A brief history of the most despicable yet most fascinating queer characters on television
The following is an excerpt from the new book The Rainbow Age of Television: An Opinionated History of TV by Shayna Maci Warner, out today through Abrams Press.
The book is celebration of the LGBTQ+ shows, their characters, and their creators that define television–from the very first televised queer kiss (we think) to the shows that are making household names and heroes of queer characters today. Subscribe to our newsletter for a refreshing cocktail (or mocktail) of LGBTQ+ entertainment and pop culture, served up with a side of eye-candy.Unsurprisingly, our first dive into despicable but fascinating queer characters on television begins with premium cable dipping its toe into original programming.
Two original HBO series produced two mesmeric gay male characters—Oz’s Chris Keller (Christopher Meloni) and The Wire’s Omar Little (Michael K.
Williams)—who were incredibly good at being bad. Impulsive, intelligent, and at times without mercy, Chris and Omar were two fully realized, sometimes (often, in Chris’s case) reprehensible queer characters who still serve as references for originality in layered villainy.
