The Rainbow Age of Television: An Opinionated History of Queer TV

A fun and accessible blend of pop culture, entertainment, and queer history that celebrates LGBTQ+ television and examines the past, present, and future of queer representation on the small screen

The Rainbow Age of Television is a fun and accessible blend of pop culture, entertainment, and queer history that celebrates LGBTQ+ television and examines the past, present, and future of queer representation on the small screen.

From Abbott Elementary to The White Lotus to Yellowstone and the hundreds of other gems across a multitude of platforms in between, American audiences are being treated to a second Golden Age of Television. But something completely new is stirring, too—the first Rainbow Age. For the first time in the history of American television, we have queer women who fight the trope of inevitable on-screen death (Jane the Virgin, Brooklyn Nine-Nine, Grey’s Anatomy); gay men who are more than just a flamboyant best friend (How to Get Away with Murder; Looking; OK, maybe we also still have Will and Grace); and trans people played by trans actors (The Fosters, Transparent, Pose, Euphoria, Tales of the City). But our screens certainly haven’t always been this colourful. How did we get to this veritable wealth of representation and sometimes glitter-strewn dimensionality? What sacrifices were made along the way?

The Rainbow Age of Television explores these questions and more as author Shayna Maci Warner tracks the evolution of LGBTQ+ icons across the televised ages and into the future of streaming—from the first queer kiss to rock the airwaves to the shows that are making household names and heroes of queer characters today. Through conversations with critics, creators, stars, and detailed historical reference, The Rainbow Age of Television examines the rise of today’s entertainment culture in which LGBTQ+ viewers are finally beginning to see themselves proudly on the screen and highlights the importance of such representation on television. Above all, it’s a proud celebration of the shows and their characters and creators that define this new age in television.