Record Representation for Black, LGBTQ & Disabled Characters on TV This Year

There have been major strides for minorities on TV these days—which is great!—but there's loads of progress to made after dissecting GLAAD's annual "Where We Are on TV" report, which analyzes how diversity is represented on television.

According to the report of the 2016-2017 broadcast schedule, shows like Transparent, Orange Is the New Black and Queen Sugar are helping boost the number of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender characters on U.S. television. The report found a record-breaking 278 LGBTQ regular and recurring characters across all shows. The number of transgender characters doubled to 16 this year, a new high. GLAAD-approved Fuse shows like Big Freedia: Queen of Bounce and Transcendent also star a large amount of LGBTQ characters.

Meanwhile, another record-high sees 20 percent of all series regulars being black, in part thanks to hit shows like Empire, Luke Cage, Black-ish and How to Get Away with Murder. But the report notes that black women remain underrepresented at just 38 percent of that total.

There is also a record high of regular characters with disabilities on broadcast TV (1.7 percent), thanks to shows like Speechless and NCIS: New Orleans.