Fewer gays in scripted shows

Gays and lesbians are making inroads in cable and reality programming but have lost ground in dramas and comedies on the major broadcast television networks, an advocacy organization said on Thursday.

The Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation said its annual survey of the fall television season found 26 gay, lesbian or bisexual characters on cable dramas and strong representation on the broadcast networks’ reality series, but only six characters on the networks’ scripted shows -- the fewest since the group began keeping count in 1996.

“When you turn to cable and reality TV, you see us -- our lives, our relationships, our diversity,” GLAAD executive director Joan M. Garry said in releasing the report. “But when you turn to network comedies and dramas, you’re seeing portraits of an America where gay people and families are nearly invisible. That’s not the America we live in.”