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The first gay-themed TV episode - 'All in the Family' made LGBT history back in 1971 when it introduced the first gay character on primetime. The episode, 'Judging Books by Covers,' reveals that Archie Bunker's (Carroll O’Connor) macho bar buddy Steve (Anthony Geary) is gay. Later in the show's run, Archie also finds out that his wife Edith's cousin was a lesbian who left her estate to her partner.

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First sympathetic portrayal of homosexuality - The ABC TV movie 'That Certain Summer' made history in 1972 for its story about a divorced father (Hal Holbrook) who found love with a younger man (Martin Sheen) and struggles with telling his teen son about his new life. The movie is regarded as being the first sympathetic depiction of homosexuality on TV.

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First recurring gay character on primetime - During the sitcom's two-season run on ABC from 1972 to 1973, 'The Corner Bar' offered viewers the first recurring gay character on American TV, Peter Panama, played by Vincent Schiavelli.

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First coming out on TV - Already out to his family, Lance Loud made history in 1973 when he came out to viewers of the docuseries following him and his loved ones, called 'An American Family'—a series that is also often regarded as the first ever reality show.

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First depiction of a gay couple - In 1975, the Norman Lear (pictured) sitcom 'Hot L Baltimore' had one of the first depictions of a gay couple on American TV. Not done there, Lear launched another sitcom on CBS, 'The Jeffersons,' which in 1977 introduced the news that the main character's old army buddy is now a transgender woman.

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Primetime TV's first gay dad - In the sitcom 'Soap,' Billy Crystal played Jodie Dallas—a character who was not only gay and having an affair with a famous quarterback, but also contemplating gender-reassignment surgery. Jodie became one of the first gay dads on primetime TV, this in 1977. Jodie was, however, romantically involved with a woman by the end of the series.

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First out lesbian on American TV - Robin Tyler is considered the first comedian to come out on stage (on a TV comedy special hosted by Phyllis Diller), doing so in 1978.

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First recurring gay character in a primetime drama - ABC's 'Dynasty' featured Al Corley as Steve Carrington, the gay son of powerful oil tycoon Blake Carrington. Debuting in the show's first episode in 1981, Steve became primetime's first regular gay character in a drama (and not portrayed with sitcom-acceptable humor). During the series' run, the character was played by two actors, with Jack Coleman stepping in from 1983 to 1988.

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First time TV saw two men in bed together -

In the 1989 episode 'Strangers' of the show 'thirtysomething,' recurring characters Russell (David Marshall Green) and Peter (Peter Frechette) were shown in bed together with clear implications of it being "the morning after." Despite there being no touching, half of the show's sponsors dropped out.

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The first on-screen gay wedding - One of Fox's early shows, 'Roc,' was the first to have a gay wedding on TV, this in 1991. The sitcom starred Charles S. Dutton as Roc, and in a "special" episode he finds out his uncle is gay and has a partner. The family then throws a ceremony for the two at their home.

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First romantic lesbian kiss on TV - The legal drama 'L.A. Law' boasts the first romantic on-screen lesbian kiss on primetime TV, this in 1991, between Abby Perkins (Michele Greene) and C.J. Lamb (Amanda Donohoe). It's still a feat, even if it was just a ploy for ratings.

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First gay teen character on TV - In 1992, the soap opera 'One Life to Live' introduced the world to Billy Douglas, played by Ryan Phillippe, who became the first LGBT teen character on TV, daytime or otherwise. The soap also included storylines that explored heavy themes for the time, including homophobia, religion, and coming out.

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First openly lesbian recurring character on primetime TV - 'Roseanne' loved breaking barriers, and in 1992 it featured one of the first openly lesbian characters on primetime with Nancy Bartlett (played by Sandra Bernhard, who is openly bisexual), who appeared in the fourth season and remained until the end of the series. 'Roseanne' also featured one of the most controversial lesbian kisses in 1994, which received a lot of backlash and required a parental advisory warning before airing.

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First TV movie to explore the topic of AIDS -

Not long after the death of Hollywood heartthrob Rock Hudson, NBC's made-for-TV movie 'An Early Frost' premiered in 1985. Aidan Quinn starred as gay Chicago attorney Michael Pierson, and the film was lauded for being the first of its kind to explore HIV/AIDS in depth.

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First openly gay teen main cast character on primetime TV - While 'One Life to Live' featured the first gay teen on daytime TV, 'My So-Called Life' gave primetime TV its first openly gay teenage character in 1994. Enrique "Rickie" Vasquez was played by Wilson Cruz, making Cruz the first openly gay actor to play an openly gay character as a series regular.

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The first real same-sex ceremony on American TV - In 1994, viewers met Pedro Zamora (left) on 'The Real World: San Francisco.' He was not only openly gay and MTV's first openly HIV-positive cast member, but was also part of the first real on-screen same-sex commitment ceremony (his partner being Sean Sasser), which was broadcast on national television. Zamora died shortly after the finale aired, but not without marking a real change in people's attitudes.

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First lesbian wedding on primetime TV - In 1996, the 'Friends' episode where Ross' ex-wife Carol and her partner Susan are married ('The One with the Lesbian Wedding') is considered the first primetime TV episode to feature a lesbian wedding, though there was still no kiss.

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First open-mouth lesbian kiss on TV - However strange a milestone it may be, when 'Relativity' showed the first open-mouth kiss between two women—Rhonda (Lisa Edelstein, left) and Suzanne (Kristin Dattilo, right)—on primetime (this in 1997), for a comparatively long 10 seconds, people were shaken. The show was canceled just four episodes later.

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First openly lesbian lead played by a lesbian - The legendary 'Puppy Episode' of 'Ellen' in 1997 featured the character Ellen Morgan coming out (the first character to do so on TV), this around the same time that the actress playing her, Ellen DeGeneres, came out on the cover of Time magazine. 'Ellen' became the first show to feature an openly lesbian actress playing an openly lesbian character, and a lead, no less.

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The success of 'Will & Grace' - The sitcom, launched in 1998, focused on the friendships of two gay men plus two straight women. It's one of the most successful TV series ever featuring gay lead characters. The show was revived from September 2017 through April 2020.

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First romantic gay kiss on TV - While lesbian kisses were often a way to boost ratings, it took until 1999 for TV's first romantic gay kiss between men. 'Dawson's Creek' characters Jack (Kerr Smith, pictured) and Ethan (Adam Kaufman) shared the first kiss between men on primetime.

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'Queer as Folk' - Premiering in 2000, the show was based on the British series of the same name (which currently has a reboot in the works at Bravo). It followed a group of friends made up of gay men and women, and focused heavily on their love lives. The show was the first of its kind on primetime.

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First openly transgender woman to play a transgender character - Jessica Crockett was the first transgender woman to play a transgender character on TV, appearing as Louise in 'Dark Angel' in 2001. The second to achieve this was Alexandra Billings (pictured) in the 2005 TV movie sequel 'Romy and Michele: In the Beginning.'

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'Queer Eye for the Straight Guy' - With a legacy that is louder now than ever thanks to the Netflix reboot, reality TV was forever changed by the premiere of 'Queer Eye' in 2003. The highly rated (and highly criticized) show earned an Emmy for Outstanding Reality Program in 2004, and got a productive, and highly entertaining, conversation started.

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'The L Word' -

Showtime's groundbreaking lesbian/bisexual/transgender-focused drama kicked off in 2004 and ran for six seasons, becoming the first hour-long drama with lesbian principal characters. The sequel series, 'The L Word: Generation Q,' premiered in December 2019.

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First openly lesbian and gay Oscars hosts - In 2015, Neil Patrick Harris became the first openly gay man to host the Academy Awards. Prior to him, Ellen DeGeneres hosted in 2007, becoming the first out lesbian, and first openly LGBT person, to host the ceremony.

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First gay kiss on daytime television - In 2007, soap opera 'As the World Turns' featured the first gay kiss between two male characters—Luke Snyder (Van Hansis) and Noah Mayer (Jake Silbermann)—on daytime TV.

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First openly gay major news anchor on primetime - In 2008, Rachel Maddow became the first openly gay anchor of MSNBC, breaking boundaries in both major news networks and primetime TV.

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First legal same-sex wedding on daytime TV - In 2009, the soap 'All My Children' staged the first legal same-sex wedding in daytime TV history when Bianca Montgomery (Eden Riegel, L) and Reese Williams (Tamara Braun, R) tied the knot. The show also gave daytime TV its first lesbian kiss earlier in 2003, between Bianca and Lena Kundera (Olga Sosnovska).

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The reign of 'Glee' - The primetime show, created by Ryan Murphy, Brad Falchuk, and Ian Brennan, began in 2009 and ran for six seasons, breaking records and smashing stereotypes the whole way. In 2015, Coach Beiste (played by out lesbian Dot Marie Jones) came out as transgender, and the show featured a fully transgender choir, which was also a TV first. Not to mention several other gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender characters who appeared throughout the show's run.

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First same-sex couple on a children's show - The Disney series 'Good Luck Charlie' became the first children's show to feature a same-sex couple, this in 2014.

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First openly transgender person to receive Emmy acting nomination -

In 2014, 'Orange Is the New Black' star Laverne Cox made history as the first openly transgender person to be nominated for an acting Emmy. She also made history with the series 'Doubt,' which made her the first transgender series regular on primetime.

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'Transparent' - The Amazon show starred Jeffrey Tambor (pre-Me Too allegations) as a father transitioning into the woman she had always identified as. Inspired by her own transgender parent, show creator Jill Soloway made a point of putting transgender people both in front of and behind the camera. The series made history at the 2015 Golden Globes when Tambor and the show took home awards for Best Actor in a TV Comedy and Best TV Comedy, respectively.

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Caitlyn Jenner's televised journey - In a televised interview with Diane Sawyer in 2015, Caitlyn Jenner revealed her identity as a transgender woman, the most famous public figure to do so. The interview was followed by her family's reaction on 'Keeping Up with the Kardashians,' and Jenner also went on to star in her own docu-reality series, 'I Am Cait.'

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Largest cast of transgender actors in series regular roles - Ryan Murphy's series 'Pose' made history, after premiering in 2018, by having the largest cast of transgender actors who play regular roles throughout the series. The show looks at the ball culture of 1980s New York City, and features authentic transgender characters.

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Mj Rodriguez -

Mj Rodriguez, who made her TV debut with her fierce portrayal of house mother Blanca Rodriguez on 'Pose,' made history as the first transgender actress to win a Golden Globe. The star earned the award for Best Actress in a TV Drama, which was also the first Golden Globe win overall for the series. She was also the first transgender performer to pick up an Emmy nomination in a major acting category (lead drama actress).

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The CW's LGBT superheroes -

In 2018, the CW series 'Black Lightning' introduced viewers to Anissa Pierce, AKA Thunder, who is a lesbian superhero played by Nafessa Williams. They also featured TV's first transgender superhero on 'Supergirl,' casting transgender actress and activist Nicole Maines as Nia Nal, AKA Dreamer. Then 'Batwoman' premiered on the network, which sees openly gay actress Ruby Rose playing the equally openly gay Kate Kane, AKA Batwoman.

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JoJo Siwa makes history on 'Dancing With the Stars' -

The young YouTuber, performer, and reality TV star Jojo Siwa made history as the first competitor on 'Dancing With the Stars' to have a same-sex dance partner. The online superstar came out as pansexual in January of 2021. ABC revealed that Siwa would be paired with a female professional dancer in the show's upcoming season. The milestone moment comes after 30 seasons of the hit reality show. This step forward could set a whole new standard for dance competitions. 

See also: The trans celebrities blazing a trail to acceptance

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