The Best Current TV Shows with Gay Characters
List Rules Vote up the best shows with LGBT characters that are currently airing new episodes on TV or a streaming service.
Gay characters on TV shows have come a long way since the days of All in the Family when a character named Steve shocked the nation by becoming the first openly gay character on a sitcom. Since then, gay TV shows like Will and Grace and Glee have blazed trails for LGBT characters. Now, scores of shows feature gay characters, sometimes in leading roles and other times as members of the supporting cast. Which gay TV series of 2017-2019 are the best?
Unlike in the past, series like Arrow, Brooklyn Nine-Nine, and plenty of others now feature gay and lesbian characters without focusing overtly on their sexuality. In the past, most gay characters' predominant trait was the fact that they were gay. Now, we have LGBT TV shows with gay characters who are defined by their other traits as well, and they just happen to be gay.
Many people relate the growing presence and positive portrayal of the LGBT community in television to the gradually changing ideals of America. Many television writers have attempted to tackle the issue of gay rights and in doing so, they have helped to change the national narrative.
Thanks to that, we now have gay shows featuring gay characters who are everything from superheroes to prisoners to stay at home dads. Check out this list of gay and lesbian TV shows and vote up the series you think are the best current TV shows with gay characters.
Jules Vaughn
Katerine "Kat" Hernandez


Connor Walsh, Oliver Hampton, Aiden Walker, Eve Rothlo, Annalise Keating
This television show is an American drama television series created by Peter Nowalk. A law professor (Viola Davis) at a prestigious Philadelphia university and five of her students become ...more

Alex Vause, Sophia Burset, Nicky Nichols, Lorna Morello, Carrie "Big Boo" Black, Tricia Miller, Poussey Washington, Brook Soso, Piper Chapman
Orange Is the New Black is an American comedy-drama series created by Jenji Kohan and first released on Netflix on July 11, 2013. The series, produced by Tilted Productions in association with ...more




Brooklyn Nine-Nine (Fox, 2013) is an American police television sitcom created by Dan Goor and Michael Schur. Jake Peralta (Andy Samberg), an immature but talented NYPD detective in Brooklyn's ...more


Modern Family is an American television sitcom that premiered on ABC on September 23, 2009, which follows the lives of Jay Pritchett and his family, all of whom live in suburban Los Angeles. ...more



Jake Rodriguez
Anna Madrigal
DeDe Halcyon Day
Ben Marshall
Michael "Mouse" Tolliver

Kate Kane
Batwoman (The CW, 2019) is an American superhero television series based on the DC Comics character Kate Kane/Batwoman and set in the Arrowverse. Kate Kane (Ruby Rose) must overcome her own ...more




EloideDavis
Tabitha Foster



Anne Lister
Gentleman Jack (HBO, 2019) is a British-American historical drama series created by Sally Wainwright.In 1832, Anne Lister (Suranne Jones) returns to Shibden Hall, her ancestral home in West ...more
Ryan Hayes
Special (Netflix, 2019) is an American upcoming television comedy series created by Ryan O'Connell, who also stars, writes, and executive produces the series. Loosely autobiographical, the show ...more
DC's Legends of Tomorrow (The CW, 2016) is an American superhero action-adventure television series spin-off from Arrow and The Flash, existing in the same fictional universe. Intending to stop ...more
