Our Fall TV Preview Guide to what's gay this season

When it comes to gay representation on television this fall, there's the bad news and the not-quite-so-bad news. The bad news is that by our count, not a single new scripted network show features a gay character in a lead or supporting role. Several shows have hinted they may add a gay character at some point in the future, but as for now there are no new characters for gay viewers. There are, however, two transgender characters on new shows and one is played by a transgender actress.

The not-so-bad news is that gay visibility on returning shows does fare somewhat better. We still have several out gay actors playing straight parts on successful shows: the Emmy nominated Neil Patrick Harris on How I Met Your Mother, T.R. Knight on Grey's Anatomy and Eric Millegan on Bones. In addition, several more gay characters on hit shows are being added including the revelation that Kevin Walker's Uncle Saul (Ron Rifkin) Brothers & Sisters is gay, the addition of a love interest for Marc St. James (Michael Urie) on Ugly Betty as well as the gay couple moving to Wisteria Lane on Desperate Housewives.

In an effort to keep you abreast of all that is queer on TV, we at AfterElton.com bravely waded through all the new and returning shows coming this fall to find any glimmer of gayness. Here's what we found arranged alphabetically.

New Shows This Fall:

Alien Boot Camp (Logo)
Premieres: November 16
Airs: Fridays, Time TBA
Alien Boot Camp is the universe's first, largest, and most diverse collection of LGBT animation. ABC includes all forms of animation including traditional, experimental, stop-motion, claymation, computer-generated and even reality animation while genres include short films, music videos, short-form series and scenes of long-form animated series. Think Robot Chicken for queers.

(Note: Logo is AfterElton.com's parent company.)

Big Shots (ABC)
Premieres: September 27
Airs: Thursdays, 10:00 p.m. EST
Big Shots is more or less a male version of Desperate Housewives. Just call it Desperate Corporate Husbands. As the network describes it, "The line gets blurred between the boardroom and the bedroom in a new outrageous drama about four dysfunctional CEOs who will do anything to stay on top."

In other words, it's basically about a bunch of cheating men trying to cover it up. In the series premiere, Dylan McDermott, one of the above mentioned CEOs, is caught in flagrante with a transgender prostitute, a situation that comes back to haunt him. Unfortunately, the transgender character is very stereotypical and the source of much “humor”.

Cashmere Mafia (ABC)
Premieres: November 27 (special preview, but actual premiere is Dec. 4)
Airs: Tuesdays, 9:00 p.m. EST
According to their press release, ABC describes Cashmere Mafia thusly: "Four ambitious and sexy women, who've been best friends since business school, try to balance their glamorous and demanding careers with their complex personal lives in the city that never sleeps."

So, basically, it's Sex and the City, only with less sex. And more lesbians. Creator Kevin Wade has said gay characters will be added to the show down the road. Additionally, the show has a gay executive producer, Darren Star, the creator Sex and the City.

Dirty Sexy Money (ABC) Premieres: September 26
Airs: Wednesdays, 10:00 p.m. EST
Peter Krause (Six Feet Under) plays an altruistic lawyer who inherits his father's job as family lawyer to the richest family in New York. William Baldwin plays a senator having an affair with ABC's second new transgender character, this time played by real-life trans actress Candis Cane.

Judging from the first episode, Dirty Sexy Money treats its transgender character with somewhat more respect than does Big Shots. Baldwin 's character appears to actually love her, so it should be interesting to see how it plays out. Fortunately, the show is co-produced by the out Greg Berlanti, who has demonstrated with Brothers & Sisters that he's not just out to shock, but to create relatable queer characters.