Thirst-Responders: From firemen to P.I.s, here are 10 queer heroes to ‘ship from network TV dramas

Stans and ‘shippers have gone buck-wild for “Buddie,” the portmanteau of Evan “Buck” Buckley (Oliver Stark) and his platonic best friend, Edmundo “Eddie” Diaz (Ryan Guzman), on ABC’s juicy first-responder drama 9-1-1. While both characters have previously been considered straight, the latest season of the show has seen Buck come to terms with his bisexuality, leading to renewed hope for an eventual “Buddie” love story.

While procedurals tend to skew a little more conservative—or at least designed to appeal to as wide an audience as possible—many series have made significant strides in LGBTQ+ representation. Scroll down below for 10 characters from network dramas who have been portrayed authentically, fairly, and sometimes quite sexily!

Katriona Tamin, Law & Order: SVU

While gays flocked to this long-running crime drama—seriously, 25 seasons is a lot!—for the smoldering beefcake that is Elliot Stabler (daddy Chris Meloni), SVU introduced bisexual detective Katriona “Kat” Tamin, played by Jamie Gray Hyder, in its 21st season. While Kat only stayed on the squad for two years, viewers got to see some of her personal life, including girlfriend Céline (Carrie Kim). Kat was tough and casually out to her coworkers, who didn’t care about her sexual orientation.

Carlos & TK, 9-1-1: Lone Star

Years before Buck came out as bi, spinoff 9-1-1: Lone Star told a fan-favorite love story with Carlos Reyes (Rafael Silva) and Tyler “TK” Strand (Ronen Rubinstein), known as “Tarlos.” TK is a wild-child firefighter who moves to Texas with dad Owen (Rob Lowe), and Carlos is a sweetheart who wants a relationship. While TK and Carlos start the series as hookup buddies, they eventually fall deeply in love—and even get married!

Paul Strickland, 9-1-1: Lone Star

Trans actor Brian Michael Smith plays Paul, an out trans firefighter. Smith played a part in crafting an authentic character in Paul. “If you’re not going to have someone who’s gone through the trans experience in the room,” he recalled in an interview with NBC News, “I’m very happy with sharing as much as I need to help or I can point you to resources that will inform the work that we’re doing.”

John Cooper, Southland

Played by Michael Cudlitz, John was a complex and messy gay character in this underrated cop drama. Over the course of the series, Officer Cooper deals with painkiller addiction, the end of his long-term relationship, and dysfunctional one-night-stands. In the season four episode “Legacy,” he tries to help a suicidal gay teen who reminds Cooper of himself. 

Jackson West, The Rookie

Jackson (Titus Makin Jr.), one of the original characters on the Nathan Fillion-starring show, starts out as an overly idealistic cop and develops into a good law enforcement officer with a strong sense of right and wrong. Jackson looks up to his father, Percy (Michael Beach), and has a few relationships with men over the course of the series before a tragedy cuts the character’s time on the show short in season four.

Darren Ritter, Chicago Fire

Daniel Kyri plays openly gay firefighter Darren on Chicago Fire. Darren quarantines with his boyfriend, travel agent Eric (Curtis Edward Jackson), during COVID and decides to break up with him after feeling stifled. But after going on a date with Eric’s ex (gays are messy, we know), Darren realizes he’s still in love with him and they reconcile.

Simone Clark, The Rookie: Feds

Played by beloved queer actor and TV host Niecy Nash-Betts, Simone is the main character of this one-season spinoff of The Rookie. Simone joins the FBI after 20 years as a guidance counselor, and is portrayed as pansexual. Even better: her love interest, Dina Jackson, is played by Nash-Betts’ actual wife, Jessica Betts. Aww.

Lucy & Kate, NCIS: Hawai’i

Fans love this prominent, sexy couple on NCIS: Hawai’i. Yasmine Al-Bustami plays Lucy, a junior officer of the Naval Criminal Investigative Service, while Tori Anderson plays Kate, the unit’s FBI liaison. Lucy and Kate hook up right from the first episode and their on-and-off relationship has remained a focal point of the series.