# List of animated series with LGBTQ characters: 2020–2024
Animated series with LGBTQ characters, 2020–2024, refers to the animated television and streaming programs released or airing in that five-year window whose casts include lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, or nonbinary characters. The period sits within a broader rise of LGBTQ representation in animation that began in the 2010s, when shows such as *Adventure Time* and *Steven Universe* laid groundwork for queer characters and relationships in cartoons[1](https://www.ala.org/rrt/bibliographies/nonbinary) • [2](https://doi.org/10.1386/qsmpc_00124_1).
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Tracking body | GLAAD's annual *Where We Are on TV* report counts LGBTQ characters across broadcast, cable, and streaming; its 2024-2025 edition was the 20th edition of the study[3](https://glaad.org/whereweareontv24/president-letter/) |
| Overall trend | The 2024-2025 report counted 489 LGBTQ characters across scripted prime-time broadcast, cable, and streaming, up 21 from the prior year but below the 2021-2022 record high of 637[4](https://apnews.com/article/153f383bc27b0e6f0b17284b783e8556) |
| Broadcast low | Broadcast TV recorded 8.6% LGBTQ series regulars in the 2023-2024 period, its lowest share since the 2017-18 season[5](https://www.tvline.com/lists/lgbtq-representation-tv-shows-decline-glaad-report-2024/) |
| Streaming share | Scripted streaming series carried 327 LGBTQ characters in the 2023-2024 period, down 0.8% year over year, with 119 not returning[5](https://www.tvline.com/lists/lgbtq-representation-tv-shows-decline-glaad-report-2024/) |
| Transgender characters | Of 489 LGBTQ characters counted in 2024-2025, 33 (7%) are transgender[6](https://glaad.org/whereweareontv24/representation-of-transgender-characters/) |
| Kids' animation leader | Among 29 platforms measured in WarnerMedia's 2020 equity report, Cartoon Network offered the most LGBTQ+ characters across its series and the most individual series featuring them[7](https://static-wbd-cdn.wbd.com/s3_assets/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/WarnerMedia-Equity-and-Inclusion-Report-2020-1.pdf) |
| Award recognition | *Dead End: Paranormal Park* won the 2021 GLAAD Media Award for Outstanding Kids and Family Programming[1](https://www.ala.org/rrt/bibliographies/nonbinary) |
## Scope and background
Lists of animated series with LGBTQ characters typically cover series regulars and recurring characters, while guest and one-off characters are cataloged separately by identity category. The 2020s lists continue a development that accelerated in the 2010s: *Steven Universe* introduced the nonbinary fusion character Stevonnie in the 2015 episode "Alone Together", and the series went on to win a GLAAD Media Award and ran for three seasons with praise for its queer representation[1](https://www.ala.org/rrt/bibliographies/nonbinary). A 2020 [WarnerMedia](https://www.edgepedia.org/warnermedia) equity report positioned children's animation as a leading venue for such characters, naming [Cartoon Network](https://www.edgepedia.org/cartoon-network) the platform with the most LGBTQ+ characters and the most series featuring them among 29 platforms measured[7](https://static-wbd-cdn.wbd.com/s3_assets/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/WarnerMedia-Equity-and-Inclusion-Report-2020-1.pdf).
Scholarship on the period describes 2014–2024 as a time of rising LGBTQ+ representation in children's media, with researchers examining how young viewers perceive queer characters in American and Japanese animation[2](https://doi.org/10.1386/qsmpc_00124_1). Commentary on *She-Ra and the Princesses of Power*, which concluded in 2020, framed its finale as a milestone in which a queer love story between the two leads was resolved on screen[2](https://doi.org/10.1386/qsmpc_00124_1).
## Notable series and characters, 2020–2024
**Adult animation.** The third season of the DC animated comedy *Harley Quinn* further explored the romance between [Harley Quinn](https://www.edgepedia.org/harley-quinn) and her girlfriend [Poison Ivy](https://www.edgepedia.org/poison-ivy-character), and GLAAD counted it among the LGBTQ-inclusive series on streaming in its 2022-2023 report[8](https://assets.glaad.org/m/114d72edf8a779a6/original/GLAAD-2022-23-Where-We-Are-on-TV.pdf).
**Kids and family animation.** *Dead End: Paranormal Park*, which premiered in 2022, received the 2021 GLAAD Media Award for Outstanding Kids and Family Programming, an award cycle that recognized its treatment of LGBTQ topics including acceptance and safety[1](https://www.ala.org/rrt/bibliographies/nonbinary). On cable, [Disney Channel](https://www.edgepedia.org/disney-channel) released *[Zombies: The Re-Animated Series](https://www.edgepedia.org/zombies-the-re-animated-series)*, an animated musical series continuing the *Zombies* film franchise, which GLAAD counted in its kids and family programming for 2024-2025[9](https://assets.glaad.org/m/b93f9f3873eff34/original/GLAAD-2024-25-Where-We-Are-on-TV.pdf).
**Fantasy and action animation.** The animated series *[The Dragon Prince](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-dragon-prince)* ended during the 2024-2025 reporting period. GLAAD's report highlighted its cast as including Terristrius, a transculine elf, and Amaya, a deaf lesbian commander who weds Queen Janai, alongside other LGBTQ characters[9](https://assets.glaad.org/m/b93f9f3873eff34/original/GLAAD-2024-25-Where-We-Are-on-TV.pdf). On streaming generally, GLAAD's 2024-2025 coverage cited Netflix's *[Arcane](https://www.edgepedia.org/arcane-tv-series)* among series contributing to streaming's LGBTQ character counts[4](https://apnews.com/article/153f383bc27b0e6f0b17284b783e8556).
## Industry context: the numbers behind the period
GLAAD's *Where We Are on TV* reports supply the quantitative frame for the period. In the 2023-2024 report, which covered prime-time scripted series premiering between June 1, 2023 and May 31, 2024, 36% of all counted LGBTQ characters were not expected to return the next season, due to series ending or being canceled, characters dying or leaving, or a program's miniseries or anthology format[5](https://www.tvline.com/lists/lgbtq-representation-tv-shows-decline-glaad-report-2024/). Of all LGBTQ characters that year, 48% were men, 47% were women, and 5% were nonbinary; by orientation, 36% were gay, 25% lesbian, 24% bisexual, 10% queer, and 5.1% transgender[5](https://www.tvline.com/lists/lgbtq-representation-tv-shows-decline-glaad-report-2024/).
Streaming held up better than linear television. Netflix led with 47% inclusion and 155 LGBTQ characters, of which 59 would not return; Prime Video had 54, Max 38, Hulu 25, [Paramount+](https://www.edgepedia.org/paramount) 21, Apple TV+ 11, and Disney+ 10[5](https://www.tvline.com/lists/lgbtq-representation-tv-shows-decline-glaad-report-2024/). The 2024-2025 report counted 489 characters, a gain of 21 after two years of decline, with representation on broadcast and cable continuing to fall while streaming grew[4](https://apnews.com/article/153f383bc27b0e6f0b17284b783e8556).
## Cancellations and their effect on animated series
Cancellations removed significant animated and ensemble casts from the count. GLAAD's 2024-2025 report notes that Netflix's *The Dragon Prince* ended, taking its LGBTQ characters, including Terristrius and Amaya, out of the next tally[9](https://assets.glaad.org/m/b93f9f3873eff34/original/GLAAD-2024-25-Where-We-Are-on-TV.pdf). Of the 489 characters counted that year, 201 (40%) would not return, 192 (39%) were on renewed series, and the status of 96 (20%) was unknown[10](https://glaad.org/whereweareontv24/canceled-series/). GLAAD president and CEO Sarah Kate Ellis wrote that recent inclusive projects had faced criticism from what she described as a small but loud coordinated effort by fringe anti-LGBTQ activists[11](https://www.advocate.com/arts-entertainment/lgbtq-characters-canceled-series-report).
The pressure extended to film: GLAAD data showed LGBTQ-inclusive animated and family films from the ten top distributors falling from 8 of 39 releases in 2022 to 2 of 26 in 2024[12](https://www.axios.com/2025/06/21/glaad-studio-data-hollywood-gen-z).
## Audience and research context
GLAAD's executive summary cites survey findings that LGBTQ inclusion in entertainment matters to more than two in five American adults, that super majorities of LGBTQ and non-LGBTQ 18-to-24-year-olds actively seek out queer-inclusive media, and that only 38% are satisfied with how [LGBTQ people](https://www.edgepedia.org/lgbtq-people) are presented[5](https://www.tvline.com/lists/lgbtq-representation-tv-shows-decline-glaad-report-2024/). In its study for 2019-20, GLAAD had called on the industry to ensure that, by 2025, 20% of recurring LGBTQ characters would be represented across the three platforms; the 2024-2025 report abandoned percentage targets and instead issued broader demands for progress[4](https://apnews.com/article/153f383bc27b0e6f0b17284b783e8556).
## References
1. [Nonbinary Gender Identities in Media: An Annotated Bibliography, ALA Rainbow Roundtable](https://www.ala.org/rrt/bibliographies/nonbinary)
2. [Animating queer figured worlds: How young adult animation is cultivating queer spaces and narratives, Queer Studies in Media & Popular Culture (Intellect)](https://doi.org/10.1386/qsmpc_00124_1)
3. [From The Desk of Sarah Kate Ellis – Where We Are on TV 2024-2025, GLAAD](https://glaad.org/whereweareontv24/president-letter/)
4. [LGBTQ+ representation on primetime TV grows thanks to shows like 'Abbott Elementary' and 'Hacks', AP News](https://apnews.com/article/153f383bc27b0e6f0b17284b783e8556)
5. [LGBTQ Representation On TV Hurt By Cancellations, Broadcast 6-Year Low, TVLine](https://www.tvline.com/lists/lgbtq-representation-tv-shows-decline-glaad-report-2024/)
6. [Representation of Transgender Characters – Where We Are on TV 2024-2025, GLAAD](https://glaad.org/whereweareontv24/representation-of-transgender-characters/)
7. [WarnerMedia Equity and Inclusion Report 2020](https://static-wbd-cdn.wbd.com/s3_assets/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/WarnerMedia-Equity-and-Inclusion-Report-2020-1.pdf)
8. [GLAAD 2022-23 Where We Are on TV report](https://assets.glaad.org/m/114d72edf8a779a6/original/GLAAD-2022-23-Where-We-Are-on-TV.pdf)
9. [GLAAD 2024-2025 Where We Are on TV report](https://assets.glaad.org/m/b93f9f3873eff34/original/GLAAD-2024-25-Where-We-Are-on-TV.pdf)
10. [Representation on Canceled Series – Where We Are on TV 2024-2025, GLAAD](https://glaad.org/whereweareontv24/canceled-series/)
11. [Too many LGBTQ+ TV characters disappeared this year because their series was canceled: report, Advocate.com](https://www.advocate.com/arts-entertainment/lgbtq-characters-canceled-series-report)
12. [Number of LGBTQ-inclusive films drops again, data shows, Axios](https://www.axios.com/2025/06/21/glaad-studio-data-hollywood-gen-z)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Awards and screen reference › Collective, character, and franchise filmographies*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 11, 2026; Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
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