This toolkit provides creators in entertainment and media with recommendations for improving the representation of underrepresented communities on screen. The full report, GDI’s 2025 children’s TV report: Gender backslides even as racial representation hits a record high, analyzes the state of representation in new English-language scripted children’s series that originated in the U.S. from 2022 to 2025, across cable, broadcast, and streaming platforms, based on data from Luminate Film & TV, by Variety.

About the study

We used a content analytic methodology to analyze 220 episodes of children’s television from 2025, where we identified a total of 2,638 characters. Our sample included two episodes per series in new programming (164 episodes) and popular programming (56 episodes). After training and ensuring inter-rater reliability across coders, our team of coders independently coded each character’s demographics and portrayals. The report includes analysis over eight years (2018-2025) for new programming and seven years (2018-2019, 2021-2025) for popular programming.

How to cite this study

Terán, L., and Conroy, M. (2026). “GDI’s 2025 children’s TV report: Gender backslides even as racial representation hits a record high.” The Geena Davis Institute.

Find our previous toolkits on increasing diversity in children’s television here: