17 the Best Bisexual Characters In TV History
(Syfy)
Image: Syfy
To an extent, gay and lesbian characters are flourishing on the small screens. Yet it feels as though bisexual and pansexual characters often don’t make the cut. But there’s been a boom of bisexual folk in recent years, and, while not comprehensive, here’s our list of the 35 best bisexual+ characters in TV history. In no particular order:
Nico Minoru, Marvel’s Runaways .
While there’s a lot of push and pull from tie-wearing executives and fans about queer rep in cinema, the TV-side of the Marvel universe is a little ahead of the curve here.
Nico Minoru (Lyrica Okano) is the witchy Sister Grimm of the show and a massive step in casting diverse people in big-budget TV. As a bisexual Asian-American, Minoru is first introduced as a love interest for a male character.
But later, she falls for a lesbian alien, Carolina Dean, becoming a sign for fresher, more queer decision-making for TV comic-book adaptations.
Lucifer Morningstar, Lucifer .
Tom Elis’ Lucifer drives into the pilot episode looking impeccable. Complete with tailored suit and cuff links.
He could easily single-handedly host Queer Eye with his overarching interests, from wine to, well, having toned abs.
Yet, the titular main character from FOX‘s DC Comics-based show has relationships with men and women, and is a bit of a womaniser himself. He doesn’t outright label his sexuality, and instead lives it.
Rosa Diaz, Brooklyn Nine-Nine.
Now, she’s a character who honestly needs no introduction.
Rosa Diaz is the resident badass of the New York City precinct and a major fan-favourite, but she upped the ranks when she came out as bisexual in season five of the FOX TV show.
Stephanie Beatriz, the queer actress who plays Diaz, said that it was extremely important to her to have the word “bisexual” said by Diaz herself, as the term is often skated around on television, as form of bi-erasure.
Freddie Baxtor, Cucumber/Banana.
There’s barely an episode in the British TV series created by Russell T. Davies where Freddie Baxtor isn’t at one point shirtless and in his y-fronts.
The 25-year-old floppy-haired dreamboat is played by Freddie Fox, and sleeps with men and women throughout the show.
Doped up on the carnal, Baxtor is a college dropout who found relief in the gay village of Manchester, England.
Mazikeen, Lucifer .
You might wonder how a soulless demon is positive bi rep, but you’d be surprised here.
Not only is Mazikeen’s sexuality not exploited for shock and or awe value by the writer’s room, but she is given the space to explore all dimensions of her sexuality, human or otherwise.
In the seductive thriller–about to enter its fifth season–Lesley-Ann Brandt’s character is Lucifer’s right-hand person.
Petra Solano, Jane the Virgin .
There’s a high chance that you might be part of a select group of Jane the Virgin femslash shippers known as ‘Jetra.’
But if you need that translated, it means those fans who want Solano and Jane Villanueva from the American dramedy show together. Fans scored their fandom fantasies, albeit, with another character coincidentally called Jane, in season four.
In it, the Excel Spreadsheet-type Solano falls head over heels for Jane Ramos (Rosario Dawson) which ignites a tender arc where Solano low-key freaks out whenever Ramos touches her. It’s sweet, and the two end up coupling up.
Sanatana Lopez and Brittany Pierce, Glee
Ok, ok, we all know that Glee fans deserved a little better from Glee. But the two cheerleaders Santana Lopez and Brittany Pierce were, in the early teenies, significant.
The Fox network show shifted LGBT+ representation dramatically, often dedicating screen time to queer, trans, POC and differently-abled characters usually side-lined or completely non-existent in others.
But the relationship between Naya Rivera (Lopez) and Heather Morris’ (Pierce) characters was a bedrock for better bisexual representation in TV shows, as they fell in love in high-school before ending up marrying in the final season.
Waverly Earp, Wynonna Earp .
One of the overarching capital Q, Question that looms over the supernatural Western horror TV show is: ‘Who is Waverly Earp?’
To be fair, the character herself doesn’t really know either.
But what she does know is that when Amy, a seriously hot police officer, walks into the room, her body is totally ready for her.
Bob Belcher, Bob’s Burgers
We’re often taught that we should have eyes for the person we marry and nobody else. But this is a trope that Bob’s Burgers titular main character subverts.
He casually addresses his sexuality in the episode ‘Turkey in a Can,’ when he talks to the deli cashier. There’s also hints throughout the animated comedy that he’s not straight.
What his character does is demonstrate that sexuality cannot be capped by marital vows; it is possible to find men attractive as well as being happily married to your wife. Breaking news, huh?
John Constantine, Legends of Tomorrow.
An occult detective from Liverpool, England, the DC’s Legends of Tomorrow character is a steamy anti-superhero.
The trench coat-wearing, chain-smoking warlock has had his sexuality erased in some adaptations of the comic book, but his self-discovery was carved out in the CW TV adaption.
He regularly sweet talks men and women in a depiction of bisexuality that is expansive, wide-ranging and truly does not care what people think of him.
Carrie Torres, Grey’s Anatomy .
When a character is introduced in 2006 and later revealed to be bi, you know for a fact they’re about to do some heavy lifting in the world of representation.
Carrie Torres (Sara Ramirez) garnered widespread acclaim for her verve portrayal as she stands as the longest-running LGBT+ character in TV history – appearing in 11 seasons.
Torres was later identified as a lesbian by show creator Shonda Rhimes, yet nevertheless, her arc remains a provocative and tender depiction of bisexuality in TV.
Jackson Whittemore and Brett Talbot, Teen Wolf.
Woof. Fans have long accused the MTV show of queer-baiting, but it does have two dedicated bi+ characters.
The first is the swoon-worthy Jackson Whittemore, played by Colton Haynes, who began a relationship with Ethan (Charlie Carver) towards the end of the first season.
Moreover, lacrosse hunk Brett Talbot (Cody Saintgnue) is openly bi. While being hunky and white probably helped, having such long-standing bi guys in a mainstream TV show was major.
Captain Jack Harkness, Doctor Who/Torchwood.
If there’s one word that can define Harkness, that handsome guy played by John Barrowman, it’s flirting.
Torchwood’s producer, Russel T. Davies, explained in an interview: “Jack is omnisexual and not just gay.”
Omnisexual refers to someone who is attracted to all genders, which rings true, considering just how many relationships and flirtations Harkness has over the years.
Eve Polastri, Killing Eve .
Somewhat steely when it comes to the men she’s dated throughout the seasons, Sandra Oh’s Eve is cool, calm and collected.
That is, until she meets Villanelle. When learning of the assassin, Eve forgets to have sex with her husband as well as forgetting about dinner.
Eve is unaware of her sexuality, and her mutual attraction with Villanelle give her a strange way to explore it.
Magnus Bane, Shadowhunters .
Freeform’s popular Shadowhunters featured an immortal, bisexual warlock named Magnus Bane. Yeah, you read that right.
Played by the eternally beautiful Harry Shun Jr., Bane becomes, well, the bane of Alec Lightwood’s (the aggressively attractive and tall Matthew Daddario) life as the two fall in love but encounter bumps along the way. But the two end up blissfully married in the end.
‘Malec’ offered fans a complex positive and all-round unique look at a queer relationship. Hints at the two’s pairing were sprinkled by writers throughout, until Lightwood, meeting someone he can open up to, finally forces him to realise who he is.
Gael Martinez, Good Trouble.
Politically active, socially conscious, proudly polyamorous and boastfully bisexual – Martinez is an artist on The Fosters spin-off show.
Characters being queer can have a lot of on-screen impacts, but it can also affects the lives of those who play them. Tommy Martinez on a panel this year revealed he had a same-sex experience 10 years ago.
He was, in part, inspired by playing his character. He said in an interview with MTV that a family member’s biphobia motivated him to be more open: “It’s like breaking down that wall that like, ‘Oh, you can’t talk about it.’ Here, I’m fucking throwing it out at you. Let’s talk about it.”
Vignette Stonemoss, Carnival Row .
Now, this is the role Cara Delevingne was born to play – a pansexual faerie.
The Amazon Prime original is set in a neo-Victorian world filled wit mythological immigrant creatures who resettle after their forest home is invaded by humans.
Speaking to i, Delevingne said on pansexuality in the show: “All faeries generally are. They don’t see gender. It’s all about who they are and their hearts.”
