LGBT characters reach record high on TV

Inclusiveness is at an all-time high this season on broadcast TV.

GLAAD found in its annual "Where Are We on TV" report that the number of regular series characters on network television who identify as LGBT has reached a record high with the 2012-2013 season.

LGBT characters make up 4.4 percent of series regulars on scripted shows this season, as opposed to last year's 2.9 percent.

GLAAD's report checked out 97 scripted TV shows that are slated for the 2012-2013 season on broadcast TV, and found that ABC had the highest percentage of series regulars who identified as LGBT (that would be 5.2 percent). Fox slipped down to second place this year with 5.1 percent of series regulars identifying as LGBT, with The CW not far behind in third with 4.9 percent.

Cable's not doing bad either, as the study found LGBT characters increased on programming there as well.

Showtime led the pack with 12 LGBT characters, seven of which appear on series regularly, and HBO was the second most inclusive with 9 LGBT characters. The network, which shares a parent company with CNN, is home to "True Blood," the most inclusive show on cable TV.

"It is vital for networks to weave complex and diverse storylines of LGBT people in the different programs they air," GLAAD President Herndon Graddick said in a statement. "When young LGBT people see loving couples like Callie and Arizona on 'Grey's Anatomy' or 'Degrassi's' confident transgender high school student Adam Torres, they find characters they can look up to and slowly start building the courage to live authentically."