#tv shows with queer chraracters

[nerdylittleshit]

So, @bluestar86 is finally back on tumblr *throwsconfetti*, but she didn’t spent her tumblr hiatus doing nothing but binge watched How to get away with murder instead (good choice) and was pleased to learn about the show’s diversity & queer representation. And I hope you don’t mind that I quote you here, but it is actually what this post is about (yes, I have a point)

All this show has lead me to believe is that it is SO NOT HARD to show REAL bisexual characters on mainstream television, OR to show REAL INTIMACY between gay men on TV and not make a big fucking deal out of it. Jesus, this show made me kinda PISSED OFF at Supernatural really because while they’re still keeping Dean Winchester firmly in the fucking closet HTGAWM just laid it all on the table in the first season. Urgh. I hate Bob Singer.

I know, I know, I can’t really compare the two… except I fucking can and will. Because we are not comparing SPN to a show on Netflix or HBO here, we are comparing it to fucking ABC during primetime and frankly, the CW needs to up its game and SPN needs to grow some balls.[x]

And I mainly agree with this, except... this isn’t a CW problem. It is a Supernatural problem. Because if we look at the shows the CW is currently airing there are actually a lot queer characters. Mind you, I’m not catched up on any show (CW or not) currently except Spn, so my data here is not up to date and I don’t watch all these shows, so I just name the characters I know off who are queer (and recurring characters). So if I miss out on some feel free to add.

2005: Supernatural: Charlie Bradbury, introduced in s7, came out in her first episode

2009: The Vampire Diaries: Luke in s5 and s6;  Nora & Mary-Louise in s7, all queer from the start, I probably forgot some

2012: Arrow: Sara, came out as bisexual in s2; Curtis in s4 and s5, queer from the start

2013: The Originals: Joshua since s1, Aiden since s2, both queer from the start

2013: Reign

2014: The 100: Clarke, main character, came out as bisexual in s2

2014: The Flash

2014: Jane the Virgin

2015: Crazy Ex-Girlfriend

2015: iZombie

2016: Legends of Tomorrow: Sara, since it is a spin off from Arrow she is queer from the start

2015: Supergirl: Alex, main character, came out in s2 (when the show moved from CBS to the CW)

2017: Riverdale: Kevin, queer from the start

As you can see, the network doesn’t have a problem with queer characters. And some of them aren’t random side-characters, but main characters. And not all have been introduced as queer from the start but some had their coming out later in the show. With some, like Clarke in The 100, there wasn’t much buzz about it, as in Clarke was always bisexual, the audience just didn’t know until s2. Others, as Alex in Supergirl, had a beautiful coming-out-story.

So where does this leave Supernatural? I added the time the show started airing, and as you can see Supernatural is the oldest. They are even older than the network they are airing on (the first season was on the WB). The second oldest show, TVD, just ended this year. And as you can see they added queer characters pretty late to the show (s6, s7). (I might forgot about some though.... there had been a lot of characters on this show in 8 years... I think Caroline’s dad was gay from the start though) That is to say that of course newer shows of course start out more progressive and diverse than Spn did back in 2005. There aren’t many shows that even make it to season 12, so in some ways it feels like Spn is a show out of time. That isn’t to say they are completely stuck in their old ways. I think they try to be more diverse, to add more poc-characters, more female characters, more queer characters etc. But still, if Spn would be a new(er) show I think they would have created some chraracters quite different from the start.

And that’s another thing: changing a character after almost 12 years. Of course I don’t think if the show would confirm Dean as bisexual and/or we get canon Destiel the character/the show would change at all. Dean would be still Dean after all. Yet some would scream OOC. And there has been a great discussion about the very nature of OOC characters on @k-vichan blog (which you can read here). The John example there applies to Dean/Destiel as well. If you already interpret Dean as bi/Destiel as a thing, making it canon wouldn’t surprise you. But if you don’t, it most definitely would. Revealing a characer is queer in s2 is different than doing it in s12. Because we can argue that in early seasons we still learn who this character is (and that is so great about HTGAWM, s3 and I still don’t know who Annelise is). But after a decade we all have a very good idea who Dean is. And it is different than subverting for example Mary, because she wasn’t a rel character before s12 (@elizabethrobertajones wrote some great meta about this). This isn’t meant as an excuse though, but just might be a reason why Spn is so hesitant in revealing Dean as bi. Then of course doing it now/that late in the show would be great because how many times does something like this happen? Seeing a character in his thirties/almost forties having his coming out. Because those things aren’t limited to age. And this season is all about subverting how the show was before/past seasons. And Dean is realy tired of lying lately. Plus of course all the great Destiel content we already this season.

So yeah, my point is: this is not about the CW. It is about Supernatural. But with Dabb as a showrunner and the current direction of the show (which I am a great fan of) I remain hopefull.

Thoughts?