The Non-existent Bisexual Man
I don’t think I’ve ever seen more than a handful of TV shows featuring a bisexual man. If a male character is written as bisexual, he is most likely portrayed on-screen as exclusively dating men, with most people then arguing that he is gay. It’s a common invalidation of sexuality that showrunners need to do more to avoid.
However, two of the best portrayals I’ve seen are Magnus Bane in Shadowhunters and Nicholas Scratch in The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina. Both are warlocks and have had various romantic interests throughout the show. Nick (Gavin Leatherwood) is a very confident character and is seen to flirt with both “witches and warlocks alike”, as stated by his girlfriend Sabrina Spellman. Being a typical bad boy character, he also gets involved in some polyamorous adventures involving the Weird Sisters and Sabrina’s cousin Ambrose. When he explores the mortal world of Baxter High, he immediately joined the LGBTQ+ alliance, further hinting at his sexuality. Despite everything that occurs in the show, Nick unfortunately falls victim to its bittersweet end and dies for love.
Alternatively, vibrant and amusing Magnus (Harry Shum Jr.) has a focused relationship in his show with broody shadowhunter Alec Lightwood, instead of multiple hookups. Like in the Mortal Instrument book series that form the basis of the show, Magnus has had previous lovers (considering he’s lived for over four centuries), and though none are shown on-screen, it’s explicitly referenced. His relationship with Alec is one of the first I’ve seen to end happily for a gay couple. If queer characters don’t fall victim to death, their relationships normally end unhappily as writers somehow don’t know what to do with homosexual couples. In fact, more LGBTQ+ characters end up dead or written off instead of reaching a happy ending by the time a show ends. Don’t even get me started on the ending of The Haunting Of Bly Manor – I couldn’t cope for days afterwards, but then again, it was a horror series. Off the top of my head, I can only think of Freya and Keelin (The Originals) reaching a happy ending with their marriage and their son. But unexpectedly, Alec and Magnus get married and lead a happy life, and if the series wasn’t cancelled we might have seen the exploration of children, like in the books.
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