex with Yvetta in season 3. David Finch is a hypocritical right-wing politician who was an occasional client of Lafayette's in season 1.
2008–2011	Física o Química	Antena 3	Fernando "Fer" Redondo David Ferrán	Javier Calvo Adrián Rodríguez	Fer is one of the main characters of the series. After Season 3, Fer falls for David, the new straight soccer punk at the school. Eventually David comes out and begins an open relationship with Fer which becomes an emotional roller coaster ride for both characters over several seasons. Their relationship touches on several teenage and LGBT issues such as parental problems, conversion therapy, and teen suicide.
2008–2010	Legend of the Seeker	Syndicated	Cara Mason	Tabrett Bethell	In the television series, Cara is portrayed as bisexual.
2008–2010	In Treatment	HBO	Jesse	Dane DeHaan	Jesse, one of Dr. Paul Weston's patients, is an adopted teenager searching for his real parents.
2008–2009	Raising the Bar	TNT	Charlie Sagansky	Jonathan Scarfe
2008–2009	No. 1 Ladies' Detective AgencyThe No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency	HBO	BK	Desmond Dube
2007–	Skins	E4	Maxxie Oliver Tony Stonem Emily Fitch Naomi Campbell Franky Fitzgerald Matty Levan Mini McGuinness Alex Henley	Mitch Hewer Nicholas Hoult Kathryn Prescott Lily Loveless Dakota Blue Richards Sebastian De Souza Freya Mavor Sam Jackson	Maxxie is openly gay. Maxxie and Tony perform oral sex on a field trip to Russia. Tony's sexuality is left unclear as he has had both male and female sexual relationships, though he has never had a boyfriend, so he may be hetero-flexible. Emily is a lesbian and her love interest, Naomi, is suggested to be bisexual. Franky is an androgynous pansexual, whose main love interest, Matty, is bisexual, though this trait is left unsaid in the series. Mini is suggested to be bisexual and interested in Franky. Alex is a gay character who joins the 'third generation' in the sixth series.
2007–	Damages	FX (seasons 1–3) The 101 Network (season 4– )	Ray Fiske	Željko Ivanek	Fiske was the lead defense attorney on the first season's central case. He was closeted and concealing a relationship with a key witness. Fiske shot himself to death in plaintiff's attorney Patti Hewes's office.
2007–	Mad Men	AMC	Salvatore Romano Carol	Bryan Batt Kate Norby	Sal is a closeted member of the ad agency's art department. Carol is the roommate of (and in love with) the office manager, Joan.
2007–	Gossip Girl	The CW	Eric van der Woodsen Harold Waldorf Roman Asher Hornsby Jonathan Whitney Freddy Parnes Julian Rawlins Josh Ellis	Connor Paolo John Shea William Abadie Jesse Swenson Matt Doyle Austin Lysy Harmon Walsh Neal Bledsoe	Eric is Serena van der Woodsen's brother. Harold is Blair Waldorf's father, and Roman is his boyfriend. Asher and Jonathan are Eric's ex-boyfriends. Freddy is Roman's ex-lover. Julian is school play's director.
2007–2011	Greek	ABC Family	Calvin Owens Heath Michael Grant	Paul James Zack Lively Max Greenfield Gregory Michael	Calvin is a young man who is inadvertently outed in the first season finale. Heath, from a rival fraternity, and Calvin are casual sex partners in season 1 and in season 4 the two are a couple. Calvin had a brief relationship with the older Michael in season 2. Grant is Calvin's season 3 love interest.
2007–2010	TudorsThe Tudors	Showtime (US) BBC (UK) CBC (Canada)	Thomas Tallis William Compton George Boleyn, Viscount Rochford	Joe Van Moyland Kristen Holden-Ried Padraic Delaney	Historical figure Tallis is portrayed as being involved in a sexual relationship with nobleman Compton, although there is no supporting historical evidence. George Boleyn, Anne Boleyn's brother is portrayed as gay, again there is no historical supporting evidence.
2007–2009	Pushing Daisies	ABC	Coroner	Sy Richardson	Series creator Bryan Fuller planned a slow reveal of the coroner's sexuality and his crush on Emerson Cod (Chi McBride).
2007–2009	Reaper	The CW	Tony Steve	Ken Marino Michael Ian Black	Tony and Steve enter the series as a gay couple who live next door to the main trio of Sam, Sock, and Ben. It is later learned they are demons waging a war against the Devil. Steve is killed during the rebellion and manages to get into Heaven. He later becomes Sam's guardian angel.
2007–2009	LairThe Lair	here!	Most of the principal characters	see cast list	Supernatural-themed series following a vampire cult that operates a sex club.
2007–2009	Best YearsThe Best Years	Global/E! (Canada) The N (US)	Lee Campbell	Alan Van Sprang	Lee owns local hot spot nightclub Colony. He is bisexual and HIV-positive.
2007–2009	Heroes	NBC	Gretchen Berg	Madeline Zima	Gretchen is bisexual and is Claire Bennet's roommate in college.
2007–2008	Dirty Sexy Money	ABC	Patrick Darling IV Carmelita	William Baldwin Candis Cayne	Darling, a United States Senate candidate, is carrying on an affair with the transgendered Carmelita, the latest of several such affairs.
2007–2008	Dirt	FX	Leo Spiller Jack Dawson Garbo	Will McCormack Grant Show Carly Pope	Leo is lead character Lucy Spiller's bisexual brother. Jack is a closeted movie star. Garbo is a lesbian drug dealer. Other lead characters Julia Mallory and Willa McPherson experiment with bisexuality.
2007	Jekyll	BBC One	Miranda Calendar Min	Meera Syal Fenella Woolgar	Miranda is a lesbian private investigator. Min is her partner and is having their baby.
2006–	Eureka	Syfy	Vincent	Chris Gauthier
2006–	Waterloo Road	BBC1 (UK)	Jo Lipsett Ros McCain Matt Wilding Josh Stevenson Nate Gurney	Sarah-Jane Potts Sophie McShera Chris Geere William Rush Scott Haining	Jo is an openly gay French teacher. In season 5, episode 17, Ros kisses Jo after completing her exams, despite already having a boyfriend. Matt Wilding, music teacher at the school was gay and was with a boyfriend for three years, but the fact that he was unwilling to live openly as a gay man was a source of constant rows between them and meant the relationship was doomed to failure. Josh is teacher Tom's son and comes out after initially having attractions for his best friend Finn Sharkey. Nate is an openly gay teenage character with romantic connections to Josh.
2006–	Torchwood	BBC Three (series 1) BBC Two (series 2) BBC One (series 3) Starz (season 4– )	Jack Harkness Ianto Jones Toshiko Sato Captain John Hart Brad Angelo Colasanto Charlotte Willis	John Barrowman Gareth David-Lloyd Naoko Mori James Marsters Dillon Casey Daniele Favilli Marina Benedict	The series' creator, Russell T Davies (who is gay), has described Torchwood as "a very bisexual series". The lead character, Captain Jack Harkness, was previously established on Doctor Who as bisexual or pansexual. Ianto begins the series in a secretive heterosexual relationship, but eventually enters a relationship with Jack. Toshiko is similarly, bisexual, entering a relationship with a woman named Mary while attracted to teammate Owen. Jack's namesake, the real Captain Jack Harkness (Matt Rippy) from 1941 was also revealed to be gay, and was subject to a parting kiss. Jack's ex partner, Captain John Hart James Marsters appears in the second series premiere and the second series finale. In Series Four Jack has a one night stand with Brad, a Washington DC barman. A previous past relationship with an Italian Immigrant is also explored in the seventh and eighth episodes of the series. In episode nine of series four, recurring character Charolotte Willis reveals herself to be a lesbian.
2006–2011	Brothers & Sisters	ABC	Kevin Walker Scotty Wandell Chad Barry Jason McCallister Saul Holden	Matthew Rhys Luke Macfarlane Jason Lewis Eric Winter Ron Rifkin	Kevin is a gay attorney and part of a large family. Scotty is Kevin's husband. Chad was a bisexual former love interest for Kevin. Jason McCallister is the brother of Senator Robert McCallister and a Methodist minister and was Kevin's previous boyfriend. Saul acknowledged to his sister that years previously he had been in love with another man and Saul came out to Kevin.
2006–2011	Big Love	HBO	Alby Grant Dale Tomasson	Matt Ross Ben Koldyke	Alby is a closeted gay Mormon, scheming to control his polygamous sect. He meets Dale, an attorney who runs an "ex-gay" group, in season four and the two become lovers until Dale commits suicide.
2006–2010	Ugly Betty	ABC	Justin Suarez Marc St. James Alexis Meade Cliff St. Paul Austin	Mark Indelicato Michael Urie Rebecca Romijn David Blue Ryan McGinnis	Marc is the openly gay personal assistant of the fashion editor at MODE magazine. Justin is the fashion forward, performing arts-loving nephew of Betty. He came out in the second-to-last episode. Alexis (formerly Alex) is an MTF transsexual and the sibling of lead character Daniel. Cliff is a fashion photographer and Marc's boyfriend in season two. Austin and Justin begin a relationship in the final episodes of the series.
2006	Sinchronicity	BBC Three	Jase Mani Faye	Daniel Percival Navin Chowdhry John Sheahan	Jase is a closeted man who finds a male lover, Mani. Faye is a pre-op male-to-female transsexual.
2005–	Weeds	Showtime	Sanjay Patel Isabelle Hodes Captain Roy Till DEA Agent Shlatter	Maulik Pancholy Allie Grant Jack Stehlin Andrew Rothenberg	Sanjay declared his love for lead character Nancy Botwin but later speculated that it was a case of diva worship. Isabelle is the young daughter of lead characters Doug and Celia Hodes; she identifies as lesbian. Till and Shlatter are professional partners at the Drug Enforcement Administration and also lovers.
2005–	Doctor Who	BBC	Captain Jack Harkness	John Barrowman	"Omnisexual" character from the 51st Century; Jack was spun off into the series Torchwood in Autumn 2006 on BBC Three
2005–	Bones	Fox	Angela Montenegro Roxie Lyon	Michaela Conlin Nichole Hiltz	Angela is bisexual. She had a brief relationship with college friend Roxie.
2005–	Grey's Anatomy	ABC	Callie Torres Erica Hahn Arizona Robbins	Sara Ramirez Brooke Smith Jessica Capshaw	Callie and Erica embark on a romantic relationship during the fifth season until Erica abruptly leaves the hospital. Arizona comes along, they have their signature 'Grey's' romance shenanigans and issues, and eventually get married. They share in raising Callie's baby, fathered by good friend Mark Sloan.
2005–2008	South of Nowhere	The N	Spencer Carlin Ashley Davies	Gabrielle Christian Mandy Musgrave	In this show targeted at teen viewers Spencer Carlin moves to Los Angeles from Ohio and befriends Ashley Davies. The relationship builds and Spencer's coming out to her parents is triggered by her mother walking in on the young couple. In the end of the third season they move in together.
2005–2006	Sleeper Cell	Showtime	Salim Jason	Omid Abtahi Michael Rady	Salim is a gay member of an Islamic terrorist cell. Jason is the man with whom he begins developing a relationship. The charatcers appeared in season 2, Sleeper Cell: American Terror.
2005–2006	Sugar Rush	Channel 4 (UK)	Kim Daniels Saint	Olivia Hallinan Sarah-Jane Potts
2005–2006	Noah's Arc	Logo	Noah Nicholson Alex Kirby Ricky Davis Chance Counter Wade Robinson	Darryl Stephens Rodney Chester Christian Vincent Doug Spearman Jensen Atwood	Shows the lives of a small group of black gay friends living in the Los Angeles, California area.
2005	Beating Heart	MBC	Kim Hae-jung	Harisu	Hae-jung is an MTF transsexual and sibling of lead character Kim Chang-wan.
2005	Commander in Chief	ABC	Vince Taylor	Anthony Azizi	Vince is the Special Aide to the President. In Episode 8, it is revealed that he is gay and has been found to have HIV.
2005	Book of DanielThe Book of Daniel	NBC	Peter Webster	Christian Campbell	Peter is Daniel's 23-year-old gay Republican son.
2005	Inconceivable	NBC	Scott Garcia	David Norona	Scott is a gay attorney who works at the Family Options Fertility Clinic. In the pilot episode, he and his partner have their child.
2005	Fingersmith	BBC	Sue Trinder Maud Lilly	Sally Hawkins Elaine Cassidy
2005	Eyes	ABC	Chris Didion	Rick Worthy
2004–	House	Fox	Thirteen"Thirteen" (Dr. Remy Hadley)	Olivia Wilde	"Thirteen" is bisexual and has been shown in relationships with both men and women.
2004–	Rescue Me	FX	Mike Silletti	Michael Lombardi	Silletti (aka "Probie") initially secretly receives oral sex from a queer construction worker roommate, who later outs him to the other firefighters at Silletti's hall. Silletti then self-identifies as bisexual, but later reverts to stating he is heterosexual.
2004–	Shameless	Channel 4 (UK)	Ian Gallagher Kash Karib Jez Monica Gallagher Norma Mickey Macguire	Gerard Kearns Chris Bisson Lindsey Dawson Annabelle Apsion Dystin Johnson Ciaran Griffiths
2004–	Entourage	HBO	Lloyd	Rex Lee	Assistant to super-agent Ari Gold.
2004–	Desperate Housewives	ABC	Andrew Van De Kamp Justin Peter McMillan Bob Hunter Lee McDermott Robin Gallagher Katherine Mayfair	Shawn Pyfrom Ryan Carnes Lee Tergesen Tuc Watkins Kevin Rahm Julie Benz Dana Delany	Manipulative Andrew claims to be gay but confesses to be bisexual. Andrew's boyfriend Justin is gay. Peter McMillan is the bisexual boyfriend of Andrew's mother. Bob and Lee, a gay couple, move onto Wisteria Lane during the 4th season. Robin is a lesbian ex-stripper who dates Katherine, who discovers she is a bisexual.
2004–2009	Battlestar Galactica	Sci Fi Channel	Felix Gaeta Six D'Anna Helena Cain	Alessandro Juliani Tricia Helfer Lucy Lawless Michelle Forbes	Admiral Helena Cain had a romantic relationship with a civilian network analyst, Gina Inviere, who she later discovered was one of the model Six Cylons. In the webisodes The Face of the Enemy, Gaeta is shown to be in a romantic relationship with a man, Lieutenant Hoshi.
2004–2009	L WordThe L Word	Showtime	Bette Porter Dana Fairbanks Marina Ferrer Tina Kennard Shane McCutcheon Alice Pieszecki Jenny Schecter	Jennifer Beals Erin Daniels Karina Lombard Laurel Holloman Katherine Moennig Leisha Hailey Mia Kirshner	Lesbian-centric soap about a group of friends living in Los Angeles and all their wild and dramatic escapades, from babies and breast cancer to adultery and soapy murder mysteries
2004–2009	Lost	ABC	Tom Friendly	M. C. Gainey
2004–2007	Veronica Mars	UPN	Seth Rafter Ryan Marcos Oliveres Kelly Kuzzio Kylie Marker Marlena Nichols Peter Ferrer	Robert Clark Bradford Anderson Jeremy Ray Valdez Lucas Grabeel Kristin Cavallari Miriam Korn Luke Frydenger	There are a number of positively portrayed minor gay characters in Veronica Mars, although for most being gay is incidental to their characters, similar to their portrayal of ethnic minorities.
2004–2005	Hex	Arena (Aus) Sky One (UK)	Thelma Bates Peggy the Ghost Maya Robertson Tom	Jemima Rooper Katy Carmichael Laura Donnelly Samuel Collings
2004	Wonderfalls	Fox	Sharon Tyler Beth	Katie Finneran Kari Matchett	Sharon inadvertently came out in the first episode. She and Beth (who is bisexual) dated throughout the series.
2004	Jack & Bobby	The WB	Jimmy McCallister	Tom Cavanagh	Brother of Grace McCallister and uncle to the boys. Also a gay teenage character who commits suicide which emotionally affects Jack.
2003–2011	One Tree Hill	WB	Anna	Daniela Alonso	Anna is a bisexual.
2003–2010	Nip/Tuck	FX	Liz Cruz Sophia Lopez Ava Moore Dr. Quentin Costa Kit McGraw Cherry Peck Julia McNamara Olivia Lord	Roma Maffia Jonathan Del Arco Famke Janssen Bruno Campos Rhona Mitra William Belli Joely Richardson Portia de Rossi	Liz Cruz is openly lesbian. Sophia Lopez's transgenderism is the trigger of a significant story arc in Season 1. At the second season's finale, Ava Moore is revealed to be a transsexual, which causes deep consequences in the series. Dr. Quentin Costa is openly bisexual. Detective Kit McGraw is bisexual. Cherry Peck is a transgender who plays a significant role in Season 3. Julia was married to Dr. Sean McNamara but following their divorce fell in love with Olivia.
2003–2007	O.C.The O.C.	Fox	Marissa Cooper Alex Carson Ward	Mischa Barton Olivia Wilde Brian McNamara	Marissa has a lesbian affair with Alex, who is bisexual. Luke's father Carson is gay.
2003–2005	Carnivàle	HBO	Gecko Sophie Libby Dreifuss	John Fleck Clea DuVall Carla Gallo	Gecko, the show's "lizard man," has dialogue that indicates he is gay or bisexual. Fortune teller Sophie seduces cootch dancer Libby.
2003	Angels in America	HBO	Prior Walter Louis Ironson Joe Pitt Roy Cohn	Justin Kirk Ben Shenkman Patrick Wilson Al Pacino	Chronicles AIDS in the 1980s
2003	Crystal Boys	PTS	A-Qing Zhao Ying	Fan Chi-wei Yang Youning
2002–2008	ShieldThe Shield	FX	Julien Lowe	Michael Jace
2002–2006	Everwood	WB	Kyle Hunter	Steven R. McQueen	Kyle is the sensitive gay character and music student tutored by lead character Ephram Brown. Ephram is sensitive and accepting of Kyle and helps him come out. Steven R. McQueen is the grandson of US actor Steve McQueen.
2002–2004	Stingers	Nine Network	Constable Christina Dichiera	Jacinta Templeton	Christina was a young police constable who was recruited into a deep cover unit of the Victorian Police. She is gay and had a brief affair with the daughter of her unit's commander.
2002	Tipping the Velvet	BBC Two	Nan Astly Kitty Butler Diana Lethaby Florence Banner Zena Blake	Rachael Stirling Keeley Hawes Anna Chancellor Jodhi May Sally Hawkins
2002	WireThe Wire	HBO	Kima Greggs Omar Little Felicia "Snoop" Pearson William Rawls	Sonja Sohn Michael K. Williams Felicia Pearson John Doman	Kima and Omar are both consistently gay ensemble members. Throughout the show they each have multiple partners.
2001–	Degrassi: The Next Generation	CTV The N MuchMusic	Marco Del Rossi Dylan Michalchuk Paige Michalchuk Tim Alex Nuñez Riley Stavros Zane Park Adam Torres Fiona Coyne	Adamo Ruggiero John Bregar Lauren Collins Alex House Deanna Casaluce Argiris Karras Shannon Kook-Chun Jordan Todosey Annie Clark	Marco is gay. Dylan is Marco's boyfriend, also Paige's older brother. Paige is bisexual. Tim is gay and briefly dates Marco. Alex is lesbian and Paige's girlfriend. Riley is gay and initially struggles with his sexuality. Zane is Riley's boyfriend. Adam is a female to male transgender person. Fiona briefly dates Adam, then realizes she is lesbian.
2001–2005	24	Fox	Mandy	Mia Kirshner	Mandy is bisexual.
2001–2005	Six Feet Under	HBO	David Fisher Keith Charles	Michael C. Hall Mathew St. Patrick	Gay relationship among lead characters.
2001–2002	Education of Max BickfordThe Education of Max Bickford	CBS	Erica Bettis	Helen Shaver	Erica used to be a man named Steve; she went through a sex reassignment surgery.
2001–2002	Leap Years	Showtime	Gregory Paget	Garret Dillahunt	Series follows characters in three different time settings, 1993, 2001 and 2008. Gregory pursues heterosexual relationships in 1993 but in present and future time settings he is exclusively gay.
2001–2002	100 Centre Street	A&E	Judge Attallah "Queenie" Sims	LaTanya Richardson
2001	Dice	The Movie Network	Patrick Styvesant	Martin Cummins	Patrick's sexual orientation was ambiguous until he told a woman who tried to seduce him that he is gay in episode 5.
2001	Further Tales of the City	Showtime, Channel 4	Anna Madrigal Michael Tolliver Jon Fielding D'orothea/Dorothy Wilson	Olympia Dukakis Paul Hopkins Billy Campbell Françoise Robertson	From the Armistead Maupin book.
2001	Metrosexuality	Channel 4	Max Jordan Dean Bambi Cindy	Rikki Beadle-Blair Karl Collins Paul Keating Davey Fairbanks Carleen Beadle
2000–2005	Queer as Folk	Showtime	Melanie Marcus Ben Bruckner Lindsay Peterson Brian Kinney Justin Taylor Ted Schmidt Emmett Honeycutt David Cameron Michael Novotny Vic Grassi	Michelle Clunie Robert Gant Thea Gill Gale Harold Randy Harrison Scott Lowell Peter Paige Chris Potter Hal Sparks Jack Wetherall	U.S. remake of earlier UK series.
2000–2002	Dark Angel	Fox	Original Cindy	Valarie Rae Miller
2000	Frank Herbert's Dune	Sci Fi Channel	Baron Vladimir Harkonnen	Ian McNeice	The wicked Baron survives an assassination attempt which involves planting a poisoned needle in the body of one of his male slave lovers.
1999–	Law & Order: Special Victims Unit	NBC	Dr. George Huang	B. D. Wong	Huang is a psychiatrist and FBI agent who frequently consults with the Special Victims Unit. He first casually mentions his homosexuality in the 2009 episode "Hardwired".
1999–2007	SopranosThe Sopranos	HBO	Vito Spatafore	Joseph R. Gannascoli	Vito was murdered in season 6 for being gay.
1999–2002	Once and Again	ABC	Jessie Sammler	Evan Rachel Wood
1999–2001	Los Beltrán	Telemundo	Fernando Salazar Kevin Lynch	Gabriel Romero James C. Leary	Fernando and Kevin were the first openly gay characters and the first same-sex couple to marry on Spanish-language television.
1999–2006	Bad Girls	ITV
1999–2000	Queer as Folk	Channel 4	Stuart Alan Jones Vince Tyler Nathan Maloney Alexander Perry Lisa Levene Romey Sullivan Cameron Roberts	Aidan Gillen Craig Kelly Charlie Hunnam Antony Cotton Saira Todd Esther Hall Peter O'Brien	Ground-breaking Channel Four show which included scenes of a 15-year-old boy involved in gay sex acts. The shows sponsors, Scottish & Newcastle withdrew their sponsorship and canceled their Becks beer advertising, from the show.
1999	Wasteland	ABC	Russell Baskind	Dan Montgomery, Jr.	Russell is a closeted soap opera star.
1998–2009	All Saints	Seven Network	Dr. Charlotte Beaumont	Tammy MacIntosh	Started out in the series identifying as a lesbian, but then had a relationship with a man, had a child, and is now more bisexual than gay.
1998–2003	Dawson's Creek	WB	Jack McPhee Doug Witter Ethan Brody Toby Professor Freeman Eric David	Kerr Smith Dylan Neal Adam Kaufman David Monahan Sebastian Spence Ryan Bittle Greg Rikaart	Doug Witter constantly denied he was gay through most of the show but he finally came to terms with his relationship with Jack in the final episode of the series.
1998–2002	Felicity	WB	Javier Clemente Quintata Ryan Crane Samuel	Ian Gomez Eddie McClintock Austin Tichenor	Javier is Felicity's boss at Dean and Deluca; his partner throughout most of the series is Samuel. Ryan, the brother of Noel Crane, Felicity's on-and-off boyfriend, comes out in the episode "Love and Marriage."
1998	More Tales of the City	Showtime Channel 4	Anna Madrigal Michael Tolliver Jon Fielding D'orothea/Dorothy Wilson	Olympia Dukakis Paul Hopkins Billy Campbell Cynda Williams	From the Armistead Maupin book.
1997–2003	Buffy the Vampire Slayer	The WB UPN	Willow Rosenberg Tara Maclay Kennedy Andrew Wells Larry Blaisdell Scott Hope	Alyson Hannigan Amber Benson Iyari Limon Tom Lenk Larry Bagby Fab Filippo	Larry, Xander's bully from season one, later tells Xander he's gay in season two. Scott Hope, a character in season three is revealed to be gay in season seven. Willow and Tara form a loving lesbian relationship that lasts several seasons. Kennedy, also a lesbian, is introduced in season seven. Andrew was confirmed to be gay by Joss Whedon, though it was never directly stated on the show there were several hints.
1997–2003	Oz	HBO	Tobias Beecher Christopher Keller Alonzo Torquemada	Lee Tergesen Christopher Meloni Bobby Cannavale	Toby and Chris have an intense love/hate relationship.
1996–2000	Profiler	NBC	George Fraley	Peter Frechette	While he was a main character his being gay was only referenced a couple of times.
1996-1997	Relativity	ABC	Rhonda Roth	Lisa Edelstein	Rhonda is the lesbian sister of lead character Leo.
1996	Matt Waters	CBS	Russ Achoa	Felix A. Pire	Russ is a gay high school student.
1995–1997	Murder One	ABC	Louis Hines	John Fleck	Louis is the personal assistant to lead attorney Ted Hoffman (Daniel Benzali).
1995–1996	Live Shot	UPN	Lou Waller	Tom Byrd	Waller is the sportscaster at fictional television station KXZX.
1995	Courthouse	CBS	Judge Rosetta Reide	Jennifer Lewis	Reide is a single mother involved in a relationship with her housekeeper.
1994–2009	ER	NBC	Kerry Weaver Yosh Takata Maggie Doyle Kim Legaspi Sandy Lopez Courtney Brown Charles "Chaz" Pratt Jr.	Laura Innes Gedde Watanabe Jorja Fox Elizabeth Mitchell Lisa Vidal Michelle Hurd Sam Jones III
1994–2000	Party of Five	Fox	Ross Werkman	Mitchell Anderson	Ross Werkman was a recurring role as the violin teacher for Claudia Salinger, one of the main characters. Ross appeared in all six seasons of the series.
1994–1995	My So-Called Life	ABC	Enrique `Rickie' Vasquez	Wilson Cruz	Gay teen that was out and proud in his own skin, playing the lovable friend and moral compass.
1993–2005	NYPD Blue	ABC	Lt. Thomas Bale PAA John Irvin Officer Abby Sullivan	Currie Graham Bill Brochtrup Paige Turco
1993	Wild Palms	ABC	Tully Woiwode Tommy Lazlo	Nick Mancuso Ernie Hudson
1993	Tales of the City	PBS Channel 4	Anna Madrigal Michael Tolliver Jon Fielding D'orothea/Dorothy Wilson	Olympia Dukakis Marcus D'Amico Billy Campbell Cynda Williams	Adapted from the novel by Armistead Maupin. Resulted in Congressional investigation into U.S. public television.
1992–1997	Melrose Place	FOX	Matt Fielding	Doug Savant	Regular cast member Matt often played the go-to friend for all the other tenants living in his apartment building. Occasionally he'd get his own dramas here and there, including dating a closeted Navy officer, an addiction to speed, and a lover who framed him for murdering his wife. In 1994, FOX was pressured by advertisers to edit out a moment in which Matt kissed his on-screen lover and the scene was sadly never aired.
1990–2010	Law & Order	NBC	Serena Southerlyn	Elisabeth Röhm	Southerlyn came out as a lesbian in her final appearance, in "Ain't No Love".
1990	Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit	BBC	Jess	Charlotte Coleman	Lesbian schoolgirl grows up in a repressive Lancashire industrial district, finds love.
1988–1989	HeartBeat	ABC	Marilyn McGrath Patty	Gail Strickland Gina Hecht	McGrath was a nurse practitioner and her girlfriend Patty was a chef. They were the first recurring lesbian couple on American television.
1987–1991	thirtysomething	ABC	Russell Weller Peter Montefiore	David Marshall Grant Peter Frechette	First primetime television program to show two men in bed together, in the 1989 episode "Strangers". Five of the show's ten sponsors dropped out, costing ABC $1.5 million.
1986–1994	L.A. Law	NBC	C. J. Lamb	Amanda Donohoe	Cara Jean "C.J." Lamb is a British-born bisexual lawyer who has a brief involvement with Abby Perkins (Michele Greene). The two share a kiss in the 1991 episode "He's a Crowd" they go on a date (off camera). This was during Greene's final episodes and their relationship was not developed further. Donohoe also left the series the following year.
1986	Dress Gray	NBC	Cadet David Hand	Patrick Cassidy	Mini-series about the investigation of Hand's murder; character is seen mostly in flashback.
1985–1986	Mapp and Lucia	Channel 4	Georgie Pillson Quaint Irene	Nigel Hawthorne	Serialising the books by E.F. Benson and set in the 1920s.
1984–1996	CBS Schoolbreak Special	CBS	Todd Bowers	Richard Joseph Paul	Episode "What If I'm Gay?" first aired March 31, 1987.
1984	Celebrity	NBC	Mack Crawford	Joseph Bottoms	Mini-series spanning the life of three famous friends from 1950 to 1975.
1983	One Summer	Channel 4	Kidder	James Hazeldine	Five-part drama series about two teenage boys from Liverpool who run away to Wales. They stay with Kidder, a reclusive gay painter.
1981–1987	Hill Street Blues	NBC	Eddie Gregg Officer Kate McBride	Charles Levin Lindsay Crouse	Eddie was a gay male prostitute who becomes friends with Mick Belker (Bruce Weitz) after helping him take down his pimp. He would guest star in a few episodes of the show before dying from AIDS in Belker's arms in the episode "Slum-Enchanted Evening". McBride comes out after being falsely accused of sexually harassing a female prisoner.
1981–1988	Dynasty	ABC	Steven Carrington	Al Corley Jack Coleman	Steven struggled with his wealthy family and himself regarding his sexuality, but came out the other end a stronger and proud gay male. Amid all the other soapy plots, Steven held his own with murder plots and having a baby during a shame marriage.
1981	Brideshead Revisited	Granada Television (UK) PBS (US)	Charles Ryder Sebastian Flyte	Jeremy Irons Anthony Andrews

See also

• List of television shows with LGBT characters
• List of made for television films with LGBT characters
• Lists of American television episodes with LGBT themes

References

• Becker, Ron (2006). Gay TV and Straight America. Rutgers University Press. ISBN 0813536898.