The recent Netflix series Heartstopper has captured the hearts of many viewers. Focusing on the blossoming romance between school students Nick and Charlie, the show has been praised for its positive representation of the LGBTQ+ community, which ties in even more perfectly with the celebrations of Pride Month.
While there is an abundance of shows that positively represent LGBTQ+ relationships, there is still a lack of pansexual and omnisexual characters. Often confused for bisexuality which is an attraction to more than one gender, pansexuality is sexual attraction towards people regardless of their gender. Though there are only a few characters with this orientation in pop culture, those that are already out there can be considered iconic due to their positive representation.
Klaus Hargreeves (The Umbrella Academy)
The hedonistic Klaus learns more about himself and his powers in season Three of the popular series The Umbrella Academy. Not only is the character non-binary, going by he/they pronouns, but he is also confirmed to be pansexual by Klaus' actor Robert Sheehan.
While his character in the original comics by Gerard Way isn't explicitly pan, Klaus is one of many characters who change for the better in the adaptation. With an enviable genderqueer wardrobe, a journey of self-discovery, and the ability to communicate with and conjure the dead, Klaus is considered one of the most beloved characters in this Netflix superhero black comedy.
David Rose (Schitt's Creek)
David Rose is one of the beloved characters on the beloved Emmy-winning comedy series Schitt's Creek created by Dan Levy who plays the openly pansexual character. In season One, David explains his sexuality to Stevie (who thought he was just attracted to men) through wine. Using the metaphor, David explains he likes "the wine and not the label" and the term pansexual is even used in the episode.
This assisted many in coming out and explaining their orientations, including Emily Hampshire, who played David's best friend, Stevie, according to Shape. In a show that only briefly references homophobia rather than blatantly showing it, the iconic character David helps husband-to-be Patrick understand his own sexuality, which is just one of the ways David matured throughout Schitt's Creek.
Captain Jack Harkness (Doctor Who & Torchwood)
John Barrowman's Jack Harkness is an LGBTQ+ character in the beloved British sci-fi series Doctor Who earning him his own spin-off show Torchwood. Harkness is often thought to be bisexual and pansexual but prefers omnisexual, a term interchangeably used with pan, describing a person who recognizes the gender/s of potential partners.
As stated in the in-universe 2009 Torchwood novel 'The House That Jack Built', "he prefers the term omnisexual" as the character is attracted to aliens and humans alike. Jack Harkness is an unconventional promiscuous action hero who "doesn't care who he flirts with" and was one of the first unequivocally LGBTQ+ characters in Doctor Who.
Lucifer Morningstar And Mazikeen (Lucifer)
Based on the DC Comics character, Lucifer follows the devil as he solves crimes in Los Angeles with Detective Chloe Decker with whom he finds himself slowly falling in love. Living with him in his nightclub is his best friend and a demon from Hell, Mazikeen aka Maze. Neither of these main characters shows any preference in gender when it comes to choosing sexual partners.
Both being called bi, pan, and omnisexual, the hedonistic characters invoke every sin from lust to gluttony in a refreshing take on the potential blurriness of celestial sexualities in this sex-positive fantasy crime drama. While Lucifer's help in Hell requires him to leave Chloe, Maze gets the happy ending she deserves with her wife Eve.
Wade Wilson (Deadpool & Marvel Comics)
LGBTQ+ comic book and onscreen superhero Deadpool is an anti-hero with mutant powers of regeneration and superhuman prowess. The confirmation of the superhero's pansexuality has since been rescinded but described as "whatever sexual inclination his brain tells him he is in THAT moment" by co-creator Fabian Nicieza on Twitter.
While Ryan Reynolds' portrayal of the character shows him flirting with Colossus, the comic book character is best known for his attraction to Thor and Spider-Man. Furthermore, it gives Disney the opportunity to re-write its mistakes with LGBTQ+ characters by making Wade's pansexuality explicitly portrayed.
Lando Calrissian (Star Wars)
Played by Billy Dee Williams and Donald Glover, Lando Calrissian is a gambler, playboy, and businessman who first owned the Millennium Falcon before losing it to Han Solo. While it has not been definitively shown in the Star Wars movies, Lando has been confirmed as such by Solo co-writer Jonathan Kasdan, according to Polygon.
The flirtation between Lando and Han, who have had many great moments together in Star Wars, has been picked up on since The Empire Strikes Back and fans have been shipping the pair for over four decades. Glover even points out the impossibility of not being pansexual in space when there are "so many things to have sex with."
Crowley (Supernatural)
The King of Hell is one of the most beloved characters in the long-running show Supernatural. He made his mark on the series in his first appearance in which he seals a demon deal with a homophobic businessman with a kiss.
With an orientation often described as "complicated", actor Mark Sheppard confirmed that Crowley was "more pansexual than anything else". Whether this villain was attracted to the Winchesters or not, Crowley's relationship with them was incredible and hilarious marking the character as a pansexual icon.
Oberyn Martell (Game Of Thrones)
Nicknamed The Red Viper, this Game of Thrones character is the younger brother of Dorne's ruler. Featuring solely in the fourth season of the show before meeting a brutal end at the hands of his sister's murderer, Oberyn demonstrates his sexual fluidity almost immediately in one of Little Finger's brothels.
According to The Daily Beast, while the character is often coined as being bisexual, actor Pedro Pascal prefers to describe his character as pansexual since having a "gender preference doesn't even make sense to Oberyn". The fierce and passionate prince unabashedly is one of the best things about season 4 of Game of Thrones, and is "completely pansexual", without compromise, and doesn't understand why someone would want to limit themselves.
Jadzia Dax (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine)
Star Trek has been at the forefront of inclusion and diversity since it first aired in 1966 as its creator Gene Roddenberry intended. Fan-favorite Star Trek: Deep Space Nine character Dax, a genderfluid symbiont from the Trill inhabiting the body of female character Jadzia has been confirmed as pansexual by actress Terry Farrell, according to The Mary Sue.
DS9 also included one of the first televised kisses between two female characters in "Rejoined" where Jadzia rekindles their relationship with one of the wives of Dax's former hosts. Since then, Star Trek has become increasingly inclusive with canonical pansexual character Mirror-verse Captain Philippa Georgiou as well as non-binary and transgender characters.
Loki Laufeyson (Marvel)
The comic books have portrayed fan-favorite Loki as LGBTQ+ and genderfluid for years. While some consider him to be bi, others consider the character to be pansexual and the same can be said for Tom Hiddleston's portrayal of the character in the Disney+ series.
In a Young Avengers storyline from 2014, Loki explains that sexual identity is different on Asgard to Earth and is not as restrictive. Both comic book writers Mackenzie Lee and Al Ewing confirmed the character is LGBTQ+ but disagreed on whether he is pansexual or bisexual. With his genderfluidity accepted by Odin, who calls Loki both his son and daughter, it is time for the onscreen writers explicitly confirm his sexuality. Both orientations require more representation and for now, Loki is seen as both a bisexual and pansexual icon.