Pride Month is here, and we're all about the love and equality for everyone. TV shows with positive representation surrounding same-sex couples and LGBTQ characters have been on the rise, as audiences could resonate with the arcs and storylines. Additionally, the shows a great way to ring in the month, whether you're rewatching or watching for the first time.
LGBTQ subject matter has slowly made its way into the mainstream media since the 1970s. In the 1980s, The Golden Girls introduced award-winning and realistic scenarios where gay and lesbian characters came into light. Ever since, more and more, pride representation has become the norm.
To rightfully kick off Pride Month 2025, we're giving you a head start on what shows to watch and where.
The 100 (2014-2020)
The 100 captured our hearts and heads, setting us for a high-speed emotional rollercoaster with its diverse characters and engaging storylines that swept over a dystopian landscape. Surviving wasn't enough for Clarke, Bellamy, and their crew, but living for their lives was worth fighting for. Through heartache and heartbeats, the series' ending left us with a view of what could happen if the balance between good and evil isn't leveled.
As for the characters, Clarke Griffin (Eliza Taylor) became one of television's first bisexual leads and the first on The CW Network. Her relationship with Lexa (Alycia Debnam-Carey) offered an intimate portrait of undefined love and remains strong within the fandom today.
The 100 even epanded into its own convention, fueled by the stars of the show. Called Conageddon, its purpose is to deliver the fandom an intimate, up-close experience that can't be found at most events. If that isn't showing dedication, then I don't know what is.
And let's not forget the realistic portrayal of disabled characters, who, through their obstacles, managed to live purposeful lives.
Where to watch: Netflix
The Simpsons (1987-present)
While we're on the subject of firsts, The Simpsons introduced their first LGBTQ character in 1990 with Waylon Smithers. The Springfield Nuclear Plant employee has a long-time thing for his boss, Mr. Burns, and whether the older guy realizes his assistant's feelings, the situation has remained a long-term running gag on the show.
Smithers is perhaps one of TV's best LGBTQ representations, and he's not viewed just for this attribute but for his overall character as a hardworking and personable individual. Soon after he was introduced, more Simpsons residents came out as LGBTQ, and despite a little initial judgment, they were accepted and embraced, as they should be.
Other than creating developed characters that resonated well with fans, The Simpsons also had a knack for making futuristic premonitions, with more than half of them becoming true.
Where to watch: Disney+ for seasons 1-35; Hulu for season 36
Xena: Warrior Princess (1995-2001)
In the mid-1990s into the early Y2K, the period drama, Xena: Warrior Princess reigned on NBC for six seasons. Starring Lucy Lawless as the title character, Xena undergoes a sensational redemption arc to correct the mistakes of her past to fight for the "greater good" of humanity.
Her partner in crime and always by her side, Gabrielle (Renee O'Connor) has given Xena a moral compass when it comes to deciding how to take on the battles. Later on, fans noticed that there may be something more than just a close friendship between the two warrior women.
It was never fully canon whether Xena and Gabrielle were a lesbian couple, despite the writers dropping hints that steered toward it. However, in an article with Lesbian News in 2003, Lawless agreed with the fans who shipped Xena and Gabrielle and said the women were "married, man."
Where to Watch: Prime
Glee (2009-2015)
Glee was that show that made everyone recall their awkward high school years, but in a good way. The show spotlighted the Underdogs and regardless of whether you that jock, preppy, intellectual, or in my case, the spirited goth, everyone got along. And with Glee's musical numbers that interpreted the students' unique lives, it was enjoyable to watch.
Yet, Glee was also revolutionary for the Fox Network, as the show depicted young members of the LGBTQ Community. Not only did the creator, Ryan Murphy, convey the realism of projecting the students' individualities, but he also ingrained powerful emotional storylines mixed in with humor to highlight what most teenagers go through.
Glee won multiple Emmys, spanned a Box Office hit movie, and was strong in their diversity.
Where to Watch: Hulu
Buffy: The Vampire Slayer (1997–2003)
Buffy: The Vampire Slayer launched Sarah Michelle Gellar's career and curated the "perfect" definition of a fierce and ambitious woman. Buffy took the supernatural evil in her hands and defeated it with her own magic. All the while being a popular high school student with regular life situations.
The WB drama additionally explored one of the first lesbian relationships on TV between the characters Willow Rosenberg and Tara Maclay. When Tara passed away due to being a victim of the "Bury Your Gays Troupe," fans were angered, as the storyline is toxic and demoralizing to fans. Despite this error, Buffy remains one of the best-created shows in television history.
Where. to watch: Hulu
Ugly Betty (2006-2010)
ABC broke barriers with Ugly Betty, as the dramedy centered on a primarily Latino cast and the intense environment of working in the fashion magazine industry in Manhattan. Coupled with these attributes, Ugly Betty also spotlighted the personal lives of the central character, Betty Suarez, her family, co-workers, and even NYC citizens.
The show even has a history of recruiting LGBTQ actors and their equal LGBTQ roles. For instance, Michael Urie, who portrayed Marc St. James, the near-fashionably excessive assistant to the magazine's Creative Director, Wilamina Slater, is a proud queer actor, and watching him breath light to St. James is a joy.
Other LGBTQ talent includes Alec Mapa and Mark Indelicato. Ugly Betty is also one of the first shows on network TV to feature a transgender woman. The show has been praised for its inclusive and positive representation of the LGBTQ community.
Where to Watch: Hulu
Orange Is the New Black (2013-2019)
Based on Piper Kerman's book of the same name, Orange Is the New Black depicts the unlawful corruption struggles of the prison system. Through the eyes of the female inmates at Litchfield Penitentiary, they reveal their checkered pasts with their criminal entanglements and try to use their sentences while incarcerated in a societal direction.
During the seven seasons, many LGBTQ hook-ups and relationships occurred between the inmates. Through their connections, the women offer a sensitive side to their otherwise hardcore demeanors. The audience witnessed these women as emotionally complex and human, and not just as people who were caught up in their mistakes.
Orange Is the New Black additionally brought fame to transgender actress Laverne Cox. From her role as Sophia, she was the first trans woman nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award.
Where to watch: Netflix
Riverdale (2017-2023)
Riverdale began as a teen mystery thriller and took a much darker turn than the Archie comics the show was inspired by. The few things that remain linked between the show and comics are the characters and the town's name, but creator Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa brought a new life in the CW's version.
To be fair, the writing was off the wall at times, and there was always escalating drama among the relationships, but that's what gave Riverdale its trademark. The "errors" are what kept the fans from formulating a reasonable explanation, but they couldn't quite do it. At least, I couldn't, but I enjoyed watching and witnessing the characters' developments.
Another trademark of Riverdale is the several LGBTQ characters and relationships that coursed throughout the seasons. In the series finale, the relationships' fates come full circle, thus closing the book on another legendary The CW series.
Where to watch: Netflix
The Fosters (2013-2018)
The Fosters was Freeform's (then ABC Family) first LGBTQ show. It spotlighted a lesbian couple raising a blended family of biological and adopted children in Southern California and depicted their struggles and triumphs, as well as discrimination and self-discovery. The Fosters opened the world to the idea that love has no boundaries and that second chances are granted to reshape past-battered lives.
Grammy-winner Jennifer Lopez was tapped as The Fosters' executive producer and was a major asset to production. Her choice to accept being part of the crew stemmed from her family's experience in the LGBTQ community.
Due to its immense popularity and praise for its LGBTQ themes, a spinoff, Good Trouble, was launched. It expanded the storylines of the Foster children, as they begin their own journeys after moving out of their childhood home.
Where to watch: Hulu
Quantum Leap (2022-2024)
NBC was wrong to cancel Quantum Leap after two seasons, as it had so much more to offer, and the characters were top-notch in conception and portrayal. The crew behind the team was diverse, including the central technician, Ian, who is non-binary and proudly living their truth. Yet, without their scientific knowledge, Quantum Leap wouldn't have had its ground.
I consider myself in the gender-neutral spectrum, and to witness Mason Alexander Park, who's non-binary, bring life to Ian positively reflected my own identity, was phenomenal. This
Another strong suit of the sci-fi drama is that different historical time periods are explored and shed light on their hardships. While the goal of the time travel leaps isn't to alter the natural timeline, as it means altering the future, something better comes out of the situation.
Additionally, Quantum Leap had a remarkable love story between Dr. Ben Song (Raymond Lee) and Hannah Carson (Eliza Taylor) that should be considered the textbook definition of curating long-lasting and pivotal TV relationships.