24 Popular Gay Theme Cartoon Shows

Rebecca Sugar‘s Cartoon Network masterpiece is the most important LGBTQ+ representation in mainstream Western animation, full stop. Sugar (who is non-binary and bisexual) became the first solo female creator of a Cartoon Network original series with Steven Universe, and she used that platform to tell stories about queer love, gender identity, and chosen family with unprecedented care for kids’ programming.

The 2018 episode “Reunited” featured the wedding of Ruby and Sapphire (two femme-presenting Gems) and was a watershed moment for animated LGBTQ+ representation. The 2019-2020 sequel series Steven Universe Future continued the story. The show’s influence on subsequent animation is incalculable.

The sequel to Avatar: The Last Airbender, created by Michael DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko for Nickelodeon. The show’s series finale in December 2014 closed with Korra and Asami Sato walking into the spirit world together, hands clasped, in what was the first explicitly queer relationship between female leads in a major American children’s animated series.

The creators released public statements confirming the “Korrasami” relationship as canonically romantic following the finale, navigating Nickelodeon’s restrictions on what they could show on screen at the time. The 2019-onward Dark Horse Comics continuation series has explored the relationship more openly.

Pendleton Ward‘s Cartoon Network epic spent eight years subtly developing the relationship between Princess Bubblegum (Hynden Walch) and Marceline the Vampire Queen (Olivia Olson) before confirming it as romantic in the 2018 series finale “Come Along With Me.” The relationship had been hinted at throughout the show’s run, with songs, glances, and moments that fans had identified for years.

The 2020-2021 Adventure Time: Distant Lands special “Obsidian” centered the Bubblegum/Marceline relationship explicitly and is considered one of the best half-hours of animation produced in the 2020s. “Bubbline” remains one of the most beloved queer pairings in animation history.

Directed by Kunihiko Ikuhara for J.C.Staff in 1997, with the manga adaptation by the Be-Papas collective. Revolutionary Girl Utena is one of the foundational queer anime, decades ahead of its time in its complex symbolic treatment of gender, sexuality, patriarchy, and identity.

The series follows Utena Tenjou as she tries to protect her romantic partner Anthy Himemiya in a fairy-tale academy where students duel for Anthy’s hand. The show was openly queer in 1997 at a time when LGBTQ+ animation was vanishingly rare, and its influence on subsequent shows from Sailor Moon Crystal to Madoka Magica to Adventure Time itself is direct and well-documented.

Noelle Stevenson‘s Netflix/DreamWorks reboot of the 1985 series, which ran for five seasons. Stevenson, who is non-binary, brought the same queer storytelling sensibilities they developed in their Lumberjanes comic to the She-Ra universe.

The show’s central relationship between Adora (She-Ra) and Catra culminates in a confirmed romantic ending in the 2020 final season — a relationship arc that took five seasons to develop with the same care and dramatic weight any opposite-sex romance would receive in animation. The show also features Bow’s two dads, Spinnerella and Netossa as a married couple, and Double Trouble as one of animation’s most prominent non-binary characters.

Modern Animation Era

Dana Terrace‘s Disney Channel series that ran for three seasons. The Owl House was historic as the first Disney Channel show to feature a bisexual lead protagonist (Luz Noceda). The “Lumity” relationship between Luz and Amity Blight became one of the most beloved animated couples of the early 2020s.

Terrace has publicly stated that Disney cut the show’s planned run short despite its critical and popular success, with the third “season” actually being three special episodes rather than a full season. The Owl House is now widely regarded as one of the best modern Disney animated series and a watershed moment for LGBTQ+ representation at the network.

Matt Burnett and Ben Levin‘s Cartoon Network series, created by veterans of the Steven Universe writers’ room. The show ran for six seasons across 2018-2024 and built LGBTQ+ representation into its world’s fabric structurally.

Notable LGBTQ+ characters include Raj and Shawn (the Honeysuckle Rangers, a gay couple), Mr. Schulman and Mr. Williams (a married gay teacher couple), Kelsey’s romantic relationship with Stacks, J.P.’s lesbian older sister, and various other characters across the show’s diverse cast. The approach to representation is the gold standard: characters exist in their full identities without their queerness being framed as Plot.

Ian Jones-Quartey‘s Cartoon Network series (he’s married to Steven Universe creator Rebecca Sugar) ran for three seasons. The show is notable for featuring an explicit same-sex wedding in a 2018 episode, with the characters Red Action and Joff getting married on screen.

OK K.O.! also features openly queer characters like Joff and his husband, the relationship between Nick Army and his husband, and various other LGBTQ+ background characters. The show’s approach treats queer relationships as natural and unremarkable, fitting its overall earnest superhero-shop comedy tone.

Radford Sechrist‘s Netflix and DreamWorks Animation series, based on his webcomic. The post-apocalyptic adventure features Benson Mekler, one of the main characters, who is openly gay and is allowed a romantic subplot that’s handled with the same dramatic weight as any other character’s romance.

Kipo’s representation extends throughout the cast, including the character Troy Sandoval (Benson’s love interest) and various supporting characters. The 2020 single-season run was followed by Seasons 2 and 3 in the same year, and the show was praised for its handling of identity, friendship, and the fictional mutant ecology of post-apocalyptic Las Vistas.

The Nickelodeon series originally created by Chris Savino (later showrunner roles passed to others following Savino’s 2017 departure from the project). The Loud House features Clyde McBride, the main character Lincoln Loud’s best friend, who has two dads — Howard and Harold McBride. This was one of the first prominent same-sex married couples in a mainstream Nickelodeon kids’ show.

The show also features Luna Loud’s romantic interest in fellow band member Sam Sharp, making Luna one of Nickelodeon’s first openly bisexual main characters. The Loud House remains one of Nickelodeon’s most successful current animated series.

The Hulu animated series based on the picture book The Bravest Knight Who Ever Lived by Daniel Errico. The show follows Sir Cedric, a pumpkin farmer turned knight, voiced by T.R. Knight (Grey’s Anatomy), and his husband Prince Andrew, voiced by Wilson Cruz.

The Bravest Knight is one of the few mainstream animated shows specifically built around a queer family at its center, with Cedric and Andrew raising their daughter Nia together. The show ran for two seasons and remains a notable entry in LGBTQ+ family programming.

The Amazon Prime Video animated series created by Shadi Petosky and Mike Owens. Danger & Eggs is notable as one of the most openly queer kids’ animated shows of the 2010s, with creator Petosky (who is transgender) building queer representation into the show’s core from the start.

The series ran for one 13-episode season in 2017 and ended with a Pride festival in the season finale — making it one of the first kids’ animated shows to celebrate Pride directly on screen. Multiple main and supporting characters are LGBTQ+ throughout the show’s run.

Julia Vickerman‘s Netflix animated series. The show follows 12-year-old Reggie as she escapes into the fantasy realm of Endless to avoid the realities of growing up. Reggie’s romantic feelings for her classmate Connelly serve as one of the show’s emotional through-lines and represents a coming-of-age queer story for younger audiences.

The series ran for one season and remains a smaller cult favorite among queer animation fans for its handling of identity and friendship.

Alex Hirsch‘s Disney Channel series. While not centrally an LGBTQ+ show, Gravity Falls features Sheriff Blubs and Deputy Durland, a same-sex couple whose relationship was confirmed by Hirsch in interviews after the show’s run. The show was made under Disney’s pre-Owl House restrictions on explicit LGBTQ+ content, so much of the representation is coded rather than overt.

The show’s two-season run is now considered one of the great modern American cartoons, and the Blubs/Durland relationship was part of its quiet undercurrent of inclusive storytelling.

Adult Animation

The HBO Max (now Max) adult animated DC series, with Kaley Cuoco as Harley Quinn and Lake Bell as Poison Ivy. The show has become defined by its central “Harlivy” relationship — the romance between Harley and Ivy that develops across multiple seasons.

The series is now in its fifth season as of 2025 and has consistently centered the Harley/Ivy romance as one of its emotional cores, treating their love story with the same dramatic weight as any major animated couple. The show’s creators (showrunners Justin Halpern and Patrick Schumacker) have made the queer relationship central to the series’ identity.

Raphael Bob-Waksberg‘s Netflix series is one of the foundational adult animated shows of the 2010s. Among its many achievements is its handling of Todd Chavez (voiced by Aaron Paul) coming out as asexual across Seasons 3-6. Todd’s asexuality storyline was one of the first major mainstream Western TV portrayals of asexuality, and BoJack Horseman handled the topic with rare nuance and care.

The show also features other LGBTQ+ characters and storylines, and its 2020 final season closed out one of the more thoughtful explorations of identity in modern animation.

Dan Harmon and Justin Roiland‘s Adult Swim series has Rick Sanchez canonically pansexual, with multiple storylines exploring his relationships across genders and across realities. The show’s irreverent tone doesn’t always handle representation gracefully, but the inclusion is real and consistent throughout the show’s seven-season run.

Other characters across the multiverse explore various sexualities and gender expressions. The show is now in its seventh season as of 2025.

The Netflix adult animated comedy created by Jon Barinholtz, Chris Witaske, and Katie Rich, based on the popular Twitter account. The show stars Lauren Ash as Diane Dunbrowski, with her gay nephew Daniel Whiddington (voiced by Rory O’Malley) playing a major role across the series’ two seasons.

The show is the lighter-tone adult animated entry on this list, with queer characters integrated naturally into the broader comedic family-life premise.

The Brazilian Netflix animated comedy created by Anderson Mahanski, Fernando Mendonça, and Paulo Lescaut. The show follows three gay department store workers who transform into drag superheroes by night. The voice cast features RuPaul’s Drag Race alumni Trixie Mattel, Shangela, Ginger Minj, and Willam Belli.

Super Drags is one of the most explicitly queer adult animated comedies, with drag culture central to the show’s premise and aesthetic. It ran for one season and remains a cult favorite within the drag and queer animation communities.

Anime Entries

The MAPPA Studio anime directed by Sayo Yamamoto with manga writer Mitsurou Kubo. Yuri!!! on Ice follows Japanese figure skater Yuuri Katsuki and his coach Victor Nikiforov as they navigate the competitive skating world and a slow-developing romantic relationship.

The 2016 series was groundbreaking for sports anime in its treatment of a same-sex relationship as the show’s emotional core rather than as subtext. The famous “kiss episode” (Episode 7) is one of the most-discussed moments in modern anime, and the relationship’s authenticity has made the show a foundational text for queer anime fans.

ONE and Yusuke Murata’s series features Puri-Puri Prisoner, an openly gay S-Class Hero whose character is treated with the same superhero seriousness as other major characters. While the character has been criticized for relying on flamboyant gay stereotypes, his presence as an out gay superhero in a mainstream shonen anime represented progress for queer representation in the genre.

The character has appeared across multiple seasons of the One Punch Man anime adaptation by Madhouse (Season 1) and J.C.Staff (Seasons 2 and 3).

The Rooster Teeth American anime-style series, originally created by Monty Oum (who passed away in 2015). RWBY features multiple LGBTQ+ characters, most prominently Ilia Amitola, whose backstory includes her unrequited romantic feelings for her best friend Blake Belladonna. The show has continued to develop queer storylines across its decade-plus run.

The series is currently on Volume 10 and remains one of the most prominent American-produced anime-style shows with consistent LGBTQ+ representation.

The Hollow (2018-2020)

The Netflix Canadian animated science fiction series created by Vito Viscomi. The show follows three teenagers — Adam, Mira, and Kai — trying to find their way back home from a strange dimension. The series confirms in casual dialogue that Kai is gay, integrating his identity naturally into the broader survival narrative.

The Hollow ran for two seasons and is among the more under-discussed entries in modern animated LGBTQ+ representation. Worth watching for fans of strange-dimension survival narratives with diverse casts.

My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic (2010-2019)

The Hasbro/DHX Media series, created by Lauren Faust as a reimagining of the My Little Pony franchise. The show’s 2019 final season included the introduction of Aunt Holiday and Auntie Lofty, a same-sex couple who are the aunts of Scootaloo (one of the show’s main supporting characters). The reveal was handled simply and without fanfare in the episode “The Last Crusade.”

While MLP:FiM was never centrally an LGBTQ+ show, the final-season inclusion of an explicit same-sex couple in a major franchise like My Little Pony was a significant milestone for representation in animation aimed at younger audiences.