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The were SO MANY amazing LGBT characters on TV in 20gayteen!
2018...no, 20GAYteen rather, was an incredible year in terms of the visibility of the LGBTQ community in television shows. (Especially for queen people of color!) So many amazing queer characters were introduced to TV viewers during this long AF year, and while it's hard to narrow it down to just a few, we've decided to pay tribute to some of our absolute fave standouts!
Here's who the PRIDE staff thinks are the best LGBTQ TV characters of 20gayteen!
Cheryl Blossom — Riverdale
My favorite queer TV character of 2018 is, without pause, Cheryl Blossom of Riverdale. I truly cannot decide if I want to be her or bang her. I believe the answer is both. —Sophie Saint Thomas
Sophie Saint Thomas is a writer for PRIDE. Read more of Sophie’s work here, and follow her on Twitter here!
Jay Bilzerian — Big Mouth
Big Mouth’s Jay Bilzerian is about to become the next big bisexual icon. In the finale of season two (spoilers!), it became very clear that Jay will embrace his attraction to multiple genders. While at the moment he still uses phrases like "a mouth is a mouth," something I also (embarrassingly and crudely) said as I struggled to embrace my bisexuality, I cannot wait for what season three will hold for the blossoming bisexual. Big Mouth is an incredibly feminist, sex-positive, and queer show, so I’m sure they’re going to do justice to Jay’s sexuality story arc. —Zachary Zane
Zachary Zane is a writer for PRIDE. Read more of Zachary’s work here, and follow him on Twitter here!
Theo Crain — The Haunting Of Hill House
Everyone was nervous that Netflix’s The Haunting of Hill House wouldn’t keep the queerness the book is so known for, but they did! Kind of. The characters shifted (in roles and relationships, if not in names), but Theodora Crain wound up being the haunted lesbian we deserved. While I’ll be the first to complain that her romantic relationship was the least developed of all the Crain family, she as a character was arguably the best of them all. Without getting too spoiler-y, her intrinsically opposed needs to both help other people (specifically children) emotionally but wall herself off from connections in her personal life due to past traumas is done in a wholly unique way. It’s a nice change in a world where tragic lesbians are usually defined as tragic solely through their own death or the death of a partner. Plus, the episode where Theo’s family realizes in flashbacks that she’s gay is fantastic. Also fantastic? Theo’s gloves. And her episode. Oh, and the whole show. —Rachel Kiley
Rachel Kiley is a writer for PRIDE. Read more of Rachel’s work here, and follow her on Twitter here!
Eleanor Shellstrop — The Good Place
I finally got caught up on The Good Place this year and it’s a comforting little gem of a TV show. Kristen Bell’s Eleanor is cute, funny, and totally relatable, so it was awesome to have it confirmed this year that she’s bisexual. Maybe all that low-key hitting on Tahani will pay off in season four! —Christine Linnell
Christine Linnell is the social media editor of PRIDE. Read more of Christine’s work here, and follow her on Twitter here!
Blanca Rodriguez — POSE
I was hesitant to watch Ryan Murphy's latest FX series POSE, (I honestly still haven't fully recovered from how bad he f**ked up Glee), but the ode to 1980s ballroom culture during the height of the AIDS crisis features some of the most majestic, joyful, powerful, tender, and humanizing performances of queer black and brown bodies ever seen on television. Among the show's history-making cast of transgender actors, MJ Rodriguez glimmers as Blanca, the compassionate mother of the House of Evangelista who fights for love, motherly and romantic, and wants to share it with the world when it feels like everything is against you. Heartbreaking and revitalizing, it's hard to tear your eyes away from the excellence on screen. Category is: Live! Work! Pose! —Taylor Henderson
Taylor Henderson is the staff writer for PRIDE. Read more of Taylor’s work here, and follow him on Twitter here!
Andrew Cunanan — The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story
Is it socially acceptable to stan a murderer? A testament to his acting, Darren Criss makes my heart ache for Andrew Cunanan, the real-life gay serial killer who shot fashion mogul Gianni Versace in cold blood. The FX miniseries follows Cunanan, a Filipino-American, through pivotal moments in his morose life to capture how homophobia, generational trauma, and deep-seated self-loathing led to the destruction of Andrew, the many men (and families) he left in his wake, and a fashion icon. Give Darren the Emmy he deserves! —Taylor Henderson
Taylor Henderson is the staff writer for PRIDE. Read more of Taylor’s work here, and follow him on Twitter here!
Theo Crain — The Haunting Of Hill House
It’s true that Horror, the genre of the outcast, appeals to many LGBT people. Netflix’s The Haunting of Hill House not only masterfully weaves a beautifully, intimate story of familial trials and tribulations, it also introduced us to the most bad-ass queer lady of TV this year: Theo Crane. Armed with touch-/feeling-based supernatural abilities, Theo is taking no prisoners on her mission to protect her family, and self, from the ghosts of their past. —Brendan Haley
Brendan Haley is a writer for PRIDE. Read more of Brendan’s work here, and follow him on Twitter here!
Adora and Catra — She-Ra and the Princesses of Power
There's a lot of powerful queer enegry going on in the modern reboot of the classic superheroine cartoon from the '80s, but the dynamic between main character Adora and her ex-BFF turned enemy Catra is one I cannot get enough of. (I'll be the first to admit that I really like the rivals/lovers trope. I know. I'm trash.) As soon as I saw the two dance together at the Princess Prom, I knew I had to immediately stan all things #Catadora! —Raffy Ermac
Raffy Ermac is the editor-in-chief of PRIDE. Read more of Raffy’s work here, and follow him on Twitter and Instagram!
Omar and Ander — Élite
Angsty teen dramas are my shit, so it's no surprise that I fell in love with the entire cast of Netflix's Élite, especially its resident twink couple Omar and Ander, as soon as I laid my eyes on them!! Although Omar's super religious father doesn't want the two to even see each other, they find ways to make their love work, and I die and go to heaven everytime I see the two of them on-screen together!! (Also, the ally of the year award goes to Omar's sister Nadia, who let him borrow her cell phone to contact his Ander after he got his taken away!!) —Raffy Ermac
Raffy Ermac is the editor-in-chief of PRIDE. Read more of Raffy’s work here, and follow him on Twitter and Instagram!
