LGBTQ+ Characters on TV Just Hit an All-Time Low — and No Trans Character Will Be Back Next Year

GLAAD published its 21st annual Where We Are on TV report on November 12, and the number at the top is the kind you read twice: 369 LGBTQ characters across scripted primetime broadcast, cable and streaming originals. Last season the same count was 489. That is 120 characters gone — a 25% drop in a single year.

The report tracks every LGBTQ character in series that aired a new season between June 1, 2025 and May 31, 2026. It does not measure vibes or intentions. It measures who is actually on screen, and whether the industry plans to keep them there.

What disappeared, category by category

Of the 369 characters, 161 (44%) are characters of colour — down from 51% a year earlier and the lowest share in eight years. Transgender characters number seven, or 2% of the total, against 33 last season. Six are women, one is a man, and GLAAD confirms that none of them will return next year. Characters living with HIV: zero.

Another 141 characters (38%) are not coming back at all, lost to cancellations, series endings, limited-series formats, or characters written out of their own shows.

Nick Adams, Vice President of the GLAAD Media Institute, put the trajectory bluntly: the study has recorded a year-over-year decline in transgender characters since the record high of 42 in the 2021-2022 report, and this year the well ran dry for the season ahead.

The hits make the cuts look even stranger

The same season produced some of the most in-demand queer-led television ever measured. Heated Rivalry became HBO Max's most-watched acquired scripted series, peaking at 52x average demand. Pluribus was Apple TV's most-watched original series in the US, with 50x demand, six Emmy Awards and a 99% score on Rotten Tomatoes. The Hunting Wives doubled its viewership in its second week, topped the Netflix charts and locked in seasons two and three. Stranger Things and Hazbin Hotel were the two most in-demand series of the research period, at 174x and 73x demand respectively.

The audience data points the same direction. According to MRI-Simmons research cited by GLAAD, more than half of Gen Z want to see LGBTQ representation on television, Gen Z is 61% more likely than other generations to talk about shows on social media, and nearly a quarter of Gen Z identify as LGBTQ.

"Hollywood is slashing LGBTQ stories and characters even while demand is increasing. It's a bad business decision and one of the drivers turning audiences away from traditional TV and streaming platforms." — Sarah Kate Ellis, President and CEO, GLAAD

Why this lands hard in Amsterdam

Amsterdam's queer calendar is built on the same logic: visibility is infrastructure. Canal Pride, the Reguliersdwarsstraat bars, the drag nights and the film festivals all depend on a culture that treats queer lives as mainstream entertainment rather than a niche. When the world's biggest TV market quietly removes 120 characters in a year, the ripple reaches smaller screens too — and the people who make those screens in the Netherlands are watching the same numbers.

Want to spend your evenings with queer stories instead of spreadsheets? Create a free Vibra profile, browse the best LGBTQ+ parties and events in Amsterdam, grab tickets before they sell out, and earn Pulse points every time you show up for the scene. Your feed, your city, your people.

Sources: GLAAD, Where We Are on TV 2025-2026 report release (12 November 2026); The Hollywood Reporter, "LGBTQ Representation on TV Dropped in 2025-26, GLAAD Study Finds".