While things were beginning to improve for the LGBTQ+ community in the 2000s, same-sex marriage being legalized was still years away, and bad gay jokes were still the norm on television. Which is why we latched on to every gay character who provided us a little bit of hope for a brighter future. In the decades before, we were lucky to get queer-coded characters, but the first ten years of the new millennium treated us to fully developed and even delightful messy LGBTQ+ characters to identify with and, at times, live vicariously through.The cast of The L WordAfter years of lesbian side characters (like on Friends) and queer-coded sapphic romances (Xena: Warrior Princess), it was a breath of fresh air to have an entire show dedicated to depicting queer women.Marco Del Rossi Degrassi: The Next GenerationMarco was the first openly gay main character on Degrassi, and actor Adamo Ruggiero credits playing the queer character with helping him to come out in real life.David Six Feet UnderMichael C. Halls character David spent much of Six Feet Under struggling with his sexuality and navigating his relationship with partner Keith, who he eventually marries on the show.Inara FireflyInara was not only queer but a respected sex worker on the one-season show, and while her clientele was overwhelmingly male, we did get to see her with a female client, a rarity in 2003.The cast of Queer as FolkQueer as Folk helped to redefine LGBTQ+ characters and featured the first sex scene between two men ever depicted on American television. The unapologetic gay characters were a beacon of light to queer people who had only seen the sanitized version of gay life as shown on shows like Will & Grace.Anna One Tree HillAnna is a bisexual character from the teen drama One Tree Hill who came out during the shows second season and starts dating a woman.Andrew Van de Kamp Desperate HousewivesWhile Wisteria Lane was mostly full of straight couples, Shawn Pyfroms character Andrew was one of a few gay recurring characters on the show. Andrew struggled with his sexuality and dealing with his mother initial disapproving of his sexuality. Mystique and Destiny (X-Men Evolution)Mystique and Destiny have one of the longest-running romances in the history of Marvel comics and one of the most beloved queer relationships. While Mystiques queerness has largely been erased from the X-Men movies, we got to see the pair in a relationship in the animated series X-Men Evolution.Stanford Blatch Sex and the CityWhile he may have fallen into the gay best friend stereotype sometimes, Stanford was a beloved addition to the cast as Carries bestie.Ian Gallagher ShamelessIan Gallagher first comes out in the first season of Shameless and goes on to be an openly gay character who dates a few different men throughtout the run of the show. Willow & Tara Buffy the Vampire SlayerWillow came out on Buffy the Vampire Slayer in 1999, but she didnt start dating Tara until 2000 so were counting it!