It’s #BiWeek, the annual seven-day period when bisexuals take their corporeal form and walk amongst us mortals, drinking their iced coffees, wearing their jean jackets, leaning cutely against anything like a bunch of cats, smirking about how they always knew Mulan was peak bisexual culture. And what better way to celebrate than taking a look back at some of the all-time best bi TV characters, the ones who destroyed tropes and captured hearts and, yeah, sat weird in a whole bunch of chairs.
Callie Torres, Grey's Anatomy
Sara Ramirez was on 241 episodes of Grey’s Anatomy, making them one of — if not the — longest-running actors playing gay in all of TV history. Even better? Sara Ramirez is also bisexual! And nonbinary! Callie’s bisexuality sprang to life at a time when there were hardly any LGBTQ+ characters on primetime TV and she never once wavered on her identity. Dating dudes? Bisexual. Married to a woman? Bisexual. Single? Bisexual. You know, just like real life.
Rosa Diaz, Brooklyn Nine-Nine
It was bi icon (bicon?) Stephanie Beatriz who convinced Brooklyn Nine-Nine’s writers to make Rosa Diaz bisexual too. It added so much depth to Rosa’s character. We got to see her lean on her friends for once as she navigated coming out and trying to explain bisexuality to her family. But it was her coming out to the squad that remains one of the best moments on the show: “"I'm a private person so this is pretty hard for me, but here we go. I'm bisexual. All right, I will now field one minute and zero seconds of questions pertaining to this. Go."
Annalise Keating, How to Get Away With Murder
You will catch me literally never being over the fact that Viola Davis — the greatest living actor in this world — played a bisexual character on primetime TV for six seasons. VIOLA DAVIS! (Who did indeed win an Emmy for her portrayal of this complicated bi goddess.) Annalise Keating had relationships with men, she had relationships with women, and at the end of the day, she mostly had to learn how to love herself, so she could let herself be loved. She also had to figure out how to stop getting caught up in a bunch of bloody mysteries like a dang Scooby-Doo character, but that’s another story for another day.
Nick Nelson, Heartstopper
Has there ever been a sweeter coming out story than Nick Nelson’s on Heartstopper? Has there ever been a sweeter romance for a bi character, especially a guy? Friends, no there has not. Kurt Hummel crawled through Ryan Murphy’s muck so Nick Nelson could run straight into Charlie’s arms. You want the best bi cry of your life? Just binge this show already.
Kalinda Sharma, The Good Wife
Kalinda Sharma is the template for coding bi TV characters. Leather jacket? Check. Sunglasses? Check. Black boots? Check. Baseball bat for dealing with bullshit? Check. She may have had her first queer kiss halfway behind a closed garage door because it was CBS in 2011, but it did, as they say, get better. Archie Panjabi won an Emmy for the role, and then she glowed up to making out with Gillian Anderson on The Fall, living out every real bisexual’s real life dreams.
Luz Noceda, The Owl House
Oh shoot, okay, actually maybe Luz’s bisexual journey is just as sweet as Nick Nelson’s, now that I’m thinking about it. And her love story with Amity Blight, too. Owl House creator Dana Terrace, who is also bi, modeled Luz after herself, explaining: “I’m a horrible liar so sneaking it in would’ve been hard. When we were greenlit I was told by certain Disney leadership that I could NOT represent any form of bi or gay relationship on the Channel.” Joke’s on Mickey Mouse; The Owl House is one of the gayest shows ever. And bisexual Latina nerd witch Luz is its beating heart.
Kelly Jane Booth, San Junipero
Oh, well, if it isn’t another Emmy-winning TV show with a bisexual lead! Gugu Mbatha-Raw as the enchanting, confident, conflicted, vulnerable Kelly Jane Booth is a character portrayal I will never be able to shake. Kelly loved her husband so much. And then she fell in love with a woman after his death and had to make an impossible decision about eternity. She chose herself, and her beloved Yorkie, in the end, but without diminishing, even a little bit, her long and happy marriage to a man.
Eve Polastri, Killing Eve
"Why are you two so interested in each other?" MI6 boss Carolyn Martens asked Eve Polastri about Villanelle. "What is the deal with you and Villanelle?" Eve's co-worker Hugo wondered over late night fried chicken. "Are you in a relationship?" MI6 psychiatrist Martin asked Eve about Villanelle.
Eve never knew how to answer those questions — and, looking back, it seems almost silly to try to shake her down to any kind of label, just like it seems silly to try to tie a bow around her and Villanelle’s whole deal in a way that would allow you explain it to your grandmother. I almost can’t even think about Eve without thinking about how, in The History of Sexuality, Focault marveled that "perverse" sexual desires had taken the form of a medically diagnosable identity, that the private world of queer pleasure had become part of public conversation and political consumption. He said it was because 19th century capitalism needed a sexual identity that was "economically useful and politically conservative" — so it had to create the opposite of that. It had to make a monster out of queer desire.
It takes Villanelle saying “I think my monster encourages your monster” to a whole new level. And Eve’s really answering Villanelle when she answers Hélène, before kissing her, a whole season later: “You have no idea.”
Harley Quinn and Poison Ivy, Harley Quinn
Queer fans have been shipping Harley Quinn and Poison Ivy since they appeared on Batman: The Animated Series together in 1993. It took 22 years for them to finally kiss on the page (in Bombshells in 2015 and in the main universe in Harley Quinn #25 in 2017), despite so many writers and artists saying they were clearly more than friends over the years. It took even longer for them to finally get the on-screen romance they deserve, but HBO Max’s (er, just… Max’s?) Harley Quinn animated series has done what no one else in DC ever had the guts to do, giving us three full seasons of Harley and Ivy as a couple (with more to come). They got their falling in love season, their being a couple season, their staying together despite career differences season, and next year it looks like they’re going to get their Birds of Prey season.
Captain Jack Harkness, Torchwood
There’s just something inherently queer about time travel. I can’t explain it. But you know what I mean. So it was such a huge relief when Captain Jack Harkness arrived in the TARDIS and, ultimately, set out to headline his own show. Just an unapologetically horny, rakish bastard who perpetually saves the world. The first main queer character in the Whoniverse, I do believe. And now, who can even count them all? I’d start with Ianto Jones, but we don’t talk about Ianto Jones.
Bo Dennis, Lost Girl
Bo Dennis finally answered the question: What if Buffy has been bi, actually? And she also became the center of one of the most hotly debated bisexual love triangles in TV history. AND she launched an absolutely revolutionary era of queer TV coming out of Canada, including spawning her spiritual bisexual badass sister Waverly Earp. Lost Girl also continues to hold the distinction of being one of the only shows on television that let women have sex with the lights on.
Petra Solano, Jane the Virgin
Usually when fans start shipping two women together on a TV show, the creators go to great lengths to keep them from being on-screen together, often shoving them into cishet relationships with no chemistry. But when fans started shipping Jane and Petra together, Jane the Virgin’s writers handled it in the most delightful way: They let Petra come right on out as bisexual by giving her a lady love interest, also named Jane! Petra and JR’s relationship was one of the most surprising things this bananapants telenova ever did (which is saying something). It was sweet and sexy and weird and it finally let Petra in on the happiness she’d been chasing her whole life.
Brittany S. Pierce, Glee
It started with a throwaway line — “Sex isn’t dating; if it was, Santana and I would be dating. — that landed at just the right time. The explosion of Twitter. The passage of Prop. 8 in California, the first time U.S. citizens ever voted to take away marriage equality. GLAAD’s initial and enormous push to change the political climate of the country by changing the culture with TV. And it ended with bisexual Brittany and lesbian Santana GETTING MARRIED. One of the best parts about Brittany’s sexuality is that she continued to date guys and girls and loved them all the same; she just happened to love Santana more than anything else in the world.
David Rose, Schitt's Creek
I kind of feel like Daniel Levy re-introduced bisexuality to my parents’ generation with his turn on Schitt's Creek. A dramatic, spoiled, flailing artist you can’t help but love and root for, Levy’s charm just radiates through David and jumps out of whatever screen you’re watching him on. He just was who he was, no apologies. A new generation of bi men for a new generation of representation. And then he solidified his status as a gay icon by sweeping Kristen Stewart away from her worst Christmas ever in Happiest Season.
Beckett Mariner, Star Trek: Lower Decks
Star Trek has always been so progressive — except when it comes to LGBTQ+ characters, so it has been a delight to watch bisexual Ensign Beckett Mariner lead the franchise toward embracing the queerness its been bursting with since Kirk and Spock first locked eyes across a crowded bridge. Beckett is the human manifestation of chaotic goodness, an absolute hater of rules, and lover of doing the right thing (no matter who it pisses off). She’s capable, she’s confident, she’s heroic, and she’s absolutely TERRIBLE at dating — but that doesn’t keep her from trying! A true inspiration!