A few weeks ago I wrote about the upcoming fall television season. Now that most new and returning shows have premiered, I’m seeing the most diverse lineup of main TV characters to date. Remember when the most popular show on television centered around six white, heterosexual Friends? Today, that is far from the case, with complex characters that are the opposite of cookie-cutter.

Women have been taking on starring roles on TV for decades, but the characters have a tendency to be white, middle to upper class, straight women (Desperate Housewives, anyone?). Women of color are finally taking their place in primetime television, thanks in part to showrunner Shonda Rhimes, creator of successful shows including Grey’s Anatomy. Two of her current shows, hit show Scandal and the new How to Get Away with Murder, feature black female leads.

ABC’s newest show, How to Get Away With Murder, stars Oscar nominee Viola Davis as a criminal law professor and defense attorney who becomes involved in a murder plot with her students. The show premiered on Sept. 25, in the slot after Scandal, and is already a hit with both viewers and critics.

The hit sitcom The Mindy Project, currently in its third season, is another show with a female star of color. Created by and starring The Office vet Mindy Kaling, whose parents are both Indian, the show follows Mindy Lahiri, an OBGYN in New York City and her misadventures in love and work.

Mainstream TV is now also embracing gay and transgender characters. In 2013, the Australian import Please Like Me had to switch to a network viewed by younger audiences due to the show’s homosexual content. The show, equal parts drama and comedy, focuses on Josh who is dealing with his mother’s suicide attempt, his girlfriend breaking up with him and his new realization that he is gay. The show is now reaching American audiences through new digital cable and satellite network Pivot, and its relatable theme of wanting to be liked is helping the show to gain a steadily growing following.

Perhaps the most groundbreaking TV roles today are for transgender characters, which up until now have been rare. Laverne Cox’s supporting role on Netflix’s Orange is the New Black as transgender woman Sophia Burset made Cox the first openly transgender person nominated for an acting Emmy award.

Now Transparent, starring Jeffrey Tambor, is the first show to have a transgender character as its protagonist. The aptly-titled drama, created by Amazon Studios, features Tambor as Maura, formerly Mort, as his family copes with the announcement that he is transgender. The show’s 10-episode run, already available in full on Amazon, has critics raving about Tambor’s performance.

It is important to note that both Orange is the New Black and Transparent are on online streaming platforms, not traditional network television. If online is the new face of TV, then networks should follow in Amazon and Netflix’s lead and create roles for all kinds of characters.

It is almost 2015, so it is appropriate that television is finally acknowledging how beautifully diverse society is. There are infinite stories to be told about different types of people, and this is hopefully just the beginning of a more varied TV era.