As television’s new fall lineup makes its debut, a report on the medium’s representation of minorities finds that strikingly few characters have disabilities.
"Glee" features Artie Abrams, played by Kevin McHale, one of the few regular characters on broadcast television with a disability. (Carin Baer/FOX)
Just 1 percent of regular characters on scripted shows scheduled to air on broadcast networks this season have a disability. The findings are part of a new report from the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation, which for the first time this year included disability in its annual look at diversity on television. In addition to disability, the report considered characters’ gender, sexual orientation, race and ethnicity.
In all, six out of 587 characters regularly appearing on ABC, CBS, The CW, Fox and NBC have disabilities. They include two characters on “House” — one who uses a cane and another with Huntington’s disease — a character on “Glee” who uses a wheelchair, a child with Asperger’s syndrome on “Parenthood” and a man living with HIV on “Brothers & Sisters.” What’s more, an actor on “CSI: Crime Scene Investigation” who has a prosthetic leg represents the only regular cast member who has a disability both on a show and in real life.
“This analysis shows there’s a lot of work to be done on the broadcast networks,” said Anita Hollander, chair of the Tri-Union I AM PWD campaign to promote inclusion of people with disabilities in entertainment, which helped conduct the report. “Actors with disabilities are rarely cast or considered for series regular roles, but authenticity is a clear advantage for accuracy in scripted programming, and creates a dimension that provides opportunities for further exploration in story lines.”
The picture is somewhat brighter for actors with disabilities in recurring roles and on cable. At least six recurring characters with disabilities are expected to appear on broadcast network shows, five of which are played by actors with disabilities. And there are at least four regular characters on cable shows who are played by individuals who have disabilities themselves.
There’s a mistake in the report. On Glee, there’s a girl on the Cheerios cheerleading squad with down’s syndrome. I believe the actress also has down’s syndrome. In fact, Glee did a whole storyline on this last year when the girl tried out for the squad and the normally cruel coach, Sue Sylvester, let the girl on the squad (and in this season, appears to have made her the coach’s right hand helper), because the girl reminds her of her sister who also has down’s syndrome. I’m really surprised that the report left this out.
There’s also a recurring guest character on Glee of a boy who is paralyzed and they had a whole episode surrounding him as well, when the character of Rachel was feeling sorry for herself for trivial things. I believe that actor was actually paralyzed. Glee’s one of the few shows that not only has a character with a disability on it, but actually talks about that disability and in these two cases, has an actor playing that role with the disability. Maybe it’s to make up for the main character in the wheelchair who doesn’t actually need a wheelchair. I admit, I don’t understand why they couldn’t cast an actor with paralysis in that lead role, as I imagine there are many, many disabled actors who can’t get a job. I guess the voice of the actor they chose, which is very good indeed, is what made them want to hire him and perhaps it’s not so easy to find exceptional singers for leads in a show that’s very much like a broadway musical, disabled or not. Then again, I’m not a casting director, just a parent of a child with Autism/Asperger’s.
Speaking of which, it does bug me that they didn’t cast a boy with Asperger’s on Parenthood. I’m sure they could have found someone and that would’ve been a great example to set for other kids, like my son, who are on the spectrum. However, I’ll cut them some slack for taking on the character with a script that is pretty darn accurate… down to the behaviorist and the ABA plan (though I’d like to know who is funding that woman and if it’s the school, what district do these people live in, because that would definitely be pure fantasy) and if they’re paying for it themselves, then the sneaker biz must be a really lucrative field.
Being a writer myself, I’m always trying to add positive characters to my scripts with Asperger’s/HFA. For those of us who write, it would help if you’ve been touched with a disability in your family and understand it enough to write about it, to add it to your scripts, plays, novels, etc. That can only help to make what we see and read reflect the challenges people go through with these disability and I believe, can educate and help create a more accepting and compassionate environment in the world we live in. Knowledge is power. Knowledge attained while watching or reading something for enjoyment is even more powerful indeed.
The reality is that television fails of representation of minorities as those with disabilities when the population has increased. Yes, this analysis shows that there is a lot of work to be done on the broadcast networks. This situation is not only for actors, but also for all people with disabilities who are not only cast, but are not considered for regular jobs. We have not pass from the act of the law.
The actor Matthew Gray Glubber on Criminal Minds plays an autistic individual but is NOT autistic himself.
I have just obtained a Hollywood agent myself and hope to get some acting jobs here soon.