In the FOX hit television show “Empire,” a black family owned music company becomes the center of the drama as members fight for the head position.

Another hit show by MTV, “Faking It” revolves around two high school friends who fake being gay to be popular.

ABC’s “How to Get Away with Murder” tells the story of a female law professor and her five students who get caught up in a murder plot. 

The entertainment industry is starting to embrace more and more diverse characters and stories this fall as the return of new and old TV shows have been airing with different ethnicities, sexualities and gender taking the center stage for audiences across different platforms. 

“I love that and the fact that in the Emmy’s this year, there were a lot of diverse people winning,” said junior musical theater major Cierra Stephan. “I think that should be strongly encouraged because this is a world of color and not just black and white.”

According to National Public Radio, who covered a study called the 2015 Hollywood Diversity Report, it explains that the diversity of races and women is still struggling. 

“At every level, in every arena, women and minorities are under-represented in the industry,” said Darnell Hunt who is the co-author and director with Ana Christina Ramon from the Ralph J. Bunche Center for African American Studies at the University of California Los Angeles. 

“Empire,” follows Lucious Lyon, the CEO of Empire Entertainment, and his ex-wife Cookie Lyon as they manage their three sons Jamal, Hakeem and Andre in the ups and downs of the music industry. This show has a variety of guest stars ranging from Snoop Dogg to Courtney Love. 

“I think Empire is one of the best shows on TV right now. It’s cool to see a different perspective and it’s not just your run-of-the-mill sitcom or run of the mill crime dramas,” said senior acting major Zach Petrovich. “We’re getting a lot of diverse characters, and we’re getting a new style of television that’s coming through and I think that’s really important, especially for the new generation of actors that are coming up.” 

A show that has more than one person of color can also be seen as a great opportunity for minorities. 

“I think it’s really important, especially for my friends that are minorities that are trying to work as actors and there [are] a lot of opportunities now for them because of that,” Corwin Stoddard, senior musical theater major, said. 

In addition to “Empire,” there’s also “Blackish,” “Fresh off the Boat” and “Jane the Virgin” that are based on families of different races.

“Faking It” airs on MTV’s Monday night lineup, and is about best friends Karma Ashcroft and Amy Raudenfeld.  The pair is trying to make it into the popular crowd at Hester High School, but because of their close friendship, people are mistaking them to be a lesbian couple.  This finally puts them in the spot with the cool kids. 

The only problem is that Karma is faking it to keep up with the popular charade, while Amy is actually in love with her best friend. The show also features another gay character named Shane Harvey and Lauren Cooper, who is intersex. 

“It’s legal in all states to have gay marriage and I think it’s so important to be out there and actually be acting and addressing this issue instead of just ignoring it,” Stephan said.

Shows like these can also be seen as promoting acceptance amongst each other. 

“I think it goes with our generation; we’re really open to a lot of that stuff. We’re coming to a new age and I think it’s important that we do have shows like this because it’s promoting this acceptance,” Petrovich said. 

But this show isn’t the only show pushing sexuality boundaries; Netflix’s “Orange is the New Black” follows Piper Chapman who is sent to jail because of being associated with her ex-girlfriend and drug runner Alex Vause. 

ABC Family’s “The Fosters” tops the category because it tells the story of an interracial lesbian couple that is raising biological, adopted and foster children.

Shonda Rhimes, the queen of “Thank Goodness It’s Thursday (TGIT)” on ABC has created “How to Get Away With Murder” which follows Annalise Keating, a criminal defense attorney and defense law professor who brings the best students from her class to work on cases at her law firm. As they progress through a variety of cases, they end up becoming a part of a crime themselves.

“I actually love it because it’s usually a white male who’s the lead, and so I’m glad that they’re now spreading their wings, and now, there’s females and hopefully there will be more diversity in that,” Stephan said. 

She also finds it inspiring as a female and hopefully would like to be a lead in a show one day. 

This show is also a part of history because Viola Davis won an Emmy last Sunday for being the first black lead actress in a drama. Also, parts of the TGIT lineup are “Scandal” and “Grey’s Anatomy” which both have women leads. 

According to the 2015 Hollywood Diversity Report, median 18 to 49 viewer ratings amongst black, white and latino households peaked for broadcast and cable shows that at least match the minority share of the population in terms of overall cast diversity. The report also said new evidence suggests that increasingly diverse audiences prefer diverse film and television content.