Entertainment,  Representation Nation,  TV

What’s Up with the Mistreatment of LGBTQ+ Women In TV Shows?

Photos courtesy of Prime Video, Hulu, and Netflix.

In 2022, a queer young-adult (YA) series dropped on Netflix. First Kill followed a vampire (Sarah Catherine Hook) who falls hard for a human girl (Imani Lewis) who happens to be hunting her. Deadline reported that the series cleared 100 million viewing hours in its first 28 days of being released. You would think Netflix would’ve renewed First Kill for a second season based on the streaming numbers alone but it was cancelled after just one season. The series quickly garnered a devoted fanbase who were ultimately upset and confused when this cancellation news hit social media airwaves.

Fans were also keen to point out Netflix’s Heartstopper which got renewed for two more seasons after its debut on the streaming platform. It had 53.4 million viewing hours when it was in the Top 10, half of the amount that First Kill received. Heartstopper tells the story of a romance between two boys (Kit Connor, Joe Locke). To be clear, fans aren’t trying to compare the two shows but want to know why First Kill wasn’t given the opportunity to wrap up unfinished storylines. The way that Netflix treats their MLM (men-loving-men)-centered shows versus their WLW (women-loving-women) shows.

The cancellation of First Kill sparked conversations surrounding the mistreatment of WLW stories especially those that include BIPOC casts and lesbian characters. Several other sapphic shows have gotten cancelled after just one season like I Am Not Okay with This, Everything Sucks!, Teenage Bounty Hunters, and Paper Girls.

I was upset when the cancellation news came in for Paper Girls for many reasons. The show follows a diverse group of four young girls: Erin (Riley Lai Nelet), Tiff (Camryn Jones), Mac (Sofia Rosinsky), and KJ Brandman (Fina Strazza) on Hell Day in 1988 as they get sent into the future to 2019. They find themselves in the middle of a time war. It’s based on a comic book series. The representation in this show was everything. The two main leads were LGBTQ+ and one of them was also Jewish. This representation alone meant the entire world to me.

On another note, there are other shows that feature queer women that have been cancelled with up to 4 seasons such as The Wilds, Love, Victor, Legacies, and Dead to Me. Love, Victor introduced fans to the pairing of Lake (Bebe Wood) and Lucy (Ava Capri). Unfortunately, the couple was short-lived so fans weren’t able to watch their relationship properly blossom. Dead to Me featured a bisexual character, the quirky Judy Hale (Linda Cardellini) and her relationship with Michelle (Natalie Morales).

Legacies ran for 4 seasons which is the longest run out of any of the shows I’ve mentioned. It’s a spin-off of The Vampire Diaries and The Originals. The series included a multitude of LGBTQ+ female characters such as Hope Mikaelson (Danielle Rose Russell) who was bisexual, Josie Saltzman (Kaylee Bryant) who was pansexual, the writers confirmed that Lizzie Saltzman (Jenny Boyd) is sapphic, and Jade (Giorgia Whigham) who was bisexual.

You’d think with a diverse amount of LGBTQ+ representation that Legacies would’ve explored their characters’ sexualities, right? Wrong. It was pretty disappointing that the writers didn’t do this because I really wanted to see Hope and Josie together. Yes, I’m a #hosie shipper, and I’m not the only one. Many #hosie fans were eager to see Hope and Josie together as a couple and I know many of them are bummed that this wasn’t explored in the series.

The bottom line is that the television industry, specifically streaming platforms, need to do better when it comes to their LGBTQ+ female characters. Representation is important on the small screen because it allows fellow LGBTQ+ audience members to feel seen and validated. There’s nothing like the feeling when you feel authentically and fully represented on any screen. This cancellation “trend” is harmful to LGBTQ+ viewers and it needs to stop.

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