Telenovelas are a TV genre unique to Latin America and are often colloquially referred to as "Spanish soap operas'' since, like US soap operas, they feature a storyline that evolves from episode to episode and airs every weekday. A key difference, however, is that telenovelas highlight Latin American characters and culture and are shorter in episode count, resulting in tighter storyline pacing, which facilitates stronger melodrama and a captivated audience. Originating in Brazil in 1951, the telenovela still constitutes one of the most dominant and influential genres of Latin American television and is popular all over the world. In recent years, the telenovela has evolved into a new TV subgenre called the "millennial telenovela," in which traditional love plots and themes have been reconstructed to appeal to the millennial demographic. LGBTQ+ characters and issues have only recently taken the spotlight in these millennial telenovelas, however. As a result, there is a lack of research on how such characters have been represented as the telenovela has transitioned from its traditional to its millennial incarnation. This study seeks to examine how LGBTQ+ characters and their storylines have evolved in millennial telenovelas in order to assess how the existence of these characters both reflects and influences contemporary Latin American culture. In reviewing pre-existing literature surrounding telenovelas and in conducting a case study on one of the pioneers of the millennial telenovela, La casa de las flores (English: The House of Flowers) by Manolo Caro, this study will reveal how the millennial telenovela both appropriates and innovates upon the traditional telenovela format to promote LGBTQ+ rights and inclusion in Mexican society and culture, where the topic is still exoticized and polarizing