In the 1990s, more LGBTQ characters began to be depicted in animated series than in any of the years before. The depiction of LGBTQ characters changed significantly compared to previous decades. Some of the most prominent Western animated series during this decade which featured LGBTQ characters were South Park, King of the Hill, Futurama, and The Ambiguously Gay Duo. The representation in 1990s series would also influence series in the 2000s.
Trends
During this decade, characters on Fox and Comedy Central shows comprised most of the LGBTQ characters on television. Shows like The Simpsons and South Park especially would be influential on other adult animations in the years to come. Continuing from the late 1980s, villains in Disney films which were queer coded appeared in this decade. Some argued that cable television, which began to pick up in the 1990s, "opened the door for more representation" even though various levels of approvals remained. Animation and popular culture scholar Jo Johnson argued that 1990s animated sitcoms enabled queer characters to emerge from, in his words, its "relegated position...and drop an anvil on the head of heteronormativity." She further argued that shows such as The Simpsons, Family Guy, and King of the Hill subverted the nuclear family model and the "stereotypical gender roles assigned to it." He also said that The Simpsons, King of the Hill, and South Park satirized American mores and allowed homosexual characters as part of the family. Other scholars argued that in the 1990s, animators were determined to remind audiences watching that some cartoons weren't for children, with "gay content" seen as a way to demonstrate a show is hip or sophisticated, with a running gag in The Critic that the boss of the title character believes the protagonist is gay. As such, The Critic and The Tick were said to be two animated shows with gay characters and gay references. The Simpsons would be noted as having "gay themes and characters" in various episodes.
Animation for adults
The 1990s saw various animated series targeted primarily to adults on Fox, FXX, Comedy Central, and other platforms. This included series such as The Simpsons, South Park, Space Ghost Coast to Coast, Crapston Villas, The Ambiguously Gay Duo, Space Goofs, Dr. Katz, Professional Therapist, Family Guy, and Mission Hill, all of which had LGBTQ characters in some way or another, even though many were stereotypical or were secondary characters.
The Simpsons
From 1990 to 1994, the most prominent show in terms of LGBTQ characters was The Simpsons. In fact, The Simpsons had split from The Tracey Ullman Show which had recurring gay characters, with a gay couple which embodies the gay/yuppie stereotype, David and William, who have a daughter, with David, voiced by Dan Castellaneta, who voiced Homer in The Simpsons. However, many of the characters in The Simpsons were secondary and rarely in positions of power. Waylon Smithers and Patty Bouvier were the only recurring gay characters. The show's first episode, on December 17, 1989, introduced Smithers, who was named after gay puppeteer Wayland Flowers. Smithers was the first gay character to appear on a U.S. animated show. However, like other shows at the time, The Simpsons approached the subject gingerly, not drawing much attention to the sexuality of Smithers, as he remained in the closet, officially, until 2016. One scholar would call The Simpsons "subversive" for satirizing and challenging social norms, traditional values, and LGBTQ representations. Even so, it was noted that Smithers is frequently dubbed as "Burns-sexual," which is used to hide his sexuality, and he has been passing his whole life, with his remaining in the closet a focus of many sketches and jokes in the show. He would also be described as a weird man who sticks to "his cartoonish closet" and as a person who is infatuated with a "vaguely homophobic" Mr. Burns, with illusions to this attraction beginning to be shown in the show's first season. Another scholar said that the sexuality of Smithers was clear from innuendos, although not explicitly stated, like him kissing Mr. Burns when everyone thinks the world is ending, in the November 1997 episode "Lisa the Skeptic".