In a move that does not shy away from its brave comic roots, FOX’s Gotham will feature a lesbian detective as one of its lead roles. Detective Renee Montoya is in canon as being gay in Batman comics, a former lover of Katherine Kane, AKA Batwoman. Victoria Cartagena plays the first live-action LGBT character in the prime-time superhero universe and recently talked to Advocate about the importance of the role.

“Growing up, I rarely saw people of color or gay people depicted in a positive light, and I know when you don’t see yourself reflected in the world around you, it does things to your self-esteem,” Cartagena says. “I know if I had seen a character like Renee on TV when I was younger — a Latina who is smart, powerful, and strong — it would’ve encouraged me to dream bigger. So I know what she means to people, and if watching me means that I can help someone else feel included, than that makes me very happy.”

Co–executive producer Danny Cannon:

Gotham is beautiful, dark, dangerous, and romantic. It’s the kind of cityscape you should look at and believe anything can happen, and that means everybody should exist there. There’s no way we on Earth we would have a show like this limit itself with out-of-date values.

I have to say that I applaud the Gotham producers for not pulling punches with a character like this but also not pandering with a gimmick. Renee is a fantastic character who deserves to be treated with respect, and doing so creates a role model an entire generation can look up to.

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