A Supergirl Character Will Come Out, But Is That Enough?

For years, Hollywood has had a problem with openly gay characters. This has been especially true for shows centered on superheroes and comic book characters. But, it seems like 2016 is finally the year that strides are being made to create a more inclusive group of heroes. Supergirl is one such show, as promised by the show's producer earlier this year. The CW series is in its second season, and dropping major hints that one of the main characters, Alex Danvers (Chyler Leigh), Supergirl's (Melissa Benoist) adoptive sister, is gay. Alex meets a new character, Maggie Sawyer (Floriana Lima), an openly gay detective who she works with on a new case involving aliens, crime, and all that good stuff. The two are flirty and it's clear that the writers are teasing a budding relationship. While fans of the show on Twitter are thrilled, many have pointed out that this would be a good opportunity to introduce more LGBTQ characters in television shows. There's one on Supergirl. Great. Now what?

Hopefully showrunners pay attention to the overwhelmingly positive response to the update on Alex's personal life, and create more narratives that explore relationships beyond just man and woman.

Throughout the years, writers have killed off nearly 120 LGBTQ characters on TV shows. It's about time the new front of primetime television does something about that, isn't it?