TV's gay characters, before and after Ellen

Contents:

• LGBT REPRENTATN ON TV THROUGH THE AG – OM EASTENRS’ FIRST GAY KISS TO TRANSGENR SUPERHERO
• LBGTQ TV: A HISTORY OF GAY CHARACTERS, OM STONEWALL TO ‘BATWOMAN’
• TV'S GAY CHARACTERS, BEFORE AND AFTER ELLEN
• 10 MILTONE MOMENTS GAY TV HISTORY
• 14 TV SHOWS THAT BROKE GROUND WH GAY AND TRANSGENR CHARACTERS

LGBT REPRENTATN ON TV THROUGH THE AG – OM EASTENRS’ FIRST GAY KISS TO TRANSGENR SUPERHERO

While we may now take for granted the prence of queer figureheads on TV, ls than 30 years ago the mere prence of someone intifyg as gay uld send viewers to a tailsp, pecially as beg gay – or gay marriage – was illegal. For ’s Pri Week, we’ve looked back through the years of LGBT relatnships on TV, celebratg landmark moments and trailblazg shownners who fied the odds to get the sential scen on air while startg to break down homophobia and transphobia the procs. Here are jt some of the characters and shows that broke new ground brgg lbian, gay, bisexual, trans and queer stori to our screens.

Col Rsell and Guido Smh aired the first lip-to-lip kiss on Eastenrs (Picture: BBC)In 1989, the first lip-to-lip gay kiss aired on Brish TV urty of Eastenrs. It happened between Col Rsell (Michael Cashman) and his romantic other half Guido Smh (Nicholas Donovan) – after years of character Col beg out and gay on the seri. The first lbian kiss beme so inic aired as part of the 2012 Olympic ceremony (Picture: Channel 4)Brooksi’s 1994 lbian kiss between Beth (Anna Friel) and Margaret (Nila Stephenson) is often ced as the first UK gay kiss, but unfortunately they were five years late.

LBGTQ TV: A HISTORY OF GAY CHARACTERS, OM STONEWALL TO ‘BATWOMAN’

The moment was so inic, even managed to land a place a montage for the2012 London Olympic Openg Ceremony – airg across the world cludg untri where homosexualy was illegal. Sean and Pedro held their first gay mment ceremony on TV1994: The Real World airs first gay weddg ceremony on TV, and stars HIV+ nttant. In 1994, realy TV show The Real World: San Francis broke some ser ground whout even meang to when gay uple Sean Sasser and Pedro Zamora held a mment ceremony to each other live on air.

Exchangg vows and rgs, the pair effectively beme the first gay weddg to ever air on televisn. But the show phed forward regardls, and even had gay rights activist Candace Ggrich officiate the weddg to drive the pot home.

TV'S GAY CHARACTERS, BEFORE AND AFTER ELLEN

It’s one of the most fg moments of the late 90s – Ellen Degener g out as gay, first as a character on her show, and then publicly shortly after. Queer as Folk was a no-holds-barred look at life of three gay men Manchter (Picture: Channel 4)1999: Queer As Folk lnch the UK.

Starrg Aidan Gillan, Charlie Hunnam and Craig Kelly – Queer As Folk beme groundbreakg telly part to s no-holds-barred look at life and sex on the Manchter gay scene. Lnched by Rsell T Davi, Queer as Folk aired at a turng pot time for homosexualy and acceptance, wh the ernment that same year lowerg the age of nsent for gay sex down to 16, the same as heterosexual sex. While there was fely some problematic elements to the show, still showed beg gay a much more well-round, ls stereotypil light than before, and was one of the first major seri to lead off three gay characters.

First havg a heterosexual relatnship wh Oz (Seth Green), Willow veloped feelgs and relatnship wh young wch Tara (Amber Benson), before g out as gay to her iends. Leadg gay rol, Cameron (Eric Stontreet) and Mchell (Jse Tyler Fergon) were troduced after adoptg a Vietname dghter, Lily.

10 MILTONE MOMENTS GAY TV HISTORY

They later went on to get married and adopt a send child, but this was the first time on a major s that the ncept of adoptn, and raisg a fay a gay hoehold, was tly displayed at length. Ruby Rose’s Batwoman is TV’s first openly gay superhero (Picture: CW)2020: Ruby Rose’s Batwoman be first major gay superhero. Batwoman ught the attentn of fans everywhere when was nfirmed that actrs Ruby Rose will be playg the superhero – and she will be playg her as openly gay.

In April 2019, rerd label drama Empire aired the first ever gay black weddg on work TV, wh Jamal Lyons (Jsie Smollett) tyg the knot to Kai Givens (Toby Onwumere). The 50th anniversary of the Stonewall Rts is a tone for the gay-rights movement, one beg memorated wh everythg om paras to documentari. As a Vulture say about a groundbreakg “All the Fay” episo noted, “In a moment where crics pot to ss as a medium that helped change public opns about gay rights, we should remember that the procs didn’t beg wh ‘Will & Grace’ or ‘Glee.

Long before that, though, there were signature, cludg the 1971 episo of “All the Fay” which the bigoted, homophobic Archie Bunker was stunned to disver that an old buddy was gay.

14 TV SHOWS THAT BROKE GROUND WH GAY AND TRANSGENR CHARACTERS

Six years later, Billy Crystal beme one of the first openly gay regular characters a seri “Soap, ” the broad ABC satire. Addnal breakthroughs followed seri like “Roseanne” and “Friends, ” eventually leadg to the gay uple “Morn Fay” a ago.

In 1972, Hal Holbrook played a divorced dad hidg the fact he was gay om his son “That Certa Summer, ” nsired one of the first sympathetic pictns of gay characters on televisn. PBS also broke ground realy TV wh “An Amerin Fay, ” the 1973 seri that featured Lance Loud, whose g out ma him a gay in.

The 1980s brought AIDS to the nversatn, wh movi such as “An Early Frost, ” an NBC movie about a gay lawyer who mt break the news about his AIDS diagnosis to his parents. The same thg happened when ABC’s “thirtysomethg” beme the first seri to pict two gay men bed together 30 years ago, a dynamic that ed work officials to thk twice about approvg such storyl. Neverthels, work dramas ntued to ph boundari, cludg a gay teen ABC’s 1990s seri “My So-Called Life.