TV's gay characters, before and after Ellen
Ellen Morgan wasn't the first gay character on TV, but her coming out on the ABC sitcom Ellen, following star Ellen DeGeneres' own declaration — "Yep, I'm gay" — on the cover of Time magazine, opened the door to portraying them more openly and more often. A list of some of TV's more important gay characters, before and after Ellen:
Bewitched: Paul Lynde plays Uncle Arthur, who wasn't gay then — but probably would be now. (1965)
All In the Family: Archie’s friend Steve (Philip Carey) shocks him by telling him he's gay. (1971)
The Corner Bar: Vincent Schiavelli plays flamboyant set designer Peter Panama, who is considered TV's first recurring gay character. (1972)
Soap: Jodie Dallas (Billy Crystal) becomes TV's first openly gay main character. (1977)
Love, Sidney: Tony Randall as a confirmed bachelor who was gay in the TV movie Sidney Shorr: A Girl's Best Friend , but whose sexuality became ambiguous in the follow-up TV series. (1981)
thirtysomething: Lovers Russell (David Marshall Grant) and Peter (Peter Frechette) are shown in bed together — but don't touch. (1989)
20-year flashback: Ellen DeGeneres came out, and paved the way for more gay TV roles
Melrose Place: Matt Fielding (Doug Savant), who's gay, is the only person on this sexy soap opera who never seemed to have sex. (1992)
Friends: Susan (Jessica Hecht) and Carol (Jane Sibbett) wed in “The One with the Lesbian Wedding.” (1996)
Will & Grace: Eric McCormack and Sean Hayes are gay friends in this landmark sitcom — the first big hit with a gay title character. (1996)
Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Willow and Tara (Alyson Hannigan and Amber Benson) become an open, sympathetically drawn lesbian couple, a first for a teen-targeted series. (1999)
Queer as Folk: Gale Harold's Brian and Randy Harrison's Justin are among the more prominent characters in this Showtime series about gay men in Pittsburgh, adapted from a (much better) British series. (2000)
Six Feet Under: Michael C. Hall co-stars as David, the gay brother who eventually finds love and happiness. (2001)
The Wire: Michael Kenneth Williams plays Omar, a tough street criminal who breaks many of TV's gay stereotypes. (2002)
The L Word: Bette Porter (Jennifer Beals) is among the L-people in Showtime's female answer to Queer as Folk. (2004)
Torchwood: John Barrowman is the dashing Captain Jack Harkness in this Doctor Who spin-off. (2006)
Brothers and Sisters: Not only are Kevin and Scotty (Matthew Rhys and Luke Macfarlane) a couple, they may have been this ABC family drama's most functional one. (2006)
True Blood: What true True Blood fan didn't love Nelsan Ellis's Lafayette or root for his happiness? (2008)
Grey’s Anatomy: Callie Torres (Sarah Ramirez), one of TV's rare bisexuals, enters into a long-term relationship with Arizona (Jessica Capshaw). (2009)
Glee: Chris Colfer is Kurt, one of TV's first well-adjusted, openly gay teenagers. (2009)
Modern Family: With Mitch and Cam (Jesse Tyler Ferguson and Eric Stonestreet), no show has ever done more to fully incorporate a gay couple into a family story and normalize their relationship and, later, marriage. (2009)
Orange Is the New Black: At one time, lesbians in prison would have been used for horror and shock. Not anymore. (2013)
Scandal: VP-elect Cyrus Beene (Jeff Perry) is as crazed, corrupt and sexually active as everyone else in this melodrama, which counts as progress. (2013)
Brooklyn Nine-Nine: Andre Braugher is the justifiably beloved commanding officer Ray Holt on Fox's cop sitcom. (2013)
How to Get Away With Murder: Gay law student Connor Walsh (Jack Falahee) has gotten away with murder and then some on this mystery. (2014)
London Spy: Danny's (Ben Whishaw) faith in Alex's (Edward Holcroft) love saves him in this British spy drama. (2015)
American Gods: If your complaint is that TV generally removes the "sex" from "homosexual," you won't be complaining about American Gods' Jinn (Mousa Kraish). (2017)