By now, every gay man in America, with the possible exception of The Amazing Race's Tom and Terry, knows about GLAAD's recent report on the state of gay representation on television. That state, of course, is appalling. Were “Gays on Television” an actual state, it would surely be Mississippi, which ranks near the bottom in virtually every statistical indicator of well-being, including income per capita, infant mortality and neighborhoods being renovated by gay couples.

Those working at Focus on the Family and similar bastions of homophobia are surely heartened by GLAAD's account of the steady decline in the number of gay characters on TV. But what's even worse than the decline in actual numbers is the decrease in the importance of the characters who are gay.

With the demise of Will & Grace, there is only one gay lead on broadcast television — Sean Maguire on The Class — and even that character is part of an ensemble of eight. Instead, we are left with men who act “gay”, but aren't; who are gay, but don't know it; and a motley assortment of barely there characters like the “gay” kid on FOX's War at Home, who gets less screen time than the family pet.

It probably comes as no surprise that a high percentage of network shows are set in the same cities with high gay and lesbian populations. New York City leads the pack with at least 10 shows set in the city or its nearby environs. These include CSI: New York, House, How I Met Your Mother, Kidnapped, 30 Rock, Six Degrees, Ugly Betty and numerous versions of the Law and Order franchise. Of all these shows, only Ugly Betty will feature a gay character, and that is only in a minor, recurring role likely to be less developed than George W. Bush's intellectual curiosity.

The situation is hardly any better for shows set in Los Angeles, another gay-friendly, gay-populated city. Shows set there include Two and a Half Men, Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip, Shark, Numb3rs, Justice and 24. And how many feature a gay or lesbian character? Zero.

Estimates are that the GLBT population of those cities is high as 10–15 percent. That makes it just that much more egregious that gays and lesbians make up less than 2 percent of all broadcast television characters across the board.

Knowing the networks must surely want to rectify this situation, I took a gander at the fall lineup and found 10 shows the networks could improve and make more interesting by adding a gay character. Go ahead, ABC, NBC, CBS and FOX. Take the ideas free of charge. I know you want to be better, and I want to help you.

1. Friday Night Lights is NBC's new football series based on the movie of the same name. Lights chronicles the trials and tribulations of a small town's high school football team. It's not the worst idea in the world, and I should probably be grateful there isn't a male cheerleader who is gay but doesn't know it. Making one of the actual players gay would not only liven up the premise, but dispel stereotypes that gay men's involvement in sports starts and ends with figure skating.

It would also help to draw in female viewers who seem to enjoy watching gay boys — witness the success of Brokeback Mountain and Project Runway. Even better, America would get to see that gay men come in all versions, not just as fey men with great taste (see The Class) or fey men who don't even know they are gay (see Help Me Help You). Lord knows, Hollywood owes us a lot on that score.

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