In This Year - 1996

An overview of queer events that occurred in 1996.

Deltas compare against 1995

1996 in review

105 queer characters on air, 18 premieres, and 3 we lost.

1996 has 105 queer characters on air across 91 shows, up 28 from 1995. 18 series premiered and 15 wrapped, while we lost 3.

Pacific Drive
Pacific Drive
01

The shape of the year

Click a metric to explore it

91 shows this year

New 18 Continuing 58 Canceled 15

1986–1996

Characters on air

105 in 1996
1986 1996

By role type

Regular50
Recurring36
Guest19
  • In two or more shows 0
  • Debuting this year 54
  • Non-binary characters 0
All characters on air →

1986–1996

Characters we lost

12 in 1996
1986 1996

1986–1996

Shows on air

91 in 1996
1986 1996

By country of origin

USA53
United Kingdom14
Germany7
Australia4
Japan4
Other12
All shows on air →

1986–1996

New shows

18 in 1996
1986 1996

By format

TV Show11
TV Movie4
Mini-Series3
All new shows →

1986–1996

Shows that ended

15 in 1996
1986 1996

Longest runs that ended

CBS Schoolbreak Special12
Tales from the Crypt7
Dream On6
Sisters5
Lifestories: Families in Crisis4
Picket Fences4
All canceled shows →

Placed on the calendar year, grouped by month.

02

Where it came from

Where the shows come from

All 91 shows on air, by country of origin.

USA53
United Kingdom14
Germany7
Australia4
Japan4
Other12
All countries →

Formats and roles

What kind of shows, and how central the characters are in them.

Formats

TV Show84
TV Movie4
Mini-Series3

Roles

Regular50
Recurring36
Guest19
03

Standouts

Biggest premiere

Pacific Drive

A TV Show from Australia with 6 queer characters, the most of any new show this year.

Leading nation

USA

9 of this year's new shows come from USA, more than any other country.

Longest-running character we lost

Annie Rueman

On air since 1995 on Chicago Hope (for a total of 2 years), the longest tenure of anyone we lost this year.

Biggest ensemble

Pacific Drive

6 queer characters on air at once, the largest cast of any show this year.

Ended this year

CBS Schoolbreak Special

On air 1984–1996, after 12 years it was the longest-running show to end this year.

Busiest actor

Ellen DeGeneres

Playing 2 queer roles on air this year.