Question
I've been telling people that that the first two television shows with trans male leads came out this month, either Dead End: Paranormal Park (Netflix, 16 June 2022) or The Umbrella Academy (Netflix, February 15 2019, but Viktor was not established as trans until 22 June 2022), but I'm wondering if that's actually true.
For the purposes of this question:
- The lead character (not necessarily the actor) of the show must be canonically established as trans male. I'm considering the lead to be the character with the most screentime played by the actor with first billing. So, a season regular character played by a junior actor in an ensemble wouldn't count, and a show where an actress plays a male clone/alternate timeline version of her character for a single episode wouldn't either.
- The show must have originally aired as a television show, not a movie chopped into parts. (So the 2020 movie Rurangi doesn't count, even though it is available on Hulu as a mini-series.)
- The show must air on cable, broadcast television, or a mainstream streaming service (not YouTube or a niche platform for queer indie projects).
Answer
Wandering Son (放浪息子, Hōrō Musuko) was a one-season anime series that aired in 2011. It features two protagonists, one a trans girl and one a trans boy. A synopsis from the above link:
Effeminate fifth grader Shuuichi Nitori is considered by most to be one of the prettiest girls in school, but much to her dismay, she is actually biologically male. Fortunately, Shuuichi has a childhood friend who has similar feelings of discomfort related to gender identity: the lanky tomboy Yoshino Takatsuki, who, though biologically female, does not identify as a girl. These two friends share a similar secret and find solace in one another; however, their lives become even more complicated when they must tread the unfamiliar waters of a new school, attempt to make new friends, and struggle to maintain old ones. Faced with nearly insurmountable odds, they must learn to deal with the harsh realities of growing up, transexuality, relationships, and acceptance.
I should note that I have not watched this show, and so I cannot speak to the accuracy of the descriptions. In particular, it is not clear to me whether the two protagonists are equal co-leads or whether Shuuichi is more properly viewed as the main character of the show; if the latter, it might not be the best example of what the OP is looking for.
Answered By - Michael Seifert
