GLAAD’s annual “Where We Are on TV” report, now in its 21st year, has uncovered record high representation of both black and transgender characters on television during the 2016-17 broadcast season (via The Hollywood Reporter).
This year saw the number of LGBTQ regular characters hit its highest mark (4.8 percent) on television since GLAAD began tracking all broadcast series regulars 12 years ago; with an additional record-high (20 percent) for all black series regulars, though disappointingly only 38 percent of those characters were women.
This includes any original series both on broadcast, cable, and premium cable; as well as streaming services like Netflix, Hulu, and Amazon.
Transgender regular (and recurring) characters have more than doubled from a year ago (from seven to 16), while there’s also a record high of regular characters with disabilities on broadcast TV (1.7 percent).