You may have heard that
a new GLAAD study shows the number of gay regular characters on network TV is declining, with just 7 spread (tee hee) across all scripted series on the five major networks. (Note that this doesn’t include cable series, reality or any recurring characters, which most TV gays are.)
This is, to say the least, disappointing, especially coming from CBS and the so-called “diverse” CW, which have no gay regulars. It’s also pretty lame that one of the seven is a hot blonde bisexual (Bonnie Somerville) on ABC’s Cashmere Mafia.
Here are our suggestions as to how some other network series can queer up:
1. George Eads and Eric Szmanda star in a limited-run summer spin-off called CSI: Rehoboth.
2 An undercover investigation into the seamy underbelly of an all-girl sex ring leads Det. Olivia Benson (Mariska Hargitay) to find her inner lesbian on SVU. In a very special episode that takes a rare detour into the characters’ personal lives, she gives Stabler’s car a tune-up.
3. Ian Somerhalder joins the ever-expanding cast of Heroes as a new character with an otherworldly ability to put his ankles all the way behind his head. And no gag reflex.
4. Frustrated by the difficulty of dating after 40, Old Christine decides to have a really new adventure. Jane Lynch guest stars.
5. The One Tree Hill characters tend to pair off a lot anyway (on the show and in real life), so it shouldn’t be much of a stretch to get Chad Michael Murray and James Lafferty together for at least half a season.
6. It turns out that NCIS stands for “Nine Cocks in Service.”
7. Ugly Betty discovers that many lesbians actually enjoy a little cushion for the pushin’. She leaves her job at the fashion magazine and becomes an assistant editor at Cat Fancy.
Study: Another straight year for gay characters [Hollywood Reporter]
