For evidence of how ambivalent television can be about baby boomers, consider the story of “Hot in Cleveland” star Wendie Malick.

At 61, she’s at the heart of the boom generation, defined as those born between the mid-1940s and the early ’60s. And she’s a bona-fide TV veteran, with key roles in sitcoms ranging from HBO’s “Dream On” in 1990 to NBC’s “Seinfeld,” “Frasier” and “Just Shoot Me!”

Before she landed in the oasis of “Cleveland’s” success in 2010, her agent advised her to look through scripts for male roles she might want to play, figuring they could ask writers to change the gender.

Because, for women of her certain age in Hollywood, pickings were seriously slim.

“It was getting to be a very bleak landscape,” said Malick, who started in the early ’70s as a model for the Wilhelmina agency. “We’re talking, no characters over age 40. Which is why we feel vindicated (by ‘Cleveland’s’ success). It reminded people of all ages how interesting women of a certain age truly are.”

Even as some celebrate the success of certain boomer icons on TV – 63-year-old Steven Tyler captivating the kids on “American Idol” or 60-year-old Mark Harmon leading TV’s highest-rated scripted show, “NCIS” – there’s evidence the story is more complex.

While some older stars have found new, visible roles on television, there’s also evidence that TV is turning away from baby boomers as the youngest of them begin to age out of the typical group television always has focused on: viewers 18 to 49.

According to figures from the performers’ union AFTRA, from 2009 to 2011, just 36 percent of TV roles covered by their contracts were filled by a character over age 40 (AFTRA contracts cover about 80 percent of TV productions).

It’s worse for women this TV season. Among the shows airing on network TV as the new season started last fall, AFTRA found just 8 percent of roles went to women older than 40.

This occurred in the year the youngest boomers turned 47. How could perception and reality be so different? The 2010 U.S. census lists those over age 40 at 46 percent of the population; women over 40 are 24 percent.

“I harken back to the days when ‘The Golden Girls’ was successful on TV, and it seemed all of a sudden, more women over 40 were getting work,” said Ray Bradford, national director of equal employment opportunities for AFTRA.

But besides Malick there seem to be few big names who want to discuss the issue openly.

“Normally, we get the adjunct roles: friends, judges, whatever,” Malick said of boomer actors. “On this show, we get to be the center of the universe; the young people come visit and they have to leave.”

Even as today’s boomers lead vastly more unsettled and active lives than the generations before them did at their ages, younger audiences have a tough time accepting the change.

NBC ratings expert Alan Wurtzel coined the term “alpha boomers” to describe these folks, between age 55 and 64, at the heart of the baby boom and living life very differently from their predecessors.

Statistics from the Nielsen Co. show that this group is just as likely to switch consumer brands as younger people, spends more time online than teens and early 20-somethings and has a comparable buying rate.

The problem: Younger generations still see them as old. And that’s who the big broadcasters cater to.

“(Younger viewers) don’t want to see things that remind them of advancing age,” Lanzano said.

Perhaps the best way to pinpoint the issue, as always in Hollywood, is to follow the money. According to a chart of advertising costs published by Advertising Age magazine in October, “NCIS” commanded $154,646 for every 30-second commercial, with other popular shows led by boomers following behind.

“CSI,” which picked up 64-year-old Ted Danson as its new star, clocks in at $135,350; “Criminal Minds,” with 64-year-old lead Joe Mantegna, earned $137,347. “60 Minutes,” TV’s longest-running, highest-rated newsmagazine, made $122,075; Bates’ “Harry’s Law,” which has struggled on Wednesday nights, charged $64,017.

Compare that to shows connected to youth culture: Fox’s “The X-Factor” ($320,669), “The Simpsons” ($254,260), “Family Guy” ($264,912) and “Glee” ($267,141), along with CBS’s “Two and a Half Men” ($252,418).

“Once boomers turn 50, the networks don’t care about them anymore, which is a big mistake,” said Marc Berman, a former ratings analyst for NBC who now serves as editor of the website TVMediaInsights.com. “ ‘NCIS’ is in its ninth season, it’s bringing in 20 million viewers a week, but nobody cares about it. ‘Glee’ is the golden child, wins awards, gets overkilled, and it could be gone. It’s not a show that will last eight or nine years.”