Orphan Black
- Show runtime: 4 seasons, 2013-current
- Shown on: BBC America
- Creators: John Fawcett and Graeme Manson
- Queer characters: Delphine Cormier (Evelyne Brochu), Sarah Manning (Tatiana Maslany), Felix Dawkins (Jordan Gavaris), Cosima Niehaus (Tatiana Maslany), Tony Sawicki (Tatiana Maslany)
- Sexualities: Showrunners John Fawcett (who also worked on queer-focused shows Queer as Folk and Xena) and Graeme Manson appear to be straight, as do the actors of the queer characters. Tatiana Maslany, a cis woman, plays a trans man.
- Show Description: (from IMDB) A streetwise hustler is pulled into a compelling conspiracy after witnessing the suicide of a girl who looks just like her.
- Queer Summary: Delphine and Cosima meet in the first season after Cosima comforts Delphine after an upsetting phone call. They flirt, later go on a date, almost kiss, and Delphine later confesses to Cosima that she believes she might be bisexual, even though she has never thought of herself as queer. Delphine dies from a gunshot wound at the end of Season 4, although there are a few scenes in Season 4 that tease at her being alive again. Toni is introduced in Season 2. He was the only male of a series of female clones, and he is revealed to be transgender and previously known as Antoinette. Throughout the series, Felix is openly gay, working as a gay escort and painting male erotica. In Season 4, Sarah is shown kissing and hooking up with another woman, confirming that she is bisexual.
- Creator comments: Fawcett and Manson have said they while they have resisted falling into traditional heteronormative ideas of character and family, they have not included queer characters for the sake of including queer characters. Maslany has said that since the show studies human nature, that naturally opens an opportunity to examine different sexualities. Gavaris has also defended Felix's flamboyance. Fawcett and Manson have also said that when creating a trans character, Maslany did research to play the role, and she and both creators had a phone call with GLAAD to discuss how to best create that creator.
- Analysis: Orphan Black includes and explicitly features several gay characters simply as a way to show they exist. Delphine describes herself as "bisexual" onscreen, one of the few female bisexual characters to do so on TV. However, Delphine is often framed as the "bisexual femme fatale" who is not only sexually flighty and promiscuous, but also morally shady and at times untrustworthy. Also, Delphine dies as a way to further Cosima's plotline, thus playing into the "bury your gays" trope. Finally, while a trans actor is included on the show, he is played by a cisgender actress who also portrays several cisgender female characters.
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