Tom Swift's Tian Richards Opens Up About Playing the First Gay, Black Lead on Network TV

Tian Richards first stepped into Tom Swift's shoes on Nancy Drew, but earlier this month, Richards became the first gay, Black lead on network television when The CW launched a spinoff about his character.

"To see that people have this reverence for something that I was a part of, that obviously feels amazing," Richards told Entertainment Weekly about the role.

"And to be airing during Pride Month has been such a highlight, because the show is so many different intersections and we get to talk about the queer experience, what it's like to actually exist and not just to be entering that space by way of coming out or coming to terms with ourselves. And for it to be Juneteenth this month and with just how much Black excellence is highlighted in the show, and that it shows us freely in all spaces and fully, I love that the most."

Richards told EW that growing up Black and gay, he didn't see people like himself as lead characters.

"The first time I saw a Black queer man that looked like me was Michael K. Williams in The Wire," said Richards. "But I didn't want to aspire to be Omar. But still just to see him visually, that meant a lot. If I had seen Tom Swift, younger me would've been more quick to allow myself to be free. It wouldn't have been such a long journey to self-acceptance."

Richards added, "It's beautiful because you see a coming-of-age story in a different way with a different hero at the front of it, and finally see us in those spaces. Queer people and Black queer people, we don't get to see our story portrayed that way — it's usually by way of trauma or grief or oppression. But to see that just be the identity that you hold in the world and then your problems are something totally separate, I love how all of that comes about."

Playing Tom Swift has also been "eye-opening" for Richards, who said the role has allowed him to "unpack" parts of himself and deal with issues that he "suppressed."

"When I signed on, it was for an episode of Nancy Drew," he explained. "But now we get to really sift through the intricacies and the complexities of what manhood and queer Black manhood and culture looks like. I didn't think that would get that real, but it did, in the best ways."

Tom Swift airs Tuesdays at 9:00 PM ET on The CW.

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Deena ElGenaidi's writing has been featured in Nylon, MTV News, Insider, The AV Club, and more. You can follow her on Twitter @deenaelg.