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Hulu's The Bisexual Hilariously Reverses the Typical Coming Out Tale
"It felt like such a ripe area for comedy, watching a woman in her 30s try to manage her way around a dick for the first time."
Four lesbians and a straight guy walk into a bar. Esther asks, "Does anyone know an actual bisexual?"
Leila looks around nervously, "I'm pretty sure bisexuality is a myth created by ad executives to sell flavored vodka."
So sets the tone of Hulu's latest dramedy The Bisexual. 30-something-year-old Leila (Desiree Akhavan) is bored of her predictable life with longtime girlfriend Sadie (Maxine Peake). The two are gearing up to launch an app and Sadie's ready to start a family. Leila needs a break.
But as Leila moves out and tries to move on, she realizes she has no idea who she is on her own, especially since she finds herself attracted to men. Her newfound singledom allows Leila to explore those desires that she's been suppressing. And since she's quite literally never touched a penis before, the encounters are hilariously awkward.
Akhavan, the Iranian-American "bisexual woman of diversity" behind The Miseducation of Cameron Post, wrote, directed, and starred in The Bisexual.
“It felt like it would be great as a reverse coming out story,” Akhavan told OUT. “I had seen a woman who was in the straight world explore the lesbian world. But it felt like such a ripe area for comedy, watching a woman in her 30s try to manage her way around a dick for the first time.”
The show is subtly revolutionary considering TV's dearth of bisexual representation. The Bisexual is equal parts heartfelt and hilarious as Leila comes to terms with her sexuality and navigates her new life between her old gang of lesbians, her aggressively hetero new roommate, and her understandably bitter ex-girlfriend.
We get to see Leila intimately dating both men and women. She challenges those "bisexuals can't choose" and "they just want to be promiscuous" stereotypes head-on. And in a way that is rarely executed well, race and ethnicity are beautifully interwoven within the characters.
But throughout all the laughs and tears, Leila shows the confusing reality of wrestling with your sexuality, especially when everyone else wants to define who you are for you.
Watch the trailer for The Bisexual in the video below. The six-episode series is on Hulu now.
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Taylor Henderson is a PRIDE.com contributor. This proud Texas Bama studied Media Production/Studies and Sociology at The University of Texas at Austin, where he developed his passions for pop culture, writing, and videography. He's absolutely obsessed with Beyoncé, mangoes, and cheesy YA novels that allow him to vicariously experience the teen years he spent in the closet. He's also writing one!
Taylor Henderson is a PRIDE.com contributor. This proud Texas Bama studied Media Production/Studies and Sociology at The University of Texas at Austin, where he developed his passions for pop culture, writing, and videography. He's absolutely obsessed with Beyoncé, mangoes, and cheesy YA novels that allow him to vicariously experience the teen years he spent in the closet. He's also writing one!
