A League of Their Own showrunner Will Graham spoke out against the recent cancellations of many LGBTQ+ shows.
During his acceptance speech for Outstanding New TV Series at the GLAAD Media Awards, Graham said “it would be strange to accept this award without commenting on the fact that this show is one of the lucky ones”.
“So many of the shows that were nominated in this category have been cancelled or quietly cancelled, and that mirrors what’s happening with queer stories across our society and in our classrooms,” he told the crowd.
It was recently announced that, despite receiving widespread critical acclaim, A League of Their Own had been cancelled and would return for a four-episode second season to wrap the show’s storylines up.
READ MORE: Every LGBTQ+ show cancelled over the past year, from Warrior Nun to Gossip Girl
“I hope that all of us on this stage and all of us in this room can say to our industry that we are the audience that is growing. We are not a niche anymore, there’s way too many of us,” Graham continued.
“The days that you can hold a Pride event and cancel our shows at the same time has to be over. The days when you can sit on the sidelines while people debate our right to exist are over.
“We are here, our lives matter, our joy matters, and we will remember who stood with us and who stood back at this crucial moment in our history.”
LGBTQ+ representation on TV dropped from 2022-23
His comments come after GLAAD’s annual ‘Where We Are on TV’ report, which tracks the number of LGBTQ+ regular and recurring characters on scripted primetime broadcast, scripted primetime cable and scripted series on the eight major streaming platforms, found that LGBTQ+ representation was down on US television during the 2022-23 season.
There were a total of 596 regular and recurring LGBTQ+ characters across broadcast, cable and streaming, marking a decrease of 6.44 per cent from the previous year’s 637 characters.
READ MORE: LGBTQ+ representation on TV dropped from 2022-23, GLAAD reports
GLAAD counted 101 LGBTQ+ characters on broadcast, 139 LGBTQ on cable and 356 LGBTQ+ on the aforementioned streaming platforms.
The report also highlighted that much of the LGBTQ+ representation (24 per cent) exists on series that have been cancelled or are in their final seasons.
In addition to this, 35 characters will not return due to a series being a miniseries or anthology which changes cast/characters with each instalment.
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