By TheBacklot
August 29, 2014 / 1:35 PM
It hasn’t been too long since the only gay characters on TV were swishy queens who were usually the straight lead's wacky neighbor or cocktail-swilling BFFs.
Luckily, we've seen much richer portrayals of the LGBT community on the small screen—as evidenced by these five stereotype-busting gay characters. (Modern Family producers, take note.)
Max Blum from Happy Endings
Max (expertly played Adam Palley) is definitely not Will Truman: In fact, he's the anti-Will Truman—a sloppy glutton who'd rather eat a footlong sub or take a nap than go antiquing in Maine. Throughout Happy Endings’ three seasons, though, Max got to date, flirt and hook up as much as his straight friends (with Max Greenfield and James Wolk, no less). There was even an episode where Max explored his place among the bear/cub/otter community—eventually determining he was an "optimistic Red Velvet Walrus."
Captain Ray Holt from Brooklyn Nine-Nine
An openly gay African-American police captain on a television show is still pretty revolutionary in 2014. Making him a emotionless and intimidating boss like Brooklyn Nine-Nine’s Captain Holt is sheer brilliance. In fact, Holt's only gay "tell" is his husband (and his obsession with the Candy Crush knock-off Kwazy Kupcakes).
Andre Braugher has received critical praise (and a Emmy nomination) for his deadpan take on Holt, but re-watch the show's debut season and tell us you don't get a whiff of imperial fashion diva Andrew Leon Talley.
Omar White from The Wire
Played by actor Michael K. Williams, The Wire’s black sheep was President Obama’s favorite television character—and one of ours, too. Omar wasn't sweet or meek, and he knew the price he'd have to pay as an openly gay man on the mean streets of Baltimore. He didn't hide or deny his sexuality but he was hardly defined by it.
"When you think back and look at The Wire, and think of Omar, the last thing you’re going to remember him for is who he slept with," Williams told The Backlot in 2008. "That’s the way it should be in real life. It doesn’t make up who you are as a human being, as an individual, or what your legacy will be remembered for... Here lies Omar Little, an openly gay homothug.' That’s not gonna read on his tombstone, or anybody’s for that matter. "
Danny Māhealani from Teen Wolf
Unaware of the supernatural shenanigans going on around him, Danny (Keahu Kahuanui) spent Teen Wolf's first two seasons kicking around as jock eye-candy until the introduction of Ethan (Charlie Carver), his alpha-wolf boyfriend. The shipping for “Dethan” last season was so loud on social media that even the cast knew about it.
This season, though, Danny seems to have fallen off the face of the Earth. That's too bad, because when he was introduced in 2011, he was a true rarity: An athletic, well-adjusted gay kid—no questions asked, no drama, no tragic coming-out story.
VH1's Hit the Floor follows the lives and loves of players and cheerleaders on a fictional basketball team, but the show took a page from the real world with the surprise revelation that star player Zero (Adam Senn) was bisexual. Zero's not out yet, but he doesn't seem confused about what he likes.
