Teen TV Shows Go Gay

From 90210 to Glee, the Los Angeles Timesreports on the increasing number of television shows aimed toward teenage audiences featuring gay and lesbian characters.

The article covers 90210, Glee, Pretty Little Liars, Hellcats, and Gossip Girl, among others. Much of 90210's third season has focused on high school jock Teddy Montgomery (Trevor Donovan, pictured) coming out, a move executive producer Rebecca Sinclair says was necessary to make the show feel authentic.

"I felt like the world of 90210 was missing the gay characters that it would realistically have," Sinclair, who is also the series' show runner and executive producer, told the Times. "If I had created the show, I would definitely have made one of the main characters gay. And honestly, in a genre that depends on the coupling, decoupling and re-coupling of its characters, it behooves us to find the most diverse ways to do that."

Earlier this season, Hellcats, a series about college cheerleading, reportedly tweaked a story line after it too closely mirrored the events that lead to the suicide of Rutgers University freshman Tyler Clementi. The cast then recorded an "It Gets Better" video.

The article also points to story lines on Glee and Degrassi that have dealt with antigay bullying.

Read more about the gay teens featured on TV here.