The “B” in LGBTQ+ can bring out tired labels and stereotypes such as it being “just a phase,” a moment of confusion between deciding to be straight or gay or for more promiscuous types. Not here. We're going to celebrate its community through some of the most iconic bisexual television characters who represent being out and proudly bi. They can be found in classic TV shows, some of the best sitcoms and more.
Throughout the years, a number of great TV shows have included great bisexual characters. Let’s get to these seminal examples:
Keeley Jones (Ted Lasso)
One Of the hottest TV shows you can watch with an Apple TV+ subscription right now is Ted Lasso. And, one fan favorite is Juno Temple’s character of Keeley Jones. Keeley is a model-turned-PR consultant, who’s known for capturing the hearts of star players Roy Kent and Jamie Tartt. But, in Season 3, the series explored her bisexuality when she gets into a relationship with a female investor in her company named Jack. Ted Lasso has been celebrated for how it handles Keeley and her bisexuality throughout the show, and how normalized it was handled within the storyline.
Ilya Rozanov (Heated Rivalry)
This past November, Heated Rivalry took everyone by storm when Connor Storrie and Hudson Williams portrayed gay ice hockey players in the viral series. In the sports romance, one half of the couple is Ilya Romanov, played by Storrie. His character is outwardly bisexual from the jump, which still isn’t very common to see on TV – especially for a leading role. And, it’s coming back for Season 2.
Callie Torres (Grey’s Anatomy)
Grey’s Anatomy is one of the most beloved (and longest running) medical dramas of all time. In the second season, Sara Ramirez’s Callie came on board the show as a love interest to T.R. Knight’s George O’Malley. Callie and George have a memorable romance that spawns into marriage until it falls apart later. Following their breakup, Callie starts to explore and become comfortable with her bisexuality, later marrying Arizona Robbins. Callie is the longest running LGBTQ+ character in TV history to this day!
Loki (Loki)
Not only is Loki one of TV’s bisexual icons, he’s also the first character in the MCU to explicitly come out on screen as bisexual. Tom Hiddleston’s Loki is the adopted brother of Thor, who starts as a villain and has had a journey over the years into being not only an anti-hero, but a hero in his own right. The reveal happened in Episode 3 of the Loki series. Plus, his variant Sylvie is canonically bisexual in the show as well.
Willow Rosenberg (Buffy The Vampire Slayer)
From 1997 to 2003, Alyson Hannigan played Buffy’s best friend Willow. She assists Buffy in her vampire hunting before realizing she’s a witch with powers she must learn to control. In the early seasons, Willow has two major relationships with men, including Seth Green’s Oz and Nicholas Brendon’s Xander, but the series really broke some ground for the queer community when she finds a love story with Amber Benson’s Tara Maclay. And we cannot forget the “Dark Willow” plot line, which was Willow from an alternate universe who gives off super bi vampire energy.
Queen Maeve (The Boys)
The Boys ended earlier this year after five seasons. During its run, Dominique McElligott’s Maggie Shaw/Queen Maeve brought the bi energy with her superhero character who has the power of super strength and invulnerability. Through Queen Maeve’s storyline, The Boys tackles bi-erasure when she’s forcibly outed on live TV, and she experiences bierasure when she’s publicly labelled as a lesbian despite her having had relationships with both men and women.
Ava Daniels (Hacks)
HBO’s award-winning series Hacks also ended this year after five seasons with a bi-icon among its cast. But in the case of the comedy, its bisexual character is one of two leads of the show. Hannah Einbinder’s Ava Daniels is a comedy writer and also a bisexual character who rarely deals with the common tropes and issues that come with TV characters (including quite a few on this list). It also helps that Einbinder is bi in real life.
Captain Jack Harkness (Doctor Who/Torchwood)
The Doctor Who franchise is a legendary British series, and with John Barrowman’s Captain Jack Harkness, it allowed the series to showcase its first openly queer character. The companion to Doctor Who first appeared in 2005 and then got his own spinoff series Torchwood in 2006. Between his tragic love story with Ianto Jones and flames with Gwen, Jack is a great bi character, who is also not solely defined by it. However, no thanks to the actor's flashing allegations, we're likely not to see Harkness again.
Eleanor Shellstrop (The Good Place)
Kristen Bell’s character in The Good Place, Eleanor Shellstrop, is a character who’s become a bi icon. This is demonstrated through the many instances in the comedy where she communicates being attracted to both genders. Such as the many many instances she talks about being into Tahani. While Eleanor ultimately has a romance with a male character, her flirtatious nature is part of who she is throughout the series.
Oberyn Martell (Game Of Thrones)
Before Pedro Pascal was The Mandalorian or Mister Fantastic, the actor portrayed the Red Viper of Dorne, Oberyn Martell, in HBO’s Game of Thrones. In the momentous series, Pascal’s character is a badass in combat and also openly and overtly bisexual. To quote him: “The Red Viper enjoys life. He does not discriminate in his pleasures. This is the way he understands life, to live it to its fullest”. What a time it was to see a male bisexual character in a fantasy world being proudly bi!
Avatar Korra (The Legend of Korra)
Nickelodeon made history in the world of animation when its leading character Korra became part of the LGBTQ+ community. Korra is the next Avatar in line after Aang in the original series and a badass bi character that brought some representation to a wider audience. Early in the series, Korra has feelings for her teammate Mako. Later on in the series, Korra and Asami become pairing after a sweet storyline between them and had the community in heart-eyes over their happy ending.
Nick Nelson (Heartstopper)
Netflix’s adorable romance series, Heartstopper, is another example of a gay TV show starring a bisexual character. In the case of Kit Connor’s Nick Nelson, the audience gets to watch him as he understands his sexuality better. And, he represents bisexual people in the LGBTQ+ community who might be thought of as only into men just because he’s in a long-term relationship with one. In the show, Nick ends up speaking out by saying “I’m bi, actually” when people start to assume.
Annalise Keating (How To Get Away With Murder)
From 2014 to 2019, Viola Davis portrayed Annalise Keating on the ABC thriller, How To Get Away With Murder. The leading character’s key relationships are with Tom Verica’s Sam, who begins as her therapist and Famke Janssen’s Eve, who she has a long-term relationship with before Sam. Later in the series, Annalise and Eve rekindle their love along with Davis’ character also becoming entangled with Billy Brown’s Detective Nate Lahey. We love to see a major LGBTQ+ lead on network TV.
Darryl Whitefeather (Crazy Ex-Girlfriend)
Of all the iconic bisexual characters to celebrate, only one has a super catchy theme song: Crazy Ex-Girlfriend’s Darryl Whitefeather. One supporting character in the CW comedy memorably had a musical number called “Gettin’ Bi” that deserves a place on this list:
Darryl is a newly divorced dad who comes into his bisexuality early on in the show when he gets a crush on David Hull’s Josh Wilson. Throughout the show, Darryl and Josh’s relationship is super stable and cute and Crazy Ex-Girlfriend took a fun approach to bi representation with this character.
Rosa Diaz (Brooklyn Nine-Nine)
Stephanie Beatriz’s Brooklyn Nine-Nine character of Rosa Diaz is the last bisexual character we’ll highlight, but there’s definitely more than just 15 these days. Rosa starts off cold as ice, but is one of the best characters on the comedy, especially when it comes to the show unfolding her experiences as a bi woman. Rosa comes out in the fifth season, and explicitly calls herself bisexual – which we just don’t see enough!
Many of these bi TV characters broke ground for representation, moving forward with new TV shows to come, we’d be excited for them to make room for more LGBTQ+ representation across the board.
