Deaf people appear on television so frequently now that it is routine, and most popular shows seem to have deaf appearances sooner or later. Today, deaf actors and actresses are now full-fledged stars of television programs,and are taking roles where deafness is just part of the character, not the sole focus of the character. In other words, their roles could be played by hearing actors just as easily - the producers just happened to select a deaf actor or actress for the role.
Just a few of the shows to date that have had deaf guest stars or that had deaf people as THE stars of the show:
- The Doctors (British)/"Picking Up the Pieces" (March 2000) - deaf woman (Joyce Gibbs)
- The X-Files (November 2000) - 2-episode sequence with Christine Firkins in a deaf role.
- Holby City(British)/"Extra Time" (January 2001) - deaf boy
- Casualty (British)/"Scent of the Roses" (February 2001) - deaf woman (Paula Garfield)
- CSI/"Sounds of Silence" (April 2001) - deaf victim. (Also includes appearance by Deanne Bray)
- Strong Medicine/"Fix" (January 2001) - Deanne Bray and her husband Troy Kotsur
- Brothers Garcia/"Student Buddy" (July 2001) - new deaf girl at school (Rebecca Lovitch)
- Any Day Now/"Don't forget to take out your teeth" (July 2001) - deaf client (Anthony Natale)
- The Chris Isaak Show (Showtime)/"Behind the Isaak" (July 2001) - deaf and blind masseuse
- Off Centre (WB)/"Hear No Evil, See No Package" (March 2002) - deaf character (Shoshannah Stern)
- Inspector Lynley Mysteries (British) April 2002 - deaf girl murdered
- Providence/"Great Expectations" (April 2002) - Shoshannah Stern
- Odyssey 5 (Showtime)/"Symbiosis" (July 2002) - young deaf girl has a cochlear implant
- Soul Food (Showtime)/"Child Safety" (August 2002) - deaf girl (Michelle Banks)
- Night Visions/"Patterns/Voices" (September 2002)- deaf woman (Terrylene) reads people's minds
- Girlfriends (UPN)/"Don't Leave Me a Loan"(October 2002) - deaf boss (Michelle Banks)
- Boston Public/Chapter Fifty(November 2002) - Shoshannah Stern
- John Doe/"Idaho" (November 2002) - deaf killer
- Strong Medicine/"Philadelphia Chromosome" (December 2002) - deaf girl with arthritis
Marlee Matlin continues to be a staple guest star on shows, just a few examples of which are below.
- Chicken Soup for the Soul (late 1999)
- Judging Amy/"An Impartial Bias" (November 1999)
- Gideon's Crossing/"Orphans" (January 2001) (Kovacs was also in this episode)
- The Practice/"Life Sentence" (2000)
- Blues Clues (2001)
- The Division/"Testimonial" (Lifetime) (February 2003) (also included Shoshannah Stern, who also had a guest role in January 2003 on ER's "A Little Help from My Friends" episode)
In the 2002-2003 season, the way forward for deaf people to star on television was led by Deanne Bray, who starred in the Pax program Sue Thomas, FBEye. In the 2003-04 season, Shoshannah Stern became a regular on ABC's Threat Matrix, playing security analyst Holly Brodeen at the National Security Agency.
More: Deaf People on Television 1950s to Modern Times
Sources:
IMDB.com, Epguides.com, and TV.com were the sources for much of this material.
