Lauren’s Top 15 LGBTQ+ TV Characters

In 2016, I did an interview with Rukiya Bernard on Van Helsing where we talked about how the breadth of roles is changing for women in the media.

In the same question, we also briefly discussed LGBTQ+ roles, and how they have gone from being token characters to having multi-dimensional storylines outside of their sexuality. 

That exchange stayed with me, and as I watch television now, I don’t just get excited to see representation, but I love seeing stories that make a character’s sexuality less about coming out and more about their day-to-day lives.

For Pride Month I reflected on the LGBTQ+ characters that I have been the most drawn in by and how their story brought something different to the table.

As part of our Critics’ Picks series this month, here are my Top 15 LGBTQ+ TV Characters:

1. Cosima Neihaus (Orphan Black)

I have always been a fan of sci-fi, and I loved the idea of Orphan Black the minute I saw it. Cosima Neihaus, the scientist that was always herself, was a character who struck me to my core.

Cosima wasn’t interested in being labeled “the gay clone” either. In fact, she even says at one point in the series, “My sexuality isn’t the most interesting thing about me.” 

And Cosima is right, she’s a scientist and she spent most of Orphan Black‘s run determined to save not only herself but the other Leda clones. She loves a puzzle and that’s when she’s happiest.

2. Eliot Waugh (The Magicians)

Eliot Waugh’s dramatic and charming personality made him extremely likable on The Magicians Season 1.

As the story continues, the audience gets to unearth the backstory of how Eliot grew up in a homophobic household in rural Indiana, and how he’s worked to construct the persona that he puts forth into the world. 

It would have been easy to keep Eliot as a guarded character throughout The Magicians‘ five seasons, but he became a three-dimensional character who came to really care for a few people he loved.

His relationship with Quentin Coldwater, in particular, was very touching and impactful and expressed just how fluid sexuality can be. 

3. Angela Montenegro (Bones)

Angela Montenegro was my favorite character on Bones. She’s a creative spirit who follows her interests and has found a niche in working with her best friend at the Jeffersonian. 

The show briefly depicted Angela’s bisexuality with a woman named Roxie who eventually leaves her because Angela isn’t ready to plan the future.

While the show doesn’t explore Angela’s bisexuality beyond that three-episode arc, her confidence, and self-assured nature was always an inspiring aspect of her character.

It doesn’t hurt that she also ended up winning the MacArthur Genius Grant for her work on The Angelatron. That’s a pretty boss accomplishment.

4. Bill Potts (Doctor Who)

Bill Potts was the first openly gay companion on Doctor Who, and her sexuality written as being a big deal.

When she starts conversing with the Doctor, she starts simply by telling him an anecdote about a woman she saw in the line at the canteen and how she expressed her love by slipping her extra chips only to have it backfire. 

The normalcy in which Bill’s sexuality is introduced is what made her character intriguing. It’s another part of a character that has a three-dimensional story. As Bill goes on her adventures with the Doctor, she questions everything she possibly can and attacks it with wit and candor. 

5. Kerry Weaver (ER)

Kerry Weaver was one of the first gay women I remember seeing on television. I remember watching ER when it was syndicated during the summer and watching as her character went from being very cold and guarded to expressing her love for someone else. 

The seasons I watched live were right around the time when Kerry met Sandy, and they were attempting to start a family.

While the action of the series focused on life in the ER and didn’t follow them outside of their attempts to conceive, it ended up shining a light on the things LGBTQ+ parents go through. Especially when Sandy died and Kerry faced the possibility of losing her son. 

6. Theo Putnam (Chilling Adventures of Sabrina)

Theo Putnam is a character who deserves to be cherished. Theo’s storyline went from bullying for non-binary gender expression to coming to terms with themselves over the course of the first two parts of Chilling Adventures of Sabrina.

What’s exceptionally heartbreaking about Theo’s story is a moment in Part 1, where they’re sitting with Sabrina after the death of their Uncle Jessie and Theo’s wearing a dress. When Sabrina mentions that it’s not like them, they say they don’t want to be an abomination like Uncle Jesse. 

Theo’s storyline is not without its faults. While it started out strong in Part 1, it seems to have dropped off and taken a backseat, but Theo’s storyline is one of the most compelling of the series and it can stand to be brought to the forefront a little more. 

7. Petra Solano (Jane the Virgin)

Petra Solano had an interesting run on Jane the Virgin. She had a secret past, her family was chaotic, her marriage fell apart, and she had a twin sister who tried to steal her identity. Throughout, she struggled with needing people and letting them in, and that’s what made her Season 4 storyline so refreshing. 

When Petra met Jane Ramos (J.R.) and experienced her sexual awakening, I cheered. The way that the show handled Petra’s storyline with J.R. and how Petra came to terms with it was relatable, and yet still substantial. 

Seeing her not want to put a label on who she is, but also being so comfortable with herself that she accepts that she loves J.R. was a refreshing change of pace.

8. Sophia Burset (Orange Is the New Black)

Laverne Cox’s portrayal of Sophia Burset on Orange Is the New Black was a conversation that television needed to start and continue to have. Sophia’s active presence on the show was such a complex storyline that had the emotion to have the audience empathize with her.

Watching her fight to get medication and then the harassment she experienced in later seasons made an impact. Sending her to the SHU was a heartbreaking moment and it was terrifying to know she might not have come back the same. 

I went to see Cox speak at the University of Connecticut where she discussed her transition and her experience filming Orange Is the New Black. I remember leaving with the impression that the show had really listened and put that lived experience into Sophia’s character.

9. Xena (Xena: Warrior Princess)

One of the shows I watched outside of Nickelodeon growing up was Xena: Warrior Princess. It wasn’t until I started rewatching the show in college that I picked up on the sapphic vibes in the series. 

While the 1994 series never saw Xena and Gabrielle become a couple, there was an intimate relationship between the two characters that was obviously intimate. Of course, studio politics played a factor, as did Xena’s relationship with Ares, the God of War. 

But that doesn’t stop the sapphic subtext of the series to the point where there were plans to revive the show and make Xena openly gay. Sadly, the reboot was dropped in 2017 by NBC, but they haven’t ruled out plans for a future reboot entirely.

10. Willow Rosenberg (Buffy the Vampire Slayer)

Willow Rosenberg was another character who gave me some sapphic vibes growing up. I didn’t watch Buffy the Vampire Slayer in any linear fashion while it was airing, but when I went back and watched it from the beginning, I loved how Willow came into her own through witchcraft. 

Her relationship with Tara will remain one of the most heartbreaking stories of teen television, and Willow’s reaction remains one of the most interesting explorations of grief I think I’ve seen. 

11. Cyrus Beene (Scandal)

By the end of Scandal‘s run, Cyrus became one of the characters I loved to hate. That doesn’t change the fact that Cyrus did bring some LGBTQ+ rep to the universe, and it remained present, even though it wasn’t the subject of a lot of the storylines. 

The thing that stuck with me the most was when they introduced his husband, and it wasn’t a big deal or a shocking reveal, it was two men talking about their future and wanting to adopt a baby.

The way that their relationship is depicted and the depth in which both James and Cyrus were involved in some of Scandal‘s early seasons was intriguing. While James was killed and Cyrus eventually married someone for appearance’s sake, Cyrus’s sexuality isn’t shied away from even in the cutthroat world of D.C.

12. Elena Alvarez (One Day at a Time)

One Day at a Time has never shied away from discussing Elena’s sexuality. From coming out to her relationship with her mom and her relationship with Syd, the show has continued to evolve the conversation. 

While coming out was definitely a huge part of Elena’s storyline, an even larger part was accepting every part of who she is.

Seeing both her mom and grandmother accept her, and make last-minute changes to her quinceanera dress to fit Elena’s style is a touching moment that remains in my mind as one of the best family moments on TV.

13. Emily (The Handmaid’s Tale)

Emily, also known as Ofglen, on The Handmaid’s Tale has a lot more dimension than her literary counterpart. The series fleshed her out and gave her an intriguing LGBTQ+ backstory involving her separation from her wife and son. 

In the book, Ofglen’s story ends abruptly, and we don’t get to see what happens to her. The Handmaid’s Tale‘s commitment to fleshing out and exploring what it meant for Emily to live under a repressive regime.

The way that she begins working through her trauma to reunite with her family has led to some of the most powerful moments of the show’s later seasons. 

14. Dana Fairbanks (The L Word)

I watched the first season of The L Word in college, and the story I was the most drawn to was Dana Fairbanks. While I did understand the significance of the series and the representation that the show provided, I was most drawn into the story of a tennis player who was keeping herself in the closet because of her career. 

Dana clearly didn’t like hiding that part of herself and shouldn’t have had to, but it did fit the conversation at the time. Watching Dana embrace her sexuality and who she is both on and off the court was the kind of story that had to be told. 

15. Callie Torres (Grey’s Anatomy)

I didn’t watch Grey’s Anatomy when it first aired, but I have vivid memories of conversing with a friend about how they were disappointed about how the “gay storyline” had panned out. At the time she was talking about Callie and Erica. 

When I finally watched Grey’s Anatomy from the beginning, I saw what my friend was talking about. Callie’s attraction to Erica Hann was intriguing, but when Hann left, the show didn’t let the subject die like so many others had in the past. 

Instead, they introduced Callie’s father and his feelings about his daughter’s sexuality. Seeing her family eventually come to accept it and even support her marriage to Arizona Robbins was encouraging.

Callie and Arizona became a couple that was easy to root for, and when their marriage was in trouble seasons later, it was heartbreaking to see it break up; and it was certainly a detriment to the series overall. 

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Who are your favorite LGBTQ+ characters? Let us know in the comments below. 

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