Besides winning three Emmys, Ugly Betty won two Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) Media Awards. The show garnered praise for its representation of Latinas on TV.īut it also addressed topics like body image and Hilda's teenage son coming out as gay. And Ana Ortiz played Hilda, Betty's older sister. Tony Plana played Betty's dad and he often mixed Spanish and English dialogue in the show, the way a lot of Hispanic families do. It also starred America Ferrera, who played an unstylish but hard-working woman who ends up working at a fashion magazine. The show put a Mexican American family front and center in a primetime show. The dramedy Ugly Betty, which ran on ABC for four seasons between 20, was an adaptation of the Colombian telenovela Yo soy Betty, la fea. It was an adaptation of a British show of the same name and depicted a group of gay friends - and their sex lives - in a nuanced way. Then there was Queer as Folk on Showtime in 2000. The sitcom Will & Grace started airing in 1998 with Eric McCormack playing gay lawyer Will and best friend to Grace (Debra Messing). DeGeneres' character announcing her sexual orientation coincided with the actress herself also formally coming out with a Time magazine cover and interview.ĭeGeneres' figure has been under scrutiny in recent months regarding allegations of a toxic work environment in her talk show The Ellen DeGeneres Show, but in the 1990s her sitcom cleared the way for further LGBTQ representation on TV. The "Yep, I'm gay" moment was big for American TV because up until then gay characters had been relegated to secondary, mostly one-note roles. In it Morgan was attracted to a character played by Laura Dern and she came out as gay to her friends. The sitcom Ellen, starring Ellen DeGeneres as Ellen Morgan, was on its fourth season when it aired "The Puppy Episode" in 1997. It also paved the way for other career-women-centered shows like Murphy Brown, Ally McBeal, 30 Rock and even Sex and the City. And although certain themes weren't treated in the same, direct way we've grown accustomed to in the past few decades, the show made suggestions about Mary having an active sexual life and taking the pill. Other than in the writers' room, the show was groundbreaking because it focused on the life of an independent career-woman who didn't care about getting married. Treva Silverman was one of the first women hired as a writer for the show, and, importantly, she shared her own experiences to inform the characters' lives.
Brooks and Allan Burns but boasted a writers' room where there was also a significant number of women, especially for the period. It starred Mary Tyler Moore as Mary Richards, a single woman in her 30s focused on her career in a TV station. This seven-season sitcom that aired between 19 broke a few molds. And it confirmed Kirk's famous words: "Where I come from, size, shape or color makes no difference." You can argue whether that was the first interracial kiss on screen or not, but it sure proved the show's dedication to the depiction of a plural and diverse society. Uhura and Captain Kirk (William Shatner) kissed in a 1968 episode while under the influence of aliens. H aving a Japanese American actor in such a visible role just two decades after World War II, a time defined by America's anti-Asian policies and racism, also highlighted the show's commitment to representation. George Takei played Lieutenant Sulu, the U.S.S.
Nichelle Nichols played Uhura, a Starfleet Lieutenant and communications officer, making the show one of the first to feature a Black woman not portraying a servant.
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Star Trek: The Original Series not only garnered a devoted following that's since spun several sequel series, spin-offs and movie franchises over the decades, it was also a rare example of diversity on screen.