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130MM TV TIME FANS CAST THEIR VOTE ON THE STATE OF DIVERSITY ON TELEVISION

Television viewers are overwhelmingly voicing their desire for shows with diverse and strong characters. TV Time conducted this study to better understand how television audiences are responding to casting decisions across race, gender and sexual orientation. Gone are the days when our favorite characters were predominantly white, straight and male. A super- charged social consciousness is driving people to want to see characters on television who resemble themselves. Television is answering that call to action and fans are responding in overwhelming favor.

TV Time is uniquely poised with volumes of fan data from people who have watched a television program and voted on their favorite characters in the TV Time app. For this global study, TV Time analyzed the top 100 favorite characters from 2015-2017, chosen by its community of 12 million registered app users. In an eff ort to understand how fans are reacting to diversity characters, TV Time tabulated 130 million character votes over the last three years. Acknowledging that there are several ways to segment the US population (and television characters) into diversity groups, this study focused on gender, ethnicity and sexual orientation. Overall, diversity among favorite characters remains relatively fl at over the past three years. However, some diversity groups are experiencing meaningful growth and appear to be leading the cultural movement toward embracing fundamental changes in the way we experience television.

Published on April 23, 2018 2

CHARACTERS OF COLOR

Overall, characters of color saw a 20% increase, jumping from 15% of the overall favorite characters in 2015, to 18% of the favorite character vote in 2017. There is a TV reboot trend happening in which programs are returning to the small screen with a modern theme of inclusion and acceptance. Shows like One Day at a Time that originally aired with an all-white 1970’s cast have returned featuring a majority Latino cast. Additionally, many of the female characters of color favored by TV Time users are in shows created by . The movement of her empire from ABC to will likely lead to many new shows and several new fan favorites to watch out for.

Shondaland characters (), Laurel Castillo (), Olivia Pope (Kerry Washington), Michaela Pratt () and Cristina Yang () were among the favorite female characters in 2015-2017.

While there is an increase in the number of actors that are chosen as favorites who are persons of color, the numbers are still small. In 2017, there were 18 characters of color in the top 100. But there was only one character of color in the top 10 for 2017 and 2016 and none in 2015.

20% INCREASE

Published on April 23, 2018 3

MORE LGBTQ CHARACTERS ARE ON TV

The largest jump of any single diversity category measured in this study was in characters who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or queer/questioning. From 2015 to 2017 we saw a 57% increase in LGBTQ favorite character votes. According to TV Time’s most recent rankings, LGBTQ characters make up 11% of the top 100 characters in 2017. While a global estimate of LGBTQ representation is difficult to estimate, a recent GLAAD study shows 4.8%1 of people in the United States identify as LGBTQ. In this era of peak TV and diverse viewership, content creators will continue to focus on concepts and characters that appeal to a wide range of audiences.

57% INCREASE

FAVORITE FEMALE CHARACTERS ARE IN DECLINE

The data says that not all on screen diversity is being embraced equally. While diversity growth among characters of color and LGBTQ characters has been strong, favorite female characters has experienced a decline. The number of female characters in the top 100 has fallen over the past two years. From 2016 to 2017 we saw a drop in favorite female characters of 11.2%. There is an even sharper drop if you narrow the focus to just the top 25 favorite characters. Among the top 25 favorite characters in 2017, only 6 were women. That is a 40% drop over 2015 when 10 of the top 25 favorite characters were women. While there has been a tremendous amount of focus in Hollywood around women, we continue to see an under representation of on-screen female characters. Octavia Blake from The 100 (Marie Avgeropoulos) was the only female to make the top 10 of TV Time’s 2017 most-loved characters.

Published on April 23, 2018 TOP 100 CHARACTERS OF 2017 4

1. Dylan Minnette (Clay Jensen) 51. Camila Mendes (Veronica Lodge) Riverdale 2. Wentworth Miller (Michael Scofield) Prison Break 52. Justin Roiland (Rick Sanchez / Morty Smith) Rick & Morty 3. (Damon Salvatore) Vampire Diaries 53. Jaimie Alexander (Jane Doe) Blindspot 4. Cole Sprouse (Jughead Jones) Riverdale 54. Hugh Laurie (Dr. Gregory House) House 5. Jim Parsons (Sheldon Cooper) The Big Bang Theory 55. Ty Burrell (Phil Dunphy) 6. (Barry Allen) The Flash 56. Michael C Hall (Dexter Morgan) Dexter 7. (Dean Winchester) Supernatural 57. (Walter White) Breaking Bad 8. Dylan O’Brien (Stiles Stilinksi) Teen Wolf 58. (Blair Waldor) 9. Stephen Amell (Oliver Queen) Arrow 59. Freddie Highmore (Norman Bates) Bates Motel 10. Marie Avgeropoulos (Octavia Blake) The 100 60. Miguel Ángel Silvestre (Lito Rodriguez) 11. Joseph Morgan (Klaus Mikaelson) The Originals 61. Viola Davis (Annalise Keating) How To Get Away With Murder 12. (Spencer Hastings) 62. Sofia Vergara (Gloria Delgado-Pritchett) Modern Family 13. Neil Patrick Harris () 63. Emily Bett Rickards (Felicity Smoak) Arrow 14. () Grey’s Anatomy 64. Aaron Paul (Jesse Pinkman) Breaking Bad 15. Maisie Williams (Arya Stark) Game of Thrones 65. Gina Rodriguez (Jane Villanueva) Jane The Virgin 16. (Alec Lightwood) 66. Mayumi Tanaka (Monkey D. Luffy) One Piece 17. Ashley Benson () Pretty Little Liars 67. (Castiel) Supernatural 18. Travis Fimmel (Ragnar Lothbrok) Vikings 68. James Spader (Raymond “Red” Reddington) The Blacklist 19. Tom Ellis (Lucifer Morningstar) Lucifer 69. Milo Ventimiglia (Jack Pearson) 20. Katherine Langford (Hannah Baker) 13 Reasons Why 70. Harry Shum Jr. (Magnus Bane) Shadowhunters 21. Gabriel Macht (Harvey Specter) Suits 71. () How To Get Away With Murder 22. Finn Jones (Danny Rand) Marvel’s Ironfist 72. Lisa Kudrow (Phoebe Buffay) Friends 23. Bob Morley (Bellamy Blake) The 100 73. Aja Naomi King (Michaela Pratt) How To Get Away With Murder 24. Kevin Spacey (Frank Underwood) House Of Cards 74. Sandra Oh (Cristina Yang) Grey’s Anatomy 25. Matthew Perry (Chandler Bing) Friends 75. Charlie Cox (Matt Murdock) Marvel’s Daredevil 26. Benedict Cumberbatch (Sherlock Holmes) Sherlock 76. Max Riemelt (Wolfgang Bogdanow) Sense8 27. Melissa Benoist (Kara Danvers) Supergirl 77. (Sam Winchester) Supernatural 28. (Alex Parrish) 78. Bob Odenkirk (James “Jimmy” McGill) Better Call Saul 29. Kit Harington (Jon Snow) Game Of Thrones 79. David Schwimmer (Ross Geller) Friends 30. Holland Roden (Lydia Martin) Teen Wolf 80. David Giuntoli (Det. Nick Burkhardt) Grimm 31. Andrew Lincoln (Rick Grimes) The Walking Dead 81. (Chuck Bass) Gossip Girl 32. Adelaide Kane (Mary Stuart) Reign 82. Katheryn Winnick (Lagertha) Vikings 33. Bae Doo-Na (Sun Bak) Sense8 83. Max Thieriot (Dylan Massett) Bates Motel 34. Emilia Clarke (Daenerys Targaryen) Game Of Thrones 84. Caity Lotz (Sara Lance) DC’s Legends Of Tomorrow 35. Rose McIver (Olivia “Liv” Moore) iZombie 85. Brit Marling (Prairie Johnson) The OA 36. Lana Parrilla (Regina Mills) Once Upon A Time 86. Tatiana Maslany (Helena) Orphan Black 37. Kat Dennings (Max Black) 2 Broke Girls 87. Jason Segel (Marshall Eriksen) How I Met Your Mother 38. Matt LeBlanc (Joey Tribbiani) Friends 88. Chris Wood (Mon-El) Supergirl 39. Norman Reedus (Daryl Dixon) The Walking Dead 89. Rami Malek (Elliot Alderson) Mr. Robot 40. Josh Radnor (Ted Mosby) How I Met Your Mother 90. Taylor Schilling (Piper Chapman) Orange Is The New Black 41. Zooey Deschanel (Jessica Day) New Girl 91. Brian J. Smith (Will Gorski) Sense8 42. (Alex Karev) Grey’s Anatomy 92. Charlie Cox (Matt Murdock) Marvel’s The Defenders 43. (Stefan Salvatore) Vampire Diaries 93. Jennifer Morrison (Emma Swan) Once Upon A Time 44. Eliza Taylor (Clarke Griffin) The 100 94. Chloe Bennet (Daisy Johnson) Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. 45. (Aria Montgomery) Pretty Little Liars 95. Matthew Gray Gubler (Dr. Spencer Reid) Criminal Minds 46. (Jace Wayland) Shadowhunters 96. Kerry Washington (Olivia Pope) 47. Jessica Capshaw (Arizona Robbins) Grey’s Anatomy 97. Jake Johnson (Nick Miller) New Girl 48. Christian Navarro (Tony Padilla) 13 Reasons Why 98. (Mona Vanderwall) Pretty Little Liars 49. Danielle Brooks (Tasha “Taystee” Jefferson) Orange Is The New Black 99. Peter Capaldi (The Doctor) Doctor Who 50. Colin O’Donoghue (Cpt. Killian “Hook” Jones) Once Upon A Time 100. Lindsey Morgan (Raven Reyes) The 100 Published on April 23, 2018 5

LOOKING AHEAD: WHEN WILL TV CASTING BEGIN TO ALIGN WITH POPULATION DIVERSITY?

While TV is moving in the right direction, TV show casting does not yet reflect the diversity of the American population, a population in which 50.8%2 of the people are female, 23.1%3 are people of color and 4.8%1 identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or queer/questioning. TV show diversity also does not yet fully reflect the political and social upheaval that is taking place around women, people of color and gender identities at the moment.

Character diversity alone may not guarantee viewers – or awards recognition. But for those production companies who are in the midst of development and casting and wish to better understand how viewers respond to and engage with characters and the genres in which they appear, the data over time indicates that viewers want more diversity in their shows and are willing to recognize those characters for it.

ABOUT THE DATA

TV Time is the world’s largest TV tracking app. TV Time analyzed 130 million votes from their community of global users to determine the top 100 favorite characters from 2015-2017. TV Time users consist mainly of the Millennial and Gen Y generations, ages 18-34, globally (with the three largest markets being Europe, Latin America and North America). Users self-report their favorite characters on the TV Time app.

CHARACTER VOTING

Voting on characters occurs when a TV Time user watches an episode and tracks it in the app. The system prompts the user to select an emotion about that episode and a favorite character. Only one character per episode may be selected and from there TV Time tabulates the data.

ABOUT TV TIME

The TV Time app provides fans with a platform to extend their TV viewing experience. Their core, global audience of 18 to 34-year-old TV show superfans use the app to discover and track their favorite shows and connect with others. TV Time has tracked more than 9 billion episodes across some 60,000 shows in the United States and other countries.

For more information about TV Time’s 130MM TV Time Fans Cast Their Vote on the State of Diversity on Television, contact https://www.tvtime.com/insights#contact and follow TV Time at /Snapchat: @tvshowtime, Facebook/: @tvtimeapp

1 https://glaad.org/files/WWAT/WWAT_GLAAD_2016-2017.pdf 2 https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/US/PST045216 3 https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/US/PST045216

Published on April 23, 2018