This is a list of comedy television series (including web television and miniseries) which feature lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender characters. Non-binary, pansexual, asexual, and graysexual characters are also included. The orientation can be portrayed on-screen, described in the dialogue or mentioned.
| Show | Character | Actor | Notes | Network Series run |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Ernie Kovacs Show | Percy Dovetonsils was a wealthy, giddy and lisping effeminate poet. TV reviewers called him a sissy. Percy came closest to saying he was gay in a skit where he began plucking petals from a plastic flower saying, "he loves me, he loves me not..." John Barbour, who produced and narrated a documentary about Kovacs, said the Percy character was "the Alfred E. Neuman of the gay set".[5] [6] | CBS 1952–1954 | ||
| The Ernie Kovacs Show | Rock Mississippi | In a January 26, 1956, episode, Kovacs basically outed secretly-closeted Rock Hudson, when he played the character Rock Mississippi. Rock was a Hollywood film star who wore long false eyelashes and was swishy and effeminate. Rock was offering a preview of his latest movie, The Umbrella Salesman of Ranchipur.[7] [8] | NBC 1956 | |
| It's A Great Life | Mrs. Shufflewick | Rex Jameson was a female impersonator who created the character Mrs. Shufflewick at a BBC audition. Mrs. Shufflewick was a ruddy, tipsy cockney woman settled in the snug of her local pub, The Cock & Comfort: "a lot of comfort, but not much of anything else". In 1955, he was featured in the TV show It's A Great Life and was voted "TV Personality of the Year" for his performance. He also appeared on TV in other shows from the 1950s-1970s. Jameson was secretly gay, until he was outed in the 1970s.[9] [10] [11] | BBC 1955 | |
| The Steve Allen Show | Travel Correspondent | Poston portrayed a TV news travel correspondent doing a report from Scotland, while wearing a kilt. When anchorman Allen asks him about his knees getting cold, Poston replies, no, but they do get a lot of compliments, I haven't paid for a drink since I got here. Poston also relays to Allen that a Duke proposed to him and they were engaged, while primping effeminately. | NBC 1959 | |
| Show | Character | Actor | Notes | Network Series run | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Agony | Michael | First British sitcom to feature a gay couple in a non-camp fashion. Michael eventually committed suicide after being outed on a live phone-in radio show.[12] | ITV 1979-1981 | ||
| Rob | Jeremy Bulloch | ||||
| style=text-align:left | Alice | Jack Newhouse | Alice falls for Mel's friend Jack, a gay ex-professional football player. When he comes out to her, Alice is concerned about letting her son go fishing with him. | CBS 1976-1985 | |
| All in the Family | Steve | Archie's friend Steve, an ex–professional football player, shocks him by telling him he's gay.[13] | CBS 1971-1979 | ||
| Veronica | Veronica was the longtime partner of Edith's cousin Liz.[14] [15] | ||||
| All That Glitters | Linda Murkland | Linda Murkland is a transgender woman. The show featured the first regular transgender character on TV.[16] | Syndication 1977 | ||
| Are You Being Served? | Humphries is the junior menswear assistant working in the fictional Grace Brothers department store. | BBC1 1972-1985 | |||
| Ball Four | Bill Westlake | Based on the book Ball Four. Featured a gay rookie baseball player.[17] [18] [19] | CBS 1976 | ||
| Barney Miller | Darryl and Marty are openly gay recurring characters, and partners. Series creator Danny Arnold worked with the National Gay Task Force in developing the characters of Darryl and Marty. Initially, both were presented as flamboyantly gay, but as the series progressed Darryl began acting and dressing more conservatively.[20] [21] | ABC 1975-1982 | |||
| Ray Stewart | |||||
| Zitelli comes out to Miller, after someone writes an anonymous letter threatening to reveal that one of the cops is gay.[22] | |||||
| The Bob Newhart Show | Craig joins Bob's group therapy and comes out to the group, with mixed reactions from them.[23] | CBS 1972-1978 | |||
| The Corner Bar | Peter Panama | The first continuing portrayal of a gay person on American television.[24] | ABC 1972–1973 | ||
| Hot l Baltimore | George Gordon | Lee Bergere Henry Calvert | Middle aged couple living together. One of the first gay couples to be depicted on an American television series.[25] | ABC 1975 | |
| Hollywood Squares | Paul Lynde | Regular member of celebrities on Hollywood Squares.[26] | ABC 1975 | ||
| Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman | Ed McCullough | Laurence Haddon | Ed and Howard were introduced as a pair of brothers sharing a house in the Hartmans' neighborhood but were later revealed to be a gay couple hoping to live an open life in Fernwood. | Syndicated 1976–1977 | |
| Howard McCullough | Beeson Carroll | ||||
| The Mary Tyler Moore Show | Ben Sutherland | Ben is gay and the brother of Phyllis. In "My Brother's Keeper", she tries to set him up with Mary, but he instead hangs out with Rhoda who later tells Phyllis the reason why she's not interested in dating Ben.[27] | CBS 1970–1977 | ||
| Maude | Barry Witherspoon | Walter is upset to hear that Maude's new friend, Barry Witherspoon, a local gay novelist, will be stopping by for drinks, feeling that he is a "pompous windbag."[28] [29] | CBS 1972-1978 | ||
| 1st man | Craig Richard Nelson | Maude's neighbor Arthur (Conrad Bain), is outraged about a new gay bar in town, so she takes him there to change Arthur's bigoted mind through thoughtful conversation with a young patron (1st man).[30] | |||
| The Nancy Walker Show | Terry Folson | Terry is an out-of-work actor and personal assistant to lead character Nancy Kitteridge (Nancy Walker). | ABC 1976 | ||
| Porridge | Lukewarm is an openly gay inmate, he got his nickname from working in the prison kitchen and always preparing tepid food. Porridge is considered to be one of the greatest British sitcoms of all time.[31] [32] | BBC 1974-1977 | |||
| Gay Gordon | Gay Gordon is a semi-regular character and worked in the kitchens. One of the episodes he appeared in was "Just Desserts".[33] | ||||
| Soap | Jodie is openly gay, and dated a closeted football player, but later dates a woman. Jodie Dallas is one of the most memorable gay characters from the 70s and played a central role in the series week after week. | ABC 1977–1981 | |||
| Snip | Michael Robert St. James | Walter Wanderman | Michael is an openly gay hairdresser. The show was created by James Komack, the creator of Chico and the Man and Welcome Back Kotter. The series was to premiere September 30, 1976, on NBC, but was shelved at the last minute and was never broadcast in the United States. The five completed episodes aired in Australia.[34] [35] [36] | NBC 1976 | |
| Show | Character | Actor | Notes | Network Series run |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Abbott Elementary | Jacob Hill | Jacob is a sixth grade history teacher at Abbot Elementary. In the episode titled "Work Family", Jacob reveals he has been dating his boyfriend Zach for 2 years.[339] | ABC 2021– | |
| Zach | Larry Owens | |||
| Avenue 5 | Ryan Clark | Clark has a husband and a wife, indicating he is bisexual.[340] | HBO 2020–2022 | |
| Big Shot | Carolyn "Mouse" Smith | Tisha Eve Custodio | Mouse has a massive crush on Harper, an female journalist at the school.[341] | Disney+ 2021–2022 |
| Boy Luck Club | JJ Lai | Kit DeZolt | JJ is a yoga instructor who gets together with his five 'gaysian' best friends every Friday night for cocktails via online chats to offer support to help each other navigate life under quarantine.[342] [343] | AsianAmericanMovies.com 2020– |
| Julian Tran | David Vi Hoang | |||
| Otis Wu | Eric Cheng | |||
| Aiden Wong | Stanson Chung | |||
| Ronald Cruz | Justin Madriaga | |||
| Felix Costa | Xavier Durante | |||
| Danger Force | Dustan | Brandon Claybon | Dustan and Justin are a gay couple raising their adoptive child Ellis. When Ellis gets lost, the Danger Force rescues him and reunites him with his dads.[344] | Nickelodeon 2020–2024 |
| Justin | Tommy Dickie | |||
| Diary of a Future President | Camila | Camila is lesbian. She has a girlfriend, but is apprehensive about coming out to her parents.[345] | Disney+ 2020–2021 | |
| Doogie Kameāloha, M.D. | Charles Zeller | Zeller is gay. She has a ex-boyfriend.[346] | Disney+ 2021–2023 | |
| Everything's Gonna Be Okay | Nicholas | Nicholas and Adam are a gay couple. When Nicholas' father dies, he is responsible for taking care of his teenage half-sisters.[347] [348] | Freeform 2020–2021 | |
| Alex | Adam Faison | |||
| Feel Good | Mae | Mae and George are in a relationship.[349] [350] | Channel 4 Netflix 2020–2021 | |
| George | Charlotte Ritchie | |||
| Ghosts | Isaac Higgintoot | Isaac is a gay Revolutionary War officer who haunts Woodstone Manor.[351] | CBS 2021- | |
| High Fidelity | Robyn "Rob" Brooks | Rob is bisexual, and works at the record store she owns. The series is based on Nick Hornby's novel High Fidelity and the film.[352] | Hulu 2020 | |
| Simon Miller | David H. Holmes | Simon and Blake are a gay couple. Simon works at the record store, while Blake is a bartender. The series was canceled after one season.[353] | ||
| Blake | Edmund Donovan | |||
| Hacks | Beth | Blair Beeken | Beth and Winnie are ex-wives.[354] | HBO Max (seasons 1–2) Max (season 3–present) 2021– |
| Winnie Landell | Helen Hunt | |||
| Home Economics | Sarah Hayworth | Sarah and Denise are a lesbian couple. They are married with two kids. Sarah is unemployed, while Denise is a school teacher.[355] [356] | ABC 2021–2023 | |
| Denise | Sasheer Zamata | |||
| Indebted | Joanna | Joanna is lesbian.[357] | NBC 2020 | |
| Julie and the Phantoms | Alex Mercer | Alex is a gay ghost, and the drummer for the fictional band Julie and the Phantoms. He falls in love with another gay ghost named Willie, an avid skateboarder.[358] [359] | Netflix 2020 | |
| Willie | Booboo Stewart | |||
| Mr. Mayor | Susan Krap | Susan Krap is a lesbian. | NBC 2021–2022 | |
| Only Murders in the Building | Alice Banks | Mabel and Alice are in a romantic relationship[360] | Hulu 2021– | |
| Mabel Mora | Selena Gomez | |||
| Detective Williams | Williams is married to another woman, and they raise a child. | |||
| Howard Morris | Howard is gay. | |||
| Jan Bellows | Jan dates Charles' stunt double Sazz. | |||
| Sazz Pataki | Jane Lynch | |||
| Our Flag Means Death | Edward "Blackbeard" Teach | Taika Waititi | Ed & Stede's relationship is confirmed to be romantic in 1x09.[361] | HBO Max 2022–2024 |
| Stede Bonnet | Rhys Darby | |||
| Lucius | Nathan Foad | Lucius is openly gay and is in a sexual and romantic relationship with Black Pete.[362] | ||
| Black Pete | Matthew Maher | |||
| Bonifacia Jimenez/Jim | Vico Ortiz | Bonifacia/Jim is a non-binary character who goes by the alias 'Jim' while hiding aboard Bonnet's ship. After removing the male disguise, Jim begins using they/them pronouns.[363] | ||
| Pivoting | Sarah | Sarah is bisexual.[364] | Fox 2022 | |
| Saved by the Bell | Lexi Haddad-DeFabrizio | Lexi is a trans woman, and Queen bee of the school.[365] | Peacock 2020–2021 | |
| Space Force | Dr. Adrian Mallory | Dr. Mallory is gay and Space Force's chief scientist. He is frequently frustrated by the ineptitude of everyone surrounding him.[366] | Netflix 2020–2022 | |
| Ted Lasso | Colin Hughes | Colin Hughes is a footballer for AFC Richmond, who comes out during the third season, firstly doing so to Trent Crimm, a journalist who similarly discusses their sexuality.[367] | Apple TV 2020–2023 | |
| Trent Crimm | James Lance | |||
| Twenties | Hattie | Jonica "Jojo" T. Gibbs | Hattie is a queer aspiring screenwriter, living in Los Angeles.[368] | BET 2020–2021 |
| YYY | Nott | Yoon Phusanu | YYY is a Thai boys' love comedy series, about boys living in the same apartment together.[369] Nott and Pun are gay love interests.[370] | Line TV 2020– |
| Pun | Lay Talay | |||
| Porpla | Poppy Ratchapong | Porpla is a trans woman, and one of the roommates.[371] | ||
| Uncoupled | Michael Lawson | Michael is a newly single gay man in New York.[372] | Netflix Showtime 2022 | |
| Colin McKenna | Colin is Michael's former partner of 17 years. | |||
| Billy | Emerson Brooks | Billy and Stanley are gay friends of Michael. | ||
| Stanley | Brooks Ashmanskas | |||
| Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist | Mo | Mo is Zoey's gay, gender non-conforming neighbor and DJ who tries to help her understand the extent of her power.[373] | NBC 2020–2021 | |
| Eddie | Patrick Ortiz | Eddie is gay and Mo's love interest.[374] | ||