Most TV Characters With Disabilities Are Played by Able-Bodied Actors, Study Finds

Actor George Robinson in Netflix’s “Sex Education”

A new study has found that nearly 80% of characters portrayed with disabilities in scripted TV series from 2016-2023 were played by able-bodied actors.

“The State of Disability Representation on Television: An Analysis of Scripted TV Series From 2016 to 2023,” commissioned by the Ruderman Family Foundation in collaboration with the Geena Davis Institute, was based on a survey of 350 scripted TV shows from 2016 to 2023, with recent shows like “Sex Education,” “As We See It” and “Echo” highlighted for portraying disabled characters navigating dating and using wheelchairs. In total, only 3.9% of characters had a disability across the 350 shows, a disproportionately small number considering that nearly 30% of the U.S. population identifies as having a disability.

Read on at https://variety.com/2025/tv/news/tv-characters-disabilities-played-able-bodied-actors-1236387320/?fbclid=IwY2xjawKHu35leHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHmoYP6BwpmPFxXWEzJ9u7lBS1V1eWbTqJ2uxY2qJMa5ucgFvB_wKAxWZIzat_aem_dLNYUEoTVQUtarst_buWig&sfnsn=mo.

 

Deaf Movie Database Launched by DeafMovie.org as Educational Resource Centering Deaf Film Community

Caption saying - Deaf Movie Database

DeafMovie.org has created a new resource called Deaf Movie Database, or DMDb, that allows users to find information about deaf film professionals and movies featuring deaf culture.

DMDb, created by Emilio Insolera, includes a film catalog that provides information on the deaf film workers involved in a given film and notes instances of non-deaf professionals playing deaf characters. Users can also see how much sign language a film contains.

DMDb additionally has a Careers section to enable networking, a reviews feature that highlights deaf critics and includes user participation, film festival information and an educational “Dummies” guide about working with the deaf film community. There is also an option to watch films for free via the database.

Source: Go to Monday, March 10 (at bottom of page) at https://variety.com/2025/film/news/film-news-in-brief-march-10-2025-1236333125/

DAD Note:  Thanks to Whyisign for sharing this news – https://www.facebook.com/share/1E7rESdV3E/