TV

2010 Year In Review: Television

This fall, in their annual “Where We Are on TV” report, GLAAD declared that LGBT visibility was at an all-time high – a pronouncement that left us scratching our heads at AfterEllen.com, wondering if we’d missed something. And then we got to the subsection on gender and felt that familiar pang of marginalization: “Lesbian and bisexual women are … weakly represented with female characters making up less than 30% of all LGBT representations.”

30 percent doesn’t sound too bleak, until you consider that there are only 76 total LGBT characters on television. Of those, 22 are lesbian or bisexual. And of those 22, only four are lead characters.

But 2010 wasn’t all bad for lesbians on TV. We saw an upswing in positive lesbian visibility on reality TV. Favored real-life lesbians Ellen DeGeneres, Rachel Maddow, Jane Valez-Mitchell and Suze Orman continued to dominate daytime and news ratings. And the United Kingdom shone through with a banner year for queer women on the telly.

LEAD CHARACTERS ON SCRIPTED TV

Four lead lesbian and bisexual characters survived the 2010 TV season.

Callie and Arizona (Sara Ramierz and Jessica Capshaw) from Grey’s Anatomy were the only two lead queer characters on our radar going into the fall season. Their relationship endured milestones, mayhem, murder, and even the age-old Will They/Won’t They Have a Baby trope. They broke up because Callie was resolute in her desire to have kids and Arizona was resolute in her reluctance. They made up in the season finale after a lunatic gunned down half the employees at Seattle Grace.

However, the current season of Grey’s hasn’t been so kind to them. The couple broke up when Callie refused to follow Arizona on a philanthropic move to Africa – but all signs point to a reunion when Capshaw returns from maternity leave in 2011.

Two lead queer characters in 2010 took us by surprise. The first was Dr. Elanore O’Hara (Eve Best) on Nurse Jackie. Dr. O’Hara has been a source of stability (and sexiness) in Jackie’s life since the show’s inception, and this season she was revealed as bisexual when her on-again-off-again girlfriend Sarah Khouri (Julia Ormond) made an appearance for three episodes. TheLinster declared them “the hottest couple on the small screen,” and even promised that their union was blessed by Jesus himself.

The other lead character that amazed us this year was Emily Fields (Shay Mitchell) from ABC Family’s summer breakout hit Pretty Little Liars. Like most American teen shows we’ve been subjected to in the past, we expected Pretty Little Liars – and Emily’s rumored bisexuality – to be a momentary diversion. Instead, Emily’s struggle to come to terms with her feelings for her female friend(s) has been poignant and, frankly, soul-nourishing. And it’s only going to get better. Unlike in Sara Shepherd‘s novels, the TV series is going to explore Emily’s sexuality fully when it returns in January.

While we lost two lead queer characters in 2010 – Ella (Katie Cassidy) from CW’s Melrose Place reboot and Claire (Hayden Panettiere) – it is hard to mourn their absence. Both were only ever involved in Sapphic dalliances during Sweeps weeks.

SUPPORTING AND RECURRING CHARACTERS ON SCRIPTED TV

The supporting/recurring lesbian and bisexual characters on scripted TV can be sorted into three categories: Those Who Saw Action, Those Who Did Not, and Those Who Will Never See Action Again.

Let’s tackle the last one first. This year 90210 promised us a nuanced, sensitive portrayal of bisexuality when Adrianna Tate-Duncan (Jessica Lowndes) fell for her best friend Gia (Rumer Willis). Instead, 90210 gave us the tired story of a bicurious teenager who finds herself in a relationship with an unscrupulous lesbian. Gia fell for the heartbroken straight girl, “converted” her, cheated on her, and sent her back into the waiting arms of her ex-boyfriend. We don’t expect to see Adrianna in another lesbian relationship any time soon, as there was barely any mention of Gia after Adrianna caught her kissing her ex on a rooftop.

Other bisexual supporting characters we don’t expect any Sapphic substance from in the future include Bones’ Angela Montenegro (Michaela Conlin), who is now engaged to a male character; and House‘s Thirteen (Olivia Wilde), whose girl/girl scenes have barely made it off the cutting room floor in the past.

There were four recurring/supporting lesbian characters that didn’t see any real lesbian action in 2010. Diana Barrigan (Marsha Thomason) played a pivotal role in this season’s White Collar, but we never saw her oft-mentioned girlfriend on-screen. (She did, however, manage to rebuff the advances of the super-sexy leading man, which is more than we can say for some lesbian characters we’ve known.) Camile Wray (Ming-Na) also only mentioned her girlfriend on Stargate Universe, but we’ll have to forgive her since she is trapped on an antique spaceship, light-years from home. After a lot of hype, Patty “The Wedge” Wedgerman (Elena Esovolova) made her debut on CW’s freshman show Hellcats, but we haven’t seen much from her thus far. Similarly, Carly Pope played bisexual Lucinda Pearl in the new series Outlaw, but NBC canned the courtroom drama after only a few episodes.

That brings us to the supporting/recurring lesbian and bisexual characters who did see action this year. Unsurprisingly, most of those characters were on HBO or Showtime. Showtime’s Weeds brought lesbian couple Fiona and Linda (Sugar Lyn Beard and Linda Hamilton) to life this season when Nancy & Co. sought gainful employment in Seattle. Recapper TheLinster thought Linda and Fiona were underused, but that their two-mom household provided some good laughs, especially when Nancy propositioned Linda with sex in an effort to procure more hash.

HBO ruled premium cable, showcasing three female lesbian and bisexual characters on True Blood. Lesbian favorite Evan Rachel Wood returned as Sophie Anne Lecleq. Lindsey Haun played Hadley Hale. And Kristin Bauer‘s lesbian Pam was so popular that True Blood execs signed her on as a series regular.

And then there was the Garage Door Incident on CBS. The Good Wife‘s Kalinda Sharma (Archie Panjabi) dropped hints about her sexuality, but when it was time to seal the deal, CBS shot Kalinda maybe making out with another woman behind a door, with only their feet showing. Panjabi won the Emmy for her role as Kalinda, and at the Television Critics Association summer press tour, Good Wife creator Robert King told us:

One of the reasons we didn’t want to show the kiss between her and Lana is because we want to go there this season, and go to what she’s about. We love Kalinda and we want to peel away the layers slowly. It’s a good basis – it’s not a basis out of fear or anything of alienating people. There’s a certain integrity with how Archie Panjabi’s playing her. We kind of want to honor that.

And honor that he did! On the current season of The Good Wife, Kalinda did kiss a girl, in public – or, well, in a lesbian dive bar. Not only that, but we got to see more of the complicated relationship with her ex-girlfriend, Donna. Kalinda isn’t “domestic.” And she’s also not above full-blown jealousy when she sees her ex on a date with someone else. Every Kalinda layer that King peels back leaves us wanting more.

A LEAGUE OF THEIR OWN

We would be remiss if we didn’t mention Glee in our queer TV rewind. Brittany and Santana. Santana and Brittany. Are they friends? Friends with benefits? Soul mates? Heather Morris and Naya Rivera have played the two Cheerios as a little bit of all of those things. That coupled with their onscreen chemistry even launched a ship called Brittana.

Brittany and Santana have spoken openly about having sex with one another (making them both bisexual?), and this season they were even shown making out (neck-nuzzling, at least) in bed. Santana doesn’t want to have Brittany’s “lady babies” and Brittany now seems quite content dating Artie.

We’re not quite sure what to make of Brittana. They’re not quite a couple, but they’re way more than subtext.

And then there’s Jane Lynch. Sue Sylvester is not a lesbian on Glee, but Lynch was one of the highest profile out celebrities in 2010. She married her partner, Lara Embry, and spoke openly about her on nearly every one of her talkshow appearances. She introduced Embry on every red carpet, thanked Embry when she won her Emmy, and even made a guest appearance on iCarly because it is her step-daughter’s favorite show. She hosted Saturday Night Live and starred in a series of XBox commercials. Thanks to her success on Glee, Lynch was one of the highest profile lesbian celebrities in 2010.

LESBIANS ON REALITY TV

Love it or hate it, there’s no denying that Ilene Chaiken‘s The Real L Word was the most talked about reality show starring queer women in 2010. In an attempt to really capture the spirit of the way we live and love, Showtime followed Whitney, Mikey, Tracy, Rose, Nikki and Jill around the greater Los Angeles area, sometimes even invading their bedrooms. The show was controversial, but it was also really popular. Showtime has already announced a second season.

Other reality shows of note this year included America’s Next Top Model, which featured Kayla Ferrel, a 19-year-old lesbian ex-Hooters waitress from Rockford, Illinois; Tabatha’s Salon Takeover starring the sometimes surly/always right Tabatha Coffey; TLC’s Police Women of Memphis, a cop show that included newly-married lesbian officer Virgina Awkward; The Amazing Race, which showcased bickering lesbian couple Carol and Brandy; The Biggest Loser and Losing it with Jillian, which catapulted bisexual trainer Jillian Michaels to even greater stardom; and Top Chef Masters, featuring lesbian chefs Susan Feniger and Monica Pope. And lesbian mom and wife Sara Gilbert launched The Talk in the fall of 2010.

Lesbian Superhero Ellen DeGeneres also judged her one and only season on American Idol. She gave up the gig, saying that she wasn’t up to the task of destroying the hopes and dreams of young musicians. But she held her own on top-rated show in the universe. Ellen also starred in a TBS comedy show in 2010, Ellen’s Somewhat Special Special. It was universally adored by critics.

Unlike years past – when lesbians on reality TV were nothing more than attention seekers, playing up their “wild” sides for the camera – the queer women on reality TV in 2010 were strong, successful, talented women – who also happened to be gay. It was a welcome respite from the fauxmosexuality.

NEWS! NEWS! NEWS! (AND TALKSHOWS!)

Rachel Maddow continued to woo and wow every liberal in America on MSNBC’s The Rachel Maddow Show in 2010. Maddow worked tirelessly on behalf of the gay and lesbian community, taking the Obama Administration to task repeatedly over The Defense of Marriage Act and Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell. She rebuffed and rebuked proponents of gay “conversion” therapy and voiced perpetual outrage over Uganda’s “Kill the Gays” bill. She also took a trip Afghanistan where she interviewed soldiers and civilians, hoping to shed light on the war-torn Middle East.

Suze Orman advanced her position as America’s Financial Guru this year. The Suze Orman Show show drew in more viewers than ever, perhaps because everyone needs to be DENIED! during a rescission. Likewise openly gay news anchor Jane Valez-Mitchell‘s Issues continued to rake in viewers for CNN in primetime.

And, of course, Ellen. Ellen DeGeneres’ talkshow was more popular than ever this season, with nearly everyone pronouncing Ellen as the heir to the Daytime Throne when Oprah‘s farewell season is over. In the past, many LGBT activists have accused Ellen of not taking a strong stand for gay rights, but no one could possibly question her commitment to spreading a message of equality this year. In addition to addressing Prop. 8 and making an “It Gets Better” video on set, she had her wife, Portia DeGeneres, on her show twice this season. And the pair appeared in a touching interview on Oprah.

TELLY ACROSS THE POND

Lesbian and bisexual visibility may have been stifled in America, but across the pond queer characters enjoyed a resurgence in 2010.

The year kicked off with the return of the E4 hit Skins. Naomi (Lily Loveless) and Emily (Kathryn Prescott) finally found their way to each other at the end of Skins series three. And in series four, they fell apart. Over the course of eight episodes, they ripped themselves up before they finally found sanctuary in each other’s arms in the generation two finale. Emily’s series four episode was one of the finest “lesbian” episodes of television we’ve ever seen. The writing, the acting, the directing, the soundtrack: All of it added up to an hour of heart-wrenching perfection. They cried. We cried. And we all hung on for dear life.

The UK also delighted us when they revealed Sophie Webster (Brooke Vincent) as a lesbian on Coronation Street. Sophie’s sexual awakening and slow-burn relationship with now-girlfriend Sian (Sacha Parkinson) has been a pleasure to watch. Corrie gave us one of the most nuanced portrayals of coming out (and reconciling faith with sexuality) that we’ve ever seen.

BBC3’s Lip Service promised to be The L Word set in Scotland, and depending on who you ask, the drama surpassed that expectation. Unrelenting in its portrayal of lesbian women, lesbian relationships, lesbian processing, lesbian drama and lesbian sex, Lip Service made us cry and laugh and nod our heads in understanding. Frankie, Tess, Cat and Sam captured our hearts; we’re on pins and needles waiting for word about a follow-up season.

BBC also gave us The Secret Diaries of Miss Anne Lister this year, and it was by all accounts a Very Lesbian Pride and Prejudice. The period drama was adapted from the actual diaries of Anne Lister (whom many scholars call “the first modern lesbian”). It followed Anne from first love to first heartbreak to settling down. BBC did not shy away from the sex Anne explicitly wrote about in her journals; nor did they gloss over the complicated relationship she had with a world that didn’t understand or accept lesbianism.

THE YEAR AHEAD

2010 wasn’t what we’d call a banner year for lesbian and bisexual characters on TV. While we were excited about the positive portrayals of real-life lesbians on reality TV, we were forced to eat the scraps tossed to us by showrunners and writers when it came to scripted TV. And we can’t say that 2011 looks much better.

MTV is adapting Skins for an American audience, so we’ll be getting a new lesbian character come January. And Pretty Little Liars returns at the beginning of the year, too, with Emily confronting her sexuality with her parents. Our sources also indicate that Callie and Arizona will be on the mend on Grey’s in 2011.

Other than that, we’re locked – once again – in a holding pattern. If all else fails, there are always ways to watch British TV online.

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