Trans Characters Are Vanishing From TV Next Season, GLAAD Study Finds

Transgender characters are banishing from television, GLAAD’s latest “Where We Are on TV” report finds. Out of 386 LGBTQ+ characters on TV from the 2025-2026 season, only seven were trans, an almost 80% decrease in representation. And none of those seven characters will return in the next TV season. Three of the seven trans characters appeared on since canceled or concluding series: “The Family Law,” “Community Squad” and “Squid Game.” The others appeared on Netflix limited series “The Dead Girls,” “Monster: The Ed Gein Story,” “Unspeakable Sins” and “Wayward.” Raina Deerwater, GLAAD’s Associate Director of Entertainment Research and Analysis, told TheWrap that the recent blue wave in the midterm election gave her hope the American people are tired of the anti-trans rhetoric from conservative politicians that likely led to the steep downturn. “A bunch of these Republican candidates released these super awful anti-trans ads. That was the platform they were running on and they lost, and they lost by a lot,” she said. “The people are speaking … it’s just a matter of making sure that the right people are listening.” Her advice for Hollywood was for cis straight people in positions of power to use their influence to support trans voices and storytellers. GLAAD counted 369 LGBTQ+ characters in total, a 25% decrease from the 489 LGBTQ characters counted in the previous season. This slump was not as large as the advocacy group predicted in their 2025 “Where We Are On TV” report, which estimated that 41% of characters would not return due to series cancellations or character deaths and exits. At the time, the organization noted the study only counts shows on the air that TV season, meaning predictions don’t account for new or yet-to-be-announced projects. Brittany Snow as Sophie, Malin Akerman as Margo in “The Hunting Wives” (Credit: Courtesy of Netflix) The study also found that only 44% of queer characters on TV are people of color, setting an eight-year-low for the industry. GLAAD challenged the industry to a standard that at least half of all LGBTQ characters are people of color in previous iterations of this report. Last year they accounted for 51% of queer characters on TV. Despite the decreases in queer representation, GLAAD found that audiences, specifically Gen Z, have an appetite for queer storylines. The success of Crave/HBO Max’s “Heated Rivalry” and “The Hunting Wives” on Netflix last year showcased that diverse storytelling has a commercial benefit for entertainment companies. GLAAD’s President and CEO Sarah Kate Ellis said that slashing LGBTQ sstories while demand is increasing is a “bad business decision.” “The Hunting Wives” doubled its viewership on its second week after release, topping the Netflix charts, and “Heated Rivalry” established itself as a cultural phenomenon becoming HBO Max’s most watched acquired scripted series ever, peaking at 52x average demand. “It’s so funny that ‘Heated Rivalry’ came out — huge hit — and everyone’s like, ‘I know what we need: more hockey,’ ” Deerwater said. “I’m going to go out on a limb and say maybe the hockey wasn’t the big thing why people liked the show.” Hudson Williams and Connor Storrie in “Heated Rivalry” (Credit: Bell Media) “The more diverse stories you can tell, the more people will watch,” she added. “That should be sort of be a line A to B, but unfortunately, that is not the case in what we’re seeing.” Deerwater also noted that Gen Z viewers overwhelmingly want more diverse stories. These viewers are also most likely to organically post about their favorite shows and spread the word of mouth marketing. Gen Z is 61% more likely than the average American to discuss TV on social media and 55% more likely to discuss TV programming with their friends. Read GLAAD’s full “Where We Are On TV” report on the company’s website.