In This Year - 2008

An overview of queer events that occurred in 2008.

Deltas compare against 2007

2008 in review

270 queer characters on air, 46 premieres, and 10 we lost.

2008 has 270 queer characters on air across 206 shows, up 26 from 2007. 46 series premiered and 29 wrapped, while we lost 10.

Koihime Musō
Koihime Musō
01

The shape of the year

Click a metric to explore it

206 shows this year

New 46 Continuing 131 Canceled 29

1998–2008

Characters on air

270 in 2008
1998 2008

By role type

Regular154
Recurring78
Guest38
  • In two or more shows 0
  • Debuting this year 119
  • Non-binary characters 0
All characters on air →

1998–2008

Characters we lost

30 in 2008
1998 2006 2008

1998–2008

Shows on air

206 in 2008
1998 2008

By country of origin

USA99
United Kingdom31
Japan21
Germany17
Canada7
Other37
All shows on air →

1998–2008

New shows

46 in 2008
1998 2008

By format

TV Show35
Web Series7
Mini-Series2
TV Movie2
All new shows →

1998–2008

Shows that ended

29 in 2008
1998 2006 2008

Longest runs that ended

You're Under Arrest12
Passions9
Girlfriends8
The Inspector Lynley Mysteries7
Paradise Falls7
The Wire6
All canceled shows →

The 10 we lost

Full death statistics →

Placed on the calendar year, grouped by month.

3
3
02

Where it came from

Where the shows come from

All 206 shows on air, by country of origin.

USA99
United Kingdom31
Japan21
Germany17
Canada7
Other37
All countries →

Formats and roles

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

Formats

TV Show190
Web Series11
Mini-Series3
TV Movie2

Roles

Regular154
Recurring78
Guest38
03

Standouts

Biggest premiere

Koihime Musō

A TV Show from Japan with 7 queer characters, the most of any new show this year.

Leading nation

USA

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

Longest-running character we lost

River Song

On air since 2008 on Doctor Who (2005) (for a total of 6 years), the longest tenure of anyone we lost this year.

Biggest ensemble

The L Word

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

Ended this year

You're Under Arrest

On air 1996–2008, after 12 years it was the longest-running show to end this year.

Busiest actor

Holland Taylor

Playing 2 queer roles on air this year.