Heroes tries again to include LGBT people in its world

(Warning, minor SPOILERS for Heroes' second season follow.)

Thankfully, it looks like Heroes' misfire in trying to include a gay character in its cast hasn't deterred the show from trying again. According to AOL's TV Squad blog, the series is looking to make another attempt at adding a gay character in season two, this time with a lesbian cheerleader named April, one of a handful of characters from a Californian high school.

Overall, the series is looking to maintain a diverse cast, a promising sign that the series won't be losing sight of the inclusiveness that we saw when the show began. In addition to April, the show is looking to cast a Latino and an African-American woman as regular characters, as well as Japanese and Irish recurring characters.

In a recent interview, former Heroes producer Bryan Fuller talked about how creator Tim Kring wanted a "united Benetton cast" that represented the various people of the world, a vision that included LGBT people. This casting news suggests Heroes hasn't lost sight of that goal.

I remember, when it became clear who was responsible for de-gaying Zach, my instant reaction was optimism. I was glad that debacle wasn't due to someone who had a long-term role in guiding the show, but someone whose influence on the show was fairly limited and wouldn't be around to squash any future attempts at including LGBT people as Heroes. Hopefully, that optimism will turn out to be well-founded -- for the moment things look that way.