TV historian Andrew Mercado has criticized the long-running soap opera Home and Away for its lack of LGBTQ+ representation, arguing that the production is failing to reflect modern society.
Speaking to TV Tonight, Mercado suggested that the series lacks the imagination required to include diverse storylines in its daily broadcasts. He noted that while the show airs five nights a week, it currently lacks any LGBTQ+ characters.
Mercado expressed a desire to see one of the show’s “surfies” portrayed as gay to observe the resulting reaction within the fictional Summer Bay community. He told TV Tonight, “I just don’t think they’re using their imagination, and they just sometimes put us in just to tick a box.”
The current absence of LGBTQ+ characters follows previous instances of brief representation on the program. Characters such as Willow Harris, Alex Neilson, and Ty Anderson have appeared in the past, though Mercado characterized these instances as limited.
Mercado argued that soaps carry a responsibility to mirror everyday life. He compared the potential impact of television representation to the way reality TV helped facilitate societal acceptance of homosexuality by showing it in real-world contexts.
He also challenged the notion that network executives avoid diverse casting to prevent audience backlash. “Someone at Channel 7 is looking at Home and Away… and someone is going, ‘Don’t put a gay character in. It might upset someone in the audience. We can’t afford to lose anything,’” Mercado told TV Tonight.
The historian accused the production of “churning out the same boring stories year after year” due to a lack of creative effort regarding representation. He cited Number 96 creator David Sale to suggest that audiences are often more capable of handling diverse content than producers assume.
According to Mercado, the show’s current approach misses opportunities to engage a more sophisticated viewer base. He suggested that the inclusion of LGBTQ+ characters would make the series more compelling.
Home and Away continues to air on Channel 7 and streams on 7Plus in Australia. In other regions, new episodes are available on 5’s streaming service and 5STAR.
Past characters that provided representation include Willow Harris, Alex Neilson, and Ty Anderson. However, TV historian Andrew Mercado noted that these instances were brief.
In Australia, the show airs Monday through Thursday at 7pm on Channel 7 and is available on 7Plus. It also streams on 5’s service and airs at 6.30pm on 5STAR.
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