10+ of The Hottest Gay TV Characters Ever

Today, LGBT characters come in all shapes and sizes, across every genre on numerous network and cable television series, in roles big and small. But once upon a time not so long ago, thinly veiled references and stiff de-sexualized gays were the only homosexual representation on TV.

Gay.net recently compiled a long list chronicling all of the great gay TV characters through out history. From as far back as Richard Chamberlain’s Dr. Kildare of the 1960s and fussy Felix Unger of The Odd Couple in the '70s, all the way to Queer As Folk, True Blood, and beyond.

It’s been a long road to the colorful and realistic depictions of gay characters captured in popular TV shows like Modern Family and Glee today and before Will & Grace or even Soap, there were subtle clues that gay men could be found all over TV across many genres, playing many roles. Imagine that, just like in real life!

Since there are so many to choose from on the complete list, here a few of the sexiest selections for a quick trip through the hottest gay characters ever on TV.

Dr. Kildare (NBC) 1961 - 1966

Richard Chamberlain was Dr. James Kildare, a young intern (and later resident) doctor who worked in a large hospital under his mentor, Dr. Leonard Gillespie (Raymond Massey). Together, the two men tackled both the physical and emotional ills of various patients. There was always something so dreamy and dashing about Chamberlain, and gay men everywhere were thrilled to have their suspicions confirmed when the Thornbirds star finally came out.

CHiPs (NBC) 1977 – 1983, Officer Francis ("Frank") "Ponch" Poncherello (Erik Estrada) and Officer Jonathan "Jon" Baker (Larry Wilcox)

The Dukes of Hazzard (CBS) 1979 – 1985, Bo and Luke Duke (John Schneider and Tom Wopat)

Starsky and Hutch (ABC) 1975 – 1979, David Michael Starsky (Paul Michael Glaser) and Kenneth 'Hutch' Hutchinson (David Soul)

The late 1970s and early 1980s didn’t feature a lot of openly gay male characters, so budding young homos took teases wherever we could find them. That usually came in the form of guy-on-guy buddy shows, like CHiPs, The Dukes of Hazzard and Starsky and Hutch. More realistic than Batman (Adam West) and Robin (Burt Ward) from the campy 1960s series, these shows featured hot, muscular hunks in tight pants, open shirts with hairy chests, and every other kind of porn fantasy you could imagine… and we could imagine a lot. So while Ponch and Jon weren’t really nailing each other over a motorbike, Bo and Luke weren’t exploring the back seat of The General Lee, and Starsky wasn’t really getting his Hutch on, these guys definitely supplied us with plenty of gay fantasies.

Dynasty (ABC) 1982-1989

On January 12, 1981, a few months before AIDS was given its name and a few days before Ronald Reagan took office as president, America met Dynasty’s Steven Carrington—son of disapproving patriarch Blake Carrington. Soon after his introduction as TV’s first gay main character on a prime-time drama (played by Al Corley, left), the religious right took over politics and fear of AIDS swept the nation, leading to Steven switching to women and becoming “bisexual” (and then be played by Jack Coleman, right). But all was resolved in the 1991 Dynasty miniseries The Reunion, where Blake  gave his blessing to Steven (once more played by Corley) and his long-term relationship with Bart Fallmont.



One Life To Live (ABC) 1968-present

In 1992, Billy Douglas The fist gay high schooler on network TV debuted on the soap opera One Life to Live. Douglas—played by a teenage dream and future A-list actor Ryan Phillippe—was at the center of a controversial storyline for the daytime series. In the end, Phillippe’s character came out publicly, in a church no less; in order to dispel rumors that the town’s pastor had molested him.

OZ (HBO) 1997-2003

One of the groups in “Emerald City” included the gays, Toby Beecher (Lee Tergesen) and Chris Keller (Christopher Meloni). They’re a sexy couple, who have some sexy scenes, but they’re also so incredibly complex that they became favorite characters among many viewers. By the final season their tumultuous relationship comes to head with Keller potentially killing Beecher but tricking his accomplice instead, Beecher almost getting Keller locked up for good, one of the two almost tragically dying, and a sweet bit of revenge coming at the end. In society’s underbelly, these two gays were on equal ground with every other f-ed up inmate.

Queer As Folk (Showtime) 2000-2005

Based on the UK series of the same name, Queer as Folk was the first television series to explore LGBT culture and issues in great detail. Be it partners with differing HIV status, performing in gay porn, or underage sex, no queer topic was taboo during the 5 seasons this beloved cable network series aired.

Six Feet Under (HBO) 2001-2005

From the brilliant gay mind of Alan Ball, this creepy, life-affirming, award-winning series followed the Fisher family and their funeral home business, run by baby brother David Fisher (Dexter’s Michael C. Hall in his breakout role). After a few seasons of ups and downs in the closet, David finally finds the courage to come out as gay about his relationship with sexy cop, Keith Charles (Matthew St. Patrick). Their relationship was flawed, tender, real, and long lasting at a time when gay men were still often only caricatures on other shows.

Noah's Ark (Logo) 2005-2006

The success of the both the UK and US versions of Queer as Folk made Noah’s Arc possible. But in addition to being the first gay series to feature all black lead characters (played by Darryl Stephens, Rodney Chester, Christian Vincent, Doug Spearman, and Jensen Atwood), Noah was the first series to fearlessly explore gay male masculinity and femininity. The results were thoughtful, enlightening and spot on.

Torchwood (BBC, Starz) 2006-present

Gay series creator, Russell T. Davies, has described Torchwood as "a very bisexual series." The lead character, Captain Jack Harkness, played by real life out dreamboat John Barrowman, was previously established on Doctor Who as bisexual or pansexual. A Torchwood team member notes in an early episode, Harkness will ‘sleep with anything, if it’s gorgeous enough.’ Ianto Jones (Gareth David-Lloyd), the team assistant, begins the series in a secretive heterosexual relationship, but eventually enters a long romantic relationship with Jack. Jack's ex partner, Captain John Hart (Buffy’s James Marsters) appears in the second series premiere and the second series finale as a foe still desperately in love with Captain Jack.

Teen Wolf (MTV) 2011-present

Danny (Keahu Kahuanui) on MTV’s Teen Wolf is about as far from a gay stereotype as a character can get. He’s not only a confident student among his peers, he’s also a star lacrosse player and the best friend of the team Captain. It is interesting to note that his sexuality is also never an issue with any other character on the show, making Danny an excellent benchmark for the progress of gay characters on television.

Check out the full list featuring many more interesting and alluring Greatest Gay Characters Ever on TV on Gay.net now.