Not even Alex Russo’s magic could make her queer canon on Disney Channel’s “Wizards of Waverly Place.” But behind the scenes, people sure did try.
During a March interview, “Wizards of Waverly Place” showrunner Peter Murietta said the series about a family of wizards was unable to explore the queer relationship between Russo (Selena Gomez) and friend-turned-foe Stevie (Hayley Kiyoko). “It was pretty clear to all of us what that relationship was, and that would have been fun,” he said.
Several youth-targeted TV series have filled the void “Wizards” left behind, such as Disney Channel teen dramedy “Andi Mack” (2017), Hulu’s “Love, Victor” (2020), Disney Junior’s “Firebuds” and Netflix’s “Heartstopper” (2022), even amid a surge of anti-LGBTQ legislation in the U.S. (more than 500 bills introduced in 46 states, per the 2023 Out Leadership State LGBTQ+ Business Climate Index).
Jo Holz, author of “Kids’ TV Grows Up,” says this wave of LGBTQ representation is a stark departure for youth television, given that diversity on TV is “slow to change,” especially when it comes to inclusion of the queer community.
“These people were completely absent from children’s television for decades. They just didn’t exist,” Holz tells USA TODAY. “They were considered extremely taboo, and any time somebody was represented – even as a minor character – it would cause a huge scandal.”
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Political tensions, revenue concerns slowed LGBTQ youth representation on TV
Political resistance toward the LGBTQ community was a major roadblock in embracing queer youth characters on television, says Raina Deerwater, manager of entertainment research and analysis at GLAAD Media Institute.
Holz says the financial anxieties of mainstream television made companies wary of embracing queer narratives and characters for fear of backlash and a desire to “reach the biggest market possible.”
“They want everybody in their target audience, so they can reach more people with their advertising,” Holz says. “The people that have been marginalized by mainstream society have been marginalized for a reason. They are threatening. They are not considered acceptable to the larger society in some way, and that’s a strong motivation and rationale for not showing them in the worlds that are shown on television.”
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Success of queer creators, rise of streaming platforms promote queer youth television
“Heartstopper,” which follows lovestruck schoolboys Nick and Charlie, was created and written by queer author Alice Oseman. Disney Channel’s animated action-adventure series “The Owl House,” which stars bisexual protagonist Luz, was created by Dana Terrace, a bisexual woman.
“There are still so many barriers to entry, but a lot of people have broken through those barriers who are creating this kind of content,” Deerwater says.
Some of this queer-inclusive youth content has found a home on streaming platforms, such as Netflix and Disney+, who Holz says are able to target “niche audiences” with diverse shows.
“They have more (of a) chance to reach the people that appreciate that programming, and then other people hear about it, and it gradually filters its way into the broader community if it resonates,” Holz says.
And while politics can throw a monkey wrench into queer media representation, LGBTQ politics have become “increasingly central to a cultural conversation,” says Hollis Griffin, author of “Television Studies in Queer Times.”
“Parents want to see children’s programming that looks like the world they want to raise their children in, and increasingly that world includes LGBT people, lives and cultures,” Griffin says.
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LGBTQ visibility in youth television gives queer youth a ‘toolkit’
Last month, an elementary school teacher in Florida was placed under investigation by the state Department of Education after she showed her students the Disney animated film “Strange World,” one of Disney’s first films to have an LGBTQ character in a central role, as part of an Earth science lesson. Florida educators are prohibited from teaching about gender and sexual identity due to the Parental Rights in Education Act, signed by Gov. Ron DeSantis last year.
“It’s important for LGBT kids to have readily available scripts with which to model themselves because when you grow up with heterosexual parents in heterosexual culture, those things are not available to everybody in the same way,” Griffin says. “Popular culture becomes a place where people look to find livable versions of themselves.”
Joshua Rush, who played Cyrus Goodman on “Andi Mack,” says he is “constantly reminded” of the moving impact that Goodman’s coming out had on queer viewers.
“(Having) role models that kids can see on television and characters that kids are able to look up to gives them a toolkit that they can carry around in their everyday life when they do come into some of these frustrating, scary or morally conflicting positions themselves,” Rush says.
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What does the future of queer youth television look like?
Following its successful debut season, “Heartstopper” was renewed for a pair of follow-up seasons last May. Fellow queer teen romance “Young Royals” was renewed for a third season in December.
“Once this kind of process starts, it’s hard to stop it,” Holz says. “Those shows find an audience (and) they become successful. It’ll continue to be fought over probably, but it’s hard to put the genie back in the bottle at this point.”
But Rush says a crucial element in the continued success of queer youth television is industry support of screenwriters, many of whom went on strike in May.
“None of those words that came out of my mouth were my own words,” Rush says. “If you want more queer representation in media, then you have got to be on the side of the writers. … The writers were always fighting for the representation.”
That representation also has to remain consistent, Deerwater says.
“We have to be constantly increasing and raising up these stories because it’s a pivotal time for the community and especially for queer youth right now,” Deerwater says. “Having these stories is a tangible way to help them and just to show a world in which they aren’t under constant attack.”
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Contributing: Charisse Jones, USA TODAY; Madison Durham, Reviewed; Ana Goñi-Lessan, Tallahassee Democrat
