Dex Parios

Dexadrine “Dex” Parios, played by Cobie Smulders, is the main character in the ABC crime dramedy Stumptown. 

Originally the lead in a limited graphic novel series, the show adaptation focuses on this Marine turned private eye— a vet with impressive intel and military training but also haunted with PTSD from her tours in Afghanistan. Settling back into Portland after her tours and taking care of her brother, Dex is a smart and wisecracking woman but she has issues with gambling and likely alcoholism. When she is asked by a casino owner (also the mother of her childhood sweetheart) to work off her gambling debt by taking on an investigation, she finds her resourcefulness, as well as her sense of empathy, give her a knack for detective work.

Dex’s bisexuality is discussed and on display as early as the pilot, with her calling both men and women for a booty call to keep the ghosts of her tours at bay in her mind. She also openly discussed her biromantic relationships with women in her past. While she enjoys a sensuous relationship with her male contact in the Portland police department, halfway through the first season we see Dex exhibit an attraction to Fiona X, a punk singer and ex-lover who passes through town.