Rosetta Reide, Courthouse

Judge Rosetta Reide (Jenifer Lewis). In the 1995 CBS legal drama Courthouse, Juvenile Court Judge Rosetta Reide was a single mother who struggled to balance her personal life and career. It was revealed that she left her husband, Howard, because she was gay. Jenifer Lewis and Cree Summer were TV’s first recurring African-American lesbian characters, but the role of Rosetta Reide was ordered to be toned down for broadcast.

[Executive Producer] Levine is testing CBS in several ways. Another judge, played by Jenifer Lewis, has an open lesbian relationship, although it was ordered toned down from the pilot originally shown critics. In the revised edition, her lover could just as well be a close friend. With gay characters now accepted all over the dial, CBS has asked only that there be no controversial displays of affection, such as a kiss, right away – and Levine has agreed. “I’ve found that people are more accepting of behavior that is not within their realm of behavior if they get to know the characters first.” Source: Sun Sentinel

The show was cancelled after 9 episodes, leaving two filmed episodes unaired.

Appearances:

• 11 episodes. (2 episode unaired)

Female love interests:

• Danny Gates (Cree Summer, lesbian, recurring, 4 episodes)

Relationship story arc with a woman: No

Male love interests:

• Howard (off-screen, ex-husband)

Relationship story arc with a man: No

Male love interest after being identified as a lesbian? No

Filter Relationship Arc:

• None

Storyline during sweeps? No

[1] A relationship story arc is defined as explicit, developed on screen, and lasting more than 3 episodes. It is listed as questionable or subtext if romance is only implied, mentioned instead of shown on screen, part of a dream sequence, or otherwise not explicit for the viewer.
[2] Sweeps episodes air in February, May, July and November, the periods when advertising rates are set. A character is marked as "sweeps" when there is a very limited number of episodes that address their sexuality, all air during sweeps period, and the storyline is otherwise ignore/dropped.