From African-American star Diahann Carroll as Julia in the 60’s, through Archie Bunker, Maude and Mary Richards in the 70’s, Bill Cosby as the ultimate family man Cliff Huxtable in the 80’s and Ellen DeGeneres as a woman coming to terms with being a lesbian on the 90’s sitcom Ellen, groundbreaking television characters come into our homes and evolve into friends, even family members; unfolding as a part of our lives in a way that no other form of art or entertainment ever has.

Great television characters have the ability to transcend their fictional worlds, giving us role models, comrades, and teachers, as they expose Americans to fellow citizens they may rarely meet in day-to-day life. It’s an intimate connection that has the power to create larger societal shifts.

In this two-part series, AfterElton.com investigates how successfully current television wages that cultural power from a gay perspective. A recent Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) report found GLBT representation on the five broadcast networks down from a decade ago, and gay visibility across the board on network programs lacking. AfterElton.com wanted to find out: Why aren’t there more regular gay characters on broadcast TV? How have some gay characters been successful with the public, and how have others failed? And most critically: What are the hurdles to getting gay characters onto television screens, and how can those hurdles be overcome?

For answers, we went to some of the most powerful individuals in television, conducting extensive interviews with high-profile television professionals from both the executive and creative ranks. Here in Part One, the presidents of the entertainment divisions at the five broadcast networks go on the record about GLBT visibility, discussing their responsibility as broadcasters, why they expect to do better, and what may be keeping GLBT characters from making it successfully onto series television.

Fox Entertainment President Kevin Reilly

FOX: How did we end up with that final score?

Fox Entertainment President Kevin Reilly was the first executive to commit to this article, and believes that his network “absolutely” has a responsibility to fully and inclusively represent GLBT people. Reilly, who was Entertainment President at NBC from 2004-2007, and oversaw gay characters as president of F/X cable channel, sees GLBT representation on his network - like other diversity - as being first, a good business decision.

“The networks want to maintain as large an audience as possible,” said Reilly. “The more [characters] you have that are reflective of somebody in the audience, the more access points you have.” And, said Reilly, “access points” - a popular and diversity-friendly idea in current Hollywood - help an ever broader audience say “That’s part of my life, I see myself in that show, and I want to watch it.”

Reilly believes there’s also “a humanistic outcome” to this idea of access points, which he said affirms “that people are part of society, they are dimensional human beings and you’d like them to feel not as a special person or an outsider, but - I’m a human being, and I see myself portrayed as one on television.”

Reilly, who arrived at FOX in the summer of 2007, said that diversity is part of his network’s daily dialogue and that the FOX executive in charge of diversity is a part of all senior staff meetings. And Reilly said that FOX works to broaden any “baked in” mindset; pushing to have not just more GLBT representation, but “more dimensional portrayals,” something beyond just the “gay sidekick.” He explained that when they review shows being pitched or in development, they challenge creators by asking from the start, “Could that character be gay? Could that character be Latino? Why not?”

Reilly is asked if he is aware of the recent GLAAD report that gave FOX a failing grade, and ranked it last among the five networks in GLBT visibility. In fact, Fox currently has no regular GLBT live-action characters. Reilly acknowledged the report’s findings, but feels that “the trendline is moving in the right direction.” He does, however, admit, “It’s disheartening when you look and say – ‘Wow, a lot of effort and sensitivity went into improving that. How did we end up with that final score?’”

CBS Entertainment President Nina Tassler

CBS: I know we can do more

At CBS, entertainment president Nina Tassler said that “philosophically” what their network is about is a “policy of inclusion,” and that CBS programming “has got to reflect what our audience looks like.” And Tassler said GLBT representation on her network is an issue that hits close to home for her. Referencing her early career as part of the gay-friendly culture of New York theater, as well as close friends and family members who are gay and lesbian, Tassler said that when it comes to the GLBT community, she feels a “personal investment in ensuring that those portrayals are open-minded and positive.”