It's hard enough to find LGBT representation in media, although it has gotten easier over the last few years, it can be even more difficult to find bisexual characters that don't fall prey to offensive stereotypes.
It's not enough to just have a bi or gay person on your show, they need to be a fully-realized character that isn't condensed to tropes. That said, we have gotten some great depictions of bisexuality over the years, here are some of the most relatable representations on television.
Max from Black Sails
Despite not becoming extremely well-known, Black Sails has quite a passionate fanbase. The series aired on Starz and followed a group of pirates across the seas. Max, played by Jennifer Parker Kennedy, was a prostitute who slowly ascends the ranks and becomes a powerful merchant queen and more.
She was easily one of the fan-favorites and she had two different female love interests in the series in addition to a brief relationship with a man. Although some aspects of her depiction were unfortunate because she dealt with a lot of abuse early on, many still gravitated to her and were pleased to see how her romantic storyline played out.
Nico Minoru from Marvel's Runaways
Played by Lyrica Okano, Nico Minoru is the television version of the Marvel hero. She is one of the main characters in the Hulu series, Marvel's Runaways. This depiction of Nico is portrayed as goth due to the trauma of her sister's death.
Nico is with Alex romantically early in the series but she and Karolina have officially begun a relationship after sharing a kiss between them. Their relationship also occurred in the comics the series is based on.
Clarke Griffin from The 100
Clarke Griffin is one of the main characters on The CW's young adult post-apocalyptic series, The 100. One of the most popular relationships on the series was that between Clarke and Commander Lexa, the leader of the Grounder Coalition. Unfortunately, Lexa fell prey to the "Bury Your Gays" trope.
Fans were so devastated by her death they began the Lexa Pledge, and many showrunners and writers signed it. The Pledge was for writers to stop killing off all their gay characters with lazy writing, essentially. Clarke's other most prevalent relationship is with Bob Morley's Bellamy Blake.
Rosa Diaz from Brooklyn Nine-Nine
Rosa's bisexuality was the subject of a big storyline during the last season of Brooklyn Nine-Nine. Her sexuality had been casually hinted at as the series went on and it helped that Rosa's actress, Stephanie Beatriz, is bisexual in real life.
The decision to make Rosa bi was met with lots of positive feedback and the show's way of showing her coming-out was handled with grace. Many people could relate to Rosa's struggle to come out to her parents and Brooklyn Nine-Nine did it with poignancy and humor.
Ilana Wexler from Broad City
Even though Ilana never calls herself "bisexual" on television, unfortunately, she still frequently remarks on her love for anyone that interests her. While her bisexuality may not be the main focus of the series, her character is unabashed about who she is and extremely relatable.
It's hard not to form an attachment to her because it is easy to recognize components of yourself in her. She did have one brief fling with her doppelganger on the show, although it is played as more of a joke. But you can still get the vibe she is relaxed about who she loves.
Sara Lance from DCTV
Sara initially appeared on Arrow as the original Black Canary, eventually, she became the White Canary while her sister took up the mantle of Black Canary/Black Siren. Now, Sara is one of the main characters on Legend of Tomorrow. She has frequently crossed between the different shows in the DCTV universe.
Sara's first relationship was with Nyssa Al Ghul, since then she has flirted with or been in relationships with several women. One of the nice things about Sara's sexuality is that she clearly has a preference for women, but she is still bi. It shows you can have a preference and still retain your bisexuality no matter what anyone says.
Magnus Bane from Shadowhunters
Magnus is a surprisingly positive and strong depiction of bisexuality for a fantasy series. Shadowhunters has even won awards for the series by GLAAD for its depictions. Magnus is out and proud as a bisexual but it doesn't define his whole character either.
He is monogamous, and his character is displayed in a positive light as a hero. He had an intense relationship with a woman in his past, Camille Belcourt, but ultimately his heart lies with the shadowhunter, Alec Lightwood. Their relationship is the most popular on the show.
Callie Torres from Grey's Anatomy
It's impossible to make a list about bisexual television characters without mentioning Callie Torres. She was one of the first and most notable examples of a positive depiction of a bisexual woman, who wasn't white and was the main character. Callie got to experience her sexuality slowly from the beginning so we could witness her coming out journey.
Eventually, she even married a woman, Arizona, and their relationship became a staple of the show. But Callie's relationship with Mark Sloan was also important. Callie also labeled herself as bisexual and was always proud of it. She had no problem standing up for herself and others.
Lucifer Morningstar from Lucifer
Is it a positive representation for us if one of the characters who is bisexual is literally the Devil? Maybe not, but at the same time, it kind of feels like the perfect cheeky response to naysayers.
Either way, Tom Ellis is excellent as Lucifer and he has no issue admitting his various relationships and attractions on the series. In the comics too, Lucifer is shown to be bisexual. While the show hasn't gone into as many details, we still do get mentions of it and hopefully, we'll see more in the final season.
Miles Hollingsworth III from Degrassi: Next Class
Miles is another character who got to label himself as bisexual. It's hard enough to find characters on television who get to say that word out loud but it's even harder to find male characters who get to. Miles is one of the best male depictions on television. He was a main character in the Degrassi: Next Class continuation on Netflix. He had romances with women and eventually realized he had feelings for Tristan.
However, the relationship with Tristan is somewhat controversial as Tristan was frequently biphobic. That said, Miles has an awesome storyline of realizing he's bi and accepting that label and using it to describe his feelings for people. Plus, he's a genuinely sweet guy and avoids most of the ugly bisexual tropes we see on television.