With more and more ways to find more TV shows, there are more and more LGBT actors and characters getting screen time. Here’s a rundown of what to look out for this fall.
Gaycation (Premiered Sept. 7 on Viceland)
It’s season 2 of the documentary series where openly gay actress Ellen Page and her best friend Ian Daniel explore LGBT cultures around the world.
One Mississippi (Premiered Sept. 9 on Amazon)
Lowkey lesbian comic Tig Notaro burst onto the national radar after a legendary stand-up set one night in 2012. “One Mississippi” is a new show loosely based on those and other events in Notaro’s life.
American Horror Story (Premiered Sept. 14 on FX)
Openly gay co-creator Ryan Murphy is being highly secretive about season 6 of the creepy anthology horror series. But the cast is again filled with LGBT actors including Sarah Paulson, Denis O’Hare, Matt Bomer, Cheyenne Jackson and “AHS” newcomer Leslie Jordan.
Project Runway (Premiered Sept. 15 on Lifetime)
Season 15 (!) again tries to find out who will become “the next great American designer.” Supermodel Heidi Klum, Marie Claire creative director Nina Garcia and fashion designer Zac Posen all return as judges, with Tim Gunn serving as always as mentor.
High Maintenance (Sept. 16 on HBO)
Watch marijuana deliveryman The Guy (played by co-creator Ben Sinclair) deliver his product to clients across New York City. The season premiere features appearances from gay porn star Colby Keller and “Rupaul’s Drag Race” season nine winner Bob the Drag Queen.
Brooklyn Nine-Nine (Sept. 20 on Fox)
The Golden Globe and Emmy-winning sitcom stars Andy Samberg, but it’s Andre Braugher’s hilariously dry-as-year-old-toast Captain Holt (who happens to be gay) that holds the show together and plays brilliantly off the other characters.
Scream Queens (Sept. 20 on Fox)
Openly gay co-creator Ryan Murphy’s campy comedy horror series adds John Stamos, Taylor Lautner and Kirstie Alley to an already stacked cast of season one returnees including Jamie Lee Curtis, Emma Roberts, Lea Michele, Abigail Breslin and Niecy Nash.
Empire (Sept. 21 on Fox)
The soapy Lee Daniels musical drama starring Taraji P. Henson and Terrence Howard features plenty of gay content thanks to Jussie Smollett’s Jamal. Expect even more famous guest stars to drop in this year.
Modern Family (Sept. 21 on ABC)
Some say the ABC sitcom has lost a step as it enters season 8, but the ratings remain relatively strong despite it all. Plus there’s always Cam and Mitch, one of the longest-running gay couples to ever appear on television.
How To Get Away With Murder (Sept. 22 on ABC)
While Shonda Rhimes gets the attention as producer, it’s the openly gay Peter Nowalk who created it. Bonus points for not being afraid to show explicit gay content, usually courtesy of the scheming Connor Walsh (Jack Falahee).
Transparent (Sept. 23 on Amazon)
The Amazon comedy series about a family patriarch actually revealing she’s a matriarch has nabbed tons of awards, usually for Jeffrey Tambor for playing the lead character Maura. Caitlyn Jenner will guest star in season 3.
Saturday Night Live (Oct. 1 on NBC)
Chris Kelly is the first openly gay head writer the show has ever had in its 41-year run. Oh yeah, and there’s also cast MVP Kate McKinnon, the openly gay comic actress who’s fresh off a turn in the “Ghostbusters” reboot.
Shameless (Oct. 2 on Showtime)
Showtime has never shied away from showing all the various exploits (clothed or unclothed) of actor Cameron Monaghan’s openly gay Ian. The ginger heartthrob returns for season 7 of the aptly-named show starring William H. Macy as deadbeat dad Frank Gallagher.
Westworld (Oct. 2 on HBO)
The highly-anticipated sci-fi thriller based on the 1973 film of the same name has a stacked cast, including Anthony Hopkins, Ed Harris, Evan Rachel Wood (who came out as bisexual in 2012), James Marsden, Thandie Newton and Jeffrey Wright.
Conviction (Oct. 3 on ABC)
Openly gay actor Daniel Franzese (“Looking”) co-stars in this new legal drama centering on a former First Daughter blackmailed into heading a New York City department of lawyers, detectives and forensic experts who re-examine cases where there is suspicion of wrongful conviction.
Feral (Oct. 6 on Dekkoo.com)
This new series from creator Morgan Jon Fox premieres exclusively on Dekkoo.com (a streaming service dedicated to gay men) and centers on a group of 20-somethings living, loving and losing in Memphis.
The Real O’Neals (Oct. 11 on ABC)
A season two renewal was not a gimme for this ABC sitcom, but the network came through and we’ll see the further adventures of teenager Kenny (a hilarious Noah Galvin) as he navigates the gay world for the first time.
The Rocky Horror Picture Show (Oct. 20 on Fox)
One-off live musical TV films are all the rage and this is one people have been dying to see since it was announced last year. Transgender actress and activist Laverne Cox plays Dr. Frank-N-Furter, Adam Lambert plays Eddie and…oh just go watch it, you know you will!
The Walking Dead (Oct. 23 on AMC)
The show royally pissed off its fans last year after a cliffhanger ending in the season finale. But the show’s cast and crew swear it’ll be worth it in season 7. Openly gay characters Tara and Aaron return, but how long will they survive?
The Great Indoors (Oct. 27 on CBS)
Joel McHale (“Community”) returns to TV for this CBS sitcom about an adventure reporter whose boss (played by openly gay actor Stephen Fry) turns his magazine from print to web-only and assigns him to supervise a ragtag group of millennials.
Teen Wolf (Nov. 15 on MTV)
This MTV show has a huge younger following and, as has become somewhat the norm in recent years, they therefore reflect the world as it is—with LGBT people. Lots of pretty LGBT people at that. Tyler Posey and breakout star Dylan O’Brien (“The Maze Runner”) star in the show entering its final season.