Fun Friday: Character Demographics This Season

by Amy K. Bredemeyer

For seventeen years now, GLAAD has been tracking the number of LGBT characters in scripted programming. You can see their entire report here, which is full of fantastic facts and figures. I wanted to share some highlights, though, as the numbers are pretty interesting.

Their estimate for the 2012-2013 television season (defined as any show premiering 6/1/12-5/31/13) is that 4.4% (of 701, meaning 31) of all regular characters (on new shows and returning shows) on the five major networks are LGBT. An additional 19 recurring characters are LGBT as well. Cable adds another 35 regulars and 26 recurring.

Where We Are On TV 2012-2013 Season
http://www.glaad.org/files/whereweareontv12.pdf

For comparison, they counted only 1.1% of all regular characters on network programming being LGBT in 2007.

Some other facts from the report that stood out to me:

- Women make up 45% of television characters this season.

- Of the network LGBT characters, 61% are gay men, 20% are lesbian women, 14% bisexual women, and 4% bisexual men. On cable, 49% are gay men, 27% are lesbian women, 15% are bisexual women, and 8% are bisexual men. Of the cable LGBT characters, 4% are transgender, a category not addressed yet this year on network TV.

- Glee and True Blood tie for the highest number of LGBT characters at six each!

- Showtime has 12 regular LGBT characters, the highest of any cable network.

- The CW only had one LGBT character at the start of the 2011 season, but now they have four. Speaking of The CW, 83% of their characters are white. (For comparison 72% of NBC's characters are white.) Latinos are specifically under-represented, with only 4% of the characters on network programming being Latino, despite the US being 16% Latino!

- Last year, only five LGBT characters were "people of color," (POC) but this year there are 14.

- The only network shows this year to have LGBT POC are Bones, Don't Trust the B---- in Apt. 23, Emily Owens, MD, Glee, The Good Wife, Grey's Anatomy, The LA Complex, Malibu Country, The Office, Smash, and Suburgatory. Four are Latino, three are Asian/Pacific Islander, and seven are Black.

- On cable, LGBT POC can be found on Anger Management, Army Wives, Enlightened, House of Lies, Major Crimes, Pretty Little Liars, Single Ladies, Superjail!, Teen Wolf, True Blood, and White Collar.

- The number of disabled characters (a population we've looked at before) decreased this year, to just four - one on each of the four largest networks. GLAAD counts characters with "non-apparent disabilities such as cancer or HIV/AIDS" (as does the ADA). [Because the number is so low, I'll name them for those interested: Dr. Robbins on Grey's Anatomy is an amputee, CSI has a character using prosthetic legs, Parenthood has a character with Asperger's, and Artie on Glee uses a wheelchair. Dr. Robbins will be one of only two LGBT characters with disabilities, the other is the diabetic Thor on Nurse Jackie.]

How do these numbers compare with what you thought they were or where you think they should be? 

For starters, I know that I was surprised to see there were shows featuring six LGBT characters, and I'm surprised at how many of the depicted LGBT characters are white.  

2011 Primetime Emmys, Part 2: Dramas

by Amy K. Bredemeyer

Continuing on, today we look at all of the Primetime Drama Emmy Award nominees. Just a few days until the ceremony, so get excited!!

Outstanding Drama Series
Boardwalk Empire
Dexter
Friday Night Lights
Game of Thrones
The Good Wife
Mad Men
- There are a lot of outstanding dramatic programs on television these days. Of course, I still miss the delights of ER, but these are still some fine candidates. I think I'm going to take a lesson from my Creative Arts predictions and go with Boardwalk Empire.

Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series
"Always" from Friday Night Lights by Jason Katims
"Baelor" from Game of Thrones by David Benioff, D. B. Weiss
"Pilot" from The Killing by Veena Sud
"The Suitcase" from Mad Men by Matthew Weiner
"Blowing Smoke" from Mad Men by Andre Jacquemetton, Maria Jacquemetton
- We're in one of those situations where I'm not in love with any of the nominees for this category. I'm close to going with Friday Night Lights, but I'm going to go with Game of Thrones.

Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series
Boardwalk Empire "Pilot" by Martin Scorsese
Boardwalk Empire "Anastasia" by Jeremy Podeswa
The Borgias "The Poisoned Chalice / The Assassin" by Neil Jordan
Game of Thrones "Winter is Coming (Pilot)" by Tim Van Patten
The Killing "Pilot" by Patty Jenkins
- The picking between Boardwalk Empire and Game of Thrones never stops. This time, I'm going with the pilot for the former.

Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series
Steve Buscemi as Nucky Thompson in Boardwalk Empire
Michael C. Hall as Dexter Morgan in Dexter
Kyle Chandler as Coach Eric Taylor in Friday Night Lights
Hugh Laurie as Dr. Gregory House in House
Timothy Olyphant as Raylan Givens in Justified
Jon Hamm as Don Draper in Mad Men
- Steve Buscemi in Boardwalk Empire. done.

Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series
Connie Britton as Tami Taylor in Friday Night Lights
Julianna Margulies as Alicia Florrick in The Good WifeKathy Bates as Harriet "Harry" Korn in Harry's Law
Mireille Enos as Sarah Linden in The Killing
Mariska Hargitay as Detective Olivia Benson in Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
Elisabeth Moss as Peggy Olson in Mad Men
- I personally feel that Julianna Margulies has emerged on The Good Wife. But I'm sure Elisabeth Moss will give her a run for the money...

Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series
Peter Dinklage as Tyrion Lannister in Game of Thrones
Josh Charles as Will Gardner in The Good Wife
Alan Cumming as Eli Gold in The Good Wife
Walton Goggins as Boyd Crowder in Justified
John Slattery as Roger Sterling in Mad Men
Andre Braugher as Owen in Men of a Certain Age
- I'm going to push for Peter Dinklage, even if it does make me look like I'm trying too hard for Game of Thrones.

Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series
Kelly Macdonald as Margaret Schroeder in Boardwalk Empire
Archie Panjabi as Kalinda Sharma in The Good Wife
Christine Baranski as Diane Lockhart in The Good Wife
Margo Martindale as Mags Bennett in Justified
Michelle Forbed as Mitch Larsen in The Killing
Christina Hendricks as Joan Harris in Mad Men
- I think I might be selecting a fan favorite in Christina Hendricks for her work on Mad Men, but I guess that's okay.

Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series
Bruce Dern as Frank Harlow on Big Love
Beau Bridges as Nick Brody on Brothers & Sisters
Michael J. Fox as Louis Canning on The Good Wife
Paul McCrane as Josh Peyton on Harry's Law
Jeremy Davies as Dickie Bennet on Justified
Robert Morse as Bertram Cooper on Mad Men
- I love it when there's a good guest on a show. So determining who the best guest was can turn into a tricky dilemma. Here, I can't see past Michael J. Fox, especially on such a quality program like The Good Wife.

Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series
Mary McDonnell as Captain Sharon Raydoe in The Closer
Julia Stiles as Lumen Pierce on Dexter
Loretta Devine as Adele Webber on Grey's Anatomy
Randee Heller Miss Blankenship on Mad Men
Cara Buono as Faye Miller on Mad Men
Joan Cusack as Sheila Jackson on Shameless
Alfre Woodard as Ruby Jean Reynolds on True Blood
- I'm torn here. I think that three of these lovely ladies are deserving for their efforts. But (and maybe this is because of all the State of Georgia I've seen lately), Loretta Devine has my vote for Grey's Anatomy.

Vacuum Boycott, New Minister in Cleveland, Name that Obstacle!

by Amy K. Bredemeyer

If you're interested in winning season 2 of Growing Pains or season 6 of The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, head over to Things 90s Kids Realize and leave a comment!

Remember Don't Tell Mom the Babysitter's Dead? Christina Applegate played a teenager who convinced a fashion company that she was an adult, so they gave her a job. We saw this again on Arrested Development with Maeby convincing people that she was old enough to work at a movie studio. Well, ABCFamily is going to have a show focused on this concept next season: it's called Jane by Design, and Jane is a high-schooler who also happens to be a fashion assistant. 

Kelsey Grammer is producing a new reality show, based on the blog, ThatsNotOkayNY.com, written by three single female twentysomethings.

In the ongoing Charlie Sheen drama, he claimed talks were happening to get him back on the show. Then, WB lawyers said that there have been no talks.  Then, Sheen's lawyers came back saying that yes, talks have been happening.

Doris Roberts has three upcoming guest roles, on The Middle, Grey's Anatomy, and Hot in Cleveland.

Soap operas One Life to Live and All My Children have been canceled. Hoover Vacuums is boycotting the cancellation and encouraging others to do so as well.

NICK renewed iCarly for a fifth season.

We just saw the episode of Teen Mom 2 where Leah and Corey got married, but apparently they've already filed for divorce. 

Hot in Cleveland is plotting a spin-off that would center around Cedric the Entertainer, who will play a minister. This intrigues me.

It's no surprise that FOX wants to burn off the remaining episodes of the canceled Running Wilde. However, it's going to burn them off on FX instead, which is different.

CBS has pulled Chaos after only three episodes. That's mighty fast!

You have the chance to help name a new obstacle on ABC's Wipeout!

Teen Wolf Coming; Grey's Anatomy App

by Amy K. Bredemeyer

Well, at this point it's not a spoiler that Dana from Delaware won Cake Boss: The Next Great Baker, but it is news that the show was renewed, and will do another season! I'm excited.

I have not seen MTV's Skins, but enough people have that at least NINE advertisers have pulled their support for the show, including Subway, Orbit, Extra, Foot Locker, and L'oreal.

I find it amusing that, apparently, rich people (defined as household making more than $100,000/year) are more likely to watch major sporting events.

In case you missed it being all over every media outlet, Oprah has been reunited with her long-lost sister, that was born 9 years after Oprah.

It's possible that FOX's Lie to Me was not properly credited... aka the idea was stolen. I wonder if this story will continue to make headlines... since that show isn't doing too well...

Another bit that was all over the media... NBC is doing a pilot in the fall backed by Steven Spielberg. The big deal is that it is to be a competitor for Glee. The story revolves around the mounting of a Broadway musical, and will be titled, Smash.

Lifetime has been jumping on getting the ball rolling on their movie about William & Kate's courtship and royal wedding. The role of Kate has already been cast!

Jennifer Aniston has stated that she hated "The Rachel" haircut that was so famous, and Luke Perry admitted that he loved Dylan's pompadour-of-sorts on Beverly Hills, 90210.

The Kennedys may finally have found a place... Tribune Broadcasting might pick up the eight-part miniseries.

New to Netflix Steaming for February: all of The Cosby Show, Roseanne, 3rd Rock from the Sun, and That '70s Show.

The Burn Notice prequel tv-movie has now been cast, and will air on USA this Spring.

Starting with tonight's Grey's Anatomy, there will be opportunities to interact with the show through the iPhone/iPad app.

Sal Picinich, of Cake Boss, passed away from cancer on January 30th. TLC added a small note to the new episode that aired on the 31st. Sad.

Charlie Sheen has been all over the news lately, from asking a porn star to babysit his kids to being rushed to the hospital. Last week, rumors went wild over whether or not he entered rehab, and CBS has had its hands full dealing with the change in production schedule for Sheen's hit show, Two and a Half Men. Well, the latest is that he's having rehab come to his house, LoL.

Beavis & Butthead will return to MTV. Not sure when, but apparently the tv series of Teen Wolf will premiere on June 5th.

"Top 10 Most-Watched Shows of the Decade"

by Amy K. Bredemeyer

So with all of the holiday magic taking place in this blog over the past month, commenting on other television articles across the internet has fallen by the wayside. One came out at the very beginning of December that I wanted to talk about a little bit. Link to the original article.

So someone has taken the time to look at the top ten most-watched television episodes since 2000. Interesting idea, and I had not ever thought about looking into this. Some of these are really obvious, and others make very little sense to me... which is really what I wanted to address. (and I will be doing so in the opposite order of the original)

One thing before I start... I was really surprised by the dates... HALF of them are from 2000, and none since early 2007.

10. Spin City Michael J. Fox's finale regular episode (May 24, 2000). I think it makes sense that this one made the list, with 32.8 million viewers. Michael J. Fox was quite a beloved actor for this series and his other works, and with his health problems in the media, people tuned in to see what might have been his final performance.

9. Everybody Loves Raymond Finale (May 16, 2005). It's actually kind of a boring finale... Ray has to have a tonsillectomy and he brushes death. Now, it was a series finale for a long-running show, so of course it will bring a lot of viewers... but I've never understood why that particular show managed to gain such a following. And that episode wasn't even that good.

8. Frasier Season Seven Finale (May 18, 2000). It was the lead-in that brought an audience. After watching Niles pine over Daphne for well over half a decade, this episode brought people back to see how Niles would go on after Daphne was married... he manages to get up the courage to confess his adoration the night before her wedding. Heart-touching and heart-breaking all at once.

7. Who Wants to be a Millionaire week (May 3, 2000). I remember the early days of Millionaire quite well... it was a hot new gameshow when my now-husband and I began dating. And that's exactly why it makes this list... the hype was grand... the stakes were high... there was often someone from a town you've been to... it was the first major new gameshow in years... and Regis Philbin was the host. (Sidenote, did you see this craziness on Wheel of Fortune the other night??)

6. Grey's Anatomy Post-Superbowl Episode (February 5, 2006). Shows after the Superbowl often have large audiences, but bombs and lesbian scenes certainly helped maintain the football audience. I knew that this show had to come to fame at some point, and although I still pride myself on having never seen an episode, from the synopsis I can see why this one was seen by so many.

5. American Idol Season Six Premiere (January 16, 2007). This was the episode that introduced the world to Sanjaya. Apparently this was the height of the show's popularity (I only really paid attention back when Clay Aiken was the golden boy), and I think the author hit the nail on the head when he noted that each season brought more and more of an audience back then.

4. ER episode where Lucy dies (February 17, 2000). This was before I began watching the show religiously, so I can't quite appreciate why this episode was such a draw at the time. However, I always had a crush on Noah Wyle, so it's easy to believe that when he and Lucy were critically injured, it only makes sense that 39.4 million people would tune in to make sure that nothing happened to our beloved Dr. Carter.

3. Joe Millionaire season finale (February 17, 2003). This is the entry that surprises me the most. The show was an interesting premise at first, but who wants to watch people get lied to and then just stare at the reactions? The show pretty much died afterward. But yeah, I can see why 40 million people wanted to see what would happen when a fake-millionaire chose a wife and then announced his true identity.

2. Survivor: Borneo finale (August 23, 2000). D@mn Survivor. I had really hoped that it wouldn't make the list, especially so high up!! But it's here, and the popularity of reality television became real. I'm surprised that so many people bothered to watch this, but since the show was still young, the true appeal might have been the idea that the winner wasn't "scripted."

1. Friends finale (May 6, 2004). This comes as no surprise to me. The finale was actually the second episode I ever saw (but I didn't remember a minute of it), since my best friend and I were over at another friend's house and that person loved the show (and yes, I've told this story before). And possibly that's part of the key to why this episode had fifty-two-and-a-half million viewers... the show had been around for ten years, and its fame probably brought quite a few first-time watchers just to see what all the fuss was about (this happened the FIRST time 7th Heaven ended as well... people tuned in for the send-off, and those involved with the show misinterpreted this as genuine interest in the show, LoL).