As bisexuality is often overlooked and misrepresented in everyday life, the world of TV and film is sadly no exception. However, there are plenty of films and shows worth checking out for their bisexual themes, characters and representation.

Rebel Without a Cause (1955)

As with much early queer cinema, we have to talk about the subtext, as openly portraying queerness on screen was not allowed. Rebel Without a Cause is packed with homoerotic and, more importantly, bisexual subtext.

James Dean stars a rebellious young man who is new to town, who quickly finds himself making new friends and some new enemies. One of them is John ‘Plato’ Crawford, played by Sal Mineo, who is widely considered one of mainstream cinema’s first gay-coded characters.

With Dean rumoured to have been bisexual and Mineo openly bisexual, there is plenty to dissect in this iconic 1950s drama.

Y Tu Mamá También (2001)

Long before there was bisexual panic in Challengers, there was Y Tu Mamá También. Directed by Alfonso Cuarón and starring Diego Luna and Gael García Bernal, the film follows two childhood best friends who take an older woman, played by Maribel Verdú, on a road trip to a mythical, secluded beach called Boca del Cielo (‘Heaven’s Mouth’).

Dripping with homoerotic tension, the film blurs the lines between love, friendship and sex, while exploring the complicated dynamics between its three central characters.

Conversations with Friends (2022)

Adapted from Sally Rooney’s novel of the same name and brought to the screen by the team behind Normal People, Conversations with Friends offers an intimate and modern exploration of bisexuality and the complications that can arise within relationships.

Set in Dublin, the series centres on Frances as she navigates her relationship with her best friend and sometimes lover, Bobbi, alongside an unexpected connection with married couple Melissa and Nick.

Passages (2023)

Perhaps not a positive portrayal of the bisexual experience, but a more realistic and pessimistic exploration of the complications that can arise from it. Passages shows the unraveling of a married gay couple, played by Franz Rogowski and Ben Whishaw.

After one of them impulsively begins a passionate affair with a young woman, played by Adèle Exarchopoulos, their relationship is put to the test as his selfishness begins to come to light. 

The Vampire Lestat (2026–)

Technically the third season of Interview with the Vampire, the AMC adaptation of Anne Rice’s infamous book series, The Vampire Lestat, continues the story. It follows the bisexual vampire Lestat and his vampire rock band as they tour America.

Vampires and bisexuality go hand in hand, and Lestat has a lot to thank for that. The TV series has never shied away from the character’s queer elements, including his relationship with his vampire lover Louis, played by Sam Reid and Jacob Anderson respectively.

From the coded subtext of the 1950s to the open sexuality of the 2020s, these TV shows and films offer a varied perspective of how bisexuality and bisexual themes can be represented on the big and small screen.