Staff Reports
The latest study from Define American and USC’s Norman Lear Center claims Latine immigrant characters on scripted TV fell to 23% in the 2023–2025 sample. It’s the newest entry in a long line of “who’s underrepresented now?” reports from the Hollywood grievance industry. The numbers are worth noting, but so are the choices behind them — from the shows they counted to the labels they pushed.
New report finds sharp decline in Latine immigrant representation
The report sampled 201 characters across 80 episodes and concluded that characters identified as Latine or Latino made up 23% of on‑screen immigrants — down from roughly half in 2020. Authors say the share of Latine immigrant characters no longer matches the estimated 44–45% of Latine people among U.S. immigrants. The finding is a tidy headline for those who track representation, but the real story is in how the sample was built and which shows do the heavy lifting.
Method and sample skew the headline
Count me skeptical when a handful of procedurals — notably a single FBI franchise — supply a big chunk of the so‑called representation. When one or two series supply most of your “diversity” datapoints, you don’t have a broad trend; you have a counting trick. The study’s two‑season window and selective episode list make it easy to get a dramatic percentage swing. Streaming shows also dominate the sample, which skews results compared with broadcast and cable. In short: small sample, big claim.
The language game and misplaced priorities
Call it Latino, Latinx, or Latine — the report uses the term its authors prefer, which is fine for academic papers. But obsessing over a new label while treating immigrant status as the primary identity to police on TV smacks of agenda. Are we tracking ethnicity, legal status, or political messaging? Hollywood’s diversity push often reduces people to checkboxes. Meanwhile, viewers who want characters with real faith, conservative values, or mainstream patriotism still find few shows that reflect them. That absence is a lot more telling than whether a character gets an -x or an -e added to a label.
Crime stories, real drama, and the missing conservative voice
The report flags that roughly a quarter of immigrant characters were tied to crime storylines. That’s worth calling out if producers rely on one‑dimensional villains to represent whole communities. But crime dramas exist because crime happens, and viewers expect tension. If Hollywood genuinely wants better portrayals, it should write full human beings — including law‑abiding Latine immigrants, entrepreneurs, moms, and yes, conservatives — not just stereotype them as smugglers or cartel faceless extras. Until then, complain all you want about percentages; the deeper problem is the lack of variety in who gets center stage.
Wrap it up: this new report is a useful data point, but let’s not treat it like gospel. Hollywood’s counting games and identity boxes are predictable, and the fix is simple: better stories, broader casting, and fewer woke word wars. If studios actually wanted to reflect America, they’d stop playing tag with labels and start making shows that show the full spectrum of Americans — including those most missing from screens today.
